Preacher’s Wife Teaching Life

If you walked into my house last week, you would have found me having a fight with a coffee machine. Like any other normal person, I like to have coffee in the morning. And like any other coffee lover, if I don't get my coffee, insanity ensues.  My thoughts when there was no coffee. On this particular morning, my coffee machine decided to make all the appropriate noises but do none of the appropriate functions to make coffee. Water was spewing everywhere; Kcups were wasted; coffee cups were splattered why murky coffee like substance.  I. Freaked. Out. I ripped the cord out of the wall, threw the machine in the sink upside down and cursed the heck out of it. I might venture the say this was a little over the top for an innocent coffee machine with no heart beat. I might even venture to say it could have been user error. I don't know, but whatever it was, my reaction was a little dramatic for a plastic item. Jarrod encouraged me to take a break as I instructed him to ...

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...

I went to the store and bought some pants. When I got home and tried them on, they fit like I might be wearing my 10 year old nephew’s pants so I placed them in my car to exchange for a normal sized petite human being’s pants. I kept forgetting to return them for about a week or so until I finally took them back (with my receipt). I went to the customer service counter, returned the toddler pants, got cash back and went to find another pair in the size I needed. Apparently in the time I waited to return the pants, they had gone on sale so when I bought the new pair they were less expensive! Now that’s what I call a great exchange! Cha-ching! I came out on top in that blunder of forgetfulness and timing and sale times. The feeling associated with this exchange is similar to the exchange that happens in our lives when we hand over our vices for God’s love. Trading in bitterness for kindness is even better than the natural high you get from exchanging that too-tight pair of pants for...