All I did...

...was marry my best friend.

I know that it may be different for some of us but I'm sure that for a lot of us - including a dear friend of mine - we just married our best friends and with time or even before we knew what was happening (to us) we became "Mrs. Pastor."

Sometimes I look back & wonder what I did wrong...by marrying my best friend. I don't know about you, but I'd guess it's similar: I find that it's not easy to "show" and/or "tell" how you really feel about a lot of things (or even people) because it can be easily misconstrued as "She's too sensitive" or "She's not spiritual" & so on.

Why not?

Yes "Why not?" - that was my question when I was debating with myself on this topic:

Why can't I say things as I see them i.e. just the way they are?

I know that a proverb goes:

"It's not everything eyes see that the mouth says."

I checked and have no idea who the author is so let's attribute it to our elders - yes they are/were very wise - only when it lines up with God's word though...

Back to the matter at hand:

Check point...

Wondering what this is about? I didn't say I would but I felt led to check on us.

It's been 3 months* since I wrote about me-time. So how many moments of "me-time" have you had since then? I know that I cannot prescribe how often you should have me-time but I know that once a year doesn't cut it. You'll not only be burnt out - God forbid that you be buried without it being more frequent.

Wear matching shoes...

...at all times.

Did I just see a smile come on your face?

Before you run to your closet and start listing the colours of shoes you do not already have, I suggest you hear (or more like "read") me out.

The reason why we need to wear matching shoes at all times arose when I saw this very interesting version of a verse that has been quoted over and over again. I went on to seek out various Bible versions so you can see what I mean for yourself.

According to the King James Version, Psalm 68:11 says:

"The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it."

The other versions I saw clarified it - (italics mine):

M.O.T.H.E.R. (2)

I initally put this in as one whole posting and realized that it's better to split it so we can remember to celebrate ourselves again - if you didn't in the past week. Even if you did, give yourself permission to celebrate You. You are and bring so much to the world - no one can be a better you than you...

So last week when we started on this, we said that:

 M = Mentor; O = Oracle of God & T = Teacher.

Let's move on to "H.E.R."

M.O.T.H.E.R.

It's that time of year when we celebrate Mothers...and time to celebrate you.

This year is really unique because International Women's Day (March 8th) is just 2 days before the first Mothers' Day of the year (March 10th). As we know, only women can become mothers...so it's a double celebration. Celebrate yourself too.

Just as I typed the first sentence, this thought dropped in my spirit: "No one on earth would have gotten here without a mother - whether or not you know her."

I know that I've said that the fact that you are Mrs. Pastor doesn't make you everyone's mother.* However, that fact does not mean that you cannot be a M.O.T.H.E.R. to those around you. I believe every Mrs. Pastor can & should be a:

Hat or Heart? (4)

It's been 3 weeks since we started "labelling" ourselves using a 1966 book “Minister's Wife: Person or Position?” by Marilyn Brown Oden.  Maybe you haven't labelled yourself but I know self-awareness is key to self-mastery. Just like this book, you may want to prop yourself up with a few pillows as we try to wrap this series up...if we can.

So far, we've talked about the detached - "Mrs D," the Background supporter -"Mrs B", and the Incorporated or active participant - "Mrs I" now let us talk about my addition - the Echo or Shadow "Mrs E."

Hat or Heart? (3)

For the past 2 weeks, I've been sharing excerpts from an article* based on the basic groups of pastors' wives as outlined in the 1966 book: Minister's Wife: Person or Position? What does it mean to be in one of those groups i.e. the detached, the background supporter, and the incorporated or active participant? More importantly, which of these groups do you belong to and what can you do to be a better Mrs Pastor irrespective of the "group" you belong to? We've talked about Mrs D and Mrs B, now it's time for Mrs I. Comments in red font mine.

Hat or Heart? (2)

For those of you just joining us, we started on this topic last week.  Apparently, besides the "labels" we have to endure from others, fellow Pastors' wives know that we all come in different shapes and sizes. We already talked about Mrs D (check last week's post here: http://mrs-pastor-and-pastor-mrs.blogspot.com/2013/02/heart-or-hat-1.html). This week, we'll move to Mrs B - my comments on clips from the article* are in red font.

Heart or Hat? (1)

Planning ahead, as I sometimes successfully do, I was thinking about a theme for this month. After much thought, I decided that since February is gradually becoming known as "Heart Month," I should write along the same lines. Nothing was coming from within, so to speak, so I reached out (more like, researched) to seek external expressions and found an article titled: "The pastor's wife: detached, supportive, incorporated?"*

Knowing that I can be all of these - at different times of course, I decided to share it with you and see whether it's your heart or the hat you're wearing at the time that places you in one (or maybe none) of these groups...  Now since it is "Heart month" you'll notice that my comments on clips from the article are in red font.