Ten

Happy 10th Anniversary Erin!

(Yes, this is Michael's Occasional Hacking into Erin's Blog)

Ten Things I Have Learned about Erin During Our Ten Years of Marriage

1. Grace: Erin has extended me much grace over the years, teaching me about God's mercy and grace despite my inadequacies and sin. She forgives so quickly.

2. Selflessness: Time and time again, Erin has served me selflessly, often putting up with a lot with me being in school for all 10 years of our marriage!

3. Sacrifice: Erin sacrifices daily by being a mommy of three crazy kids!

4. Humility: Erin does not seek recognition or praise from others, seeing herself as a servant. She does not draw attention to herself.

5. Encouragement: who has not been blessed by Erin's encouragement, whether through thoughtful meals, notes, or a loaf of pumpkin-chocolate bread!?

6. Transparency: Erin is the most authentic person I know. Never hiding in pretense, she is the real deal.

7. A Learner: Similar to humility, Erin is always willing to learn from others; she is constantly ready to ask someone for advice and not pretend like she has it all together. 

8. Loyalty: I know no one more loyal than Erin; she sticks by you no matter what and showers you with devotion. She deeply values her friendships and relationships. 

9. Creative: I am always impressed by Erin's creativity, whether it is living creatively on a very tight budget or creating activities for the kids--Erin figures out how to do it.

10. Submissive: In our day and age it is often seen as a horrible, patriarchal concept--but Erin embraces the call to submission as a wife with remarkable grace, love, and constancy. Her godly submission propels me to love her more and teaches me about the gospel. You want to see what real godly and biblical submission looks like? Then study Erin and watch how a wife brings blessing upon her home by this virtue. Her submission shows that the world's caricature and demonized version of submission is in fact a lie. Most of all, Erin's submission compels me to submit to Jesus Christ. 

I love you, Erin.