56 Years of Marriage!

Today Tom's parents celebrate their 56th wedding anniversary!  What a privilege to have them committed to our Lord and the vows they made before Him so many years ago.  We are so thankful to them and their love for our Savior, each other and their family.  In 56 years their heritage has grown!

3 sons - Terry, Tim & Tom

3 daughters-in-love - Joyce, Julie & Lisa

10 grandchildren - Hannah, Ben, Abbie, Rachael, Sarah, Timothy, Luke, Leah, Matthew & Cherith

6 grands-in-love - Jason, Ashley, Alan, Zac, Britney & Jessica

 5 great grandchildren - Makenna, Max, Brinley, Kyle & Nellie

2 continents - North America & Africa

2 Countries - US & Madagascar

5 states - FL, IL, SC, OH, IA

all representing Jesus!

Interesting Facts from 1956:

Average Cost of new house:   $11,700.00
Average Monthly Rent:   $88.00
Average Yearly Wages:   $4,450.00 
Average Cost of a new car:   $2,050.00

Gasoline:   22 cents/gallon
Ground Coffee:  85 cents/pound

Sound good?  As much as we'd like to go back to the 'good ole days'...we can't, God didn't design time to stand still.  Our lives are but a "vapor"...

"Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that."

James 4: 14-15

In other words:  time is short, spend it wisely!  We are so thankful to the wisely spent time of Tom's parents.  Teaching the importance of God's Word, the vows we make before Him and the value of people are lessons they have taught and modeled so well.  Thank you Pops and Granny for making your "vapors" rise up as a sweet aroma to the Lord.

"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma."

Ephesians 5:1-2