Today I have 2 special wishes. Well, it is the same wish but it is for 2 different people. The wish is Happy Birthday! Not just a happy birthday, but a blessed one as well. The wish goes out to 2 very special ladies in my life. The wish goes out to my wife and to my oldest grand-daughter. For my wife the number is not important, and no matter what the number is she just keeps getting better. For my grand-daughter it is number 10! I know she is proud of her number and I can’t believe she has left single digits behind forever.

These 2 ladies have many things in common. Obviously they share a birthday. They are also both passionate about their love for Jesus. They both have infectious laughs that make you smile. Their smiles show up significantly in their eyes. I love to watch their eyes. They both love others fiercely and have a way of encouraging others in special ways. They both love to give to others. They both are as cute as can be, that’s right I just called my wife cute, because she is cute. They both are beautiful on the outside and in spirit. They both contribute so much more to others than they realize.

I will be able to spend my wife’s day with her as we are at a retreat together. I will not be able to spend any time with my grand-daughter on, or near, her birthday for the second straight year. You see my grand-daughter, her parents and siblings are all being obedient to the call of Christ serving as missionaries in Kenya. I am so proud of her and the young woman of God that she is becoming.

Another thing they both have in common is that I have a hard time adequately expressing how much I love them.
My wife very obviously changed my life completely when she entered it. She has made me so much better and has helped me to follow Christ in a much more passionate way. She challenges me with her love of the Word and her desire to know it more and live it better. She is my greatest cheerleader and encourages me regularly. I cannot imagine my life without her.

My grand-daughter has changed my life as well, but in a much different way. Before her arrival I had 3 grandsons. I love them and they are awesome, but she was the first grand-daughter and that was a very special thing. I was now looking at different toys for Christmas, I was shopping in an unfamiliar section of the clothing store. I began to play different games when she was around and I began to look at boys her age with a very suspicious eye. She began a revolution in our family. I will soon have 9 grandchildren and the count will be 5 boys and 4 girls. The girls are catching up, and it all started with her.

So I take this time to wish a very special and blessed birthday to 2 very special ladies in my life.

Dennis