take a leap!

Oh my...look at the last date that I posted here...April! Are you kidding? Has it been that long? Sorry, sweet friends & fellow bloggers!!! We've been a wee-bit busy.

I thought I'd ask you a favor.
Brady, Michael & I will be moving to Hong, Kong...VERY soon. And I would like to take a short break from this blog to write about our Hong Kong journey.

I may end up coming back to this one: perhaps rename it 'My life as a Pastor's Wife in Sha Tin, Hong Kong' (hmmmm...what'dya think???)

Here is the web address for our Hong Kong blog:

http://healing4hongkong.blogspot.com

*hope you'll consider jumping over & join us!

I wonder...

The other day I had some time on my hands...waiting for my youngest child to come bouncing (from a day at school) out to our car waiting in line. (I was one of the lucky ones today ~ got there early enough to grab one of the last parking spaces next to the curb. That way I didn't have to continue circling the school..waiting on a new spot to appear, once another car pulled away).

Anyway - I was wondering about what people think when it comes to pastor's wives. Do the 'normal folks' out there suppose a pastor's wife is "untouchable" when it comes to suffering, heartache, temptation & the likes? Just because a pastor's wife is...married to a pastor - do you suppose people think she's in a 'safety bubble?'

I used to have that misconception. (and believe me...IT IS A MISCONCEPTION!) I'm beginning to understand that satan will stop at nothing to hurt anyone. (...the thief comes to steal, kill, destroy...John 10:10). And guess what...if he can't seem to shake a man of God to the core ~ he's going to go after what the pastor holds dear to his heart...his family.

Growing up - one of my sweetest, closest friends(BFF) lived a couple blocks away. Her daddy was our pastor and I was always so envious of them...their home, their family, their mom, their dad's position. I grew up (secretly) wanting to be a pastor's wife because I saw (on the outside) what looked like 'the perfect life.' And I thought it was all because of his job. What I came to learn MUCH later in life is...there isn't any such job, home or family this side of heaven that's not without troubles. (I was heartbroken to hear her family had broken apart shortly after graduation and later they divorced.)

Statistics are fun, aren't they? - on your left (the "married" column) and on the right (the "divorced" group). Did you ever stop and consider you are a statistic? If you're married - your life will become a statistic. Which side do you want to be on at the end of your life? Do you want to add to the numbers on the left or the right? That's what started my pondering today. Because whether married to someone in ministry or not, you've still got to fight like heck to make it work.
And you can bet your paycheck that satan is lurking in the shadows ready to pounce. He knows every weak spot, every vulnerable area of your life (perhaps even better than you)...and he's after you. He won't stop. He will continue to try to wear you down & make you weak enough to give up. Trust me on this one. I just came through a really tough fight and a little tattered from the battle. One important thing I totally forgot while knee-deep in the trenches...Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world(1 John 4:4). Satan's going to throw his darts; but I can be smarter and deflect those darts if I remember to run to my God ~ Who can protect me and help me in times of danger. Now that's a promise I can take to the bank!

YOU HAVE DELIVERED ME FROM THE EVILS OF THIS WORLD, FOR IT IS YOUR WILL. (Gal 1:4)
keep the faith, sweet friend
~love, karen

Day 1

So much for the creative title of my very first posting here. I am almost 50...a mother of seven (blended family..he had four...I had two...together we had one)...and a Pastor's wife.

I can remember l-o-n-g ago, as a little girl, wanting so badly to one day become a pastor's wife. It must have started with one of my best friends, Lolly. She was the last daughter of three girls to our minister at church. Her family was the epitome of happiness. Lolly's mom could do anything! All of the girls in our neighborhood wanted to have her as a mom, live with her mom...and one day become like...her mom. "J" made clothes for her girls, cooked & baked the most AMAZING meals, cookies, pies. She had a tiny closet space underneath the staircase where her sweet little sewing machine was neatly tucked away. I can recall seeing her sitting & sewing a new outfit for Lolly or one of her older sisters...and longing for her to make one for me. She even made special 'slings' when Lolly fell from a treehouse & broke both of her arms...they matched her clothes! I can remember even wanting to break an arm - just to have a special-made sling!!! (How silly is that?)

(Please don't get me wrong - I have a wonderful mom. She is a gifted seamstress too, who (like "J") could see it today & copy it for me to wear by tomorrow. I love my mom - she means the world to me. But my childhood - like EVERYONE else I've learned as an adult - was in no way perfect.)

A reality that has come to me as an adult...even for pastor's wives...life is imperfect..and there's never going to be perfection & true happiness until our Savior, Jesus Christ returns in His Glory to take us home where we belong.

***One thing I promise to do in this blog is be perfectly transparent & honest...even if it means exposing parts of me that may be hard to write. That is one thing my husband, the pastor, has taught me as a "PW"...that through my transparency I may make the difference for someone out there who needs the love of Christ. Michael (the pastor/husband) is VERY transparent - and we've had more than one person explain that our open hearts laid bare before them along with our honesty have helped them beyond measure.
It is not my intent to harm/hurt anyone that I love - so the transparency will be completely about me & my life.***

So - that's it...my first blog about living my life as a Pastor's Wife. I hope you'll return again...and even better, I hope you'll write me. I'd like the opportunity to meet you, learn a little about you...share in your journey, as you share with me in mine. I'll pray for you, too..just ask.

AND WE KNOW THAT GOD CAUSES EVERYTHING TO WORK TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD OF THOSE WHO LOVE GOD AND ARE CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE. ~Romans 8:28

Keep the faith, dear friend.
~love, karen