Back to school is upon us, and it can be such a busy and stressful time for many women. Whether you’re a teacher engaging a new crop of students, a mom in the throes of establishing a new school routine, a grandmother helping with drop-offs and pick-ups, or simply a woman feeling the angst that seems to settle in the air this time of year, to add “ministry wife” to these other roles only increases [...]

Summer is supposed to bring ease and relaxation. Isn’t it? At least that’s what we tell ourselves to scrape up the motivation to make it through the last lap of spring—the overwhelming month of May. Beachy scenes with palm trees and umbrella topped coconut drinks have begun to headline every store front. Lawn chairs and barbeque grills are now appearing in ads and on billboards. Surely, summer must bring reprieve. Right? So, we push with [...]

I rushed down the aisle to the front row pew with Bible in hand. Did I iron my skirt enough? I thought as I reached back to straighten it. Are my kids going to behave today? Did I remember to tell Mrs. So-and-so happy birthday? Did I greet Mr. So-and-so with enough enthusiasm? Did I say the right words when I prayed with that hurting congregant a few minutes ago? As the opening hymn [...]

During a monthly gathering I lead for local ministry wives in the Tulsa area, an intriguing question came up. Have you ever had a season where you felt reluctant to be called a pastor’s wife? After a long pause, an avalanche of honest conversation tumbled out. One woman shared about a moment of dodging the label when a new friend asked about what her and her husband did. One ministry wife talked about the ways [...]

In Oklahoma, the end of winter and beginning of spring is a tricky whiplash kind of season. We get teased with a mildly warm day then the cold comes back with a vengeance. We’re given a handful of warm days in a row, enough for buds to form on the Bradbury pear trees that congregate in my front yard, until the cold returns again burying the fresh growth under a layer of sleet or snow. [...]

As a pastor’s wife, I wish I was perfect. Don’t you? I wish I could say the right things at the right time. I wish I could do the right things too. I wish I could quote scripture with accurate attributions, to not be so sensitive to others’ remarks, to remember to grab my Bible while wrangling my kids out the door. And, by golly, I wish my hair didn’t frizz like a crazed [...]

I sat in a spacious living room munching on chips and salsa surrounded by twelve other lovely ladies doing the same. It was the sixth week of our women’s Bible study, and the conversation had turned refreshingly authentic, soul quenching even. It was so quenching, in fact, I started to let my guard down. I allowed myself to simply be one of the girls, for a little while. But an obscure passage from Leviticus came [...]