Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Celebrating our 40th Wedding Anniversary ♡


 "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."
~ Genesis 2:24 ~
One man and one woman in a lifetime commitment.
God never intended for man to be alone ~
"And the Lord God said, "It is not good that man should be alone;
I will make him a help meet for him."
~ Genesis 2:18 ~
The very bone from which woman was crafted came from man.
"And Adam said, 
This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: 
she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man."
~ Genesis 2:23 ~
Woman was taken out of Man, then presented to man in order to complete him.
We were created in the image of God with physical and emotional needs
that only another human being could meet.
It is not good that man should be alone.

♡ ♡ ♡ ☆ ☆ ♡ ♡ ♡

42 years ago on the ski slopes of Vail Colorado
where I was a chair lift operator and my husband was visiting from Canada
we met...and fell in love. 
We believe it was the hand of God that brought us together,
and for 40 years He has kept us together.
We had a long distance relationship for two years before we married
which involved a lot of letter writing, and believe me, 
there was A LOT of snail mail sent both ways. 
Back then there were no cell phones and using a land line was quite costly.
If we phoned at the wrong time of the day it could cost as much as $1.00 a minute.
My husband remembers paying a $120.00 phone bill one time, 
 that was a lot of money back then. Ouch!
For myself, saving up for a long phone call was well worth it,
I was in love. 😍

♡ ♡ ♡ ☆ ☆ ♡ ♡ ♡

A while back I was reading some of A. W. Tozer's collections
and in his book "The Purpose of Man" he spoke on
 "The absolute worth-ship of Christ", he was writing about
"The Lord of All and His Bride."
"Our Lord Jesus Christ came into the world that He might
save us from the ugliness of sin to a beautiful heaven. "
How beautiful are those words A. W. Tozer penned!
"The old Testament gives us the story of a man named Isaac.
His father, Abraham, called for his servant to go find an
acceptable bride for his son (see Genesis 24). 
With the help of the Holy Spirit, that old servant went down into the town Abraham indicated and found a young woman there. 
The Bible pictures her as being very beautiful. 
Her name was Rebekkah and she must have been beautiful, 
because the servant was instructed to find a 
bride that was beautiful to look upon. 
Isaac is a type of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
God the Father sent the Holy Spirit out among the 
people of the world to win a bride for Christ, 
one that was worthy of Him. "
One that was worthy of Him!
What a beautiful picture.
Those words actually took my breath away as I read them,
one that is worthy of Him, sigh...
As a wife, I am constantly asking myself, am I worthy?
Am I honoring the man God has blessed me with?
Am I the help meet God desires of me to be
each and every day of our lives together?
Daily in great humility I bow before the throne of God,
seeking His face as a wife, for I long for nothing else but Thee
as I strive to be first, worthy of God, then worthy of my husband.
Without God in my life, it would be extremely difficult
to be the wife I so desire to be. 
It is only by the grace of God that I am who I am.  
"The bride's significance was to rest in the groom.
She has no worth of her own, but her worth lies in her
relationship to the groom. Jesus Christ is the groom
and is worthy of our love, adoration and joyful worship.
Rebekkah was merely the daughter of her father.
But, when she was taken to Isaac, she took on a new identity-the identity
of her groom."
A picture we all know that comes with marriage,
the taking of our husband's name, such an honor to him!
Our identity is now in our groom.
"Our identity is now in our Groom. The past identity is now forgotten, 
with all its obligations. Our Groom is now our identity, 
and nothing in our past matters anymore. 
The bride not only takes on the identity of the  groom 
but also his name as well. She is now forever known by that name. 
The Groom Shepherd is worthy of our affection
and is deserving of us leaving everything and 
embracing Him as our own."
I found this to be such a beautiful picture, both in my 
marriage to my wonderful husband
and in the marriage of Christ and his bride. 
This isn't a new story to me ~ but knowing that our Wedding  Anniversary
was just around the corner it found its way into my heart
and touched those heart strings in a very special way. 



If I were to say it's been 40 wonderful years of BLISS I would be lying to you, 
and to God. 
But I can say,  that these past 40 years have been beautiful
because God has been there orchestrating the both of us
in our lives together as husband and wife. 
As Christ-followers, by faith we press forward in our daily lives together
knowing God will lead and guide us,
and by faith we believe He will never leave nor abandon us.
My husband is a steady man who loves the Lord, and because of his love for the Lord 
he is a wonderful husband whom I am honored to love and respect
until death do us part. 
♡♡

"But she that is married careth for the things of the world,
how she may please her husband."
~ 1 Corinthians 7:34 ~

Take Joy!
Debbie

Wishing you all a blessed Easter Resurrection Sunday,
as you celebrate the victory that has been won
through our loving Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Hallelujah ~ what a Savior!

31 comments:

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Happy 40th Anniversary! A beautiful post about marriage between husband and wife and one between believers in Jesus and His church bride.

Being a widow, & believing that Jesus is now my husband, this part really touched my heart ~ "Our identity is now in our Groom. The past identity is now forgotten, with all its obligations. Our Groom is now our identity, and nothing in our past matters anymore."

Have a lovely Easter ~ FlowerLady

Sandi said...


"We believe it was the hand of God that brought us together..."

Amen
Amen....

Marriage is a blessing.


Kerin said...

Sending warm and Happy Anniversary wishes!
What a testament to love and devotion you both are; wishing you many many more anniversaries to celebrate together.

~K.

p.s. Our anniversary is tomorrow! April is a great month for weddings:)

Debby Ray said...

Happy 40th Anniversary to you and your dear husband, Debbie! What a beautiful portrait you have painted here of what marriage is meant to be. May you enjoy many more happy years together! HUGS!

Marilyn @ MountainTopSpice said...

Happy 40th anniversary Debbie! Such an incredible milestone to achieve! You painted such a beautiful picture of the loving relationship our Lord has given us of how marriage is to be, and I enjoyed hearing Tozer's eloquent thoughts on the matter. Beautiful picture of the two of you both on your wedding day and now... I think you've both gotten more lovely with time :) Truly tis the grace, mercy and love of our Lord that keeps marriage the beautiful thing it was meant to be. May the Lord bless you both and give you many many more years together! Much love to you sweet friend!

Roosterhead Designs said...

Oh Debbie, Happy Anniversary to you and your husband! Wishing you a beautiful season and time together~ God bless you both <3 Love, karen o

Evelyn Bray said...

Happy 40th Debbie dear! Beautiful words! I hope you are having a wonderful spring! We have been incredibly busy, and it isn't over yet, but hopefully soon.

Regina said...

Happy Anniversary to you two! What a sweet picture!

Brenda said...

Happy anniversary Debbie and husband. Whom God has brought together let no man put asunder. My husband and myself are complete opposites but it works. I always say that if Merlyn was in charge of the finances we would be broke, but if I was in charge of the car it would not start. :-)

Rose L said...

Congratulations and blessings to you both!

Stephanie said...

Happy 40th Anniversary to you and dad! This was such a beautiful post and I was greatly touched by your heartfelt words. You and dad are a precious couple and I am ever so glad the Lord brought the two of you together. I hope you have a wonderful day and I hope you are blessed with many more years together.

I love you both!

Elizabethd said...

What a delightful post, Debbie. Congratulations on your 40th, we reach that in December!

Creations By Cindy said...

Happy 40th anniversary to you both! Love this post and such a precious heart felt one at that. You both are truly an inspiration to what it means to persevere and to take your vow serious. My granny used to say, "Baby, a marriage is a lot like a car. Every now and then you have to fine tune some things to keep it working right". I didn't realize that in those few words was a whole heap of wealth. Enjoy life together and enjoy it to the fullest dear Debbie. Hugs and blessings, Cindy

Ruth Hiebert said...

Happy Anniversary to you. Each year ,indeed, each day together with the one you love, is a blessing.

Joyful said...

What a beautiful post Debbie. The happiest of anniversaries to you and your husband. Life is so much better when God is in it. xx

Anne Payne said...

This blessed my heart! You have eloquently stated the preciousness of our relationship with our husbands and ultimately that of our Heavenly Husband. I, too, am blessed to have a godly man to share my life with. All praise and glory to God our Father!!!

Granny Marigold said...

Warm anniversary wishes to you both. That's a lovely photo.
Thank you for the Easter wishes; may your Easter also be blessed.

Lauren @ My Wonderfully Made said...

What a wonderful post Debbie! 40 years - no small feat in today's world!! It is such a struggle to be a godly wife according to what God has called us to so these reminders of us as the Bride of Christ are so important. Happy Anniversary!!

My Tata's Cottage said...

Happy anniversary! Such a wonderful milestone. we celebrate 35 years on May 3. Going to stay close to home and do some local things. We are planning a trip to California because Rebekah thinks it is sad her daddy has never seen the ocean.
I Am always grateful for your friendship and now I know about your courtship with your hubby. I love hearing love stories. One of my favorites comes from Sue at Collect In Texas. Her hubby waited for her to turn 18 and they ran off to Mexico and got married. I think it was so romantic and so daring. All these years later they are still married. God is good, very good. My good friend Karen turned 65 on the 14th. She has also been married forever to the love of her life.
I Am happy to be here and say Happy Anniversary and many more for you two. Have a beautiful and blessed day.
I am rereading some Elisabeth Elliot and praying for our world. Hugs xo LOVE xo

Carla from The River said...

Happy Anniversary .. thank you for sharing your A.W. Tozer collections with us. I enjoyed.

Have a blessed Easter week,
Carla

hobbyloes said...

Congratulations on your 40th wedding anniversary, what a milestone.
Beautiful photos of you together, both from the past and from now.
Wish you both all the best and blessings.

kitty@ Kitty's Kozy Kitchen said...

Happy 40th Anniversay 💕 To both of you! It was so special to read this post, my friend, and to see the pictures. Happy Easter blessings to you, too!

Lowcarb team member said...

A lovely post.
Sending many Happy Anniversary wishes to you.

All the best Jan

Amelia said...

Happy Anniversary and God's Blessings! So wonderful! You have a lovely family Debbie.

Marriage is a blessing, I think especially as we grow older into middle age and beyond. We've been married for almost 39 years and oh how we've had some time to rub some rough edges smooth! lol

I hope you are having a sweet, peaceful Easter Sunday as we meditate our Precious Lord Jesus.

<3 ~Amelia

Pamela M. Steiner said...

Congratulations on your 40th Anniversary! So very happy for you! That is a wonderful blessing...to have lived and loved with the love of your life for 40 years...we know that God has been honored by your faithfulness. Thank you for sharing this with us. May God bless you with many more happy years together!!

shayndel said...

Congratulations on your 40th Anniversary!! Your post is beautiful, and such a beautiful expression of love between you and your husband!! How special and precious!! Praise God for bringing you both together, and for your heart of Love and thankfulness to Him. All the scriptures you shared are beautiful and the connections in scripture about the Bride and Bridegroom. Wishing you many many more precious years together, deepening in joy and love! God Bless you! ♡

Kelly @ Homespuns 'n Hayfields said...

Hi Debbie, I am so sorry that I missed your special anniversary. I hope it was a very special day as the two of you deserve it. I remember Randy receiving many letters from you and having many photos of you across the long desk/table in his bedroom. I knew he was hooked! Love Kelly.

Margie said...

What a sweet love story. Congratulations on your ruby anniversary. Here's to another 40 years!

Tanza Erlambang said...

Happy 40th Anniversary!...
So great that you have lovely families

Debbie Nolan said...

I know I am late Debbie - but happy 40th anniversary. I certainly hope you celebrated this special achievement. Hubby and I have been married in June for 42 years. Looks like God blessed us both. Have a super day. Hugs!

Mrs. Laura Lane said...

This is a wonderful witness!
It's encouraging to read of the faithful long marriages in spite of troubles.
My Lowell and I will be married 33 years this May.
I love the way you related it all to the Bible and to Jesus.
God bless!
Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage

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