Tonight Karen and I celebrate 26 years of marriage. Wow - I never thought I'd live this long or experience this much in life, and in the middle of it all has been Karen.

What a grace-gift Karen is to me. Who could have foreseen a fraction of all the adventures we'd experience when we said our vows to one another? It's easy to love someone who gives you so much life. She has covered my backside and done more to speak life into me than anyone else alive.

I was even more of a knucklehead back when we fell in love and somehow, she decided to take me anyway. People always tell me she's my better half, and I think to myself, "Duh! Tell me something I don't know."

I love her laugh and her way with people. I love the way she wakes up slow in the morning and I love the way she's going to be mad at me for posting this only slightly mushy stuff in a public forum.

God may have loved me so much that he sent Jesus to die for my sins, but after thinking about it some more, he sent Karen as a down payment on his promise of abundant life. We have skipped down beaches together, watched sunsets on almost every continent, thrown parties, counseled, and dreamed countless dreams. We're almost done raising our five children and most of them consider her one of their top friends. She holds that distinction with so many people - it's a gift.

So now we're plotting what comes next. Watch out world, the best is yet to come.