We would like to thank Steve and Katie Helgeson who, during a presentation on marriage at Harvest Vineyard Church in Ames, Iowa, first exposed us to the idea that God’s will on earth for marriage was best expressed when He created Adam and Eve, and not after He was forced by their actions to banish them from the Garden of Eden.
Thank you Ann Smiley-Oyen for working through a very early manuscript, and offering suggestions that considerably and justifiably increased our workload. Your sense of readability and structure is invaluable.
To our early draft and proof readers – We want to thank our youngest daughter Bonnie Mills and Lauren Horsch for their attention to story detail and grammar. We also want to thank Holly Greufe, Amy Gifford, and Kevan Flaming for their many suggestions. A thank you is also in order for Jerod and Sarita Smeenk and their marriage home group where this book was used for the first time in a group setting. Thank you Becca, our oldest daughter, for your guidance on structure and layout. We would also like to thank Mary L. Martin (Rick’s mother) for her meticulous review of the final draft.
We are especially grateful to Stephen Judah of Columbus, Ohio who died June 21, 2008 of esophageal cancer at the age of 59. His marriage weekend seminar that we attended over thirty years ago provided the foundation that the Holy Spirit has used to transform our marriage. We learned of the seminar from our dear friends, Terry and Sue Castor, who cared for us and our three year-old daughter, Becca, during that very intense weekend.
We are also grateful to Josh Miller, Senior Pastor at Harvest Vineyard Church in Ames, Iowa, for his vision and support of our ministry. He has the knowledge and wisdom of a skilled teacher, and the heart of a loving shepherd.
And finally, to the many couples over the years who have shared the sacred ground of their marriage with us, we are incredibly thankful for your courage, trust, and authenticity before God. Our marriage and life together is far better because of what we have learned from you. May we all stay faithful on our journey to a mutually satisfying marriage.
In Him,
Rick and Georgeann