Minister's Wives...a Rare Breed!

Tiffany's post reminded me that I never posted pics of the Sweetheart Banquet that our Minister's Wives Organization held back in February (we host a banquet each year around Valentine's Day to raise funds for various organizations we support). This is an annual event for us and the proceeds this year went to research for Breast Cancer. We also meet once a month at various churches for a time of fellowship and dinner. My grandmother was a part of the same organization along with my godmother. The late wife of our former pastor at GMZBC is actually the one who convinced me to join nearly 5 years ago. I love talking to the older ladies who have been at this much longer (longer then I have even been on earth....I kid you not. One lady is like in her 80's and looks fabulous). Some time I think we are so busy being hip and chic that we forget those who have come before us have struggled just as hard and in many cases even harder to make it through some of the same trials we face today. Some of these ladies have been doing this for 40 and 50 years. The one thing they have taught me though is that God will substain you through anything. You just have to have faith, a strong spirit and love the people God has placed in your care....no matter what! They are a rare breed.

Life Is Good!!!!

Thought I would share what we have been up to the last few weeks.

Mostly we have been hanging out with the family. This picture was taken at my Godchild's school play.

I spent most of Saturday sitting on my front porch watching the car's go by, and listening to music on my ipod, surfing the net while Marc and TJ spent the day cleaning up the yard.

When Marc wasn't working on chores that have been on the backburner he has playing a lot of Wii!!! LOL

In the last 4 months the girls have both taken vacations. Quisha went to Las Vegas just before Christmas. This past weekend Nicki spent a few days in New York City. Now its our turn! Still not sure where we are going, but that's OK. For a minute we thought we might actually make it to Orlando, but apparently everyone else had the same idea and the places we would have been able to stay at were booked up (through May mind you)! No biggie, wherever we end up will be fine with me (well with the exception of a few places). LOL

Marc took a Sunday off from WABC and we visited some friends, ate dinner together and just chilled at home. All of the downtime made for a great weekend!

What I'm Not Reading!

Lori and the ladies over at Leading and Loving It just answered a Q&A on books they are reading right now. HAHA, that is the wrong question to ask this girl. I recently finished "Going All the Way: Preparing for a Marriage That Goes the Distance" by Craig Groeschel. Right after that I picked up "The Monkey and the Fish: Liquid Leadership for a Third-Culture Church" by Dave Gibbons. The problem is that I have about 20 other books stacked up beside my bed that have started reading that are now collecting dust. Not to mention about 5 more in a basket in my bathroom! The easier question for me should be what am I not reading. The answer...my bible! Honestly I love books and I could read them all day long (and sometimes do). Like many Christians I want to read my bible more but for some reason I let it sit on my coffee table, in the car (sometimes even in the office at church)! Why do we find it so hard to pick up God's word? Maybe because we might learn something we have been trying to avoid! Like all of the the things we should be doing in his name as opposed to our own agenda. Rest is good for the body, but God's word feeds the soul! Time to feast less at other people's table and more often at the feet of my savior!

Getting off of the Roller Coaster!

For the last few years I have felt as if I have been on a never ending roller coaster ride! A few weeks ago I decided it was time to take control and get off the ride and start living life.

My friend Tiffany recently wrote about the "Small Things". How we have to enjoy the small things because one day we may come to realize they were the things that matter the most!

So if you have noticed I haven't blogged as much. As a matter of fact I am usually the person looking at the world behind a lens! I once wrote about capturing memories behind the camera while others around me experienced the moment I photographed. But if you follow me on facebook or twitter you will have noticed a difference in my post (at least I hope you have)!

I have been spending way more time with my family (AKAMarc...lol). Marc and I have spent more downtime together in the last few weeks then we have in forever. We have watched movies, held hands, browsed in secondhand shops, gone out for icecream, cuddled up in our room to watch tv together (actually the tv watched us because we fell asleep). We are planning a vacation for two (the first one we have taken in nearly 5 years) for the coming month. And I'm even learning to step away from my computer, my phone, and in some cases church!

The payoff has been seeing Marc relax more. Our Fridays off are strictly dedicated to family and friend time. This weekend Nicki and I went to meet my mom and sister to look at my mom's new home. We had lunch together and then Nicki and I went to Williamsburg to hit the outlets. We didn't buy much, but we had a great time anyway.

A few weeks ago I even took a day away from WABC and attended church with my son, something I had promised him I would do on a regular basis. Later that day we got to spend some time talking and I realized how long it had been since we had done that.

I'm learning to love the life I live. I'm embracing the small things, and I have finally had the courage to get off the rollercoaster!

Smelling the Flowers

OK, enough of the doom and glum around here. Its time to stop and smell the roses. One of the things Marc and I have been talking about is all of the projects around here that need to be done. We put a lot of stuff on the back burner including a couple of things we purchased years ago so that we could entertain more. One of which is a gazebo for our back yard, and a swing for two that was suppose to go up in the front yard. If you could see our yard right now you would know we have way more work to do to get to that point including a few limbs that have been down and could use some immediate attention.

Inside we have some painting that needs to be done, not to mention years of clutter that has accumulated during our many years of focusing on the church.

Its been forever since we had friends over. Or even took the time to enjoy our front porch. Had dinner in our diningroom. Starting to get the picture? Well that's about to change. I figure if I write all of this down then it might help me with that balance thing I am working on.

I'm also going to get back to this. I have missed it. Did not realize how much of my creative side was being squashed until I almost let it go.

I'm also going to be traveling a lot this year. Marc and I have not taken a vacation together since 2006! That's about to change thanks to a gift from some really special family members. Add in a cruise with my mom, a trip to DC to meet up with some great girlfriends, and the Women of Faith Conference. Well less just say I'm so excited I can hardly contain myself!

My mom is about to make some drastic changes in her life and I intend to be there to help her out. I love the ministry work we do (yes, even now when it seems difficult) but for the last five years (probably even more) "life" has been left to chance. All of that is about to change. Its time to stop and smell the flowers!

Balance, Patience and Prayer

This last month has been a lesson on balance , a lesson on patience, and a lesson on the importance of prayer.

After a pretty rough couple of weeks I have come to several conclusions (some of which I will share). I think my friend Jason said it best when he said that we are reminded of the amount of spiritual attack we will come under when we are trying to do something big for God. He also said when the enemy attacks its often to discourage your leader.....that's why its so important to pray for your pastor/leaders.

Several friends that I know who are in leadership also seemed to be going through. Add in the crazy weather we have been having you would think someone was trying to get our attention! Well it got my attention and I suddenly had to re-prioritise some things.

For the last few years my focus has been mostly on ministry. Actually for the last 4 or 5 years its been my main focus. Sometimes to the detriment of my family, friends, children, and especially my marriage.

Marc and I have been talking a lot about balance, patience and prayer. The conclusion we came to was that our life has been off balance. Which has caused us to lose patience, all leading to the fact that we need to pray more.

I will be spending more time focusing on home and family. I have given up a lot of things in my life in the name of "ministry". My focus should have been on God (because if God had been my focus many of the things I am going through I might have been able to handle better). I'm cutting back from doing some of the things I was doing for church and spending more time studying God's word, more time in worship with God, and more time in prayer. In other words I'm trying to put some balance back into my daily living.

Many people have asked me how they can pray for Marc and I and after careful thought I have come up with a few things that I will be in prayer for ( I can't very well ask for prayer for things I am not willing to pray for myself)!

1) First and foremost I am praying for my husband. Specifically for his health, his heart, and for his continued strength during times of trouble. That he will continue to be the leader that God has called him to be no matter what.

2) I am praying for our marriage. Specifically for protection from outside distractions. For time to just be us (partners in love, life and living). And for continued open lines of communication and transparency.

3) I am praying for my kids who too often have seen their parents hurt because of the politics of "church". Especially for my youngest daughter Nicki who works beside us in ministry. I pray that her heart is guarded, that she does not lose faith, and that she can better stand against unforeseen attacks from the enemy.

4) Finally I am asking for prayer for me. Prayer that I continue to be the wife, mother, woman that God has called me to be. That I set boundaries and balance for my private home life and the life that I live on the outside in this fishbowl we call "ministry". That I put my relationship with God at the top of my priority list. And that I create an environment at home of peace, fun, safety and security for my husband and children.

I Got Nothing!

Ever get to a point where you think you have it all figured out, then you realize ....you got nothing? The past two weeks have been a test for my family (without going in to details less just say...it hasn't gone well). Just when we thought we had it all figured out...BAM!!!! We got nothing! We started questioning some of the decisions we have made in the last few years. It was sort of like dialing 411 for information looking for help and on the the other side of the line was someone speaking in a language you didn't understand, offering advice that doesn't register, hanging up in frustration feeling as if you got nothing! The worst part was knowing that's just not the way its suppose to be. How many times have I said here that God has our back? How often have we prayed for peace, for understanding, for grace, for mercy and God answered the call?

For some reason this week it seemed like the devil was winning the race. He almost broke us, came close to causing us to give up and throw in the towel. Then something amazing happened. God sent a lifeline. Friends started praying for us, sending coded messages in the form of scripture. Just when we thought we were left out in the water all by ourselves, God said stop relying on your own will. Did you forget who was in control? I am the captain of this ship, let me navigate the waters. The only thing you have to do is get in the boat and watch. When the seas are stormy, and the boat is shaking back and forth...I will be the one who will say...peace be still! When you think you have nothing, is when I can step in and show you that I have all that you need.