Preacher’s Wife Teaching Life

It always surprises me how often God answers our cry for help. It's almost embarrassing how small he makes our troubles seem with his solutions; He's the God of creative answers and extravagant gifts.   Tornado threat that dissipated into heavy rain, thunder and lightning.  My husband and I experience his mercy every single day. We've experienced his tiny mercies every day  and even big mercies that we never imagined. They range from lifting the threat of tornadoes in our area to providing a home for us free of debt. The common thread among his mercies is the desperation we express for more of Him in our time of need but also in our time of thanksgiving. His mercy is not exclusive to tragic desperation but inclusive of being desperately grateful for all he has done. He showers us with love and provision when we are in fear and when we are thriving. I love how he gives without conditions or strings. He just gives and loves because he wants to.   Cry Out, Refoc

One of my favorite things to do to relax, besides sitting on the porch, is chilling out in our recliner with my PJ pants and a hot cup of coffee after a long day of teaching and tutoring and churching. It’s so nice to curl up with a warm cup in my hands and be able to just pause for a few minutes and enjoy the moment. The only issue is when my problems become bigger than a cup of coffee and a big, comfy recliner. At some point, a cup of coffee, an extra mile or two, a long drive, or another beef jerky just doesn’t cut it anymore. The peace I used to feel from my routines or hobbies is absent and I’m left searching for more. Psalm 122 speaks of praying for peace from God. The English dictionary defines “peace” as the absence of disturbance or the end to war; however, I’m afraid this definition is not the true meaning of peace but rather the result of the true definition. Jesus’ presence creates a calming affect that we associate with peace. Jesus is peace. By going into his presen

A couple months ago, our agriculture exemption was in jeopardy because we didn’t have cows in the time frame that the state regulations require. At the time, cows were at an all time high buying cost so it was impossible for us to scrounge up money and get the 4 required cows for our acreage. We went nuts searching for some way to keep our exemption other than cows. We looked into planting stuff, a wildlife reserve and even a butterfly exhibit (no kidding…LOL). We exhausted every solution trying to find a way around not having cows. During this problem, my husband’s dad called and expressed he had too many cows for his land and needed a place to put them. He wondered if he could let us “borrow” them for an indefinite time. God has such an amazing way of working things out at the perfect time. We have cows, our land is ag exempt and we love the partnership that has developed with my father-in-law. Part of human nature is to get into messy situations, whether it be on purpose or by

By now you know I am a preacher's wife (thus the website name) and part of being a preacher's wife is taking on part of the ministry. As a preacher's wife, I know the burden my husband shoulders and that he deals with a lot more issues than ever come to my attention; he does an outstanding job of praying for people and checking on people. So much so that he's rarely off the phone, whether it be talking, texting, or Facebook messaging. I always joke and say I get the fun half of the job and he gets the hard part of the job. I get to do all the socializing, coffee dates, wedding/baby showers, and chit chatting while he deals with a lot of spiritual warfare and barely has any time for the fun stuff (although, I think he considers that fun...go figure). Since "preacher's wife" isn't exactly a paying job, I get the immense opportunity to teach part time at a community college. I consider this job a 100% blessing because the people are great, the students

We live on a beginner farm with a couple cows, mini goats, cats, and one dog. Our herds are growing and I always hoped my husband could have a dog by his side as he works the cows alone. Our dog, Sergeant, has been an “only child” for eight years so we’ve been hesitant to rock the boat and bring another dog into the equation. He’s pretty spoiled and a little territorial of me and his toys. Even though he’s never displayed aggressive behavior to any person, he has shown signs of fear in the presence of other dogs. My parents’ Australian shepherds had puppies and we fell in love with one of the male, red tri-color puppies but we really didn’t want to make a rash decision based on cute factor. So what did we do? What we always do…we prayed. We went before the Lord together and asked if we should get this dog. To which he replied……silence. We didn’t feel a push in either direction so we rephrased the question and asked again. We said, “we want this puppy so the question is: what do yo

In a world of social media, quick news reports and the web at our fingertips, a lot of bad news and negative information gets funneled into our minds. There’s not really a way around it and it would be stupid to shut yourself off from being aware of current events. Staying positive and encouraged becomes a rarity in a place crowded with negative thoughts. Being negative becomes a way of life, a habit, a mind-set; God wants us to be the light, the good, the hopeful, the encouraging in the midst of all the dark. He also wants us to be strategic about what we expose ourselves to as we shine our light from within. But we must also be conscious of being self-focused or self-centered in our strategies. To become rightfully aligned, we need to become people of peace, with a peace that comes from the Holy Spirit living inside us and being Christ-centered. Psalms 120:6-7 says: I’m tired of living among people who hate peace. I search for peace; but when I speak of peace, they want war!