I will never forget the call. I was at my desk at work. I knew my husband Jason was having a meeting with his boss that morning. I looked at the clock. It was only 9:30 am. I was surprised to see him calling so quickly. “I have been relieved of my position as the Campus Pastor.” The feeling that washed over me was shock, pain, and fear all at once. “Why? I don’t understand. Why?” I think I asked “why” about a dozen times that day and in the days to follow. We didn’t know it t

Recently someone quoted to me "God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called". Oh how I love that. In our different ministries I have found myself trying to fit a mold. Not the same mold every time. It is always different. I felt I needed to be different in order to fill my calling and to be qualified to fit a position in this ministry. When we were young youth pastors I would want to act young and hip (do people even say that anymore?? Certainly not ones that

“We were so close to being one of those casualties. We were ready to walk away and God redeemed that.” This may come as a shock - but I don't know everything there is to know about ministry. Neither does anyone on the Joy For Ministry team. I don't have all the answers. But I do know that we can learn from others! Periodically, we are going to be interviewing “seasoned” women in ministry. Women who have been around long enough to pour their wisdom and experience into ot

There are few things I love more in life than doing ministry with my family.  I love God.  I love my husband and kids.  I love many things.  High on that list is ministry.  Caring for people, outreach, serving in church, serving others, and reaching out to the lost and hurting makes my heart leap.  It breathes life into me.  It is what I want to do every day. I know there are so many of us out there - pastors’ wives and ministry families that feel the same way.  Recently, I h

There are songs that have made a huge impact on me at very specific times in my life. Some I don't want to listen to because they remind me of a painful time. Others bring such joy and awe of the things God has done. I love worship music. That is all I listen to. Not because I am super spiritual but because it ministers to my soul in a way that nothing else does. The song that has been on repeat the past 3 months is by Bethel called the Goodness of God. Maybe you know i

I was so excited to write a post on defensiveness. I have worked and reworked this post a few times. I think I am not ready to write it. It is stirring up angst within me. I find myself being....kind of defensive. The one thing I don’t want to compromise on is being honest and genuine about the hard stuff in ministry. I want to show the ministry I love and also be upfront with the hard times and all the truth that goes with it. So as I was working on this particular pos

I used to think that guarding my heart meant protecting my heart.  Protection from hurt.  Protection from people.  Protection from pain.  For years I was under the assumption that I needed to build a wall so that I wouldn't feel pain so deeply.  The only problem is, I am terrible at building walls.  When I love someone I love whole heartedly.  When I serve I am all in.  I feel things intensely - that is who I am.  If I change that then I change my DNA, and no matter how hard

I am going to be very honest right up front. I have a hard time doing this. A Very. Hard. Time. My husband is very good at it. He assumes the best about everyone. He doesn't let bad feelings about the way someone is acting or treating him even enter into his thoughts. Someone is cold, harsh, or even a little mean - and I am distraught. I analyze and obsess. Something you will learn very quickly about me is that I am a people pleaser. Even worse - I want everyone to lov