This morning I’m taking a moment to thank our Lord for a very special man in my life, my husband. He has become a prime example to me of being Jesus with skin on. We have had a hard year and a half emotionally, financially and physically as we adjusted our family to our RV life style on the road and through it all, my husband has been always encouraging us on keep our eyes on Christ. He daily reminds us to rejoice in the day the Lord has made. God has led him on a path some may not approve of, as each job position has been humbler in stature by the world’s standards, but higher in God’s kingdom (to me). It has brought our family closer and has grown my husband more and more in his walk with the Lord. He has taken each job and done it to his best as if working for God and not for man. He left a lucrative and satisfying position in the ship simulation industry where he oversaw many people and had much responsibility to a position that was less than half his salary to teach high school math. This was at a time when we thought he was to pursue a career in the medical field and had taken all those courses at night at the local college but at the final hour God steered him in a different direction…to teach high school. He is a quiet man and this was definitely out of his comfort zone to stand in room full of 42 teenagers to teach Algebra 1. Yet God sustained him. He felt his mission field was the students. He not only impacted students’ lives but affected fellow teachers as well. He taught well, was fair, compassionate and well respected. When he eventually left teaching, both students and teachers let him know how he had managed to affect their own walks. God’s fragrance was present.

When God let him know it was indeed time to leave there, and provided yet another job for him in a totally different field from which his education had been in, he again obeyed. As usual, my husband gave it  100 percent, bringing value to the business and blessing his employer with integrity, hard work and his employer having some one he could trust. God used that time to refresh his batteries and to decompress after teaching in high stress mode those years. God’s fragrance was present yet again.

Then the position to travel with DMD Consultants was presented to us. A lifelong dream of his had been to take the family and travel the country in an RV but to do so and still provide an income had been an issue. After much prayer and guidance, we chose to step out in faith. And yet again, God’s fragrance has been present. God has blessed the work of dh’s hands and the relationships He has placed in our lives as a result of this job.

I have seen him handle tense situations with fairness and grace. That’d when he’s being my example of Jesus with skin on. Difficult people, all walks of life he treats the same, with dignity and fairness. Never saw him lose his temper with certain people whom I probably would have. (Now of course he has gotten upset with me and the kids at times.) Overall, he practices what he preaches. I’ve seen him go from behind a desk job to that of a laborer working with his hands outside all day. He doesn’t complain or fuss about what the world thinks. Just works hard for the Lord in all he does. I so admire his walk, how he truly loves Jesus and wants to please Him in all he does. It shows. The aroma of Christ can be noticed wherever he has been.

So thank you my dear husband. Thank you for your walk with the Lord and how you live out your faith. Thank you that despite all the hard times we have been going through, you haven’t given up your faith in the God you serve. Thank you for always being such a good husband to me, encouraging me when I feel overwhelmed and not judging me when I fall. Thank you for listening all those time I cried and not trying to fix me but just letting me grieve and helping me keep my eyes on God. Thank you for always encouraging the kids and showing them a better way to handle situations they are dealing with rather than just tell them what they are doing wrong. Thank you for always taking time out to address the situations as they come up instead of saying 'I’m too busy' when we know how full your plate is. Thank you for being such a positive example of faith and patience and love to all of us. I get a glimpse of our heavenly Father’s love through the example you set. Thanks for being human, not perfect, but an example of God’s mercy and grace by the fact that whenever you fall down or make mistakes, you get up and make your course corrections and keep moving. You are a wonderful husband and father. You are a great captain as your maritime experience has proven, technician, project manager, teacher, wetlands mitigation specialist (1 yr) and now hydrant man. But most of you are a great man to us and we love you very much.

Happy birthday!

"Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31

Happy birthday to David (dh’s cousin born just hours apart), to Bob F. (our dear friend in NC), Bill B. (our former neighbor)

Seems like a lot of special people were born on this day!