Happy Birthday Piper!

When my older brother and sister got engaged, my Mom started a tradition of putting together a picture album for their future spouses that chronicled my brother and sister’s lives through the years up until their weddings.  Then, way before the advent of Photoshop, as an official “Welcome to Our Family” my Mom would cut and paste together the final photo so that it pictured everyone together including the newest member of our family.  Well, when Piper and I were engaged in 1973, my Mom called Piper’s Mom and told her about the idea so that both of us could be presented with our own family albums.

If you were to open up my book that chronicled Piper’s life to the introductory page, you would notice that there is a copy of the birth announcement that her folks sent to their friends when their first child, Piper Kaye was born on August 14, 1953 at 6:29 on a Friday night.  It is a long thin strip of paper that is styled to look like movie film.  It tells of their “newest release” and then lists her physical information, the “Technical Director” who was a Dr. Russell Johnson, the “producer,” Piper’s Mom, the “Director” Dad and then invites everyone to not “miss seeing ‘Piper Kaye’ now showing” at their old address on Fourth Street in downtown Santa Rosa (now a dry cleaning business…)!

That unique and fun announcement turned out to be a prophecy of her life.  Throughout the 43 years that we have been together she has always had a spunk that could instantly turn a frown upside down!  She has the unique ability to do some of the craziest things at just the right time to get everyone to relax and laugh!  Whether it be in the middle of a Youth or Children’s service, at home or standing on a cold creek bed as we dared her to jump in during a family vacation (which she did to our shock as she never liked to be cold and the creek was rushing with snow melt waters high up in the Sierras in northern California!).

So it has been quite a special ride for me to spend my life with her for over what is almost a half a century now!   And contrary to what it may look like in the natural, I believe that the best is yet to come!  Psalm 118:17 says that “I will not die, but I will live and tell what the Lord has done.” (God’s Word ©)  This is one of the many verses that we are standing on and fully believe that Piper will go out and “tell what the Lord has done” in her.

I keep telling her of this reoccurring dream I have where I see her standing to the right side of a pulpit telling the audience about her personal miracle.  As she speaks the more excited and anointed she gets and her voice gets louder and higher until the people are on their feet, clapping their hands and shouting!  I can’t wait to be in that service… and I hope of all you can be there too!

So, Happy birthday Honey!  “This is the day that the Lord has made.  Let’s rejoice and be glad today!” (Psalm 118:24 God’s Word ©)

Make this day a time of rejoicing for you as well.  Find something to be thankful for and shout unto the Lord and be glad!  Have a great day.  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What GOOD THING am I expecting to CELEBRATE today?”