Last week Dana and I celebrated our 2-year wedding anniversary! We were on vacation at a resort in Oklahoma with her family, but after a day on her father’s farm, we had some time to relax and reflect on our two years of marriage. Our journey started out with a lot of big transitions all at once. Most people usually advise against such big changes all at once on a marriage that is only a couple months old, but looking back we can see the Lord’s hand in it all — it was exactly what we needed to solidify our marriage and commitment to each other.

Throughout the years I’ve grown to not only love Dana more and more, but to appreciate many things about her (in no particular order).

1. She helps remind me that my relationship with God comes before anything else. Not only by asking me about it, but by setting an example. Often I come to bed at night to find her reading her Bible or asking to do devotions together when I’m preoccupied with something less important (which is everything at that point).

2. She loves youth ministry! As long as I’ve known her she’s been serving teenagers in church ministries, both as the paid leader and as a volunteer. She does very well in both roles and is one of the best small group leaders I’ve ever seen. Her passion for her jr. high girls is very contagious. Often we go to orchestra concerts and games together at her initiative.

3. One look at my desk will prove very decisively that I’m not the most organized person in the world. I lose important papers, toss things on the floor, and hate doing administrative work. However, Dana actually excels in these areas. I don’t know where I’d be without her!

4. She is always 100% supportive of me and all my dreams and ideas for youth ministry, even when other people have their doubts. She listens intently, prays with me, and most importantly, prays for me all the time.

5. Many times I’ve brought paperwork home from the church office for Dana to do for me, which she does gladly. She’s so much better at balancing budget sheets and organizing supply lists than I am. Plus, then it actually gets done on time, which makes me look good.

6. She thinks I’m funny (sometimes)! Even when I try to be funny and am totally not, she at least roles her eyes and gives me a smile that’s something a bit more than a sympathy laugh.

7. I’m excited about having children one day because she’s going to be the world’s best super-mom. She has a degree in Elementary Education and loves teaching children. My kids are gonna be the smartest kids in the world and it’s not because they have a smart daddy.

8. Dana works hard to keep herself in shape for me. She works out, reads health books and tries to eat right, not because she likes exercise and nutrition (she hates it!), but because she loves me and understands that, like all men, I am physically oriented. And it pays off. She’s hot! (Hold on, I’ll brb…)

9. Dana is incredibly fun! She likes some nerdy computer stuff, many of the same TV shows I enjoy, and she’ll kick your butt in Halo and most other Xbox games. She even wrestles me in our living room, but always looses no matter what moves I try to teach her. (We differ on country music, though. Ugh, it’s awful!)

10. When Dana and I were first married, I did all of the cooking because she didn’t know how. But now, two years later, she’s digging out cookbooks and creating some great meals for us! I know she does it because she loves me, not because I made her sick too many times.

If you’re interested, my wife blogs at A Child of God Educating Other Children. You can also follow her on Twitter.

Posted on July 29, 2008