The Preacher's Wife

Love Week

 
Ok so maybe you're a reader of this blog but you don't live in Charlotte, or you don't go to Elevation Church.  You can still participate in Love Week.  This project is perfect for those of us who are super busy this week (whether you spend your days caring for small children or working a full time job).

Stuff the Truck.  We're collecting gently used items for Crisis Assistance.  You don't even have to go anywhere.  Just spend a hour collecting gently used items your house and then bring them to our Matthews campus any day this week OR whichever campus you attend this Sunday OR for those of you who are not local, you can take your stuff to your local charity.

Crisis Assistance is especially in need of children's clothing, new children's socks and small home appliances, but you can bring everything from linens to furniture.

BIG 8 PROJECT - Crisis Assistance Ministries: Stuff The Truck - Matthews Campus
Collecting items, clothing and housewares. Volunteers Needed: Unlimited
Time: Before/After Worship Experience normal times or any day at Matthews Campus
Special Notes: Clothes to be new or gently used. Housewares items are the largest need.
Point Person: Kristi DeMeritte, kdnoles1@yahoo.com

Love week is in full swing.  We're gonna blow past our goal of 5000 hours and that's awesome. 

Love Week with Elevation Lead Staff Wives

Yesterday the Elevation lead staff wives took our monthly meeting time to serve together.  We wrote 28 encouragement notes (stuffed with gift cards) to single mothers at Christ Our Shepherd Ministries.  We had a great time serving together.  I am really enjoying Love Week, I know you are too.

I thought maybe you would like a chance to meet each of ladies who met at my kitchen table...

Hope you are having a great week!  Check back later today for my feature events for Thursday.

Love Week

When I went to choose my feature event, I couldn't choose between these two so here are two choices if you have some free time to serve tomorrow.

First, we're having a blood drive in the parking lot of our Matthews Campus.  Now this is an easy one.  You get one little stick, then you just relax.  You even get cookies afterward!  I remember when I was in high school I didn't weigh enough to give blood.  When I was a freshman in college, I was finally able to give blood.  Afterward,  I wore my band aid with pride!  You can get your own badge tomorrow from 4-8pm at our Matthews Campus!  Here are the details...

American Red Cross: Blood Drive - Matthews Campus
Volunteers will donate blood at the Matthews Campus. Volunteers Needed: First 20 to sign up
Time: 4pm-8pm
Point Person: Errica Redmond, eredmond@elevationchurch.org

The second feature opportunity for tomorrow is serving lunch at the Men's Shelter in Charlotte.  If you work uptown, this is a great opportunity for you to take an extended lunch break to serve the need in our community.  Here's the details on this...

Men's Shelter of Charlotte - Lunch
Volunteers with prepare and serve lunch for 225-235 homeless men. Volunteers Needed: 15
Time: 10:30am-1pm
Location: 1210 N. Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC 28206
Point Person: Errica Redmond, eredmond@elevationchurch.org

Today I am serving with our lead staff wives right at my kitchen table.  Check back tomorrow for pictures!

Monday Morning (or Afternoon) Commentary... New Thru 30

Yesterday we began our new series called New Thru 30.  I am super excited about this series because we will be reading the New Testament together in 30 days.  We?  Yes, I would like to invite all of the readers of this blog, whether you attend Elevation or you just read my blog, I would love for you to join me.  More about this in a second, first the message...

My husband preached a great message on making God's Word a Priority from Matthew 4, the story when Satan tempted Jesus.  He talked about how scripture is our only offensive weapon. 

I think my favorite point was, The Purpose of the Word of God is to program your paradigm with the promises of God.  When your feeling defeated, when your self-esteem is low, when you are tempted, when you are in a difficult situation, the Word of God is your only way to fight back.  To win the battle in your mind.

Reading the New Testament in 30 days is not going to be the cure all to your problems, but it is going to start your spiritual life off in the right direction for the new year.  Its not that much, just about 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.  Its like Phase 1 of the South Beach diet, the phase that jump starts your weight loss and kicks your cravings.

I am specifically praying for all those joining us that the Word of God would be living and active as you read.  That it would bring comfort and conviction.  That it would be applicable to wherever you are in your life.  Whether its your first time reading through the New Testament or your 100th, I am praying that it would be fresh and real.

Here's what my husband had to say about New Thru 30.

We put a website together with all the resources you'll need.  You can download the reading plan or click daily links to read online.  Go to www.newthru30.com to check it out.

You can listen to the message (Part 1 New Thru 30) here.

I'm going to be blogging here and there about some of my insights from this venture and I really want you to join me.  Will you let me know if you're in (Elevators and readers from all over)?  Leave me a comment simply saying, "I'm in!"

Monday Morning Commentary

We concluded our series this week with an interview my husband and I did with my mom.  Many of you may not know that my younger sister, Joy, is mentally handicap.  We decided that the best way to wrap up our series would be to bring a living example of a family who has lived life with Joy (literally) despite a very difficult situation.

My mom and dad are the perfect example of a couple who embraced a difficulty and accepted God's plan for their family, even though it was not something they would have chosen.  Many years ago, they decided they would not become bitter because they were given a handicap child, but that to the best of their ablilty, they would accept the responsiblity given to them from the Lord.

The interview is great.  My favorite nugget from my mom: Pain is inevitable, misery is optional.

You can watch the interview here (Part 4, The Joy Genome) later today.

Also, I am double blogging this week .  I have hijacked my husband's blog this week as he is recovering from jet lag.  I am answering questions about ministry, marraige, burn out and more.  (If the week gets too hectic, I may do the same post here and there, I'm sure you understand?) 

Today I am talking about marraige and ministry.  You can check it out here.

Elevation Ladies Night

Last night I had the privilege of meeting with all the female employees and spouse of Elevation.  We had a great night full of amamzing food, great conversation and great door pizes.  And I did not win the Elevation series trivia game (embarrassing? maybe a bit).  I don't think we took one picture, oh well!

I ended the night sharing a few words from my heart.  Many of the things I said could be an encouragement to all of us.  Here's the basics...

• Support each other, keep things in the family, you understand each other like no one else can. 
• Support your husbands, and get creative doing it.
• Figure out your balance of husband, family, ministry and what that looks like for you.
• Accentuate the positive, there are so many great things about being in the minisry.  The positives far outweigh the negatives, yet so many times, we only focus on the negatives.
• Be involved.  It seems silly to say but you should do what you would recommend a neighbor to do to get connected at our church... volunteer, attend events, be in a small group.
• Remember that life, no matter what your profession, is difficult, messy and stressful.  Don't blame it on the ministry.
• Focus on what you get to be a part of, a great move of God across our city.  And we get a front row seat!
• Be brave, step into the position that God has placed you in.  Embrace it.
• Be serious.  Pray hard.  Remember we work for God (stole that from my mentor, Beth Moore :)).

You asked... Mentors

I started at least 4 blog posts yesterday.  None of them made it much past the title, all are saved in my drafts.  Ever have one of those days when your words just won't flow?  That was yesterday.  Today is a new day.  And in light of my wonderful weekend spent in Austin, Texas, I thought I would answer this question...

Do you have a pastor's wife that mentors you? If so, how did you find her? Thanks!  Posted by:Indy

The life of a pastor's wife can be odd.  You are loved by many yet known by few.  The life of a pastor's wife comes with many, many perks (loved by many) but at times is quite lonely (known by few).  Mentors and peers, sharing the same situation, can be difficult to find but seem to be essential to survival.

Sometimes we need to let go of this ideal mentoring relationship.  Allow people to mentor you from afar.  Become a student of others who have gone before you and done it well.  READ and LISTEN.

I can honestly say that some of my mentors are heroes of the faith... Corrie ten Boon, Ruth Graham, and Beth Moore.  I have read their books and listened to their messages.  Their lives inspire me to improve and encourage me to keep going.  I love to listen to great sermons.  I recently listened to a message by Joyce Rodgers (wife of the late Adrian Rodgers) and was inspired by what an incredible pastor's wife she was.

My copy of Mrs. Rodger's message came to me from my closest, real life mentor, my mom.  My mother was a pastor's wife all of my childhood.  She encourages me and prays for me in a way that most people cannot.  I am so thankful for her.

I have also found that peer relationships with other pastor's wives are very beneficial.  I have been privileged to develop relationships with a handful of other pastor's wives in similar situation to mine in other cities around the country.  Some of them I have met because of my husband's relationship with their husband.  Others I have met at conferences (that I tagged along to).  Still others I "know" from a cyber relationship (I follow their blogs or twitter). 

This past weekend, my husband spoke at a conference in Austin.  I met up with a few of my friends from around the country.  We had a great time sharing ideas, failures, and life. Lisa, Jessica, Robin, Julie, and Donna, I had a great time with you!

So sum it all up in the words of my favorite preacher, you gotta work watcha got!  Develop the relationships you have, pray and ask God to send you the ones you don't  have, and in the mean time, read and listen to those that inspire you.

Here are a few recommended reading resources...
Its My Turn, by Ruth Bell Graham
The Hiding Place, by Corrie ten Boom
25 Surprising Marriages, by William J. Peterson
A Life Embraced, a hopeful guide for the pastor's wife, by Gayle Haggard

Photo Journal: Friendship Trays

My friend, Amy Corbett, and I have been delivering Friendship Trays on and off for the past 2 1/2 years.  This past Wednesday was our last day to deliver our summer route (which we did every other week).

Volunteering in the community is such a great tool for teaching kids to serve others.  Friendship Trays (here in Charlotte a division of Meals on Wheels) is perfect for kids.  They enjoy bringing the people their juice and food and have a great time together. 

It takes us a little more than an hour and then we usually go to a fun place to eat.  This week we visited the train in Matthews after lunch.  We're taking a break for the fall but we will be back at it again soon I am sure.

Is this really happening?

Every month, the lead staff wives and I have lunch together.  We hire sitters, go to a restaurant and discuss a sermon (I always select some type of message for us to listen to and discuss over lunch.  We listen to a variety of sermons from Beth Moore to David Nasser, or from Corrie ten Boom to Andy Stanley.  It always lends to great discussion and we always have a great time). 

Today we sat around the table at Cracker Barrel and talked about all the awesome things happening at Elevation.  We all agreed that we feel so privileged to be able to have a front row seat to the work of God at Elevation.  We talked about the season that we are heading into.  This fall we are adding services, opening our first permanent facility and believing God is going to reach more people than ever.  We talked about the difficulties we would face as individuals as our husbands are working extra hard this fall.  We discussed how vital our role at home is to the mission of our church.  The message we listened to was about God doing great things through the seemingly mundane (Thank you Andy Stanley).  A perfect fit for us right now.  It was a great time of discussion and encouragement.

After lunch we put on our hard hats and headed over to our new facility.  The Matthews campus is set to open in 11 days.  I cannot believe that we will have a permanent facility.  It is state of the art and I cannot wait. 

Pictured left to right: Angie Blackson (wife of Josh Blackson, Operations Pastor), Ferris Joye (wife of Wade Joye, Worship Pastor), Amy Corbett (wife of Chunks Corbett, Executive Pastor), me (wife of Pastor Steven Furtick), and Heather Bishop (wife of John Bishop, Ministries Pastor).  Not pictured is Kelly Hubatka, (wife of Larry Hubatka, Creative Pastor).  Kelly was home with a sick child.

My thoughts on Staff Advance

I guess you could call this Thursday afternoon commentary.  I just got back from our Elevation Staff Advance (we advance, not retreat :)).

This was the first staff advance that the spouses of our church had ever attended.  I felt so honored to be a part.  I felt a part, I felt like I was included in on the vision of our church moving forward this year.  I was brought up to speed on things that are happening.  I got to see our staff praise each other for an hour and I got to celebrate them.  I got to fellowship at the meat house (Brazilian Steakhouse:)) and in the car with some of the other wives (some of my favorite people in the whole world).  I got to stand before our staff and personally thank them for all that they do to make Elevation happen.  I got to worship God and take communion with my husband (a rare thing since he usually leads it).

And the best part, God spoke to me.  He told me that I have been operating in the flesh on things that I used to do in the Spirit.  He told me to stop that.  To return to a keen sense of His presence and my need for Him in the small things of my life.  Like raising my boys and supporting my husband. 

Yeah.  That's all I am going to say about that.

I am enjoying the last few days of Summer and bracing myself for an awesome Fall.  Get ready Elevation, God is about to do some amazing things in and through us.  Get ready.