Loving You

Today, Vanessa and I celebrate 20 years of marriage and took the opportunity to return to the place where we had our honeymoon - Phillip Island, Victoria.  Our life together has been an extroadinary adventure of faith, love and joy!  Through the highs and lows we have grown together, embracing every challenge as an opportunity to strengthen our relationship as a couple and a family.

Before we began our life together, in a moment of rare romantic inspiration, I wrote a song for our wedding day to represent the love we shared.  Over the past twenty years this song has grown as I've written and added verses at significant milestones in our marriage.  Today was one of those milestones which inspired a further verse expressing the way I feel about Vanessa and the significance of the marriage covenant we share.  Here is the song as it stands on this 20th anniversary.  By God's grace, may there be many more years to inspire many more verses of "Loving You"...

When I hold your hand

And look into your eyes,
I can’t help to reminisce
The days gone by.
For I see the Master’s plan
Has brought us hand in hand,
And I know His Spirit’s
Touched us with His love. 

Loving you, holding you,

Has filled an empty place
Within my life.
Praise you Lord, Thank you Lord,
For giving me the one
I truly love. 

Friends we were and are

And will for ever be.

We would laugh and cry and share

Each others dreams.

Lord, you took two separate lives,

With love you harmonised.

Now we’re joined together

By your precious love.

Loving you, holding you,

Has filled an empty place

Within my life.

Praise you Lord, Thank you Lord,

For giving me the one

I truly love.

20th February 1993

As we celebrate

Our Anniversary,

I am thankful for your love

And company.

For I know within my heart

Our lives will never part,

While Jesus is the

Centre of our love.

Loving you, holding you,

Has filled an empty place

Within my life.

Praise you Lord, Thank you Lord,

For giving me the one

I truly love.

20th February 1994

You and I have shared

Our love these past five years,

Though we’ve faced some storms and shed

Some painful tears.

We have given God His place

And drawn upon His grace,

So we’ll stay committed

For eternity.

Loving you, holding you,

Has filled an empty place

Within my life.

Praise you Lord, Thank you Lord,

For giving me the one

I truly love.

20th February 1998

We have come into

A new reality

As you’ve given birth to our

New family.

First, a precious little girl

Was born into this world,

Closely followed by a

Handsome baby boy.

Loving them, holding them,

Has given me a joy

I can’t explain,

Praise you Lord, Thank you Lord,

For this family of mine

That I’ve now gained.

7th April 2000

Fifteen years ago

I gave to you my life,

On our wedding day when you

Became my wife.

I declared to you my love

Before the Lord above,

Which we celebrate on

This, our special day.

Loving you, holding you,

Has filled an empty place

Within my life.

Praise you Lord, Thank you Lord,

For giving me the one

I truly love.

20th February 2008

For two decades now

We’ve lived each others dreams,

Which have filled our lives with joy

And memories.

There is nothing I would trade

For the life that we have made,

And the path the Lord has

Granted you and me.

Loving you, holding you,

Has filled an empty place

Within my life.

Praise you Lord, Thank you Lord,

For giving me the one

I truly love.

20th February 2013