My wonderful wife turns 40 on Sunday. I have some special surprises in store for her. One of the surprises is a bunch of encouraging notes from those who visit my blog from time to time. So would you consider typing an encouraging comment to her below? I’ll print them all out and let her read them at her party (not a surprise party…she hates those.)
For those of you who don’t know Debbie let me share with you a few things about this wonderful woman.
…she has survived being married to me for 17 years (I’m not the easiest person on the planet to live with…does that shock you?)
…she is a 5th grade public school teacher. Her kids, their parents and the other teachers at her school absolutely adore her. She is the kind of teacher you remember for the rest of your life. She loves her 5th graders and sees herself in as an ambassador of the love of God on her campus.
…she holds down the fortress on my many, many road trips. She drops off both kids before 7:20 am in two different places every school day to be able to make it to her school in time. She makes breakfast, packs lunches, cooks dinner, cleans the house, works with Jeremy on his homework and puts him and Kailey to bed at night, only to start the routine over the next day…all by herself. Of course, when I’m home I help…but she said that when I’m home it’s like having a third kid (?!)
I remember the first time I met her at Colorado Christian University. I saw this beautiful, big haired (it was the 80’s) redhead and approached her to get some, um, prayer requests from her. I said, “What’s your name?” She said, “I’m Debbie.” I said, “I’m Greggie.” (yes, I actually said that.)
Strike one.
But I re-approached her later and was finally able to get her to say yes to go out on a date. After our second date I asked for a commitment to “go steady.” She said, “no way.”
Strike two.
But, finally, after almost four years of dating we got married.
Homerun!
What is Debbie like? She is sweet yet strong. She is humble, self-effacing and much more concerned about other people’s welfare than her own. She loves animals and probably would work for PETA if she wasn’t married to me. When she asks, “How are you doing?” she really wants to know. She is the one person constantly reminding me to love others, not to be so dogmatic about everything and to take time to listen, smell the roses and all that stuff that I’m not naturally good at. This wonderfully sweet woman, who normally wouldn’t argue with anyone else, wins every single argument with me, every single time.
Debbie is God’s gift to me…and to you. Why to you? Because I guarantee some of the changes that have happened over the years at Dare 2 Share are as a result of her gentle and sometimes, not so gentle, prodding.
Would you type a note of encouragement to her for her 40th birthday celebration? She has sacrificed much more than I have so that a generation of teenagers could be equipped to reach their generation for Jesus. Your thoughtful note would mean a lot to her.
