Showing posts with label All Manner of Prayer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label All Manner of Prayer. Show all posts

Monday, May 16, 2016

Assisting or...

...Resisting?

This question crossed my mind as the title of a post several months ago. I kept resisting until the Lord forcefully "assisted" me by reminding me of this Scripture and insisted I get on with it - no matter what people will think or say so here we go.

Monday, December 21, 2015

"Do it this (my) way"


Do you ever feel like that? Personally, there are times when I see how someone is doing some delegated task(s) that I want to go over and say: "Do it this (my) way."

Monday, May 18, 2015

Ministry made easy

I don't know about you but I have a Continuous Improvement (CI) mindset. I'm always looking for a better and hopefully easier, more efficient and effective way of doing things. The way I see it, life is already filled with stress so why add to it? Jesus even told us that each day already has enough trouble in it.* The great thing about having a CI mindset, is that you're always on the hunt for hints, tips, nuggets to make your life better. So you can only imagine my delight when I found some nuggets in the book of Numbers. I remember almost feeling "numb" each time I had to read the book of Numbers when I was a younger Christian. BTW, I'm still young.

Let's read these 3 verses together:

Monday, February 3, 2014

"Mine!"

Late last year, I was listening to Pastor Robert Morris...I don't remember the topic but he was talking about tithes* and said:
One of the first words children learn to pronounce well is "Mine!"
He went on to say that as adults we still use that word emphatically when encouraged to give to God forgetting that everything** we have belongs to God. In fact, God said exactly the same thing concerning tithes***
- "Mine!"

Monday, December 16, 2013

Precious presents

Christmas is the Season of giving. With ~10 days to Christmas Day and people already exchanging gifts (presents), I'm sure it's obvious that there are presents & there are presents. There are expensive presents & there are precious presents. For instance, Jesus is both an expensive and precious presents... My family and I have also been blessed to received both types - I'll focus on an example of a precious one today...

Monday, August 19, 2013

The Waiting Room

The Waiting Room is not a place that anyone likes to spend time in - well I usually don't. The WAITing room is sometimes filled with Worry-ing, Anticipat-ing, Inquir-ing & Tension. There is no guarantee that people will never be in a WAITing room, however, I know another and better Waiting Room that eases it.

Monday, July 22, 2013

Who are your two-thirds?

Chatting with my Prayer Partner (PP) brought this interesting topic up. After you read this, I pray you are prompted to do exactly what we did after our discussion - pray for your husband...

Monday, April 22, 2013

Praying "openly"

Almost 2 years ago I wrote a piece - actually it sounded more like an ad - titled:
"Prayer Partner needed!"*

Monday, April 15, 2013

Few...and feeble

Some time after I became Mrs. Pastor, Jesus' words in Luke 10: 2 became so clear and real to me...
He said to them, “There is such a big harvest of people to bring in. But there are only a few workers to help harvest them. God owns the harvest. Ask him to send more workers to help bring in his harvest.* 

Monday, January 28, 2013

It's your choice...

...ok, before we go too far, let me reframe that.

There are some things that none of us have a choice about - for instance, you don't have a choice or even a "hand" as to whether you're male or female. You are the gender God created you as and no incision or delusion can change that...

Another thing that we do not have any control over, is whether or not we face challenges in life. Jesus promised us challenges - and victory too.*

Monday, September 10, 2012

10 Ps

Since today is the 10th day of this month, I felt it will be a good day to start sharing a collation of 10 tips ( my "10 Ps") I've gained from personal experience and gleaned from other Mrs. Pastors* - italics and bold, mine. The first time the topic dropped in my heart, I wondered if there was any other material out there, so I looked and found a couple of interesting ones (yes, seek and ye shall find).

The "conclusion of the whole matter," as Solomon said, is: by and large, all Mrs. Pastors have the same, or at least very similar, challenges - in varying degrees and dimensions. So here are 10 tips from me to you - and they are not in any particular order of priority:
      1.   Priorities: I’ve shared this Hierarchy In Ministry (“HIM”) several times because we must never forget that it is all about Him – God. Cindy Dykes puts it this way: “Know Your Priorities: The ministry is your husband's job, and you're his helper. As I see it, our jobs are more to be wives and mothers than the default VBS director, church cook, or even pianist. My top priority has been to make my home a haven — family first, and then church. Set boundaries and focus on your first calling, which will allow you to follow God's leadership in church involvement.”

2.   Partnership: I’ve said this before and will say it again, as a “Mrs.” you are your husband’s helpmeet and even moreso as Mrs. Pastor. You’re there by his side to “push him up” not pull him down. In Miranda Vande Kuyt’s words: “Become your spouse’s best friend.  Churches come and go but your spouse will hopefully remain. You will probably have to move multiple times for new ministry opportunities, leaving many friends behind. Establish a strong partnership with your spouse.”

3.   Purpose: Before becoming Mrs. Pastor you must have been a Christian – yes it’s obvious since we know believers marry believers. The point is that before and beyond being Mrs. Pastor, God has a purpose and calling for you. It is important that you know what it is and do not neglect it - stir up that gift and walk worthy of His calling on your life.  Miranda Vande Kuyt’s advice is: “Find your calling in the church.  When your church hired your spouse it was not a 2 for 1 deal.  You are an individual that has unique gifts and abilities.  Find a ministry that you can be passionate about while serving.  Ask God to show you where he wants you to serve – He will.”

4.   Plug in: We must all remain plugged in to God. Cindy Dykes said: Don’t trade ministry for spirituality. The Bible is not just a book to help you teach, it’s to make you spiritual. If every time you open your Bible, it’s for a sermon outline or teaching lesson, God can never change YOU. Let His life in you transform you into a powerful, anointed leader.”

5.   Pray: The bible advises us all to pray without ceasing. Miranda Vande Kuyt shared a simple yet profound prayer point and advice: Pray for your marriage, your church and everything in between. Ask others to pray for you too.” Prayer must always be our first port of call and only resort not our last resort. In fact, this should be the first P. 

At the  risk of making this posting too long, let's talk about the rest next week...
Sources:
"Top 10 Tips for New Pastors’ Wives" by Miranda Vande  Kuyt -  http://mirandavandekuyt.wordpress.com/2011/09/25/10-tips-for-new-wives/

Monday, October 10, 2011

Doing the dishes...

I felt led to give us all a "gift" by sharing on how wonderful one of the many household chores we need to and have to do can be, and for me, is a pleasant one. 
We’re blessed to have a dishwasher – not sure our dishwasher will agree with me though.
In fact, I am sure and know that for a fact and will explain why shortly... 

Monday, September 26, 2011

I'm all ears...

Have you ever noticed, overheard or perceived that someone around you is having some challenges in life and yet the person has refused to speak up? What should we do as Mrs. Pastor? Is it appropriate to approach the person/family or just watch from a distance - while praying for the individual(s) concerned?

Monday, September 12, 2011

More or less prayer?

More recently, I noticed that people keep sending these "Pray for your husband" emails around. Then in church we are encouraged to pray for our pastors. So for Mrs. Pastors does that mean we are expected to pray more or less?

As wives, we must pray for our husbands - yes we must. We cannot afford to have our husbands make wrong decisions. See what happened to some Bible wives...

Monday, September 5, 2011

Itching to hear...

People naturally confide in Pastor or Mrs. Pastor - because they believe that their secrets and pains are safe in their ears and hearts...and that's how it should remain. Unfortunately, I have noticed that some times, we're itching to hear and be "in the know" - well, sometimes I am.

Personally, I believe that that can be and is rather dangerous ground because, the fact that someone confided in you once doesn't mean that they want you in their face or space all the time - especially when uninvited... Think about it, it could mar your relationship too not to mention impact the respect they have for you - that flies out the window very quickly.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Lord, HELP!

I wonder if, like me, there are times - days, weeks or even months when all that comes (to your mind and) out of your mouth is:
Lord, HELP!
For me, sometimes it sounds like a yelp (i.e short, sharp cry)...which must be why this simple prayer struck me:
"Show me the path where I should go.
O Lord point out the right road for me to walk."

It is short and straight to the point - almost like an SOS. Sometimes (or shall I say, most times) there are so many options and paths we can take to accomplish a set goal - and the different people around us including our husbands have their ideas (& suggestions, not to mention directives/instructions) on which path we should take. It almost seems as if no one understands (or cares about) your internal tussle - especially when you have competing passions and you do not have clarity on the next step to take while everyone else seems to have seen the next 10 steps and are convinced that the Lord said: "go this way", "do this" or "do it this way"...

At such times, it is wonderful to be able to say: "Lord, help!"
and know that "Our help is in the name of the LORD"*
and that He is faithful to show up and help us.
Reference:
*Psalm 124:8a - NKJV