Preacher’s Wife Teaching Life

I know a teenager who got into drugs and alcohol pretty young (okay, I know a lot of teenagers like this but I'm talking about one in particular). He had a broken family life and sought acceptance at school with a crowd that had a bad influence on him. He found acceptance in the group of "friends" but found emptiness from the hole in his heart. He got snagged by a youth pastor who took him under his wing and he started to feel a pull at his heart to fill it with something more satisfying than the emptiness drugs offered. God met him when he was crying out for more and permeated his physical being with love. He found the acceptance he was seeking and filled the gaping hole with the infinite love of the Heavenly Father. He became a new version of himself that his friends no longer recognized and he no longer sought the numbness that came from the habits of his old life. The habits fell away as the love of God and the desire to do his filled his heart. Look back at the sto...

My friend left a gift for me and when I got home to open it I couldn't help my excitement (I love gifts). I saw the bag had my favorite coffee brand on it so I knew it had to be good. I picked it up and my arm almost fell off with how heavy it was. I wondered out loud what kind of coffee could be so heavy. I looked inside and saw what looked like a pink rock. I thought, "that's odd...is it...a rock?" Then I recalled a conversation we had earlier in the week about pink Himalayan salt and about how I should try it because I love salt. I touched my finger to the rock and tasted it...tastes like salt. I licked the entire rock...definitely salt. So I said to my husband, "oh! It's a pink Himalayan salt rock! How cool! How do I get it in my food? Do I grind it or something?" I started to pull the rock out and realize it has a...cord? Huh...strange. It's a salt light? I don't get it. My husband says, "aw I get it...salt and light. Very clever....

I don't know if you've ever lived on a farm before or even with any kind of animal but surprises are to be expected. We have our cows enclosed in an electric fence; they get moved around every couple days for fresh grazing and we love the system . Either our cows are genius or stupidly hit the jack pot but last weekend, they rolled the hay bale over the electric fence and walked right off our property, down the road, and found greener grass on the other side of the fence (literally). We got a phone call that the cows were out so we put on some jeans, a work shirt, boots and picked up a bucket of feed to retrieve the cows. With help, we found them and Jarrod walked them 2 miles home with a bucket of food while I trailed behind in the truck to make sure they didn't escape. They are now safe at home with the hay bale far away from the electric fence. Suiting up is part of going into any battle. Soldiers, athletes, academic competitors, farmers, etc suit up to prepare for their...

Last week we went to pick up our dry cleaning and drop off some different clothes (we have it down to a pretty good cycle so we aren’t ever out of clothes). Jarrod went in to pick them up but they were missing. They looked under all the “Jarrod’s”, found nothing and basically told us they weren't there. We asked what we needed to do to get them back and they said the manager would have to deal with it when she came in on Wednesday (two days from then). I was upset, to say the least, because I needed the pants for work the next day and Jarrod needed his dress shirts for meetings. Reluctantly we left the dry cleaners and as our day went on, I alternated between being overly upset and knowing God would fix the problem. By my husband’s gentle leadership, he reminded me to seek God as I battled the pull towards doubting God’s character. I was reminded to stay emotionally honest while still knowing that God is the protector and provider. My heart’s desire is to stay in a world of kn...

This year we were awarded a whole extra day of the year to work/play/pray/sleep/whatever! It just so happened that this leap day was  a BEAUTIFUL day in Texas (see picture --->), so our extra day was quite a blessing. We wanted to use this extra day as an opportunity to take a LEAP of faith. We felt like a leap of faith entailed praying and asking God what he wanted us to do - a challenge of sorts - and then doing it! We wanted to get out of our boxes and allow God to ask anything of us. While praying all month about our leap of faith, we've been simultaneously praying about a vision for our church and in our personal lives. It's not surprising that these things we've been praying about coincide. You might know a little of our history but I'll give you a refresher if you don't. My dad was the pastor of our small church for about 20 years when my husband felt the call through countless prophetic words that he was to be a preacher and that his ministry was in p...