I just returned from vacation and then several days of travel. The vacation was needed and is what prompted this post. Donna and I went on a cruise and had an excellent time hanging with some old friends and decompressing a bit. It was a welcome respite from the cold weather back home. In Nashville it was frozen, but in the Caribbean it was very warm.

I love getting away with my wife, and we work hard to invest in our relationship. Why? Because it pays dividends.

People often ask me how I balance work and travel. Sometimes it is really a question. Other times, they are just reminding me to be sure to do that. By no means, do I think I have it all figured out, but my wife says she thinks we have a good balance.

When I invest in relationships it is the same as putting money in the bank, and that's important because I have to make frequent withdrawals. I travel a lot, work a lot, and am probably not easy to have as a husband or father. Those withdrawals demand frequent deposits.

With that in mind, and knowing that I am not the perfect example by any means, let me share how I try to make relational deposits in the life of my family.

It is our 21st anniversary and we are celebrating like it was our 20th.

Last year, we were unpacking boxes on August 15th, have just moved to Nashville to work at LifeWay. So, instead of celebrating, we were organizing. Needless to say, I promised my wife a better time this anniversary.

So, I am in Chicago. We are staying in a nice hotel on the Magnificent Mile. We are sleeping late, going to movies, seeing shows, and just enjoying each other. On Sunday, we will be at Community Christian Church and grab lunch with my friend Dave Ferguson. I will stay over till Tuesday to shoot a television program with the Assemblies of God (which gave me the excuse to come to Chicago this weekend).

Donna and I started dating in High School. Donna was the first (and only) girl I dated seriously. We went to the prom, then off to college together. When we were 20 years old, she was crazy enough to marry me. So, between our Junior and Senior years of college, we got married.

She is a wonderful friend and an amazing wife.

She loves Jesus. We first met when she came to a Bible Study I was leading in high school. She had led about 6 of her friends to Christ that year.

She is not afraid of difficult things. She supported us as I planted our first church while going to seminary on the weekends... and earned a Masters degree while I was earning mine. We have planted multiple churches, worked to revitalize a few, and not chosen the easy paths in life.

I have dragged this woman to the inner city of Buffalo, NY to plant a church among the urban poor. Then, off to a blue collar community of Erie to plant again. Four months after Kristen was born, she came with me to Louisville where I taught at seminary (which was much more challenging than Buffalo!).

Once she was pregnant again, of course I dragged her to Georgia to work at NAMB and then to evantually plant a church in our free time . And, now we live in Nashville where I travel too much.

She has never complained and she had every right to. We have literally grown up together and now we are raising kids together. I look forward to growing old together.

Now, I watch her continue to grow and I see her life poured into our 3 daughters. And I am grateful every day.

So, today is her day. And, I am honored that she would call me her husband!