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"Who can find a virtuous wife?
For her worth is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
So he will have no lack of gain."
(Proverbs 31:10-11)
While reading Proverbs 31 a few days ago, I was once again reminded of my wife, Ashley. She is my best friend and truly the best person I have ever met. God has blessed me to know her for 36 years and to be married to her for almost 34 years. We met while students in college and married when she was 20 and I was 21-years old. After our honeymoon to Gatlinburg, TN, we moved to Fort Worth, TX, where I enrolled at Southwestern Seminary. For the first nine years of our married life, I was a full-time seminary student. Also, during that time, we served our first church and had all three of our children. I get tired just thinking about those years, but what wonderful years they were. I would not change a thing! Proverbs 18:22 says, "He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD."
Today, Ashley and I are visiting the Dallas / Fort Worth area and will appear on a live television show: the Marcus and Joni Show on Daystar Television. When the producer asked me a couple weeks ago if Ashley would like to be on the show with me, I told him that I would ask her, but she may not want to do it. Ashley is much more comfortable being behind the scenes. But I am so glad she said yes! The show will air LIVE on Daystar today, February 4th, from 11:00 a.m. until noon (Central Time) and will also be shown again at 8:00 p.m. CST and midnight CST. You can watch on Daystar or online at Daystar.com/live!
Marcus and Joni will be asking us questions and also talking about my new book, For the One. They have also asked me to close the program out by preaching the Word of God. I look forward to this and ask that you please pray for us. Would you stop and pray even now for God to use me to preach His Word with both passion and compassion?
Is your spouse your best friend? I believe that is the way it should be. If I were to be asked, "What is the secret to having a blessed marriage that lasts over three decades?" I would say these things: Put Jesus first; put your spouse's needs above your own; pray for each other and with each other every day; talk about everything (yes, communication is vital); and finally, have fun by going places and doing things that you both enjoy.
Ashley, as you read this devotional today, I just want to say, I love you dearly and would do this life all over again with you if I had the chance.
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