40 reasons for my heart to find...

February 21st...this day is finally here.  I've waited 10 months for him to be 40 like me.  Of course in two short months, I'll be turning 40-once.  41, that is.  We've been joking with our girls about this lately.  My guy doesn't want a big party, no huge attention on his 40th birthday.  He respected my wishes on that last year for me, so I'll do the same.  I couldn't, however, let this day go by without honoring him in some way.  I thought it would be fun to list off 40, (though there are a lot more), reasons for my heart to find to bless the Lord for Matt Bycroft.  Sorry, playin' off Matt Redman's "10,000 reasons" song.  ;)  Is he perfect?  No.  Neither am I.  Only Jesus is.  But I've got a good man.  So glad God gave him to me.

This is not in any particular order....well, except the first few, of which are by far the most important to me. 

Matt...

1)  Not just loves the Lord, but knows Him, follows Him, and obeys Him.
2)  Chose me as his life partner.....(I am the lucky one).
3)  Loves and leads our girls.
4)  Is patient.
5)  Has a very easygoing personality...what ya see is what ya get.  No pretending.
6)  Buys me Diet Dr. Pepper and Ghirardelli Chocolate with Caramel (in fact, enjoying that now as I type :).
7)  Committed to family vacations every summer.  Love that this is so important to him! 
8)  Though he's special and "extra"-ordinary to me, he's a simple man.  Not confusing.  Makes sense.
9)  Has not missed or withheld a tithe in all the days I have known him, either in our dating years or 15 years of marriage.  No matter how tight the month's finances can get, God receives it first. 
10)  Is UNselfish.  He doesn't think of himself first.  Always willing to help someone else out....while never expecting anything in return.
11)  Doesn't give up.  He's steadfast and perseveres.  Seriously, I could write a book.  With as much as he's gone through, he continues to be faithful.  Committed to his calling, and doesn't let others hinder that.  Thankful to be married to a man that's not a quitter and who has confidence in himself and also in God!  He developed type 2 diabetes a few years ago...he has never felt sorry for himself with this.  He doesn't complain, doesn't give up in taking care of himself, and if you've seen him lately, you will know just how great he looks!  Just got another awesome report from the Dr. too.  Proud of him.
12)  Gives me the best backrubs, no matter how much I ask. 
13)  Never misses our daughters' activities, plays, sports, musicals, parent teacher conferences, birthday parties, awards' at their schools, etc. 
14)  Hugs me, kisses me, prays with me, holds my hand, laughs with me, watches silly movies with me, listens to me (that's a biggie, I know!), takes me on drives out in the country, still dates me (even if sometimes it's just to Sonic for a quick drink), texts me "I love you" throughout my day...basically he THINKS of me.  And I don't take that for granted.
15)  Prays FOR me.  Those prayers are between him and me.  But I love that he desires for me to continue to grow as a Christian, and cheers me on.  He has full confidence in me.  I take comfort in knowing he doesn't doubt me in anything I do or set out to try to do.  
16)  Is handsome.  Favorite feature?  His eyes, and his kind smile.  Even better lookin' now than the day we got married.
17)  Is trustworthy.  I know there's so many marriages out there that cannot say that about each other.  My man can be trusted.  He is my best friend.
18)  Supports me as a coach.  He and our girls go to as many tennis matches as they possibly can.  I've been coaching for 7 years, and he continues to be there for me in that too, while holding down the "girl fort" while I'm gone.
19)  Prays with the girls every morning before school.  He also memorizes scripture with them as well.  And right now, we are reading through the Bible together as a family.  So thankful to have that spiritual leader in our home.
20)  Would rather be with me than anyone else in the whole world. 
21)  Will watch Indiana Basketball with me.  Yep, this deserves it's own number!  :)
22)  Is a man of integrity.  He is the same no matter what...in front of people, with our girls, with me, by himself, with his friends, coaching soccer, at Walmart...doesn't matter.  He has character...and it's GOOD!
23)  Is not afraid to change dirty diapers.  From our firstborn to now our 3rd daughter, he has been an active part in all the parenting duties as I have.  Very thankful for that!  We share the "load"...pun intended.  ;)
24)  Had enough faith and courage and trust in God to start a church, from scratch.  We started out with 3 people.  He continues to trust God, and the Lord is amazing that He has brought us this far!
25)  Preaches GOD'S words!  I never have to question what is going to come out of his mouth as he preaches a sermon, or witnesses to people.  I know it will be straight from the Word of God.  Ministry life isn't always easy, but I'm thankful to have him by my side in trying our best to minister to others.
26)  Loves my family.  And they love him.  We have a good time together.
27)  Can do anything.  I've said this so many times, but he really knows a little bit about pretty much anything and everything.  Love that he is the go-to guy for math, can change a tire and the oil...along with fixing other things that may go wrong with vehicles, has built several pieces of furniture for our house...he's not afraid to get his hands dirty.  He takes good care of our things.  Being a servant of others is truly a spiritual gift of his.
28)  Takes our daughters on "daddy-daughter dates".  Each of our 3 girls have their turn.  I love the time he invests in them and their heart.
29)  His eyes are for me.  Only.  His thoughts are for me.  Only.  His body is for me.  Only.  His heart is for me.  Only.  I know he is committed to me.  And to me only.  It is such a blessing in knowing this.  Thankful for my faithful-committed to each other and to God marriage! 
30)  Sacrifices a lot for our family.  For example, he drives a beat up truck with no heat, or AC.  It basically gets him where he needs to be, around here anyway.  He's not materialistic, and is a good steward.  He jokes that the AC is real nice now, and the heater works great in August.  ;) 
31)  His speech is Christ-like.  He doesn't let any unwholesome talk come out of his mouth.  He doesn't slander.  When others have put him down or falsely spoke of him, he didn't retaliate.  He returns good for evil.  I love him because he does the right thing.  He speaks truth.  I can only imagine the crown God has waiting for my good man.
32)  Is not obnoxious.  He is not a show-off.  He doesn't talk about himself or try to promote himself.  He is humble.  If he wrote a book, or had some huge speaking engagement, he wouldn't be the one posting that everywhere.  The guy just doesn't have to have that attention.  Says a lot about his character and who he is like.  I'm proud of him for that.
33)  Love how "giddy" he gets when it snows.  I think he may just get that on this special day of his!
34)  Works hard to support our family of 5.  All the way back from our dating years, we both talked about our desire for me to be a stay at home mom.  I've been blessed along the way to be able to work in the schools and as mentioned above, am able to coach high school girls' tennis.  But my main job, the most important one, is that I have been able to be at home with my kids since the day they were born.  Don't regret it, and wouldn't trade those days for anything.  It's hard work somedays, but no amount of money compares to the joy I have in being home teaching my own kids and caring for them. Thankful to have a husband that supports the importance of this too.
35)  Tells me he loves me every single day.  More than once. 
36)  Takes me along on road trips when he needs to pick up things for the church.  Glad he picks me for his company.
37)  Shows respect and honor to his parents.  He is a good son.
38)  Shows compassion.  I've witnessed him do both weddings and funerals.  Has visited lots of people in the hospital and in their homes over the years.  He is kind.
39)  Will take on jobs or ministries, even when it may be out of his comfort zone.  If it needs done, he'll do it.
40)  Is a loyal friend.  Even if sometimes that loyalty isn't there on the other side.  Matt is that friend, and would give you the shirt off his back.  If you call him and he can't get to it right then, he won't put you off.  He'll call you back.  Need to talk?  He'll make time.  Ask him for prayer?  He doesn't just tell you he'll pray, he actually will.

Intermission.  Go get a snack Matt.  The rest of these are from your girls...oldest to youngest.  Maybe grab a tissue too.  Wait, real men don't use tissues.  Your sleeve will work.  Just consider these "and some to grow on"...  ;)

From Macayla:  (What she loves about you)
*I like the way he is caring.
*I love the way he teaches me about God (mom included).
*I like how he's a preacher.  I'm proud of that.
*I love the way he protects me and my sisters.
*I like the way he smiles.
*I love his personality, and how he is always kind to everyone.
I'M SO PROUD TO BE HIS DAUGHTER!  :)

From Rachel:  (What she loves about you)
*When we fish!
*When we build together.
*When we camped outside.
*When he baptized me, and taught me God, and reads the Bible to me.

From Brecken:  (What she loves about you)
*When daddy is home.

(Yep, a direct quote from your 2 year old.  Speaks volumes tho'.  Thanks for working, but thanks for being a dad that loves being home with your family, and spending time with your girls.  So many kids don't have that.  WE are thankful that we do!)

Well Matt, HAPPY 40th BIRTHDAY today!  I hope we can make your day extra special.  I love the way we dream together, and can't wait to see what our future holds.  Look forward to celebrating more birthdays with you.  We all love you and are proud of you.  We thank God for you and are blessed that He made all of us FAMILY!

XOXOXOXO,

Me