ok, so I had a Volunteer Appreciation Dinner for my Youth Workers on Sunday. Now I truly do appreciate all of my volunteers. I couldn't accomplish anything without them. They are where the rubber meets the road. In spite of how much I value my volunteers, though, I do not think of showing them my appreciation sometimes. It's a good thing I have my wife. You see, she is the one who says, "Let's have a special dinner in honor of your volunteers. I'll do most of the work." And so she does. We put the dinner together, and it goes just fine. My beautiful bride sends out invitations to everyone, goes shopping, and essentially orchestrates the whole shebang....

So we get to the actual dinner, and I have a thing where I recognize each volunteer present. I'm telling these stories about how each volunteer means so much to me, then I give each one a little token gift....

So I go through this whole thing, and you would think that I would spend a great deal of time at the end, recognizing my number one volunteer...the one who makes my ministry possible...my biggest fan...my best supporter...my encouragement in the hardest times...

and what do I do????

I blow it!

I didn't say "boo" about my favorite person in the whole wide world. Why? I mean besides the obvious, "because you are a thoughtless poop-head". I think it's not that I take her for granted...I think it's because I see her as my partner rather than my volunteer. Truly, she is my partner. My effectiveness is directly effected by my relationship with my wife.

Here's the thing, though. Even though she's my partner, I have to remember that she gives of herself without pay. So, though I forgot to say it on Sunday... I appreciate and adore my number one volunteer....my favorite person in the whole world....Crista Lyn Eicher!