Happy Birthday Milo.

Happy Birthday Milo

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Phillipians 4:8

Lovely and admirable, as I sat and pondered on those two words this morning what continued to come to my mind over and over was my husband, Milo.

Loveliness usually brings to mind beauty. Websters defines lovely as having those qualities that inspire love or affection, morally or spiritually attractive. Admirable means inspiring or deserving of esteem. As I pay tribute to my awesome husband today here a just a few highlights from the past 21 years that we have been together.

We have had the normal ups and downs of any marriage. We have struggled with the addition of children and the changes in dynamics in our relationship. We have muddled through poor financial decisions. Between the two of us, we have had 8 major surgeries. We have moved 5 times and been through marital counseling 3 times. We have had those hard discussions into the early morning hours wondering if we should really stay together or would it be easier to get divorced. We have gone for months being emotionally and physically distant from one another. We have grown spiritually at different times.

But in the last 21 years, we have collected pop cans just to go to the movie. We have witness the miraculous birth of our two daughters. We rode in a horse driven cart up the side of a mountain in Ireland in the pouring rain laughing so hard our stomachs hurt. We have connected on such a deep emotional level that we can usually say what the other one is thinking. Just a month ago, we made a bon fire and camped together in our back yard. We recently became a 'biker couple'. The traits that used to drive us crazy about each other, we now graciously accept with love. He has become more tidy and I have become more relaxed. We both love Jesus with our whole heart and welcome Him as the cord that makes the three strands in our marriage not easily broken.


We now see each other for the individuals that we are and we can't imagine not growing old together. Milo has a spirit of graciousness and sweetness that comes from deep inside and can't help but shine through to others. I see the power of God in him because he has lived through times of difficulty and is strengthened by God's grace and love. He lives a life worthy of admiration and respect. He is an incredible father, friend, and husband. I would travel to the ends of the earth to be with him, even if it meant living in a van down by the river. He is a man of integrity, unending love, and humor. He hopes to leave this world knowing that he made others feel good about themselves. He is forth right, honest, and gifted in wisdom and mercy. He is a man after God's heart. I love him with every ounce of my heart and because of our faith in Christ I know that we will spend eternity together. When I ponder on lovely and admirable today, Milo Robert Japenga is the first to come to mind.

I love you,



Jill