| Happy 30th Birthday :)

Welcome to thirty, love. I will always take moments like these to remind you of the undeniable truth, God took his time on you. Your kindness. Your gentleness. Your free spirit. Your desire to offer space for the stories of others to be honored and known. Your desire to be fully, authentically known without shame. Your consistency in writing out your thoughts and intentionally seeking closeness with the Father. Your pace. Your beauty inside and out. Your sense of humor. Your craving for adventure. Your love for small towns. Your ability to cook and demonstrate hospitality. Your calm demeanor. Your belly laugh. Your unrelenting desire to be a loving wife. Your commitment to surrounding yourself with God-fearing women who pour into you. Your hopefulness and excitement about starting our little tribe.

Once again, may I remind you - He took His time on you.

To be your husband is an honor. It is a gift. It is evidence that the strategic nature of God is alive and well.

While I would have loved to take you out shopping, get you a pup, or take you on a spontaneous vacation - I felt that it would be appropriate to gift you something that I pray serves as a sacred place for you to document and express every thought, message, or lesson the Lord places upon your heart. My hope is that this can be a place of self-expression for you alone and hey, if other people begin to find value from your writings over time (which I trust they will), praise God.

You are a writer at heart - since you initially started journaling as a teen through the early college years when you intended to go to school for journalism. Even though God had different intentions for your career path, it is evident that your ability to create a narrative and articulate human emotions and experiences is instilled within you. At thirty years old and because of the redemptive journey He has been guiding you through in recent years, I felt that this could be a place for you to begin publishing your writings, your discoveries, and your experiences of finding freedom in Him.

You deserve so, so much. You deserve everything that has come to you thus far and you deserve everything that is coming ahead. I hope you know how much I love you and want to see you prosper in the gifts and strengths the Lord has blessed you with. I also hope you know how much friends and family are delighted by your presence. I love you.

Ryan

Psalm 23: 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.