Preacher’s Wife Teaching Life

Have you ever looked back at old pictures, watched old videos or read old Facebook posts and noticed yourself cringing a little bit? Come on, I know you have at least once. At the time, what you're doing feels so right and then looking back, with wisdom, you can see how misguided your decisions were. I know this is certainly true for me. I have changed so much in my young adulthood that sometimes I cringe at the younger me. With a little distance, maturity and wisdom I can see the error of my ways. However, I'd be lying if I said those were the only three ingredients in my recipe for finding my true self. The main ingredient, the flour of the recipe, is Christ in me. My time with him has broken off so many lies of my past, regret, blame, shame and generational curses. He alone has revealed my true identity...the person he created me to be and I'm still not done chipping away the junk. When I visualize this process I get an image of "Thing" in Fantastic Four (t...

Driving down I-20, I couldn't help but notice how frustrated I was as I timed how long it took me to drive to my new job. I *get the privilege* of spending two days a week in a town 45 minutes from my home and all I felt was dread on the drive over there. Why would I feel dread when God led me here, gave me this opportunity and told me to find joy in the process? Because my heart wasn't on the same page as my mouth.  The car is parked during the making of this picture. When God gave me this opportunity, it came with the stipulation that I would have to commute twice a week. He asked me if I would be willing to do that and I said with my thoughts, "yes, Lord!" while my heart was saying, "I don't like this!" **insert stomping foot and pouting lip** God set up this perfect job  that I would thoroughly enjoy, not take up too much of my time in the ministry and allow me to reach more people. I took one small aspect that I didn't like about my n...

A fun part of my story! Free Cowboys tickets! Have you ever felt that sting of jealousy when you look at someone else? The sting of pain that happens when they have something you don't.You wonder why your life looks different and maybe even wonder what you did wrong. I feel this way sometimes when I look at people. I think, "they have 3 kids, she drives a new car, he has a bigger house, she's getting her master's degree, she's more creative than me..." I've been noticing that these thoughts lead to a dark place of depression and inferiority. Even though I know all about perspective and that people might look at my life the same way as I look at someone else's, I still can't help but compare myself. My love story with Jarrod is so cool! God has been talking to me a lot about this lately. He's been telling me that just because my story is different, that doesn't mean that my story is inferior to another person's story. Each one ...

It was a Friday when I got the call from the vet that we needed to make a decision on not IF to put Troop down, but when. I was devastated by having to make this decision and spent all night begging God to heal my dog. When I finally fell asleep, He gave me a dream. In my dream, I brought Troop home from the hospital and everything was very similar to real life. Our house looked the same, our land was the same but I could tell it was just different (lighting, weather, atmosphere). In this dream, Troop was healed, running around and playing with his ball. My parents came over to celebrate with me and showered me with gifts. Our air conditioning guy (random...?) was at the house replacing my air conditioner for free like he did every year...??? I woke up and assumed God was telling me He would heal Troop. We woke up early, went straight to the vet and expected Troop to be healed. He wasn’t. We ended up putting him down that day. Jarrod stood beside him and prayed over him as he took h...

There are plenty distractions to interrupt my day. If it’s not an actual person, it might be an email, an errant thought, a butterfly or exhaustion that distract me from what I’m supposed to be doing. When everyone is calling my name, texting me, emailing me are asking for help, it’s very hard to stay on track.  For example, when I try to clean my house, I work with such purpose on one thing and then…SQUIRREL! I see something else that needs to be worked on. Then, when I’m doing that I see a different thing that needs to be cleaned…and suddenly, I’m working on 3 or more things with divided effort. If I could just work with purpose on one thing and then move on to the next item, I could get a lot done and do it well.  FLOOD Youth Conference This is a worldly representation of my relationship with God and His purpose for me. It might range from being distracted during prayer to knowing my purpose, starting well and getting distracted in the process. Just yesterday, ...

Daddy, daughter For Father’s Day, I took my dad on a daddy-daughter date. My dad was a full-time preacher when I was growing up, so we spent a lot of time together before I was enrolled in school. He took me everywhere, and I tagged along for everything. When I got married, my husband filled the role as the man in my life, but I am still very close to my dad (and mom!). That being said, I don’t get a lot of alone time with my dad like we had when I was a kid, so I took him on a coffee date. We had so much fun chatting, catching up and drinking GOOD coffee from a local coffee shop. I was on cloud 9 after spending time with my dad and having his attention solely on me. I just know this mirrors the happiness we are capable of after spending time with our Heavenly Father and having his loving attention on us. Part of my family This got me thinking about happiness. What brings happiness? What defines happiness for each individual? Can we ever truly be happy? What brings happine...

Upon introductions, we often ask the other person what he/she does. The easiest way to answer that question for me is to say, “A preacher’s wife full-time and a teacher part-time.” Even though this perfectly describes my role, it leaves people wondering what a preacher’s wife actually does to warrant “full-time” status. Some quick questions I can answer upfront are:   Is “preacher’s wife” an actual job title? No, not really.   The closest example to “preacher’s wife” I can think of is the First Lady. There are a certain amount of expectations that come with the role, but there are few requirements I have to fulfill. Does a preacher’s wife get paid for what she does? No. I volunteer my time freely and wouldn’t expect payment. I’m sure at a bigger church if I had an actual job to report to that I’d get paid, but at our micro-church no such position is needed. Pi Party Like I said before, I answer to no one as far as a boss or supervisor, so there is very little re...

God sure has been saying a lot and saying it clearly to me lately in my time set aside for him.The peace I feel throughout each day comes from time spent resting in his presence and listening to his plans and hopes. He told me today that my hopes and his plans are very closely aligned. He said I've lived a life walking closely to him, and the things I dream about and hope for are the things he plans for me to have. Going into my day knowing that certainly changes the way I view the day that unfolds. The small hardships or harsh words that used to crumble me are brushed away with the knowledge that God is pleased with me. The distractions of life are pushed aside as I remember the plans he has for me. I'm telling you, it's a different quality of life than the one of worry and anxiety I used to live. This little guy is one of my dreams come true. There is an indescribable feeling of fulfillment that comes from experiencing his love and hearing his thoughts about me an...

With each new day comes new obstacles. When we get weighed down by these obstacles and our own expectations, our hope dims and our frustration brightens. I'm here today to testify that dimming hope is not possible in a day walked closely with God. This doesn't mean you toss your anger and frustration in his direction and throw your requests out into open air; walking a day with God means spending time in his presence and opening up the conversation with him to rid you of frustration and hopelessness.  My frustration this morning! Made me late to work but prayer brought me favor with timing. We are learning that every day is a gift from God. Each day doesn't have to be open season for opposition; each day can bring new hope, new opportunities, second chances and excitement for what is to come. We don't have the promise of tomorrow, but we do have the promise of a life lived well with God on our side and the guarantee of an eternity spent with him.  A joyful...

Every day I hear people wondering out loud if they are effective or having an impact in the world. We can't help but want to leave our mark on the world and impact people in a powerful way. What you're experiencing right now, what you've experienced in the past, and what you will experience tomorrow shapes you in such a way that you have a unique impact on people. We go through hard times and we go through good times that shape us into the person we are with the personality we have. Some people go through harder things than others and some people grow up in an environment of love and safety. Whatever you're surrounded with, it is shaping you. God uses every single life experience for his victory, your testimony, and for the people that you can reach through your personal experiences. The key to getting to a place where you can share your experiences with light, love and hope comes from intimacy with God and sustained victory over darkness. Only through God can we sh...

God showed me a little bit about our identity through my understanding of mathematics. It may seem scary at first, but I'll explain it so stick with me :) I'll start with a simple example to explain what God is saying in the above graphic. 1*3 = 3, right? Yes. 1 is the identity for multiplication because it is the only number that won't change the characteristics of other numbers. 1*4 = 4 1*5 = 5 and so on. Jesus is a Christian's true identity so: Jesus * you = YOU He is the only factor that can produce the true you. The you without the hitch hikers that jump on your mind and heart from the troubles of this world, your upbringing and your worry for the future. . My husband and I have been focusing our mornings on spending more time with God. He prefers an unhindered quiet time of soaking, praying and reading while I enjoy time on the sofa with coffee, puppies, reading and praying. I love to see how the word applies to my life and also how it provides e...

You know that feeling when things aren’t working out the way you planned? Maybe you expected a better outcome for yourself and you’re worried about how everything will turn out? You lose sleep over issues that are out of your control and you have anxiety about the future. As the reader, you might notice all the “you’s” in the above sentences. There wasn’t much of “God” mentioned but there was a lot mentioned about your own well-being and yourself. This is an example of operating in the flesh. If you haven’t grown up in church, you might associate “flesh” with skin and you’re wondering why I’m talking about skin. “Flesh” in church-ese for operating in this world without the guidance and fruit of the Holy Spirit. Flesh focuses a lot on “self” – self-gratification, selfishness, self-satisfaction, self-advancement, self-consciousness, self-protection, etc. Walking in the flesh usually ends in anxiety, worry, depression, addictions, destruction, anger and fear. Matthew 7:13,14 Ent...

A Jesus lover's destiny ultimately is to live eternity with him. In the meantime, we are often left wondering what our destiny is here on Earth ( 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 ). We ask ourselves what we were made for or where we are headed in life. This Sunday, God revealed through Pastor Jim three things about destiny. Your destiny is to: 1) Have a relationship with God.  Simply put, a relationship with God entails spending time with him. Your time may be spent talking, listening, singing, soaking, dancing, resting, or any other various form that allows you to spend time with God. A reminder of God's promise and the wiping out of evil men. 2) Have victory over darkness. What is darkness? Darkness is anything evil in your life that drowns out God's light and love. Victory over darkness means: by the power of the Holy Spirit, you have the ability to rid your life of darkness and see the light of God's love. For example, I had reoccurring dreams about people accusing ...

If I asked you what you think God's will for your life is, how would you answer? You might answer stating the purpose of your life or saying what drive's you or what your passion is. God's will is stated clearly in 1 Thessalonians 4 : that you should be sanctified. I talk more about that in this video. But before you watch, please know that conviction from God is different than shame. I'll put it this way: If God is good and shame is bad, then shame is not from God. So please, if you feel shame, cast it off in Jesus' name and ask him to fill you with his love, peace and wisdom as you deal with the actions he brings to your mind.

It's quite common for our view of family to expand when we are thrown into situations where our blood families are not available. For example, military people form tight bonds with fellow soldiers because of the stories shared, time spent, and hard days lived together. Jarrod and I are quickly finding that these bonds are not confined to military branches, schools or other places. These bonds are formed within the body of Christ. Through the body of Christ we are able to share stories and experiences, find common ground through the love of God, and spend time together learning more about Jesus. Hear more about how we've transformed our lives through our expanding view of family:

One of my favorite things to do is take old furniture that's been tossed aside and make it new again.I found this old dresser in a second-hand store that was a little ratty. It had some water damage, missing screws and just needed some TLC in general. But all I saw was it's potential! It was exactly what I'd been searching for and it had great potential to be made into a beautiful piece of furniture. I sent a picture to my husband and he wasn't too keen on it but said he trusted me to make that decision. Sooooooooo after a couple days of thinking, I bought it. We took it home and I couldn't wait to get started on it! I sanded it down, cleaned it up, spray painted the handles, primed all the surfaces and finished it with a fresh coat of paint. What used to be an ugly, tossed-aside piece became beautiful and welcome in our home. I think I love transforming furniture so much because it reminds me of the way God works in our lives when we say yes to him. It seems like...

SURPRIIIIIIISE!!!! The Shock of the Year… We were invited to a friend’s house for dinner last weekend. We pulled up promptly at 7, walked in the house and received instructions from my friend. She said that her son wanted to show me his new puppy in the backyard. I open up the door to the backyard and immediately see all my close church friends gathered around in expectation, and hear a loud “SURPRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISE!!!!!!” In that moment, my heart was flooded with emotion. Tears gathered in my eyes as memories and thoughts of great times spent together came rushing upon me in an instant. I was so excited and touched to know that they had been planning this for weeks and prepared a special party for me with all my favorite things. One of those favorite things included the art of celebration; I love to celebrate and mark moments in time with good memories and good friends. I love for each person to feel special and distinguished when good things come their way. Cheesecake F...

I've talked about God's redeeming love in almost every one of my posts so I feel like I can talk shorthand with y'all on this one. The quick synopsis is: No matter what you did, what you're going to do or what you're thinking about doing, God forgives. With his forgiveness, he brings love and generous redemption (Psalm 130). His love is all consuming and runs so deep that when he's truly allowed into your life, it changes you.   All over the news, social media and every day events I see hate and anger. I see love too, but the anger consumes the lion share of "news". It's almost as if hate and anger is like a virus that keeps spreading. I'm challenging you to spread God's love. As a child of God, you've been forgiven, set free and are a vessel of God's love. God's love is so big that it can be spread to an infinite number of people - it won't run out. Please take the love you've been given and make it contagious. Sho...

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...