Never Marry a Preacher

     When I was a little girl, my mom was always telling me, "But, whatever you do, never marry a preacher!".  I remember her and her friend would always have a good laugh about this.  It was an ongoing joke whenever the topic of dating or marriage came up. 
     I really did intend to heed my mother's warning  (albeit tongue-in-cheek.).  My goal was to attend college, get my degree in biology, then marry me some Godly man who wished to live in a tent and study some variety of plant or animal life.  Didn't happen.  I wasn't even married by the end of college!  This was definitely NOT part of the plans.  I began to earnestly seek God, asking what it was He had in store for me.  He spoke to me in a very unique way...you probably wouldn't believe it if I told you. But I knew for sure and for certain I was to be a minister's wife.
     That's why I was a little scared when the next man I dated (Darrell) told me he was called to the ministry.  But--- I was naive and in love...all that stuff my mom said about living in a fishbowl and your life not being your own...was all that really true or so bad?   
    If you know me, you of course know how the story has turned out.  My mom has teased me, saying, "When are you going to rebel?...Oh, yeah, I remember...you married a preacher!"  My mom's friend even brought up this joke at our rehearsal dinner the night before our wedding.  She gave my mom a great compliment, telling her that if she didn't want me to marry a minister, then she shouldn't have raised me the way she did.  We got married, moved to seminary 10 days later.  A few weeks after that, Darrell accecpted the call to a church as part-time youth minister. 
     A few years later God would solidify in my mind this "marrying a preacher" business.  After serving in our first church for two years we felt called to resign, even though we didn't have another church waiting.  Darrell and I agreed that maybe what we needed was to just be "regular church attenders" for a while.  The first  Sunday we attended your typical Baptist Church.  A wonderful service and congregation, but we were miserable. So, for the next several Sundays, we thought we would try something different. We saw on the seminary bulletin board where a church plant was meeting in a local high school.  We decided to check it out. Within a few weeks, the church asked Darrell to become their youth minister.  We met with them, but after prayer decided it was not God's will.  We were feeling pretty down about this, but when we got home to our seminary apartment, there was a message from a church on the machine asking Darrell to be their full-time youth minister! 
     Darrell and I often look back at that pivotal period of just a few weeks in our life.  It was the only time we have ever left a church without God calling us to a new one.  Many told us to wait until we were called to a church.  But we felt strongly that God wanted us to resign without having found another church.  I can now see God's purpose and plan in all of that.  We can distinctively remember those feelings of unrest when we thought we would just be another person in the pew.  God allowed us to experience that so that we know just how out of God's will that is for Darrell and I. 
     To those who think they may be want to go into the ministry, Darrell and I tell them to just make sure they are called, and that they marry someone who is called.  You know you are called to the ministry when it is the only thing that brings you satisfaction and joy.  Darrell and I cannot imagine doing anything else-- ever.  We won't even consider it, because we know we'd be miserable.   We might be able to sleep in on Sundays, clock in/out of a 40 hr. job, or go to sleep without worrying over some church matter---but we'd be miserable.  We know that for sure and for certain.
    
Blessed to be a preacher's wife,
Letha

A Website for All My Couponing Friends I Bet You Have Never Heard of...

    I do not have much time to blog this week because of VBS preparations, but this is a website/blog I found and I wanted to pass it along: faithfulprovisions.com
    You will find that it is more than just coupons.  She has some great resources on there to help get you organized, etc.  She also has lots of recipes.  I think you will also find more links to organic and natural coupons/grocery stores than other sites..  Can't believe I had never heard of her before!  (I read about her in either Parent Life or Home Life.)  
   

My Top Picks for Summer (or anytime) Read Aloud Books

This is a list of some of my favorite books I have read aloud to my kids over the years (mostly via Sonlight, our home education curriculum):

(The books are listed by approxitmate read-aloud age.  So just adjust accordingly if you want your child to read him/herself.)  I love reading aloud to my boys...I really miss it when we are out of "school" and it is not part of our daily routine.  I have managed to read some to them, though.  They do lots of independent reading in the summer.

For younger kids (Preschool-2nd Grade)
1. The Giving Tree (Shel Silverstein)
2. The Lorax (Dr. Seuss)
3. Coat of Many Colors ( Dolly Parton)
4. The Hundred Dresses (Doesn't sound like a book on bullying, does it?)
5. Charlotte's Web (I cry every time!)
6. Mr. Popper's Penguins (Can't vouch for the movie, haven't seen it yet...my kids loved the book!)
7. The Year of Mrs. Agnes (Hill)
8. The Cricket in Times Square (goes with our NYC VBS theme!)
9. Strawberry Girl (Not a "girlie" book in the least!)
10. Detectives in Togas (Winterfield)

For 3rd -6th:
1. Johnny Tremain (Forbes)
2. Carry on, Mr. Bowditch (Newberry Award)
3. The Witch of Blackbird Pond (one of my all time favs...and no witches!)
4. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Newberry Award)
5. The House of Sixty Fathers (Newberry Award)
6. The Wolves of Wiloughby Chase (Aiken)

And.....of course, a GREAT SERIES FOR ALL AGES....you can't go wrong with....THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA!  (Can't believe I never read these as a child....My husband  was so shocked...!)

I hope you get a chance to read a few of these with your kids.  I really think you will love the stories!  Leave a post if you get to read any of them a give us a book review!  (But, don't give away the ending for others!  haha!)

Happy Reading!!

Letha

*I know there are more Newberry books in this list.  I just did not mention them all.

Grace is Like Chocolate Cake

This week I attended Student Life Camp for Kids along with 5 other adults and 19 children.  (An AWESOME week!) I wanted to share one of the illustrations that Adam Robinson (the camp pastor) used to teach about grace and mercy.  A lot of children (and adults) hear these terms, but many times have no idea their true meaning.  Granted, this is probably not a theologically exhaustive definition, but one that our children GOT. 

 Adam told the story of a little boy who had been out playing in the mud.  His shoes were caked in it.  He walked straight through the living room and got mud all over the carpet.  His mom was in the kitchen, but it did not take her long to discover the mud all over her precious carpet!!  She was not happy about the situation, obviously!  She called her son into the kitchen, pulled out a knife...and cut the little boy a huge piece of chocolate cake!!!  The little boy was in awe!  He sure did enjoy that delicious cake his mom made for him!  Now you know.....grace is like chocolate cake.   Grace is getting what we don't deserve, and Mercy is NOT getting what we do deserve (in this case, punishment for muddying the floor).   Adam went on to say that many times we receive grace, not instead of punishment, but just because God loves us.   I wish I could tell the story like Adam did!  But, I think you get the main idea. 

 love this verse.....

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast."    Eph. 2:8-9