Preacher’s Wife Teaching Life

Whether you're at the ⛰ highest point in your life or the ⚓️ lowest valley, God has already 🔨 worked out something for your 🌺 good.   There's no need to 🤨worry about what comes next as long as you 🙏pray about your future and 🙋🏻‍♀️seek God in your decisions. Have 🌈hope as you figure out His intricate plan for your life.  “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” R omans 8:28   Part of His intricate plan is new opportunities! If you’re at the end of your 🎣rope, you're in a 👍good spot! When you've reached the end of 🤦🏻‍♀️yourself, the only (and best) option left is God.  Whether you've run out of 💡ideas, 💵money, 🤭options or ⏰time, God already had something 🤲prepared for you. Last year, I was working part ⏱time as a junior college 📐math teacher. We had reached a point where we were out of 💵money and 💡ideas but my school was...

Anxiety is something we all feel at least once in our lives. Some of us feel it every day; some of us feel it seasonally. Whatever category you fall under, I'm sure you know what I mean when I refer to the feeling of anxiety. We played "Lucky" at our wedding because the words spoke to both of us. I've talked a lot about ways the prevent anxiety and how prayer is a guaranteed way to get away from anxious feelings. In this post, I'm talking about another method to escape anxiety: worshiping Jesus through songs. Songs and prayer work in the same way: they both bring our focus to something other than our problems. Songs and praise bring our eyes up to the God and serve as a reminder of who is in charge. The one advantage that songs have over prayer is the emotional connection we have to certain lyrics or tunes. Think about your favorite song...do you have it? Why is it your favorite song? What does it remind you of? What time in your life did you hear that ...

If you've ever tried to read straight through the Bible before, you know how difficult it is. I know every time I've tried that I'm super excited through Genesis, still pretty good through Exodus and then is S-L-O-W-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S waaayyyy down after that and I usually just give up. My goal for 2017 was to read through the Bible. A friend of mine mentioned a One Year Chronological Bible and I felt like this was the most realistic way to make it to the end.  I checked it out on amazon and found a used Bible for $5 (this what I bought... click here ). I also saw that it had a designated reading for each day of the year AND it put the Bible story in a chronological timeline (here are some others... click here ). I have a very logical mind (blame it on my math degree), so laying out the Bible in the order that it took place just made sense to me. I couldn't wait to start my journey into the greatest story of all time. I have to say that it felt like molasses through ce...

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...

At the dawning of a new year, we can't help but see what's coming as a clean slate and a fresh start. Most of us make resolutions or goals for the new year. Did you make any this year? Did you have any prayers you wanted answered or hopes you wanted fulfilled? Internet!!!!!! Our very pregnant mini goat The past two years, my husband and I have written down our hopes for the new year. I can honestly say that most of those hopes have come true. There are a few things we are still praying for, but ultimately we know that everything happens in God's good timing. Some of the things I hoped for were kind of silly, like for our mini goats to have babies and internet at our house (we live in between two middle-of-nowheres and there's nothing but land and cows); some of my hopes were a little more serious, like becoming spiritually closer with Jarrod and reaching more people for Jesus. Those four things alone came true this year: our mini goat is currently about to pop...

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...

Creepy iPad and keyboard I walked into my bedroom to work on my computer, thinking about what I might want to write about. I’ve had a rough couple days for no particular reason so I was trying to tie that in to a topic for the blog. After the 300th time of trying to get my wireless keyboard to connect to my computer, I have to admit I got a little heated over the matter. I stormed out of my bedroom, slammed the door for effect and at that very moment, my iPad turned on and randomly started playing “What is Love?” It stopped me in my tracks. It’s a song from the 80/90s, but it is a song I grew up on and remember fondly from skating rink days. I immediately grabbed the iPad and started dancing (ridiculously) in the living room and laughing so hard it hurt. The title of the song and the timing of it turning on without my permission are not lost on me. I love how God works. He reminds us in the most unique ways of his presence and how small our problems are. Did I mention that I don’t...

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...

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...

If you’ve followed my page on Facebook , then you’ve seen the “how-to” videos my husband and I prepared. Staying true to the blog format, I’d like to write out what we spoke about in those videos. In between making those videos, on our way out of the driveway, we ran over one of our kittens. I was forced to walk out my own teachings yet again as we faced a tragedy beyond our control.  My husband and I know enough to understand that we don’t have to wallow in our pit of despair; we know hope is available to us and that we want it. My husband lined out a 4 step plan to find hope and we walked it out together as we mourned the loss of our kitten. Step 1: Acknowledge Him as God- This simply involves addressing him and acknowledging that he is real and his presence is known in your world. {Proverbs 3:6 - In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will makes your paths straight.} Step 2: Worship Him -  Let your worship, praises and thanksgiving flow out of your mout...

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! ...