My Valentine (yes, a few days late, so what!)

I am continually humbled by the fact that God answered my prayers for my husband. Graham has always been a good man, but now he is a New Man. I am not an emotional girl, but my heart seriously overflows with gratefulness, unworthiness, and a deep desire that all marriages can be genuinely rooted in God. I write not to boast in Graham, but to boast only in the Lord, who had mercy on us both.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

2 Corinthians 5:17

The new man leads his family to church. He models the love of Jesus. He does not seek his own glory. The new man asks for forgiveness when he is wrong. He extends mercy to his wife when she fails. He leads his daughter in prayer when she is afraid. The new man encourages his son to seek God and not the things of this world. He sets the Word of God as his standard. The new man runs to the peace of God, not the temorary escape of this world. He loves to guide conversations to God, and enjoys the company of like-minded friends and family. The new man encourages his wife to feed her spirit, not her flesh (which, honestly, she would rather not hear, lol). He realizes his own stength is not enough, and knows he is nothing without Christ. He inspires little children to be passionate about the Lord, and feels compassion for the lost. The new man humbles himself before the Lord, and does not apologize for his sensitivity to the Spirit. He worships the Lord for his handiwork, and stands in awe of the one true God. He cries out for a pure heart, and knows this world is not his home. The new man realizes that God's ways are much higher than his own, and is willing to go against the flow in obedience to Him. He admits when he has stepped outside of God's will, and feels repentant for doing so. He devours the Word for wisdom, passionate about storing it in his heart. The new man does not seek wealth from this world, but desires to store up treasures in heaven. He doesn't always get it right, but ultimately knows that his Victory is in the Lord. The new man sees with His eyes, tries to be God's hands, and loves unconditionally. He plans with diligence, pursues righteousness, craves unity, wants more than anything to see His glory known. He is my Psalm 1 man. And I, I am learning to lean on him as God's covering for me, and I love him much more than I can express.

Graham and I are loving this song lately. Our praise team sings it at church, and they do an awesome job of it. And now they play Michael W. Smith's version of it on Klove all the time. We can't get enough of it. The lyrics are powerful. You can't hear it and not worship Him. My God is mighty to save, Author of my salvation. He conquered the grave! He is the hope of the nations. He takes me as I am, all my stinkin' fears and failures. I love the end of the song, picturing that one of these days we really will be gathered around His throne, all of us, all nations, singing for the glory of the Risen King.

Zephaniah 3: 16-17 "Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."