I Am Mute

This is my week to blog….I wanted to write something Monday--nothing!  Tuesday--nothing!  Now it is Wednesday...and I still got nothing to say!  I got nothing.  (And I know grammatically I am suppose to say I’ve got nothing). 

 

I am not mad.  I am not sad.  I am not depressed.  It’s just that I got (I’ve got) nothing to say!  At least nothing that God has given me to say.  I have asked.  I am listening.  I got nothing!

 

But I have to say something!  Don’t I?  After all, it’s my turn to blog!  (Or sometimes I think/say to myself…."I have so say something….I have to teach Sunday school"….or "I have to lead the Bible study…..I have to say something!")

 

Or do I?

 

So, what do we do when we got (we’ve got) nothing to say?  Make something up?  Say something that God spoke to us long ago?  Say something God said to someone else?  Yes!  That is what I should do! 

 

Or is it? 

 

Unfortunately, too many times that is what I do do!!  Not this time though.  Nope.  I am mute.  I got nothing.

So….as MercyMe would say…..Word of God Speak….!

Psalm 94:17-19

Unless the LORD had helped me, I would soon have settled in the silence of the grave.  I cried out, “I am slipping!” but Your unfailing love, O LORD, supported me.  When doubts filled my mind, Your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.

Psalm 23 for the Minister's Wife

It is so funny how God can speak to us.  The other day I was preparing to do my quiet time before beginning a very busy day.  You know those days where you list is a mile long and you need a good supply of chocolate for your energy boost.  Anyway, I said a quick prayer and ask the Lord to show me something new, fresh, and to speak to my heart.  I also asked the Lord to bring an idea to mind about which I could share with you.

I opened my devotional guide and the scripture was Psalms 23.  “Okay Lord,” I said aloud, “you know that I know these verses by heart, so what do you want me to learn today?”  Well girlfriends, God just poured out some thoughts regarding ministers’ wives from these six simple verses.  I was in awe and very humbled by what God was speaking to my soul.

Verse 1:  God is all we need.  In this world where people strive for fame and fortune, God is all we truly need.  For example, my husband and I have lived in everything from an old, falling apart mobile home to a beautiful five bedroom home.  We have opened the last can of beans and feasted on it.  Tithing truly is act of faith when you place your last dollar in the offering plate and wonder where you will get the money to put food on the table.  However, God was and is always faithful.  He is our All in All, our Hope, our Shelter.  What more could we ever desire?

Verse 2: He wants us to rest.  I do not know about you but as a minister’s wife I long for time to just sit and rest.  My spirit gets empty, my soul (and body) aches, my mind is weary of ministering to people.  We not only have a church family, but we must care for our families, hold down a secular job, etc.  There are days when I long for a green pasture to walk barefoot in or to lounge by a babbling brook as it sings a lullaby to my soul.  Since I am a beach bum at heart, I find complete rest and relaxation sitting on the white sandy shore of an ocean as the waves wash over my bare feet. 

Verse 3:  If we are in right relationship with the Lord, He will lead us.  Way too many ministers’ wives are holding too many jobs within the church.  We are stealing blessings from someone else plus taking our eyes off the Lord.  I know from personal experience that when no one else would fill a role at church I would attempt to tackle it.  I would not pray about it.  I would simply do it.  Boy, did I mess things up!  Instead of following what God wanted me to do, I did what Vickie wanted to do and ended up in the muddy ditches and thorny bushes. 

Verse 4:  Dark valleys will come.  Ministry is a difficult job.  Sometimes people do not like you.  Sometimes issues arise in churches and can hurt the fellowship.  Sometimes God moves us from one place of ministry to another.  Sometimes we experience illness, death, financial stress, etc.  Many ministers’ wives choose to not be “involved” in their husband’s ministry which can lead to marriage strain.  Some ministers’ wives struggle with depression and loneliness.  We need to remember that God is our Shepherd and He will lead us through these dark valleys if we stay close to Him.  He already knows what lies ahead in the bend of the road or just over the hill.  All He asks of us is to walk by His side and not wander off.  I have discovered that even in the darkest valleys of ministry God’s perfect peace surrounds me if I am focusing on Him.

Verse 5:  The enemies will come.  I think anyone in the ministry has experienced attacks from the Enemy.  Satan and his demons stand waiting for any issue to arise in our lives or the church in order to destroy us.  Often he comes in sheep clothing by way of a church member or he may stand out in the world opposing anything Christian.  I am just wondering how many of you have had a church member come to you to criticize your husband, children, a ministry of the church, or you.  I know I have and even though I know it is the Enemy it still hurts.  We may believe that all is lost but God promises that if we keep our eyes focused on Him that He will lift us up and our cup will overflow with endless blessings. 

Verse 6:  We are pursued!  Even on the loneliest, hardest, darkest days, I know that God is pursuing me.  When I wander way and get caught in the muddy ditch or the thorny bush, He comes looking for me, calling my name.  When I cried out to Him, the Good Shepherd faithfully and lovingly picks me up and brings me safely back to the fold.  

 Psalm 23 is very precious to me because my mother taught these verses to me as a very young child.  It is the first thing I can remember memorizing.  I have read it thousands of times.  However, God revealed Himself in a new light to me this week.  I would love for you to join me in reading again this passage and share how this passage may relate to us as ministers’ wives. 

 

Our Little Blessing

 

 

  Since you are my sisters in ministry and we are part of God's big family, I wanted to show you a glimpse of our new family member, Gideon James Lee.  Yes, I became a uh . . . grandmother (I am still having a little trouble saying that) in August.  Oh sisters, this little guy (G-Man) is his Vivi's favorite man now. 

 

After all the saddness, sleepless nights, illnesses, moves, and weariness of this year, God placed this little boy in our lives.  He already has brought so much joy to our hearts.  My husband and I wait daily for photos to be sent to us via text, email, or Facebook.  Yep, God knew we needed a dose of His goodness in human form so He sent us Gideon.

 

As a minister's wife it is sometime easy to forget that God cares for us.  Sometimes we feel lost in the world of "doing" church, holding down the homefront, and managing an secular job.  But God has not forgotten us.  He has blessed us in so many ways.  If you are feeling down today, take a moment to pause and think of ways God has blessed you recently.  You can at least put at the top of the list that you have salvation through Jesus Christ.

 

So girlfriends, get busy making your list.  I want to hear about some of those blessings and I am sure our blog friends do to.

 

Oh, by the way, Gideon is calling the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.  It's a family tradition! Oh and yes, I will be introducing G-Man to chocolate in the near future.

 

 

 

 

 



Walking Worthy

“Order my steps in thy word; and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.”

Psalm 119:133

Ladies, our church recently hosted a women’s conference, and the theme was “Order My Steps”.  It was a wonderful weekend in the Lord’s presence! We were challenged to walk worthy of the Lord in different areas of our lives;  we experienced a blessed time of praise, worship, fellowship, and sitting at the feet of Jesus!

 I wrote a short devotional for our conference booklet, and I would like to share it with you.

Do You Desire To Walk Worthy?

What does it truly mean to walk worthy of the Lord?  Have you ever pondered this question?  Can you look at your life and with assurance declare that you  walk worthy of Christ?

We who belong to the Lord should have a deep longing to walk worthy of our awesome Savior who loved us and gave His life for us.  But how do we live this out on a daily basis?

Let us consider what the apostle Paul admonished the saints to do in his letter to the Colossians in Chapter 1:10.....”that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way; bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.”

It seems that walking worthy involves being pleasing to our Savior…..do you desire to please Him in all that you say and do?  Does your lifestyle reflect an attitude that considers what is pleasing to Christ?   We are told to make it our goal to please Him. (2 Corinthians 5:9)

Walking worthy also consists of bearing fruit……do you engage in good deeds that glorify God and point people to Christ?  Christ tells us that He chose us and appointed us to bear fruit. (John 15:16)

Finally, walking worthy means growing in our relationship with our Father.   Do you desire to read and study God’s word and talk with Him daily through prayer?  We cannot grow in the Lord unless we spend time with Him. (2 Peter 3:18)

To truly walk worthy of the Lord may be difficult at times, but any sacrifices that we have to make to live it out do not remotely compare to the sacrifice that Christ made for us on Calvary’s Cross.   

Ladies, walk worthy for God’s Glory!

Milestones

Have you ever taken the time to reflect on milestones in your life?  A milestone could be a birthday (physical birth and spiritual birth), a graduation, a marriage, the birth of a child, a new job, a mission trip, a ministry assignment, a retirement.  It could be many things; we all have several of these life-defining moments when we have gone to a new season or made a transition in our lives.

In the past, I have reflected on various milestones that have occurred over my life, and I started contemplating milestones recently when my husband celebrated his 50^th birthday.  Wow, that’s amazing, half a century!  Now by no means do I think that is old, especially since I’m not too far behind him! In fact, 60, 70, and even 80 do not seem that old to me anymore.  (It’s amazing how our prospective on age changes as we get older!)

I do realize that not all milestones revive pleasant memories.  For instance, the death of a loved one, a lost friendship, a job loss, a move, and others such as these can trigger memories and emotions that we sometimes try not to relive. Yet even in the midst of these types of milestones, I believe that the Lord can remind us how He has kept us and given us comfort in these valley experiences. 

Reflecting on joyful milestones in our lives can remind us of what a good God we serve and how He has lavishly showered us with blessing after blessing over the course of our lives.  Sometimes it is refreshing to recall the different seasons in our lives where we knew for certain that God was working, perhaps you could even write about these moments in a journal. 

One milestone (and there are sooooo many) that I want to share is the fact that I was given the opportunity to contribute to this blog.  The Lord knows that I love to write and I love to encourage, and I praise God that He took my desire and made it a reality, and my goal is to honor Him with every post!

Do you have special milestones in your life?  Take the time to reflect on your own personal life-defining moments, and see just how FAITHFUL the Lord has been in your life!

Consider the wonderful words of the psalmist:

 I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done.  Psalm 143:5

Ministering to Soliders and their Families

As I write today I am thinking of my oldest son, Stephen, who is a Captain in the Air Force.  Just two weeks after the birth of his first child, he deployed to a part of the world that is full of unrest.  He spent a short time on our soil training before actually departing to his assignment.  Right now, I am wondering what he is doing and if he is safe.  Another concern I have is for Stephen’s wife, Robyn, and our grandson, Gideon.  We try to call or text nightly to check in on them.  Our prayers not only blanket Stephen but we pray for Robyn and Gideon as well.   

My husband and I traveled to Las Vegas shortly after Gideon was born.  It was a twofold trip-see the first grandchild and say goodbye to Stephen before he deployed.  Oh ladies, I can tell you that on the day we left Las Vegas my heart broke.  I grabbed my fully-grown son in a bear hug and began to sob.  As I walked away that day I kept looking back to memorize his face but in doing so I kept seeing Robyn as well.  Stephen had told us weeks before that while he was away to please take care of Robyn and his child.

I want to say I am so proud of my son and his willingness to serve his country.  He is following in the steps of so many other men and women who protect our freedom daily.  However, I think we too often forget the spouses and families left behind.  These special people sacrifice too.  There are missed holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, and other special events.

As a church family we often pray for our military and their families.  However, what do we really do to encourage them?  Personally, I am trying to send a card each week to my daughter-in-law.  I try to provide an encouraging scripture verse or a funny story about her husband.  Just yesterday I mailed Robyn a card with a gift card to her favorite yogurt place.  I hope it puts a smile on her face. 

One of Robyn’s friends in Louisiana hosted a card shower (I had never heard of a card shower) through Hallmark.com.  People simply signed up for the shower and could either purchase a card on-line or mail one from home.  When Robyn went to her mailbox on the assigned day of the card shower, she found it overflowing with cards and notes of encouragement.  I have asked a couple of ladies who had family members deployed what people did for them.  One friend said that receiving a card in the mail always brighten her day.  My aunt whose husband was in Vietnam shared an entirely different view.  She said during the Vietnam War people did not welcome soldiers home as they did in the past and now do.  In addition, the families left behind were shunned because people did not agree with the war.  Although many in her church were very supportive and checked on her and the children weekly, other members of her own church turned their backs on the family.  How very sad!  My daughter-in-law suggested offering to babysit so she could run errands, offer to bring a meal, or just come visit for a short time.  Her church family in Vegas is doing just that. 

So ladies, I need more suggestions on how to minister to families of deployed soldiers.  I would also like fun suggestions on what to pack in goodie boxes for my son while he is away.  Currently, I am trying to figure out a way to ship chocolate chip cookies so that the chocolate does not melt in the desert heat.

I hope you don't mind but I want to share this photo with you of this sweet moment.



See you later little man.

You Are Appreciated!

For many years now, October has been designated as Pastor/Clergy Appreciation Month.   I have been curious about how this yearly recognition originated.  So in this blog, I wanted to inform you (and some of you enlightened sisters may already know) about the history behind why there is a month designated to appreciate our devoted pastors who stand behind the pulpit Sunday after Sunday proclaiming the Word of God.  These committed servants also spend countless hours ministering to the flocks that the Lord has entrusted to them.  Many of us are married to these wonderful men, and I am sure we already appreciate them dearly. 

Most importantly, the recognition is scripturally based, as Paul conveyed in 1 Timothy 5:17, “The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.” Likewise, in 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 he says, “Respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work.”  So here is how it all began……

The organization Focus on the Family officially named Clergy Appreciation Month in 1994.   The month of October was set aside as the time to honor a church’s pastor, including staff ministers, and their families.  The goal in initiating this observance was to make those who are called to minister to feel appreciated by those they serve; the overall intent was to be sure that the recognition of the pastoral staff and their families should become a normal part of a church’s ongoing care of these servants of God.

Now, my dear sisters, even though it’s officially called “Clergy Appreciation Month”, I believe that those of us who stand behind the man, supporting him, praying for him, and just being there when he needs us, well, hopefully we are APPRECIATED TOO!  As pastors’ and ministers’ wives there may be times when we may feel lonely or even undervalued as we serve with our husbands.  Yet, if you never hear anyone on this side of heaven tell you that your labor in the Lord is valued, one day you may hear our Savior say, “Well done!”