Happy Birthday Becky!

Today marks the 8th anniversary of Becky’s 29th birthday. Our original plans were to take the kids to Six Flags- Fiesta Texas and play with the kids in the water park. We got rained out today so Becky decided she wanted to take the kids to the Children’s Museum accompanied by her Dad. We’re going to try to hit the water park some time next week.

Now, a word about my beautiful bride. She has got to be one of the hardest people in the world to shop for. She doesn’t like flowers because they just die, “bling” is not her thing, (praise God!), she doesn’t like “stuff,” a box of chocolate candy is a waste and half the time, she doesn’t even know what she wants! Heck, last CHRISTmas she told me she wanted a gift card to Goodwill. Yes, go ahead, click the link, I’m talking about that Goodwill!

So, what is a husband to do? As a gift this year, Becky got tickets to the opera, but I also wanted to do something a little more personal. I thought it might be nice to tell everyone about some of the things that makes Becky, Becky. Here goes.

God has blessed me with an incredible and godly wife. She is a wonderful mother to our two kids and an awesome example of a Proverbs 31 woman. For those of you who may not know what I am talking about, I will post a portion of Proverbs 31 and explain how Becky resembles each part. Starting with verse 10;

10 An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above
jewels.

Amen! Becky is an excellent wife and is worth much more than worldly wealth.

11 The heart of her husband trusts in her, And he will have no lack
of gain.

I trust her with everything and our family has been blessed because of her.

12 She does him good and not evil All the days of her life.

I can honestly say that Becky is more concerned for me and my needs more so than her own. She is constantly thinking of how to bless me and I don’t thank her enough for it.

13 She looks for wool and flax And works with her hands in delight.

Oh boy, is this woman busy. She is constantly working on something and she enjoys it. Her work ethic is incredible.

14 She is like merchant ships; She brings her food from afar.

Well, maybe not from afar, but she does go out of her way to shop at three different stores for our food. She will shop at Wal-Mart, H.E.B and Sun Harvest. Becky will not admit that she is a health nut, but she is. She is very conscious of getting organic food with little or no preservatives and is diligent in making sure that we eat healthily.

15 She rises also while it is still night And gives food to her household And portions to her maidens.

Becky is definitely up before I am and prepares food for everyone; herself, the kids and the dog.

16 She considers a field and buys it; From her earnings she plants a
vineyard.

Becky is one frugal woman. She balances our check book and we keep to a strict budget. When we want to get something that we cannot afford, we save our money and wait until we can make our purchase. As some of you may know, Becky and I are “porch people” and we really wanted one on our house. It didn’t come with one so Becky set aside some money in our budget and three years later, we had our porch built. Check out our before and after pictures.

17 She girds herself with strength And makes her arms strong.

Becky has a membership to a local gym and she is not afraid to use it! She takes the kids with her and they love playing in the kids play area. She is in much better shape than I am and I should follow her example.

18 She senses that her gain is good; Her lamp does not go out at
night.

Becky is not a night person, but for every waking minute of the day, she is working on something. Procrastination is a word that is not in her vocabulary. Me, on the other hand, I’ve been trying to learn how to procrastinate forever, but I never seem to get around to it.

19 She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hands grasp
the spindle.

Do you get the idea that a P-31 woman is a worker? Yes, Becky also has a sewing machine and uses it too. In fact, she made my tye dye cumber bun and tie for our wedding.

20 She extends her hand to the poor, And she stretches out her hands
to the needy.

I’m not sure where Becky got this idea, but one day she got convicted about doing nothing for the folks we sometimes see at busy traffic intersections. You never know if the money they are given is really used because they are down and out or if they just want a drink. Becky keeps a little bag of goodies in the back seat of her car so whenever she or the kids see someone panhandling at an intersection, Becky hands the goodie bag to them. The bag contains basic hygiene stuff, some food a gospel tract and a New Testament. Becky probably gives one goodie bag away a week.

21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household, For all her household are clothed with scarlet.

Well, we’re not afraid of the snow because we live in Texas, but the point is that we are all well-clothed appropriate to our climate. The kids and I have an abundance of shorts and T-shirts and sandals.

22 She makes coverings for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and
purple.

Maybe not fine linen and purple, but we do have lots of tye dye. Actually, Becky’s favorite color is purple so she’s got plenty of that. In all seriousness, back in Bible times purple was considered the color for royalty or the upper class because it was so rare. While neither of us are royalty or are considered upper class, Becky does have some very nice dresses. Because of her background in beauty pageants and singing opera and classical music, Becky has some nice formal gowns.

23 Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders
of the land.

Well, hey, what can I say? I am fairly well known in my field. Some of that is because of my own God-given ability, but a good portion of it has nothing to do with how God created me, but has more to do with Becky. I have been called “Becky’s husband” on more than one occasion. In fact, a couple of years ago I got a taste of just how much we are connected.

A few years ago Becky could not attend both weeks of the Mormon Miracle Pageant so I took the team by myself. I can’t tell you how many times people would come up to me and say, “Hey Keith, it’s good to see you! Where’s Becky? So much for my notoriety.

24 She makes linen garments and sells them, And supplies belts to the tradesmen.

Hmm… this one is a bit of a stretch. Becky doesn’t make clothes to sell them, but she does collect clothes for our kids from our friends whose kids have outgrown them. She also gives our kid’s clothes to other parents once our kids outgrown them. Does that count?

25 Strength and dignity are her clothing, And she smiles at the future.

Oh, yeah. This one is all about Becky. She is a good woman with strong character. Becky really looks forward to whatever God may have for our future.

26 She opens her mouth in wisdom, And the teaching of kindness is on
her tongue.

Becky is a very wise lady. In fact, a lot of times when I hear the voice of God, it sounds a lot like Becky. Regarding the teaching of kindness, I don’t know about you, but kindness is not a word I hear very often. When I do hear it though, it is usually in the context of Becky teaching the kids to be kind to each other. Kindness is a characteristic that our culture could practice more often.

27 She looks well to the ways of her household, And does not eat the
bread of idleness.

Bread of idleness? HA! Becky hates slow moving traffic because it is a waste of time. The perfect gift for her would be a magic clock that gave her an extra couple of hours a day. Not a magic watch, it would have to be a clock because she doesn’t like to wear a watch.

28 Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he
praises her, saying:

Our kids definitely love their mother. They don’t always pay her verbal compliments, but they pay her compliments all the time by their behavior in public and in private. Our kids are generally well-behaved and that is a testimony to their mother. While I certainly don’t pay compliments to Becky with my public behavior, I know that I could do better at paying her verbal compliments. She deserves them.

29 “Many daughters have done nobly, But you excel them all.”

Amen! Becky is a woman among women.

30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the
LORD, she shall be praised.

When Becky became a Christian as a teenager, she was still involved in beauty pageants. Her focus completely changed and this verse became her theme verse. Referring to the world and all it has to offer, Becky adopted the saying, “it’s all going to burn or sag.” She continues to live her life according to that philosophy today.

31 Give her the product of her hands, And let her works praise her in
the gates.

Becky’s works surely praise her. Just yesterday I walked into our bedroom and she was praying with someone on the phone. She is just that type of person. She places people over things and their needs above her own. She is truly a Proverbs 31 woman and I am proud to have her as my wife and best friend. I love you Becky.