-
Why I Stopped Playing Church
When I was a little girl, our family lived in a parsonage, a home owned by the church where the pastor’s family resided. Ours was an old 5-bedroom house, built 100 years ago. An enclosed porch graced the front our home and was big enough for a small table and chairs, a couch, and a podium. I don’t know why or how this wooden stand came to rest in the veranda, but there it was inviting this playful girl to turn the porch into a church and hold services. Being blissfully unaware of my denomination’s feelings about women pastors, I held marriage ceremonies for my stuffed animals and preached sermons…
-
For the One
“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.” Matthew 18:12-14 (NIV) I love sheep. If you’ve known me a long time, you might know that already. I’ve been collecting sheep of all shapes and sizes for many years. When I…
-
Parallel Parking and God – A Lesson in Listening
My last child, #4, takes her driving test very soon. I have attempted to show her various maneuvers, but knew I had to pass her off to her dad to cover the intricacies of parallel parking. You see, her dad, who is a car-loving “gear-head” if there ever was one, can park a car inside our garage within inches of the walls and corners. A few days ago they set out to practice on the road, but before they did, my husband attempted to show our daughter on paper how to parallel park. What followed was a series of “I know Dad!” and then “Just be quiet and listen!” verbal…
-
So You Want to Be A Pastor’s Wife – Part Two
Years ago I discovered an old book, written in 1956, called “How to be a Preacher’s Wife and Like It”1 written by Lora Lee Parrott. The book begins, “To marry a successful preacher has been the secret ambition of many fine Christian young ladies.” Ha! I snickered, “Not me!” In fact, when I first met my husband-to-be, I knew he was studying to be a pastor, so I told him plainly, “I’ll NEVER be a pastor’s wife!” We were married two years later. Why was I so resistant? Maybe it was because of the pressure that used to be placed upon the wife of the pastor. Listen to what else…
-
So You Want to Be a Pastor’s Wife – Part One
There’s been a buzz on my Facebook news feed recently, the excitement of new beginnings as friends and family graduate from high school, college and other schools of higher learning. Twenty-five years ago, we felt the same thrill as my husband wrapped up his last year of Seminary and we were sent off to the West to begin a life in ministry! Mingling emotions of RELIEF (completing school), EXCITEMENT (our first assignment!), and WONDER (are we ready?) filled our being. My brand-new husband, well aware of my reluctance to be a pastor’s wife (we’ll save that for another blog), assured me, “Honey, it may not always be easy, but I promise, we’re…
-
Hold On Tight
Last month I touched on the subject of “letting go” -releasing all that we have no control over. Letting go of past events, situations, or worries. Letting go of guilt from sins that Jesus took care of 2000 years ago. Since then, I’ve been pondering the opposite view, because I realize that although there is much we need to let go of and release, there are also some things that are worth fighting for, worth hanging on to – as if life depended on it. What are those things deemed worthy of time, energy, and effort? Here’s a starter-list to get us thinking. 1. My marriage. I started with this…
author and speaker
