40 Reasons I'm Thankful for My Wife

October 26th is Jackie’s birthday and our anniversary. In this post I’ll share 40 reasons I’m grateful for her as my wife and as a person.

October 26th is a huge day in the Moore household. On October 26th, 2013 Jackie and I were married in Goshen, Arkansas. Not only that, on October 26th, 1991 Jackie was born in Russellville, Arkansas.

It’s a huge day.

And today, I want to honor my wife. I want to honor her in two ways - as an individual, and as my wife.

Before she was my wife, she was a person with unique gifts, talents, and extreme value to add to the world. Now, after she became my wife, she still has the unique gifts, talents, and extreme value to add to the world.

Below I’ve listed out 31 reasons I’m glad she was born (one for every year of her life) and 9 reasons I’m glad she was married (one for every year of our marriage).

I’ve worked hard to list out 31 things that would be true whether she was my wife, or not. These are things we could all stand to learn from her. Things she could teach us and things we need her to teach us.

The 9 reasons I’m glad I married her are obviously more personal to me. I’m privileged to know her, and especially to be married to her.

With that, let’s dive in!

31 Reasons I’m Glad She Was Born

We need her honesty

Jackie is truthful. She refuses to simply tell people what they want to hear, she’ll tell them what they need to hear. We need more of this in society and we need people like Jackie to lead us in that effort.

We need the way she loves

Jackie loves deeply and it’s out of her deep love that she cares for people. This trait of hers combines with the first point - she’s honest and loving. She shares the truth with grace. We need people like her to teach us how to do this.

She’s gives us example of how to pray

Jackie is a teacher and, if you know a teacher, you know that’s one of the most mentally demanding positions we have. She has learned how to ”pray without ceasing.” In our day of chaos and unrelenting schedules, we need people like Jackie to teach us how to pray.

She is a faithful disciple maker

In combination with the first three points here, we can’t be a faithful disciple maker if we’re not honest, loving, or prayerful. Jackie is relentlessly committed to helping people become like Jesus. This sole-minded focus is what makes her a faithful disciple maker. We could learn from people like her in this area.

She doesn’t give up on people

Like I said earlier, Jackie is a teacher. She’s seen the highs and lows of students lives for the last several years and many times the teacher gets the brunt of difficulty during the lows. One thing that doesn’t change though is Jackie’s commitment to their flourishing. She’s able to see beyond what people are doing and look into what God may have for them in the future. We could learn from her in this.

She speaks truth with kindness

Jackie tries to set the record straight often, “I’m not sweet, I’m kind.” Either way, her kindness is what makes the truth she’s sharing palatable. Jackie will say some difficult things to hear as she’s speaking truth to people, but the level of kindness in her voice is just as overwhelming. Her speaking is well thought out, and this is certainly an area we need people like her to teach us how to be like this.

She is incredibly intentional

It’s hard to overstate how often I’ll ask Jackie who she’s texting and she’ll tell me about how someone random came to mind while she was praying. She’ll tell me that she prayed for them and that she wants them to know. We could learn from her and how intentional she is.

We need her to teach us how to depend on the Lord

One spiritual gift that Jackie has is “faith.” She often goes into situations totally dependent on God. It’s as if she’s moving forward saying, “If God doesn’t show up, I’ll fall flat on my face.” But she moves forward anyway and God is always faithful to show up. She could give us some major keys to living a life dependent on God’s presence.

She’s a great teacher

Jackie works really hard to communicate complicated topics to people who need to learn those topics. She spends time leaning in, asking the Lord to help her be a faithful and skilled teacher to her students any given semester.

She is a great Bible teacher

I remember laying in bed one night and she was describing a story in the Old Testament. My eyes were closed but I was able to visualize the story better than when I read the story myself! But it’s not just with me, she has helped so many individuals and groups understand the scriptures and here’s why: She works really hard to be faithful to the text and faithful to the Lord as she teaches the Bible. She listens to the Holy Spirit and works hard to say the words God has to say to the people she’s teaching.

She has helped change the trajectory of students lives

I’ve seen with my own two eyes the transformation that happens when students realize their loved. Jackie’s love and effort to love her students has literally transformed their lives. This is the work of so many teachers and people like Jackie can teach us.

She’s been a consistent encourager to so many people

I’ve never met a person who is more intentional about their encouragement than Jackie. She is constantly looking for opportunities to point out growth and Christ-likeness in people. In a world of cutting people down, we need people like Jackie to teach us how to build people up.

She reflects the glory of Christ in a genuine way

Christ radiates from Jackie. She loves like Him, speaks like Him, and pays attention like He pays attention. She has spent time in God’s presence, has seen Him, and reflects Him. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

She is thoughtful

Jackie is slow to speak. She pays attention. She gives thought to situations before she speaks into those situations. This leads her towards speaking really impactful words over people.

She pays attention to what other people need and seeks to help when she can

One unique thing about Jackie is that in every moment, she’s fully present with the people around her. She’s constantly praying and asking God to help her love the people she’s with. That leads to her seeing the needs of others and the Holy Spirit helping her meet those needs of it’s something she can do. We can really learn from her in this area.

She has a generous heart

I hear the phrase, “I want to give to this.” more than I ever thought I would hear in marriage. As Jackie sees the needs people have, her heart jumps at opportunities to give financially, with her time, or with her emotional resources.

She pushes our attention onto Christ

Jackie talks about Jesus more than anyone I know and refuses to let us settle for less than Jesus. She is relentless in her efforts to turn our attention and eyes to the person of Christ.

She is a good friend

This goes along with her intentionality, but she has worked hard to be a good friend to people she’s close to. She’s maintained close friendships with people that we don’t share a zip code with and stays connecting with them on a regular basis.

She is full of humility

Jackie’s first response in any situation is to ask the Lord if there is any fault in her. She turns her attention inward, asking the Lord if there is sin she needs to confess before moving forward. This is a sign of humility and she is full of it.

She’s a “listen first” kind of person

Jackie doesn’t get too quick to speak. She’s incredibly quick to listen. She’s listening to people, she’s listening to the Lord, and she’s makes sure she’s fully heard people and the Lord before she speaks.

She is always examining herself to see if she is living “in Christ”

Another phrase I hear Jackie say often is, “I’m going to pray about it to make sure I’m not off…” Her #1 priority is to abide in Christ. This takes work, humility, and ultimately courage to do what God says at all times.

She has a sole focus of remaining in Christ’s presence

Along with the point above, she’s always trying to find Christ’s presence. Like Moses, she doesn’t want to move forward without God’s presence (Exodus 33) and she will pray until she knows God is present. Once she knows, she’ll move forward with all the confidence God has given her.

She is an example of how to have a work-life balance

Jackie works really hard, and then she goes home. She’s a teacher so there’s obviously moments of needing to lesson plan or grade at the house, but she works as hard as possible to be fully present at home and have a life outside of work. She can teach us in this area.

She is an example of how to press into God when life gets difficult

It’s no secret that Jackie has suffered. Her determination to press into Christ during those times of suffering is unbelievable. She has stayed faithful to Christ and learned of his faithfulness in the process.

She stays ready so she ain’t gotta get ready

This girl is more prepared than almost anyone I know. She stays prayed up, prepared for her interactions with people, and ready for whatever God has for her each day. Because she does this she’s able to stay present with people and stay focused on God. We can learn from her in this.

She can teach us how to be present and attentive to God at all times

I’ve already talked about this, but there’s no one better - that I know - about staying present to the presence of God. Jackie is literally always trying to be aware of God. She could really, really, teach us how to do this.

She can teach us how to be present and attentive to people at all times

I’ve already said this as well, but it’s just so incredibly true. She gives 100% of her attention to the people in front of her and when she fails to do that, she apologizes to that person and asks for forgiveness. She could give us some major keys on how to love people in this way.

She is a really, really hard worker

Jackie works really hard and she works really hard to be efficient. Working hard doesn’t mean we have to work 80 hours a week. She works hard to do things properly and in a way that is holy.

She is very good at taking everything to the Lord in prayer

Jackie prays about everything and she’s very specific in her prayers. She wants to take every detail to the Lord and that shows a major confidence in Him that He can handle those details.

She is pleasant, and her presence brings peace

Jackie doesn’t think she’s sweet, but when she walks in the room her presence brings peace. This is because the presence she radiates is Christ. She is a pleasant person and allows the people around her to relax, simply by her being who God has made her to be.

Her life is Christ

The secret to following Jesus is to let his life be our life. The way he speaks, loves, shows compassion, lives holy, prays, and on and on. Jackie works hard to let that be true of her. She works hard to stay in Christ through abiding in his presence. Where He goes, she goes. It’s her life.

9 Reasons I’m Glad I Married Jackie

She’s never given up on me

I make a lot of mistakes. But not only that, my entire world fell apart when we were just 3 years into marriage. Jackie never once made me question if she was gonna stick around. It was hard, but she’s never given up on me and I’m eternally grateful. Not only do I love her and want to spend all my days with her. But I’ve learned something about God’s love from her loving me this way.

She’s taught me more than I can imagine or comprehend

Jackie is overflowing with wisdom. If you listen closely to what she’s saying you can walk away with some nuggets on leadership, life, following Jesus, and all sorts of things. I’ve learned more from her than I can even know. I try to give her credit whenever I can, but it’s impossible for me. I would start almost every sentence by saying, “Jackie taught me this…”

What’s best is that she teaches in a humble way. Offering up info and insight freely.

She’s helped me re-love sports

After I retired from baseball I hated baseball. It’s a whole long story I’ll get into one day. But Jackie has helped me love it again. She’s helped me cry over losing baseball, grieve the loss of something I loved so much. And at times she’s almost forced me to be honest about wanting to watch a game that’s on tv. When I retired I never thought I would watch a full baseball game again, but I watched a few this post season and I loved it. She has helped me re-enjoy something that I stopped enjoying. Enjoyment is a gift given by God and she’s helped me enjoy baseball and sports in general again.

She’s been a better wife than I could have imagined

I don’t know what my expectations were coming into marriage, but Jackie blows them out of the water. I think about how I can’t believe I’m married to her. She’s honestly incredible. She is all of the biblical passages about being a wife personified. Yes, all of them. From Proverbs 31 about business ownership, providing for her family, and being an example of faithful labor to Ephesians 5 about submission and respecting her husband. I’ve found a good wife and I think God’s favor is on my life because of her.

She’s is already a great mom

Jackie has displayed throughout the pregnancy so far that she’s not going to let Priscilla and Hattie control her life, but that she’s going to give them what they need to thrive. Jackie has taken care of her body so well through good nutrition and working out. I know that this will only continue when our two girls get here. Jackie is going to be a next level mom.

I like spending time with her

I’m introverted. It doesn’t mean I don’t like people, it means I get tired from being around people. But I don’t get tired of Jackie. She’s pleasant, peaceful, and her presence brings joy in my life. I thoroughly enjoy spending time with her. I enjoy spending time with other people, but spending time with Jackie is like being at home. It’s a place of rest and renewal for me.

She’s taught me how to lead

I am not the best natural leader in the world. There are a lot of key leadership characteristics that don’t naturally flow through me. However, Jackie is an exceptional leader. It’s almost as if it is in her blood to lead people and lead them well. She has helped me grow in leadership more than I ever dreamed would be possible. Many of the skills I have in leadership and the way I’m able to lead today is a result of our conversations, her pointing me to the Lord, and being kind enough to share her wisdom and leadership skills.

She’s taught me how to listen to the Holy Spirit

Perhaps the most important thing that I’ve gained from being married to Jackie is the ability to listen to the Holy Spirit. I’m not saying Jackie is the Holy Spirit, haha! What I am saying is that there have been so many conversations that I’m processing the issues I’m having, and Jackie will point out very clearly, “that’s the Holy Spirit speaking to you!“ She has helped me, more than any other person, to know what the voice of God sounds like add to respond to that voice.

She’s my best friend

Like I said earlier, I just really enjoy spending time with my wife. She is my best friend. I love her, I love who God is making her to be, and I love sharing time and stories with her. I love to make memories with her, I love to share experiences with her, eat food with her, go on hikes with her, and anything else you could imagine. I just want to do those things with her. I cannot wait to raise two girls with her. She’s going to be a great mom, but most of all I am just excited to do that with my best friend.

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I could go on and on. My wife is special. She’s better for me than I ever imagined a person could be and I want everyone to know that. The favor of God rests on her and she’s a voice for our times. I cannot imagine who or where I would be without her.