welcome to the story.

A couple of you guys asked me about our vows while we were at the wedding. So I thought I would post them here for now. I'll post Anna's vows to me when she actually gives them to me. But for now, here are my vows to her and then our vows that we wrote to God. And by the way, marriage is really, really good. And I'm wearing a ring and don't really feel like a girl. For the most part. VOWS TO ANNA I never knew what love was until I met you. I never knew what it felt like to see the best in people until I met you. I never truly understood what it meant to have hope and to believe that things were going to be ok in the end until I met you. My love for you will never quit. I won�t give up. I will care for you more than I care for myself. I will value you more than I value myself. I won�t parade around with a swelled head and I won�t force myself on you. I will seek to win your heart every morning. My love for you will not be about me getting my way. I won�t keep score of whose right and whose wrong. I won�t revel in your hurts. I will love the best of you and I will love the worst of you. I will never look backwards or sideways. But I will walk side by side you every day as we move closer to the arms of God. You capture my heart. Now I will capture yours. You inspire my life. You stir up hope within my heart. Now I will inspire you towards that same hope. Your love acts as a cover over me, reminding me of God�s love. Now I will follow in the example of God as I stand beside Him as His chosen man to compliment you and accent you, to help you find your security and significance. You bring out the best in me. Now I will bring out the best in You. I�m so totally and terribly in love with you. And today, before God and man, friends and family, I want to commit myself to you, and in every day that follows. You are the love of my life and I will treasure you forever. VOWS TO GOD - Our chief end in life and in marriage is to glorify and enjoy You forever. - Where beauty is found, we will look to it and realize that it is an expression of Your creativity. - We will live our lives out of mission, where we will meet, transform, and embrace culture. We will not view culture as sacred or secular, but either redeemed or in need of redemption. - We recognize that your story of rescue has been and is unfolding throughout all of history. We will now stand together as one and seek to live as a part of your story as active participants in the plot to restore what was once lost. - As your hands and as your feet, we will promote justice and your kingdom. We will be the voice for those who have no voice. We will be the allies of those who can count no one as friend. We will embrace those at the margins. We will be the anthem for those who need You. - We are painfully aware of how small we are in comparison to how big You are. We acknowledge You as the only One who can sustain and fulfill our lives as individuals. You are the Beginning and the End. You are our All in All. - Ultimately, we believe in hope. That although things are not as they should be, You are the One that is coming to set things right again. Therefore, we will not allow ourselves to be troubled or overwhelmed when things don�t go our way. But we will embrace this coming collision, between our way of living and your way of living, between the way of death and the way of life. We will place our hope on nothing less than You Jesus. Our rock and Our anchor. Our Defender and Our Shield. - You are God alone. Our gaze is fixed on You. Our hearts are centered in You. Our love is rooted in You. We commit our lives to You this day and from this day forward. - In the name of the Father who creates. The Son who rescues. And the Spirit who inspires. Amen.