On July 1, 1989 I married my best friend...and through the good times and the not so good times God has always been there for us...even when we did not give him a second thought!

I remember at our wedding ceremony Pastor Bob Norton prayed a prayer over us that God would give us just enough success and just enough failures to keep our hands clenched tightly in His! There was much more to that prayer, but that is the part I remembered through the years as we journeyed through life's ups and downs!

We did not give God a second thought after our wedding for 8 more years, but God was always there for us, <(click here if you are interested in reading our testimony of how we came to faith in Christ) and I believe He was there for us in part because of the pastors prayer over us that day 20 years ago!

This picture was taken a few days after we met August of 1988

I love you so very much Mark Stevens and I look forward to the rest of our life together!!! I am so thankful that it must have been in the Lords plan that you are still here with us, as all that you went through with your health in the past few months especially, could have been so much worse. I am also proud of you for who you are in spite of all you've been through in your life!

WOW! I have no clue who this guy is or where he came from, but he is someone to watch that is for certain!!!

Watch this video...

Part 1

Part 2

And this video

The Amputee

 Back here I mentioned to you about some of the friends Mark was making while he was at Health South for his rehabilitation from his 'stroke'. Well today we went to visit his occupational health, dominoes game playing buddy, Joe partly because we absolutely love him and his wife,Rose (Joe and Rose have been marrried for 57 years I might add) and partly because Joe called Mark this morning crying as he was feeling down in the dumps about having to go in again for another surgery as he is having problems with his leg due to a drug interaction so he has to go back in for another surgery next week.

This afternoon we put together a gift basket of tea, creamed honey, jams, and crumpets (from Trader Joe's...yum they are good!) and a small plant for his wife Rose. They were happy and surprised to see us...and we had a blessed time hanging out with them and getting to know them even more for a good couple of hours today.

Here are some pictures from today:

Mark & Joe (yeah don't ask...Mark dyed his hair blue again...lol) .

Joe's wife, Rose (hiding) and their good friend Gene. Gene has an amazing voice, and he sang 'I'll Fly Away' for us today...he plays in a gospel band and does so at several local nursing homes...I could listen to him sing all day!

And a picture of Gene showing us his favorite photo of Joe from when he was 22 years old and a young magician.

Genes wife Charlene

We had a nice time and plan on spending more time with them in the future...if you wouldn't mind can you please be in prayer for Joe as he deals with some difficult emotions concerning having to go in for his second surgery next Tuesday!

"Philip went off to look for Nathanael and told him, 'We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.' 'Nazareth!' exclaimed Nathanael. 'Can anything good come from there?'  'Just come and see for yourself,' Philip said." John 1:45-46

Here's something that's often overlooked; you don't have to get rid of all your doubts before you can come to Jesus. Jesus was never offended by anyone's questions or doubts.

Admitting you have honest doubts is different than saying you won't believe. "Christ never failed to distinguish between doubt and unbelief. Doubt is can't believe; unbelief is won't believe. Doubt is honest; unbelief is obstinacy. Doubt is looking for light; unbelief is content with darkness." John Drummond (1851-1897) 

 "Doubt your doubts before you doubt your beliefs." Mark Martin