The Real Life of a Pastor's Wife

Things are changing around here.... well changing and staying the same in an interesting dynamic! I am no longer a youth pastor's wife, but I am still at the same time! We have recently resigned from FBC Troup, which was the place we have been serving longer than any other place before it. We have accepted the call to be church plant pastors and with that church plant youth pastors at the same time, at least until the baby church grows into needing additional staff. So I am now a pastor/youth pastor's wife; translation I am still just a normal, girl who happens to be married to some one in the ministry. I am blogging to make sure everyone knows that my family and I are not perfect,to share with everyone what God is doing in me and to give you a peek into the craziness that is my real life. It is my prayer that no matter how you found this blog, and no matter who you are, God will use these words to speak to your heart and draw you closer to Himself. I would love to hear from you; comments, questions, complaints, and randomness is always welcome!!

The family!

The family!

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Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Summer Musing


When I was a kid I cried when summer break arrived, I knew I wouldn't see my friends as much which was sad and even then I knew that the end of school every year meant the end of something that would never be exactly the same again. 4th grade wouldn't be like 3rd grade was, there would be a fresh mixture of kids, a different teacher, and a new schedule, not to mention new requirements and things to learn. I don't think I necessarily hated change, I just liked where I was and didn't mind staying there.
Now as a mom, I am thrilled that it is summer break for my kids. I love the extra time with them, the more relaxed schedule, the later bedtime (sleeping later) and the activities that we can enjoy! The only thing that I don't like about starting summer break is the same thing I didn't like as a child, the realization that another year has passed. My girls felt like the last weeks of their school year drug on and on, but to me it flew by, in fact Christmas was just the other day and they started 1st and 2nd grades just a few weeks ago. I don't know what it is about getting older that makes time seem to pass more quickly. Maybe because I am busier or have more to worry about, or maybe it goes by so quickly because I won't want it to!!
This spring I was able to attend a couple significant events for our youth students; 8th grade graduation and Troup High School graduation. Even though I have only know these kids for a few months, I had to fight back tears for them. The 8th grade ceremony was especially emotional for me! There was a slide show of pictures from their 3 years in Junior High and it was amazing to me to see how much they had grown and matured since the beginning of 6th grade! Watching the pictures of the girls pop up really got my attention, they entered 6th grade as little girls with messy ponytails and funny faces and were leaving 8th grade as young women with highlighted hair and make-up. So much happens in those few years; crazy!!
When my girls were born, wise mothers told me over and over, "enjoy them while they are little, they will grow up before you know it." And everyone of them was right, Haldey is 8 1/2, which means she is almost half way grown. She will be graduating in the year 2020, with Caedlyn right behind her in 2021, which sounds like a long way off to my ears, but my heart knows that it will be over in a flash.
Anyway, I said all that to say, I am trying to make a conscience effort every single day to make sure that when they graduate from 8th grade as young women and then from High School as able young adults, they know that they are amazing, loved, gifted, treasured women who were created for a unique purpose by the same hands that made the wonders of the night sky!! Proverbs 3:1-3 says "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven; a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot." I know there will come a time when all three of my girls will uproot and head out to start their own lives and families and though the idea of that is bitter sweet, I want to focus on planting everything I can now so they will be ready then! I pray that those of you who have children will make the most of every day with your kiddos as well, because our time with them is fleeting! And those of you who don't have children, who maybe are still living in your parents' house as a child, you too should remember that time flies so make the most of every day, with your family and friends, it will never be just like this again!

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Computer Screens and June Bugs






Last night I was sitting outside to let poor neglected little Alphie the dog play, since he had been cooped up all day due to our busy schedule, and I needed to blog for the student ministry page, so I decided to multi-task and do it out doors. I love being outside and the night was beautiful, so I was very nice to sit out there in the peace and type while Alphie expended some pinned up energy, and my girls were already in bed which just increased the peace! As soon as I opened the laptop, I realized the down fall of my little plan; BUGS! All kinds of insects swarmed to the light of the computer screen as well as the porch light and were very distracting. In my personal opinion, June bugs are among the yuckiest of all bugs, they are kind of slow and so crunchy and their legs are all spiky; I just don't like them, but they apparently really like the glow of my computer, as do moths and other unidentified creatures! They were all over me, GROSS! And then my weird brain started to work... and you guessed it, a spiritual application came to me.

Matthew 5:14-16 says, "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." Those of us who are believers should be shining so brightly that people are drawn to us, just like those bugs were drawn to the lights. I am sure that bugs from all around could see the lights there were around me, because that is how light works, it pierces through the darkness. And the best way to shine is not with our mouths moving and saying how much we love God and people, but with our actions, our "good deeds". People will notice how we behave and want to be around us then we can share our lives with them and point them to Jesus, who will then get the praise and glory for it. Last night I would have loved to put a bowl over the computer screen to deter the bugs, but in our Christian walk we WANT to attract people, which means we cannot be "secret Christians"; people who just go to church, but don't live it out loud the rest of the week. That is definatly not putting our light on a stand to share with everyone.

It is my prayer that myself, my family, my youth, my church and everyone who enjoys the grace of God through Jesus, will live their lives in such a way that people all around them will not be able to stay away. We are all like moths or June bugs; it is nice to be around others who love us and are kind and we can be that light for everyone who sees us! So shine on, and see what happens! :)

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

HOMERUN!

I guess the last post really took it out of me, because I haven't been able to come up with anything to blog about in almost 2 weeks. Today I decided to go ahead and write something, whether is was much or not, just to get my juices flowing again! And yet as I sit here, I've got nothing haha!


Oh wait... I think it is coming to me... yes... BASEBALL! :)


Tommy loves watching baseball and since it is that time of year and I like being in the same room as my husband, I get to watch a lot of it as well. Tonight it is the Rangers vs the Athletics, which if you are like me, means very little! I usually try to keep up with Tommy's teams and some players just so I will have something to talk to him about but I haven't been able to get into baseball very much this season. Anyway, just a few minutes ago one of the Rangers, who I have actually heard of, hit a home run, hard and fast out of the park. And the crown went wild! I couldn't help but laugh at the heavy-set grown men going crazy over another man's accomplishment! They were screaming, jumping, high five-ing and even "bro hugging", it was as if they had done something amazing themselves! But they didn't, their biggest contribution was buying a ticket and maybe having a hot dog!
As with so many things, I immediately saw this as a parable to the Christian life. There are always those people who seem to really be in the middle of what God is doing and they get to be a part of unbelievable things, hitting it out of the park. Then there are also those who stay in the stands and watch and wait and finally waste away! In my life, I don't want to be just the girl in the stands cheering the big dogs on, I want to be a home run hitter myself. Now I know that there are going to be times when I need to be the cheerleader and encourage those around me, but I don't want to sum total of my life be, "I saw some pretty cool stuff." I want to DO some pretty cool stuff, to be in the middle of the action and excitement. I am not satisfied with sitting around hearing stories of God using people, doing miracles, saving lives, changing hearts or completely shaking things up; Christians were never intended to just be spectators . Jesus please use me to do those things and let my life be so consumed with you that I can hit anything out of the park and inspire others to pick up a bat themselves!