A shout out to the amazing husbands out there!

5 years ago my husband was hit by a car on his motorcycle and suffered some pretty major injuries that required 2 reconstructive surgeries. Doctors told him he only had 50% chance of walking unassisted again and that he'd be in near constant pain for the rest of his life.

Not very encouraging and most guys would have just given up right then and there. But not my guy. He was walking unassisted 4 months after the accident and while he's in pain much of the time, he continues to work and does his best to enjoy his life. He works so hard and takes good care of his family and most importantly he keeps God at the forefront of all he does.

I probably don't tell him or show him often enough how much I appreciate him an all he does for us. After 21 years of marriage I cannot imagine my life without him. He's been a part of my life for more than half of my life. He's supported me, encouraged me, and loved me when I was feeling completely unlovable.

He's my hero and I love him dearly. Thank you, sweetie, for all you do.

And thank you to all the husbands out there who treat their wives with dignity and respect, who love their wives and kids with every breath, who take 1 Corinthians 13 literally.

1 If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Be His voice, His hands, His feet...His love

Six months ago my cousin, and one of my dearest friends, passed away from a terrible illness. And while I knew she was sick, her death was sudden and unexpected and a shocking tragic loss that still leaves me reeling six months later. She and I spoke on the phone nearly every day and we spoke the day before she was life flighted to the hospital, two days before she died. I grew up with her, the daughter of one of my mom's younger sisters, and we were buddies. I miss her every single day and sometimes still expect to see her name pop up on my phone when it rings.

A few days after she passed away, I heard a song on the radio that reduced me to a sobbing mess. Unfortunately I was in the car, but thankfully my daughter was driving so we were okay. But the song- Beautiful by Mercy Me- was a song that my cousin needed to hear while she was alive, a song that maybe would have encouraged her, and reminded her that she was loved by her Maker even when she was feeling unloved by those around her. The song hit me so hard I had to find a copy of the album it was on so I could listen to it when I was thinking of her and I could cry and grieve and remember her for the beautiful soul she was.

Well, also on this same album is a song that I've been listening to a lot lately. It's called Won't You Be My Love. And this song goes hand in hand with the other one in that our world is so full of desperately hurting, desperately sick people who need Jesus and they need to be reminded of His love for them. And we, as God's children, need to be the voice of Christ telling the hurting that He loves them. We need to be His hands healing them. We need to be His feet walking to a broken world. We've been charged with THE Great Commission. The greatest task anyone can be given- GO into all the world and spread the message of God's love, Christ's sacrifice, His redemption. GO. Jesus didn't say sit and pray about it- although prayer is important for knowing where He wants us- but Jesus said GO! Get up off your backside and GO!

GO to your neighbor's house. GO across town and witness to a lonely old person in the nursing home. GO to the jail or prison and be a friend to the friendless. GO 3 states over and help a tornado hit community. GO overseas and be a blessing to someone who has never heard the name of Jesus before.

GO!

Beautiful by Mercy Me

Won't You Be My Love by Mercy Me

This one's for you Lizzie- my sweet cousin. You are beautiful, you are loved, you are missed.