Why My Husband Rocks

Today is my husband's birthday so I thought I'd share just a few of my favorite things about him, and why I think he's the cat's pajamas.

In no particular order....

Kyle is patient. Thank goodness, because I can be annoying. He will shake his head yes when he reads this. 

He is a great listener. He can listen (tune me out) while I talk for hours. Although I'm sure it helps that he has damaged hearing in one ear.

 If I'm ever in a survival type situation, I'm sticking close to Kyle. If we were to be stranded on an island, he would have us a shelter made, food, and water set up before the end of the day and would make it seem like an adventure just so I didn't panic. 

He is not afraid of mice.

He takes care of our yard, our dogs, our cars, our bills, and never hardly ever says anything about money when I go shopping. 

He is persistent and doesn't easily give up on things. He has been trying to get me to go to a scary movie with him for 6 years. Still not happening.

He has a great smile and especially a great laugh. When he was deployed, the few times he called I tried to tell him the funniest thing I could think of just to hear him laugh.  It's what I missed the most and the main reason I'll get hearing aids when I"m old. 

My list could go on and on and on, but I will cease there. 

So thankful to share my life with such an amazing man. Happy Birthday, Kyle. 

1st Grade Triumph

* I wrote this blog 2 weeks ago, Oct 7, 2012 and didn't get it posted before my vacation so it's a little late, but here it is:

As a Onelife KIDS 1st grade small group leader, our Sundays are full of energy, questions, dancing,  learning, and loose teeth. Sometimes we have good Sundays and sometimes we have great Sundays. Today was a GREAT Sunday. This is why I love serving in KIDS......

We started a new month, which means a new memory verse to dive into. (1 Timothy 4:12) After an awesome worship time and learning about Timothy's story from the stage, we went back to our small groups to discuss how God made each of us to have a unique story, just like Timothy. At the end of our group time, we all read the memory verse together and had a chance to practice looking up the verse in our bible. One boy was really eager to learn how to look up verses. I took some time to show him in detail how to look up the chapter and verse. I gave him a few other verses to try. After a few practices, he found it with no help and jumped up with both arms in the air, a look of triumph on his face, and shouted "I did it! I know how to look up memory verses in the bible!"  When his parents came to pick him up, he excitedly told them how he was learning to look up verses. 

I love how excited our kids get with everything. I love seeing them grasp a new concept, sharing what they learn, or to see them jumping for joy, making up their own moves, worshipping without a care to what those around them are doing. Our children worship extravagantly, hunger to learn more, and have an unyielding faith that I myself strive to have. They are not "worshippers in waiting" they are "worshippers now" so be sure to take the time to encourage them in their faith and lead them to worship now right where they are.

Our memory verse this month is 1 Timothy 4:12 "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young. Set an example for the believers in what you say and in how you live." 

Using our unique skills

 Today at One Life Church our lesson in KIDS was about the importance of using our unique talents and gifts to work together and do God's work.  (1 Corinthians 12:12-21, 25-27) We talked about how Paul and Timothy worked together to help teach the church in Corinth how important each person's skills and gifts are in serving God. 

It is obvious to Kyle and I, that God designed each of us specifically for each other. When we were first dating, I told my brother and sister that Kyle was as goofy as I was, but they did not believe me. Then one day Kyle was there at my parent's house and started acting his "guard down" kind of normal. I don't remember the specifics, but I"m sure there was embarrassing dancing or weird singing involved.  They looked at me and laughed, knowing that our weirdness was going to work well together. But it's not just the goofy things. Kyle organizes our paperwork in cute little labeled files in our filing cabinet. I couldn't even tell you where I keep (I mean Kyle keeps) my social security card. The list goes on and on. God designed us each uniquely so that our marriage can not just "work", but so that we could experience the best of what God has for us and that we may together work for Him.

It doesn't apply to only marriages, but also to friendships, families, co-workers, life groups, and teams.

It is easy to spot gifts and talents in others. We can easily see when our friends are good listeners, or always have the right words to say. My husband is very level headed, trustworthy, and does not get easily stressed in any situation. My sister is a giver. She rarely thinks of herself and is always taking the backseat so those she loves can be lifted up. My brother is very kind hearted, learns quickly, and thinks carefully about how his actions affects others. For me, it's easy to see where my weaknesses are: I'm easily stressed, anxious, prone to self attention, and put my foot in my mouth constantly. But God gives each of us gifts according to His will and it is important to find that skill, that passion and act upon it.      1 Corinthians 12:7-11

  What gift, big or small, are you holding back on? Do you see an untapped skill or gift in someone else you could encourage?