My wife and I recently celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary. It was a wonderful time, as we stole away together for a romantic night away. We celebrated with food, a riverboat cruise, and Napoleon Dynamite. We celebrated because...

We're still here.

We have kept our promise. Neither of us have died. Our anniversary is a celebration of survival.

I realize that does not sound romantic. We should celebrate the love, or passion, we share. But, our world is filled with couples that celebrate their love...and split up later. Promises and commitments aren't about the emotions of the experience (although there are many). Promises are about honoring the words you have spoken.

We spoke words of meaning 16 years ago and have not broken them...ever.

This Sunday, we celebrated our 1st year as a church at Four Hills. God called us to do it. We listened to Him and stepped out on a limb. Others stepped onto that limb with us. We committed to make this place into a church for imperfect people. And, after 1 year...

We're still here.

It hasn't been easy. There have been highs and lows. But, for every disappointment, God has opened an opportunity. We don't celebrate our excitement or our unending enthusiasm to plant a church. Those things ebb and flow, after all. Instead, we celebrate a promise we made to the Lord to plant this church, and His promise to be faithful to our efforts.

Lots of churches fail within the first 6 months. It's been a year. We celebrate survival. God is faithful and...

We're still here.