Happy 13th Birthday, Marriage!

...because an anniversary is really a one-word way of celebrating the birth of a marriage. And ours is 13 today. We got married at sunset on Mexico City Beach, FL. We wrote our own vows. We washed each other's feet. We served communion. Craig wore half a tux (tails top with shorts on bottom), and my Mom made my dress.

And we choose to be committed to one another every day. In the name of Jesus, in the name of love, in the name of family...

THIS is our secret to a happy marriage.

Here's what we said to each other that day. And what we've said in our hearts every day since.

Throughout our covenant with the Lord, I vow

to kneel as one before the throne in humble obedience to the hand of the Lord,

to be wholly devoted to you, serving to cover you as a faithful vessel that pours out rivers of life unto you,

to halve your sorrows and double your joys,

to love you on the heights of the mountains and in the depths of the valleys,

to remain by your side as we wander through the wildnerness and walk on the water,

to bind Satan from our life all our days together...

until our journey leads us Home.