liadanslyre

in celebration of charles

well- he's 35 yrs old. we celebrated last night in a number of ways. we went to dinner and a movie (courtesy of a nice gift certificate i recieved from work); and i gave him a pimped out lexus remote control car.

it's worth mentioning that charles proves the passage in ephesians 3**- that a life spent w/ Jesus will blow your mind and all your expectations. i wasn't really sure that i would get married. it certainly wasn't that i didn't want to be married. i wanted to be married. really really bad. but i resigned that i would not be married. to deal with it i just tried to not feel dissappointed. it takes a lot of effort to try to not feel. i would bouts where i knew it wasn't good for me to 'try to not feel' and i would interact with the Lord and tell Him about my dissappointed. but in large part i just tried to kill off the feelings of dissappointed.

loving charles and being loved by him has awakened my heart from hibernation. it has been a beuatiful thing to watch and even better to be a part of. i am so incredibly glad i married him. he is my better in just about every way there is...

here are 35 reasons i love charles (from the silly to the significant)...

1. how he loves me even when i'm dumb.
2. how he does his chores and sings.
3. how he forgives me.
4. how he is an immigrant that loves america and is grateful all the opportunities it affords him without buying all the american bullshit.
5. how he shows me what it means to have a joyful spirit.
6. how he doesn't agree with everything i say.
7. his love of pop music... including but not limited to- celiene dion, whitney houston and all things lional richie.
8. his love for academia and thinking.
9. he doesn't try to prove himself. he is comfortable with how God has made him.
10. he doesn't follow the crowd.
11. he helps me remember to confess my sin. sometimes i forget to.
12. how my fiesty niece will only listen to and obey him when surrounded by extended family.
13. he told me that i needed to recommit my life to Christ once... and he was right.
14. he sings 'a whole new world' to me often.
15. he gives most of his money away.
16. his smile.
17. sometimes i wake up in the middle of the night and he is praying over me.
18. how he reads with a dictionary.
19. how he talks about his mom with so much respect.
20. his outlook is so loaded. it matches deep wisdom with simplicity in a way i've never seen.
21. he dances for me.
22. he wakes me up from bad dreams.
23. he wants to change the world- and i actually think he may.
24. how he wants to talk to my mom whenever i'm talking to her.
25. he has many reasons to be jaded about the world and people- but is not.
26. how he calls my mom- mum with his great british/ african accent.
27. how teachable he is.
28. how his default african country for someone's nationality is namibia.
29. how much i genuienly and deeply respect him and his life expereince.
30. how he is learning about aa to understand me better.
31. how he says 'this thing' when he can't think of the word.
32. how often he beats me at scrabble.
33. how he is teaching me igbou.
34. how committed to intercession he is...
35. his cute butt!

14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom his whole family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge–that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 t o him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

~ ephesians 3.14-21

+++

today's chewable vitamin

O Rising Sun,
You are the splendour of eternal light
and the sun of justice.
o come and enlighten those who sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death.

~ taken from the celtic book of prayer