Years ago a friend of mine

from Dallas, Texas, pur-

chased some property near the Oklahoma border that had the

perfect soil for a pecan orchard. Irrigation lines were run, soil

was carefully prepared, and several hundred trees were pur-

chased and planted. Today, thousands of man-hours later, that

pecan orchard has finally matured. Numerous skilled men and

women gave their time and energy to transform a piece of

barren land into a productive grove of pecan trees.

Good books are like that orchard. They require time.

They take the attention and energy of skilled men and women.

And they take a lot of commitment from individuals who want

to see an end product that yields a lot of fruit. The Tribute is no

different. This book started a number of years ago as just a

single idea, and thanks to the efforts and talents of others, it

finally has come together and matured. Whether it is produc-

tive in its yield of fruit will be determined by those who read

these pages and apply its challenge to their lives.

My friend and partner in ministry, David Boehi, deserves

a medal of honor for his tireless service and painstaking care of

the details of shaping this manuscript. David, once again, your

critical eye has proved to be invaluable, and I just want you to

know that I deeply appreciate not only the work that you did

on this book, but also all that you do at FamilyLife to

strengthen families. You and Merry are a pair of treasured

champions for the family, and my life is enriched for having

had the opportunity to work alongside you and be in a bunker

with you. I especially thank you for making numerous phone

calls to people who wrote Tributes, overseeing the Tribute