Mom For Tomorrow

Mom, I think of you often...even today.

It was you who came to my mind,  I quickly should say.

You left on another journey and your will not be back,

But regardless of your leaving, I still know no lack.

I wrote these words today, not for you but for me, 

And I share them with you so that my heart can be free.

I learned yet again, as I do when I write,

That I don't blame you for what I am not, if I stay focused on His power and might.

I am not dissatisfied with all that I am not, 

Instead I see great value in all I was taught.

This moment in time would not be complete, 

Without reminding myself that it was YOU who was perfectly chosen for ME!

You taught me His ways, as He chose you to do,

You honored Him greatly, despite what you knew.

I think of you now with a smile on my face,

And wish I could hold you for one more embrace.

I want to say Thank You for doing what you could

And to tell you how He has finished your work, and that it is Good.

I have a feeling this is something you already know, 

But to share my heart as it heals, I know would impact you so.

Our relationship could finally have all that it lacked, 

Which was compassion and maturity and a love that wouldn't hold back.

So I write this today, knowing you already understand,

The moment you entered that Great Promised Land.

I am now living in mine after much pain and sorrow,

But I am writing to testify that God is not just a God of tomorrow.

He is with us today, Sitting upon His Great Throne,

Looking to have the final say and teaching us to trust Him even as we groan.

Whether we struggle, or stumble and fall,

It is Him who ultimately is in control of it all.

So I thank Him today as I honor His plan, 

And thank Him too, that I released my pain to a far greater plan.

I miss you and love you and wished you too received more,

But God allowed it perfectly for what was in store.

For more reasons than I yet even know,

But it is YOU I still carry in my heart wherever I go.

To heal from my hurts is yet another gift I have been given,

It didn't come packaged or contained in a small slice of heaven.

It came instead through adversity and much pain and sorrow, 

But I am beyond thankful that there is always tomorrow.

It shines more brightly now with a greater understanding of more,

And it comes in the form of goosebumps that purge pain from my pores.

God, I marvel at Your ways and hear Your Great voice, 

It sounds like fresh and rushing water, and no longer noise.

The lessons I have learned are taught in no other place,

And the gift is like the feeling of winning a race.

There is much preparation and blood, sweat and tears,

But the Victory is only understood by those who are near.

Thank You again from well within my Faith-Filled Soul, 

I will continue to remind myself again and again what it is that is making me whole.

I will share of Your goodness and Your promises given,

Beyond that,  my broken heart has now risen.

I live with a new found awareness of the pain and the sorrow, 

But I wrapped it all up and released it and I call it Tomorrow.

God can accomplish in a moment what would take years on your own.  Seek Him and His path - watch Him open the doors to your Destiny. ~Tony Evans

SIMON...3RD GRADE...STAR OF THE WEEK AT SCHOOL

THE BOY IN THE YELLOW BOOTS

Our son Simon is a beaming and bright light in our family.  Since he was able to speak he asked questions constantly about everything.   He also asked them repeatedly to be certain our answer didn’t change.  

Simon was born at home and that evening was quite an experience for us all.  With Daniel only 5 at the time and Izik 3,  they were quite excited to witness such an amazing event. By being part of the birth, I wanted them to see the most amazing miracle of all in life…a baby being born into the world.

With yet another boy in our home, we instantly knew he would be called Simon.  Since Izik didn’t have a name for 2 days after being born as I expected to have a girl (for no reason ;), when I thought of how much I liked the name Izik as did my husband, I also thought of (at the same time) and liked the name Simon. Instantly, we called him by name.  I always say it was the experience of the day he was born that created such energy in him…and clearly it and he is here to stay J

When Simon was just a baby, he would throw food all over the place and make the biggest mess of any of our kids…he would also have the biggest smile on his face while doing so.  We had a sweet woman that spent a lot of time in our house named Esther and often fed Simon and no matter what he did, she always called him “an angel from heaven.”

When Simon was 3 years old on a warm spring Sunday evening in late May, the boys were outside playing baseball.  They had school the next day but they asked if they could stay out just a bit longer. I agreed as the weather was so nice and they were having a great time.  Within just a few minutes Daniel came running into the house yelling that Izik hit Simon in the mouth with a baseball bat.  Simon lost his first front tooth immediately and his dad (being the doctor that he is) pushed the one that was dangling back into place but a few days later Simon tripped on the carpeting in the hallway and it didn’t survive.  He was front toothless for more than a few years and one grew in when he was about 6 but it took a little longer for the other one to come in.  But as you can see, they are just fine.

 I always say that Simon has a brain like my husband:  filled with curiosity and wonder of how things work and what makes them work…and do they work well enough to be satisfied with?  If not,

he will likely come up with another idea to improve upon what isn’t working according to his understanding or expectations.

Simon was (and is) a busy boy:  he was the one who got into EV-ER-EE-THING!!  He would try on my shoes when I would take them off (which had no less than a 4 inch heel) and try to walk in them when he was not even 2 years old and usually wearing nothing more than a diaper.  When he was 3 he had a yellow bike and pair of yellow Hunter rain boots and he became recognized by everyone in both of the neighborhoods we lived in by his yellow boots ;)  He wore them so much that he wore holes in the bottoms of them (even with just a diaper on) and I still have them and I will keep them forever!!

Simon wasn’t interested in reading books when he was young but in swimming and fishing and catching toads and biking in the woods with his dad and brothers.  He wasn’t much for video games or TV but preferred to build things out of legos.  He enjoyed it as much as his dad and he would wait until he got home and force him to make airplanes out of legos.  He always wanted to make a bigger airplane than the one before…and there were times when they almost looked ridiculous.  Simon didn’t care though and he would begin adding to them and rearranging their parts and when his dad would come home the next night from work he would often have to take them apart and redo them because he couldn’t let them be the new way Simon designed them ;)

 When Simon was in Kindergarten our family went through a big change and we moved to the mountains about an hour or so from where we lived in Pennsylvania.  This was in February of 2010 and the drive was about an hour and a half from where Simon and the other kids went to school.  Simon and his brothers and sister had a few months left of school still, and we didn’t want to put them in a new school so late in the year so we drove them every day to their school.  We spent a lot of time in the car each day and because Simon had morning Kindergarten and the trip to school was 70 miles, he was often late.  I didn’t know that he wasn’t learning to read and his teacher didn’t tell me. Ever since, until this year and him coming to Park City, and having Mrs. Ingle, and being in a great class with kids that make him feel welcome, Simon struggled to learn.  I have begun to understand that while Simon can learn to read (and has), because he doesn’t think in a way where text books interest him, it takes a special teacher and a special class to bring out his unique learning style and enable him to thrive.  Many extremely intelligent people often do not learn so easily in a classroom unless they have a teacher like Mrs. Ingle.

The information in this letter is to be about Simon and what a special kid he is, but I would not be sharing the complete story of Simon and his success in this classroom as a new student in Park City if I didn’t also tell you all how amazing Mrs. Ingle is. I have interacted with many teachers having 5 kids, and I want to tell you that teachers like her are to be celebrated and forever remembered and thanked for their selfless devotion to their class.  It is because of her investment into Simon (and all of you) that he now has the confidence to read and to feel that he can learn anything he wants to. 

 God did not make us all the same and we all have different strengths and weaknesses and remembering to help those who may appear to be struggling with something is always a way to feel good about yourself and also to remember there is sure to be a time when you may be that person needing help as we cannot all be good at everything all the time. 

You will meet Simon’s dad tomorrow morning and while he struggled to read until he was in 6^th grade, he is now a brilliant doctor who helps people all over the world.

Simon is now making up for lost time with his learning and he is excited to come to school each day.

I want to say a big THANK YOU to each of you for welcoming Simon into your class, which isn’t always easy part way through the year.  You are all very special and I am quite sure you are all going to do very amazing things in this world to make it a better place.

And to my youngest and incredibly special child, I know for certain that every hurdle you have overcome was a choice.  You chose to not let the areas of weakness become stumbling blocks in your future but to become the reasons why you will become successful…because as you have already learned, when you discipline yourself to be greater than what you struggle with, you will always come out on top!!

I love you bunches and bunches and more bunches and I am beyond proud of you!!!

And will you succeed?  Yes!  You will, indeed! 98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.  ~Dr. Seuss

17 YEARS OF MARRIAGE...A THOUGHT-PROVOKING PERSPECTIVE

It has been 17 years of marriage for Danny and I tomorrow...a decade and the perfect number...all wrapped into one relationship. When I think of a decade, my first thought is to think of a season of life that I quickly connect with emotionally as a child.  So much occurs in the first 10 years of our lives.  It is beyond comprehension actually.  We live through it and we can't really contain it but we are who we are because of it.  I can honestly say that my marriage has been like that.

Then there is the number 7.  God uses that number repeatedly in the Bible as a number of completion and also sanctification.  Perhaps that is why I am compelled to write about it.  I don't always understand, but I always trust in Him who created the significance within His words. And again, my marriage has been like that as well....

I was reading something about God's references to the number 7 and then I read this: "the symbols God embedded in the design of His Word continue to build one upon the other, endlessly and effortlessly amplifying their mutually coherent implications. Each independent thread in this Divine Tapestry strengthens every other thread until they unite to form an absolutely unbreakable cord." That is very profound and yet makes perfect sense to me...especially within my marriage.

I immediately thought of the verse of scripture that was on my wedding program the day Danny and I were married on March 23, 1996.  It was Ecclesiastes 4:7 and it says: "Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.  A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." 

I thought of how often this has been true in our marriage.  We have been teased, tackled, kicked, tossed, slapped,  and punished in many ways as we have served, loved, honored, hoped and dreamed.  We have stood tall, walked without understanding,  crawled on our knees and surrendered to pain and here we are 17 years later in our marriage, a lifetime it seems of serving an enormous purpose with incredible battle scars in our family and in the mission God has chosen for us and we can feel as we felt in those first 10 years of our life...like a child without understanding and yet looking to the ONE with all of the answers.  

I am so thankful to know that God loves us and understands our completely faulty and incapable selves.   I feel blessed to know that things in life do not have to make sense to be acceptable...and for those things in our lives that are not, I can trust Him still...and even more.

Very little matters even though life can offer many distractions.  Remembering what it is that you value more than your own agenda is one of those priority principles that you must put in focus.  When you are walking your walk, your journey of faith, your pursuit of purpose, or whatever you may refer to it as;  always think on what matters more than your circumstances? For me: I must be able to answer myself with a confident response that it is WHO I am aligned with in my journey that matters most.   When the assurance of that answer is tucked firmly in my heart as well as in the foremost part of my head, then I can make that journey with an ever-expectant posture and an ever-present hope and know all is well.  I am quite confident that is what matters most.  I believe the WHO you are with is far more important than any WHAT life throws at you.

So as Danny and I celebrate 17 years of infancy, adolescence, adulthood in our marriage as well as press on toward completion of purpose and sanctification of mission, I am grateful that God chose well for not just me, but those that He gave to our charge.  

Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.
~1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Persevering With Patience

I just took Daniel to the airport AGAIN after yesterday's mishap of misunderstood texts from the airlines...it was great to have him home.  He has a personality that is closest of that to Simon...changing the cat's name while he was here, not paying attention to whether or not there was already a salsa open in the refrigerator before opening another...and another. He was in my bed nightly for ticklies and infiltrating Simon's space whenever possible, being a complete irritant of Izik AND Simon but NOT OLIVIA (unbelievably :).  Fortunately, he and Dylan have always kept a mutual respect for one another which has always been a comfort in the midst of chaos. I heard Daniel ask us almost every day if we would reconsider Chipotle and couldn't the news of their using GMO possibly (and hopefully) be incorrect...to which we said no and wouldn't budge and neither would he in his persistence ;)

He will be back for his break next Wednesday while many of his team will be in Alaska for JO's (junior olympics) testing their hard work and anticipating the pay off of a national title.  He expected to be there too but God chose another route for this season.  He chose personal growth over accomplishment.  I understand how difficult that reality can be.We feel as if we are stuck, and while it seems any effort we attempt, we are unable to make a move, but at the right time, which is God's time, we are thrust into our purpose and His promise. While Daniel's teammates are skiing in their final competitive venue for the season with the best of the best in the country, Daniel will be having his assessment with Dr. Buhler and his A.M.I.T. (Advanced Muscle Integration Techniques) and subsequent treatment sessions and God willing he will be on the snow by the summer (and he is hoping sooner) ...ME TOO! But yet we have to wait...and trust.

The new aspect of Daniel being off the snow this year that is such an indicator of him not living his passion is not his restlessness he typically has when he is not skiing, but this year it is the uncertainty of his ability of when he can re-engage. He is usually so satisfied during the winter and so confident of what he can do each day as he has always been able to work toward his goals. This year I am reminding him of how well he is doing academically which certainly has impressive merit in and of itself, although I appreciate that he wants more regarding his achievements.

This winter had its challenges for all of us.  For Daniel, it was a season of moving across the country and settling in a foreign land with strangers so that he could pursue his passion, but sadly his injury left him disappointed and struggling to keep his perspective.  On our end, while we too moved and acclimated to a new life in a new land and with new hope and expectation, we felt much like the Israelites, shuffled and disheveled but looking at our promised land with enchantment and enthusiasm as well as anticipation but not without feeling the pains of the afterbirth.  While most of the experience has been fresh and exciting and filled with satisfaction, it is still bittersweet.  I have learned though, that it is within those transitions of life it is critical to remember that it matter not whether or we feel the pressure of an oppressive world upon us, we must keep our focus upon The One who gives us our passion and our purpose.  What He has ordained for His purpose, will be accomplished according to His plan.

I find the two distinct paths inseparable:  Daniel's personal journey and our entire life...they are analogous and critically parallel but yet there is a difference.  He is traversing and expecting to conquer the land without the knowledge of experience and we have been scalded by ours,  but one thing remains the same and even continues to grow for both of us and that is our faith.  We walk it out according to His call.  We trust Him. We look ONLY to Him for our placement, our position and our provisions.

Daniel's faith is being defined and ours redefined.  In both of our interpretations and at every level, our God is to be trusted and He has proven Himself in countless ways in our life.  He will prove Himself in countless ways in Daniel's life as well.  It is exciting for me to know that and watch it play out just as I knew God was up to something very big with our challenges.

I see his anticipation and hear his heart and know he is disappointed beyond his understanding and even struggles with how to interpret it but I see his smiles and his projections regarding his future and I know it is well with his soul.

I got a glimpse into his heart the other day when he attempted to ski this weekend and had to quit because he ankle hurt but his dad and his brothers continued to have the best day of their life on fresh powder.  I asked him when he came home if he was disappointed and he said, "I am not worried about not skiing 'for days' but about not being able to ski next year." I realized in that moment that while his body may not be keeping up with his desires, his heart and soul are learning irreplaceable life lessons that will shape not only the boy, but the man.  I reassured him that God has this and He often calls us to walk through difficult circumstances for purposes, that while not visibly seen, are necessary for His call upon our life.  I reminded him that we are going to seek the best for his success and while his body may be growing more quickly than certain parts can keep up with which creates added stress and unique situations in which he cannot adapt to at this particular time, it is also a miraculous vessel and its healing potential is infinite when we get to the root cause (which we are about to do).  Even typing that thought reminds me that is even true of our own bodies in their growth.  Our minds receive but it is required of our hearts to listen.  That is often extremely difficult to accomplish when our hearts are not in understanding of how to do so.  And again we are faced with entering a place of surrender and trust...and that requires patience.  At different stages of life, various parts of the body are required to grow in their function. Daniel's journey/our journey...both watching and waiting upon God.

While I may not have seen "contentedness" from him as I usually do in this winter season, I have absolutely seen growth, maturity and elements of him becoming a man...an impressive man :)  And when he asked me if we were going to church on Sunday, I knew that this child, is seeking not just the reassurance of his mom or dad, but of his Father, his Abba Father.

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. ~Romans 5:3-5

WRITING OUT LOUD

There are times when the only way to get out what you feel is to sit down and process it.  As someone who has very little focused energy unless I am writing, this is where I express my heart and watch the words hit the screen and I often wonder where they came from.  I know what is in my heart, perhaps too much so as it leaves me feeling incapable and frustrated, but quickly replaced with that feeling is what matters far more:  KNOWING that I am chosen for purpose, that while my journey has left me scarred and at times continues to wound me, I KNOW that as a daughter of the King, I will ALWAYS triumph.  He trusts us.  I take that very seriously.  I may not always know WHAT I am doing, but I do at least always know WHY I am doing it.  At times that fact is a reality check and at times it gives me comfort...especially in times such as we have lived through most recently, where our best efforts were mistaken, misunderstood, maligned and maliciously misconstrued.

I don't focus on them as they were the springboard to a greater purpose.  I have often said that those who meant to harm us should be written a Thank You.  While there are endless ways that the enemy relentlessly tries to sabotage, especially when we are so on purpose, our focus MUST stay in ONE place and that is on the power of ONE...the ONE who created us, our purpose and our ability to feel the sting of life as well as the victory when the enemy is defeated.

I read something in my Bible this morning and while I have tossed many emotions around in my head in recent weeks, I was even more excited by what I was reminded of in Psalm 71. Beginning in verse 20, it reads:  Though you have made me see trouble, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up. You will increase my honor and comfort me once again.
Verse 23-25: My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you--I, whom you have redeemed. My tongue will tell of your righteousness all day long, for those who wanted to harm me have been put to shame and confusion.

While this is something I know and trust in, waiting for God's timing is the most difficult.  We cannot expect Him to move according to our desires and based upon my past experiences, I know that it is ALWAYS worth the wait!

Righteousness is the basis of the reign of God.  It is not ours, but His.  Remembering that is what will sustain our patience as well as see the demonstration of His power when it is unleashed.  He wants us to depend upon His strength and not our own.  I believe that is why at times we feel so ill-equipped and He puts us in situations with "giants."

We always have a choice: to focus on the "giants" or to give the One who created them as well and knows their hearts, the opportunity to move on our behalf.  I am reminded of Joshua and Caleb who went to see the promised land and while it was flowing with milk and honey it was also filled with giants.  Most focused on the giants, but Joshua and Caleb focused on God and the opportunity ahead.  God honored their faith.  They received the land. The others accepted the report of the majority and it created fear in them and they never received the blessing God had for them but Joshua and Caleb trusted God and they experienced the fullness of the promise.

While I have scripts in my mind and things I would love to say and do, and in some way work toward my own vindication, I realize how important it is to wait.  Waiting without action is not apathy when we are waiting on the One who controls our destiny and teaches us as we trust Him.

Be encouraged about the plan of God in your life.  Be encouraged about the favor of God upon your life.  And be encouraged about the power of God over your life.  While "giants" are a part of this life, they are not part of your destiny!

It doesn't matter who likes you or who doesn't.  The main thing is, Almighty God likes you.  He has accepted you.  He has approved you.   ~Joel Osteen

The Journey Is NOT Your Destination

Realizing the significance of another year, while it just seems to be the turn of the hands of the clock, if you seek its connection to the rites of the passages of life, it can project the pain of our purpose that needed to be refined with the hopes of our dreams all wrapped up into the start of the new year it represents.
While it feels as if we are just surviving the stress relating to our struggles, understanding there is definite purpose within,  creates a hope and an opportunity to trust the One who allows what comes into our lives for reasons that we cannot possibly understand and leaves us marked with scars we will honor as well as experience triumphs we cannot forget.
The degree to which God can use us is the degree to which we trust Him.  We cannot possibly know the outcome of our trials, but we can remember the verse that keeps us focused on the end of our struggle.  Romans 8:28: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.
With each challenge we realize that the world's system is futile.  There is nothing that boasts with any authority of peace or even understanding.  Foolish minds make decisions that have futile consequences and destroy the very essence of what matters or what shows itself true.  When we hope in that system we are disappointed.
Through my own heart, I have grappled with the lack of logic that has at times seemed to prevail in our personal challenges.  I have often wondered why (or perhaps more correctly stated), for how long God would allow evil to have its way.  I have struggled to accept a role of my calling and I have believed God for protection and provision in ways that I honestly KNEW He would sustain and yet it appeared (even through my own eyes at times) that He wasn't paying attention to the degree of necessity for His promises and His character to be accurately reflected within.
I would wrestle with myself, with my lack of belief at times and quickly chastise myself as I would remember that God does allow evil to reign for a time, but ONLY so far as it serves its purposes for which He allows.
I can't take credit for my faith in His love or His power, but I can be thankful and remind myself that I have needed every crumb of that faith for my sustenance.
I look at the world with its efforts of repairing damage that was selfishly created for appearances and I see so clearly the confusion and chaos that man's efforts create.  I wonder why it isn't more obvious to intelligent minds and then I am reminded of James 4:6 which says:  God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.  We may feel like the attacks against our families and our culture and even our world is winning at times, but with the assertion of the little faith we have, if directed solely toward Him and what He is capable of, we will be victorious and redirected toward greater purpose that had we not suffered at all.
Do not give in to the seemingly overpowering efforts that can wreak havoc and destroy hope but focus on the One who has the ultimate power and authority over EVERY aspect that is within our existence...after all He created the mind of the human being and He gave them dominion over the earth and all that is in it.  Genesis 1:27-28 says: So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created He them.  And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.
When the power is misused and the innocent are the victims (which is more often than not the case because of sin), there is no better focus to place your faith other than on the One who gave it in the first place.  When the power that is against us is great, remember that the power that is for us is greater still when we trust Him.  That trust cannot be represented apart from a relationship with Jesus, but when that is in place, those who oppose you WILL be brought down...it is not a matter of if, but when.
As you are living today to begin another year, remember the victory that WILL be yours.  Remember the life that is yet to be lived for greater purpose than you can imagine and remember the power of the One who desires that purpose to unfold through you. Hebrews 1:10-11, a verse that has always come into clear focus through each adversarial proceeding in my life says: "Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness.  No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.  Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."
As you walk this scripture out, knowing His love and purpose for you, think of the opportunity to apply a new attitude to your pain in the new year.  If the oppression comes through the efforts of others, think of Psalm 37:7:  "Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act.  Don't worry (easier said than done ;) about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes." I am living proof of having to push my thoughts away from my tendency to fret about such efforts.  But what I will tell you is that I am also living proof of Lamentations 3:22-24: "The unfailing love of the Lord NEVER ends! By His mercies we have been kept from complete destruction.  Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each day.  I say to myself, "The Lord is my inheritance, therefore, I will hope in Him!"
There is something unmistakeable and unable to be spoken of in words that happens when this becomes reality and you move from your pain to your purpose:  I believe it is because our spirit is in alignment with His and we feel His love which is beyond the ability of human explanation.  There is no other way to know this but through experience...and isn't it just like God that when the pain is so terrific, there is no scene that replaces the one that has been lived out in our heart?
May this new year create a new hope for you.  Regardless of where you are or what you are struggling with, remember Who it is that has the final say, and remember that He is for you, not against you and if He is for us, then who can be against us?  (Romans 8:31)  While the power that can rise against us seems to be relentless, it will end at just the right time and for just the right purpose that will be continued for even greater purpose than we realized before it began.

Looking back upon my journey that left me weary and expectant all at once, I am reminded of a verse I wish I had been more successful in applying and I would encourage you to work at this one above all others:  Psalm 46:10: "Be still and KNOW that I am GOD." If we place our hope exclusively in Him, and apply our energy that is often wasted in worry to this simplistic statement, He will not disappoint that posture of our minds and hearts.  After all, He created our minds as well as our hearts and knows the challenges we have overcoming their natural inclinations.  And when mercy shows itself and grace abounds until, you begin to live your life in a most impactful way that re-energizes your love for Him and your inability to comprehend His love for you.

TO HONOR THE MAN I MARRIED. THIS IS HIM!

A birthday celebration with our best friends tonight for my husband. I do not know of a man alive that lives by his convictions without wavering to the degree that he does, honors the role of husband and provider and ENJOYS making me happy, invests himself 100% with every one of his children, prays for and with his patients daily and searches and researches and asks God for the answers to the missing pieces so that he can further add to his already vast knowledge so that he can help more people...and God gives it to him! I even have watched my husband suffer with a sickness "without answers" or cure...and find healing and a purpose with which he is impacting the WORLD through that same faith in JESUS that continues to lead him, endure other challenges that most would have crumbled under and continue to trust God for what is on the "other side" of the mountain that made those struggles necessary in God's sight. Well friends...we are almost to the other side of the mountain...I will call it PARK CITY :))) I am blessed to be this man's wife and consider my husband HIGHLY FAVORED and loved by God with a special love that I often marvel at. I can't imagine life with ANY ONE else as our strengths and weaknesses are perfectly complementary and our passion for truth and purpose are equally matched as well. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DANNY!!!