Happy Anniversary

I guess you could say this has been the longest and best anniversary trip that Shelly and I have ever taken. I can't begin to tell you how much I've enjoyed the time having her to myself!

Shelly is my best friend. I'm thankful for all of our years together. And on this journey, we have had time to truly be together. We have enjoyed times of reading to each other, then reading on our own--side by side. We've walked together--tons. We've cooked together, gone out together, and visited long-lost friends together. We've learned together and studied together, then dreamed about our ministry with our friends back at Parkview. We've thought about our marriage's next chapters. And, on top of it all, next week we set out on a tour of biblical sites, mostly ones we've not seen before.

Tomorrow, October 27, is the thirty-first anniversary of our wedding. We will be with the highlights of our lives together--our two children, our son-in-law and grand-daughter. (After five weeks in Europe, their presence has been so welcomed. And tomorrow we will go back to Rome with them for a day and a half of sight-seeing before sending them back home.)

It just seemed appropriate to share my gratefulness for my marriage and my love for my wife here. I've stepped-away, but thank God, not run-away.

Remember, you can see pictures of our times here at Shelly's blog: http://www.michelehayes.wordpress.com