Preacher’s Wife Teaching Life

My kitty disappeared and I asked God to give me peace that she was ok...she showed up on my front porch.  I bet if I asked you how you find peace that we would all have different answers. Some might say exercise, yoga, meditation, prayer, house chores (I wish I found peace this way!), being outdoors, etc. I would agree with you that there are some things in life that just calm us down or give us peace for a moment, but I'd also add that there is only one thing that brings lasting peace. This one thing brings peace that doesn't have to be reactivated by more miles, yoga poses, minutes meditating, or cleaning cabinets. This type of peace can be tapped into at any moment without having to get up and do anything. So maybe you like doing your activities...this peace can still be found while doing other stuff. At this point, you probably know what I'm talking about. I'm talking about God, relating to Him through Jesus and receiving peace through the Holy Spirit (they ma...

Anyone who has been to school, teaches school, going to school, or taking a kid to school can understand the adjustment it takes to start a new year. You certainly have to “get back into shape” for getting up early, going all day and catching up on chores/homework at night. We go from the super relaxed summer schedule straight into a very rigid schedule with little flexibility. Personally, it threw me off kilter a little bit and I was very thankful for the long weekend to make up for a tiring week. By the end of the week, I found myself getting agitated and frustrated in areas that I really shouldn’t have been. I was starting to get caught up in the politics around me when it was really not my problem. When Sunday rolled around and I listened to my husband preach, I realized I needed an attitude adjustment - a refocusing of my gaze. I got so bogged down with these nit picky things that don’t really matter and forgot the real reason I was there. My mission as a teacher is to help...

As a full-time employee at a school , I received a laptop. I want to respect school property and protect the laptop from unnecessary damage so I ordered a sleeve for it to sleep in while I carry it to and fro in my teacher tote. Jarrod has Amazon Prime so I ordered it on his account for it to be delivered the Saturday before school starts. Saturday, I went to the mailbox and it wasn’t there. Jarrod says, “ohh yeah! I forgot…my credit card expired and you have to reorder it.” I was so disappointed! I thought I timed the delivery perfectly and I couldn’t wait to check out my new purple laptop sleeve! At this point, I was presented with two options in my mind and emotions: 1.        Get mad and blame a bunch of people for my misfortune, or 2.        Not be so dramatic because now it arrives on Monday and that’s not very far away (first world probs). I chose the first option. The thing is, in my mind, I knew there we...

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 thing you do that you don't wanna do but you keep doing it because you can't stop doing it? These behaviors might include: lying, cheating, raging, gossiping, pornography, drinking, drugs, eating, throwing up, etc. Reforming these behaviors on your own can prove to be a little tricky. I'd say reforming undesirable behavior might even be impossible on your own. But there is still hope for us. With the love of God, the power of the Holy Spirit and a renewed mind, you can reform your behavior. Youth conference with lots of God encounters! An encounter with God is the easiest way to reform undesirable behavior because the encounter will fill you with the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord renews our minds in a way that informs our bodies of what's beneficial to our spiritual health in the eyes of God. So, your mouth doesn't want to lie anymore; your tongue won't allow you to eat certain things; your eyes will be opened to the evil of pornogra...

Man, can you believe some of the stories we hear on the news? It’s crazy to believe that these are true stories that are happening on our home turf. My heart is saddened by the way people are treated. It’s not only in the planned attacks against our police, the LGBT community, Christians, and our government officials, but also on social media, over the phone or the grocery store parking lot. Sure, acts of kindness are shown too. We have the “pay it forward” movement at the coffee shop, a chivalrous young man holding the door open for a woman, the kind stranger helping to find a lost item and so on. However, it’s the acts of hatred that rest heavy on my heart and the hearts of the rest of God’s people. Across the nation, God’s people are coming together as one and sharing His vision of transformation. It is a transformation accomplished through the power of His love. He wants to start a movement that transplants the hearts of wicked with a new and pure heart that beats with lo...

After I quit my full-time teaching job a couple years ago, I knew, financially, that I would need another job to help pay bills. I looked and applied for a couple months with no luck. We prayed about whether I should keep searching or not and we felt like God was saying not to. He wanted me to be with my husband full-time in the ministry. That was unfathomable to me because I have a degree, a skill set, and a desire to work but God wanted me to step out of my comfortable box and live a life dependent on Him. I’m not going to say it was all butterflies and flowers - there were months I felt tempted to get a job and pay for things we couldn’t afford, but God said not to and he repeatedly provided for our every need. Three years later, I was living a dependent life on God and not looking for a job when one fell into my path that seemed too good to be true. I didn’t want to assume this opportunity was for me and force my way into a job (plus, I was kind of enjoying not “working”), so we p...

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...

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! ...

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...