Happy Mother's Day

She may not be my momma, but as long as we've been together, I sure know a whole lot about her...


I know that after 12+ years of being a mother, she still loves to make her kids' birthday cakes....


I also know that she has created countless costumes over the years...and has even learned the art of recycling (Elizabeth is the 1st Kiss and Emma is the 2nd).

I also know that G*d made Joanna to be a mother ... and it all started with Elizabeth Ashley almost 13 years ago.

Noah came into the mix almost 10 years ago. I know that he and his mom have a special bond ... and I'm already praying that she is the standard G*d plants in his heart should He bring a wife into his life someday.

I also know about a little girl named Emma Catherine. G*d brought Emma into her life ... and the joy and laughter that this "bundle of pink" gives her mother is a gift straight from heaven.

As our family has grown over the years, the one constant that remains is a mother who loves her children without condition. Joanna continues to set aside her own desires in order to be the wife and mother that G*d has called her to be. I marvel at the way she teaches her children educationally day in and day out. I am astonished that she wrote a Bible study this past school year that was designed specifically for them. Our kids are normal kids who argue with their siblings and talk back to their parents ... but they have learned to have a deep respect for other people and have developed a compassion for those less fortunate. They enjoy their things, but they have learned that "stuff" is not a substitute for happiness and cannot be placed above G*d. Yes, this awareness came from G*d ... but they have also learned from their mother who is a shining example of what it means to serve others rather than be served. They have learned by watching their mother give up things in order to follow after the things of G*d. Joanna will cringe when she reads this as she will be the first to tell you that she is a broken vessel with many faults. What I will tell you is that G*d doesn't require perfection ... He requires obedience and how blessed I am as her husband to witness our children benefit from their mother's obedience as she daily empties herself and walks with the Lord. As her husband, I am blessed to call her wife ... and best friend. I love you, Joanna!!

Proverbs 31:28a - "Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her."