IMPACT!

We were singing a song in church last Sunday. It is not one I am particularly fond of. I know, that sounds sacrilegious, doesn’t it? I smiled as they congregation started singing it, I closed my eyes, and focused on the words.   By the time we were done singing, I was praising God in my heart for the message he had given to me through that song. 

It was calling women from the church to minister to broken hearts, assuring them of God’s healing power!  It reminded me of the impact we can make for God’s Kingdom in the lives of other women. As a pastor’s wife, I see many hurting women walk through the doors of the church. I see how overwhelming life can be for them. They need a listening ear, someone who can show them where the healing begins.

This section of scripture has proved itself true over and over in my life. 2 Corinthians 1:3-7(KJV) ³ Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; ⁴ Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. ⁵ For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. ⁶ And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. ⁷ And our hope of you is steadfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.

I have been able to recognize that the reason I have gone through certain tribulations was so that I could be equipped to help women who have come across my path that are going through the same situation.  I was able to relate to them on a more personal level. I was able to encourage them to keep going and that they were going to be victorious in the end! We all need to be encouraged.

I was having a hard time understanding verse 6 wondering how  our affliction could be for the consolation and salvation of others until I had dinner with a new friend one night. She had been in a horrible car accident when she was a teenager. I asked her if she had ever asked God, “Why?” Without hesitating, she told me that she hadn’t ever questioned it and later found out that because of her story, other people came to salvation. It all came together!  My husband has reminded me a couple of times through our trials that people would be watching how we would react. That seems like a lot of pressure at times, but when you consider how it may impact another person’s life and walk with God, it is worth being under that pressure.

Make an impact in your own sphere of influence! Lately God has given me the awesome opportunity of making an impact in the lives of children, many of them little girls (our future women. I love that God has given me the privilege of being able to introduce these little ones to the Lover of their souls and look forward to watching them grow so that they can their faith with others!

IMPACT! 

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"I'm healed!"

As adults, it seems more difficult to accept things on faith. Sometimes prayer can be our last resort. I have been thinking about the youth in my life a lot lately and their faith seems so unwavering, so sure, so pure.

I picked my grandson up one day and I took him out for a treat.  We sat down at the table and he exclaimed in his four-year-old voice, “Gramma! You need to be prayin’ for me!” He had my attention and I asked him what was going on. “I’m not feeling good. I have been sick and you need to pray that God heals me!” I assured him I would.  

I was amazed that at four years old he would see the importance of asking someone to pray for him in his sickness. It encouraged me knowing that if he had that concept down NOW what a powerful prayer warrior he will be when he is older. 

Sometimes when I pray, I feel it is more out of hope than expectancy, but kids just seem to have such a strong faith that when something is prayed for, they expect it to happen. I love it! What an example to me!

I remember when one of my sons had blood work done when he was four and his platelets were very low.  The physician’s assistant nonchalantly said that could be found many times in kids with leukemia and wanted to recheck it in two weeks. What?! I didn’t understand how he could use my son’s name in the same sentence as the word leukemia and then tell me we had to wait two weeks before discussing things further! 

Every night for two weeks my husband and I prayed over our son HOPING God was hearing our cries. We took him back in and the blood work was the same and so was the PA’s response, “Come back in two weeks.”  This time my husband was on the phone with the clinic demanding something more solid than that. He wanted to know the possibilities, the probabilities, anything that would help our minds wrap around what we might be dealing with.   A physician called us and explained that we would do one more set of labs and go from there.  So we prayed and prayed.

The night before my son’s next appointment, my husband and I knelt next to his bed instructing him that we were going to pray.  Laying his head on his pillow, he folded his little hands and closed his eyes. When we said amen, we opened our eyes expecting to hear him mimic our response as he always did, but he didn’t this time. We looked at him and he opened his eyes and smiled so big. He formed his fingers on both hands into the shape of guns. He made a clicking sound with his tongue and said, “I’m healed!” My husband and I looked at each other and giggled and kissed him on the forehead.

We took him in the next day for his labs. A couple of days later, the doctor called and said, “Everything looks great, his platelets are back up to normal.” For a  little guy of four years old to hear his mommy and daddy praying over him over something I’m sure he didn’t understand, I don’t think he knew enough to HOPE for the best. He expected our prayer to be heard. He expected to be healed. For four weeks we poured our hearts out, but he seemed to know the minute those cells were touched by his God.

A child’s faith is so amazing! We need to not get bogged down by the clutter of the world and remember how big our God is!  Expect great things from a great God!

A Day in the Life of a Pastor's Family

We have the most blessed Sundays! We start out in the mornings with the privilege of getting our grandchildren ready for church as they get to stay Saturday nights with us. Having mostly boys, I have not had much practice on doing hair on little girls so I take great pleasure in putting pony tails in or braids. Our oldest granddaughter is such a huge help for us and takes care of the little ones as people first begin arriving at church so that I can meet and greet.

We get to sing praises to our Lord. After announcements, the children from babies to teens are all dismissed to class and I get the opportunity to teach the elementary kids. We have great discussions. Their minds are sponges and they are retaining everything from the lessons! I enjoy witnessing how their brains process the information that is given to them.

After church, we get to have more chatting time with our brothers and sisters in Christ. As people filter out, then the lunch comes on the table for the handful of people that stay for the leadership class where we really get to chew on the meat of the Word of God.  Iron sharpening iron helps the adults to dig through the truths of the  Old Testament. My teenage boys are such troopers (and many times one of the girlfriends). They hang out after church to watch the grandkids for a couple of hours during this time.  They never complain about it and they know it helps us so much.

After class, we spend a bit more time with our babies before having to take them home. It is not always easy leaving them even though we will see them again in a few more days.   As soon as we drop them off, we head for a friend's church for a time of prayer or back out to our own church when we offer prayer groups. We get to end our busy day in a sweet hour of prayer and it rejuvenates our exhausted souls.

It is the day in the life of a pastor's family. We love each smiling face we see during the day. We cherish each hug that offers encouragement. We trust when God says His Word does not return void and no matter what age of person we come into contact with on this day, we pray that God's love shines through us.  We try to stay energetic as we minister to others this day, but once we get home we know that no matter what time it is, dropping into bed is completely acceptable. My husband is completely wiped out but knows this is his time to now relax as he looks forward to Monday being his day off to recuperate.

We love our "job"!

Jesus loves me this I know!

"Jesus loves me this I know 

for the Bible tells me so.

Little ones to Him belong.

They are weak but He is strong.

Yes! Jesus loves me!

Yes! Jesus loves me! 

Yes! Jesus loves me!

The Bible tells me so!"

How can one simple truth also be so profound.   Jesus loves ME! I know me and there are many times that I am not very lovable. Yet Jesus LOVES me!  It is almost too big to wrap my mind around at times.   I have many friends and family members that love me, but to think that JESUS loves me is overwhelming.  A man, a brother, my Savior, my King who chose to die for me says that He loves me. 

Isn't it funny that everything we are told in the Bible all stems back to something that we learned when we were probably three years old.   Why should we go into all the world to make disciples of all nations? Because Jesus loves me.  Why should I love my neighbor as myself? Because Jesus loves me.  Why should I love God with all my heart, soul, mind, strength? Because Jesus loves me. 

If we truly understood all that Jesus has loved us through, we would not hesitate to love others through everything they are going through.   Forgiveness becomes easier when we realize the things from which we have been forgiven. 

Go out today and show the love of Jesus to others. Show them what true love looks like. Introduce them to the One who loves them!  

Chaos vs Creativity

We started a new women’s Bible study this week.  The woman leading it did a great job of incorporating the new adult coloring book idea into the introduction of this study. We talked about learning to color nicer as we mature. We wouldn’t expect  a one year old to color in the lines. Are her scribbles ugly? No! Because we understand that it is coming from a one year old.  God is patient with us as we learn to color our lives but wants to have us relinquish the crayons to Him so that He can color our lives. Does he erase the scribbles we have made? No! He blends the colors to make a beautiful picture!

That day’s study was wonderful, but something has been bugging my brain all week. The leader had us choose a picture from the coloring book. Then she went around the room and asked each of us why we chose the pictures we did. One woman chose hers because it had butterflies on it. Another chose her because of the flowers.  An older woman in the group said she picked hers out based on simplicity. A newer woman held hers up and commented on the symmetry of it. Then I held up mine.   I revealed to the group, “I chose it because it had no order.”

That statement has bothered me all week and as I pondered the choices of the other women, I realized how similar our coloring pictures were to our individual lives. I looked at my picture again. It was probably the most chaotic, disorderly, random design of shapes there was in the book. It was like every created shape was thrown into the air and someone scrambled around the room trying to catch each one on a piece of paper before it hit the floor. 

Chaos. Is that really an accurate description of my life? I wonder if we could use a more positive term…like Creative. I like that one much better. I know I’m a busy person. I do feel that my mind is as cluttered as my home.  I really don’t mean that in a negative way, but I homeschool and my kids are constantly going different directions. I am a pastor’s wife and am involved in several aspects of the ministry. I write and am always entertaining new topics to write about for blogs, magazines, and books. How am I supposed to organize chaos like that? Is it really to be considered chaos? Why does that word bother me so much? I don’t want to be associated with that word.

I have been told by several people that I bring a sense of calm to them. A chaotic person wouldn’t be able to do that, would they?  I feel I should look at the picture again and see if I can somehow bring a sense of order to the randomness. That would fall under Creativity, wouldn’t it?

I think I could be an orderly person. I do know how to clean my house. I know what has to be done. I would just rather be doing something else. Is that a bad thing?  I can put words in order. My bills are paid and my grocery lists are in order and everyone gets to where they need to be. That requires a certain sense of order, doesn’t it?  So maybe it’s just all the thoughts in my head that are all trying to get to the front of the line that need to be set in place.  Perhaps if I keep all that chaos in my head, until it can get out on paper, I will be okay.  Perhaps next time I will put more thought into the pictures in the coloring book so I don’t spend the following week beating myself up.  I know I overthink things; it’s what I do. Happy coloring!

Our First Ten Years in the Ministry!!

It was ten years ago that we received a call from a friend who told us that they had visited a small country church that was in desperate need of a pastor. We had never been in that role in the ministry before but decided to attend their business meeting to see what we could do to help.   My husband offered to be a guest speaker until they could find a pastor. Two weeks they hired my husband and that was all she wrote.

There are honestly still people out there that believe a pastor only works one day a week. However, I have been witness to the long hours my husband has worked. It is amazing the things that fall under the job duty as “Pastor”. Of course there is the marrying and the burying of people which comes with planning the details of those ceremonies on top of the counseling that is required for both. People have brought race cars to our church to be prayed over. Numerous calls from people outside the church come in for financial aid. People need odds and ends jobs done, but can't afford to really hire anybody so they call the pastor and he goes. The church needs cleaned and the grounds need kept. Questions need answered during the day and at times it seems the phone is glued to his ear. Last year, twice he was called on to bury the dogs of people that do not even attend the church. He consoles the owners over the lost pets. One of those nights included my sons (who usually end up being his right hand men) and their friend who was staying the night to go out at 9 p.m. with my husband during a storm to dig a hole for a woman who had to have her dog put down. The ground was hard as a rock and digging well past 10 o'clock, they had to use the lights of the truck in order to see.

That’s not all though. Truth needs spoken and that is not always received well. Relationships need building. The youth need supported in their events so there are always wrestling matches and softball games, etc. to attend outside of attending our own children's sports. Putting on the counselor's hat at 2 a.m. or 5:30 a.m. happens as he is still rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Protection of the flock has been revealed in many different forms and it is never easy finding that balance.

Oh! But wait! That's not all! Now the pastor, through all that, has to make sure to make time to put a Bible study together and a Sunday morning message and figure out the children's program so we can secure the future of the church. He has to keep people excited about the work that needs to be done for the Lord. He needs to be gentle no matter what attitudes he comes up against.   

I have seen my husband overjoyed with the opportunity that has been laid before him and I have seen my husband shed many tears  over numerous situations.   I have seen him wrestle in prayer over those in our church.  I have never met a man with a deeper passion for the Lord.  Yes, my husband works one day…one day at a time that is. He is the first to say, “Here am I,  send me!”  To quote his very first sermon he has been able to master "Keep on Keepin' On!" With all of this on his plate, he has been able to keep a healthy balance of family and church. My husband rocks!

What is the condition of your water jug?

Have you ever been thirsty and you get your mind set on having a drink of cool water? Anyone who knows me knows I would rather drink out of a water bottle. One evening, I was so thirsty and I knew there was one water bottle left.  I went out to the kitchen and picked up the plastic casing which held my thirst quenching gem...only to find it empty. I crumpled the material in my devastated grip and raised it up to the heavens and cried "Why!!!!"

Eli, my 14 year old,  realized the cause of my lament and raised his right hand in victory which held the crystal clear prize and screamed a high pitched "WOOOO!!!"

I went to bed, my heart sorrowful. I rose with the morning sun and sauntered out to the quiet kitchen. The boys were just starting to stir. I moved the coffee pot back towards the wall and What Do My Sleepy Eyes SPY?!!!! A hidden bottle of water. "WOOOO!" I yell at the top of my lungs. Eli comes out of his bedroom and I tauntingly hold the bottle in the air and lay stake to the claim as I put it into the freezer (I like my water chilled). As I waited, we got busy doing other things.

That afternoon, we are replaying the scenario to my husband.  I said "So I put it in the....oh no! " I opened the freezer and pulled out a solid block of ice. As a frown replaced my smile, I had to listen to Eli cry "WOOOO!!!!" I sure felt like the squirrel in the Ice Age movies right about then.

The night before, Eli had the water that  I wanted.  It was a beautiful sight, it made him happy, and I could almost feel the coolness on my lips; I wanted that water. Things get silly like that in our home and that scenario may have been a bit over the top and exaggerated. It's what we do, but now I want to share a paraphrased story and a challenge that we were presented with at a conference this week.

The speaker told about a farmhand who had been working in the hot sun. He had no more water in his jug and asked one of the other men in the field if he could spare any of his own water.  The man spit his wad of chew out so that he could speak clearly. As a bit of drool settled on his chin, he pointed to a nearby tree and said, "My jug of water is over there, you are welcome to it."

The farmhand walked over to the tree. He wiped the sweat from his brow and unscrewed the lid.  As he lifted it up to take a swig, he could see how filthy the water was and that there was actually something growing on the inside of the jug.  He replaced the lid and decided that he wasn't that thirsty after all.

CHALLENGE: As a Christian, how is the condition of your water jug? Are you living your life in a manner that people see your joy and want what you have or are they watching you and deciding, "I'm not that thirsty?" We need to evaluate our hearts and our actions from time to time, maybe even on a daily basis. It should be our desire to hear from people, "I don't know what you have but I want a drink of THAT!"

Have a blessed weekend!
Follow this link to watch the actual video of Claude King telling the parable of the water jug!
http://blog.lifeway.com/growingdisciples/4-video-parables-for-christian-living/#.VrZFMUeF-Ys.facebook

Die to Self and Live

Many times I chose to live unto myself and sin.

I paid no mind to others and thought that I would win.

Until one day a mentioned Name made me stop and think.

Realizing the hurt I'd caused, my heart began to sink.

Knowing now I was wrong, a new decision was made.

I would live for Someone Else and let my own life fade. 

When I confessed His Name and believed with all my might, 

His Word said I would be saved, my black heart turned to white. 

Now Jesus lives within me, I've been crucified with Him.

My new life craved Him more; my old life began to dim

To know God loved me so much, His own Son He would give.

True love helped me have the strength to die to self and live!

By JoEllen Claypool

I am a Pastor's Wife

I am a pastor's wife?

Shouldn't I have a bun in my hair

to wear that title?

Shouldn't I have a modest dress

for each day of the week?

I think I'm supposed to speak softly

and be gentle to all.

I think I'm supposed to play piano

and sing like an angel.

Don't I have to bake 

and have grand pot lucks?

Don't I have to have 

weekly tea parties for the ladies?

Well, I wear my hair down.

I only have pants.

I can be rather loud, 

not gentle at all.

I can plunk a few keys

but can't carry a tune.

I hate to bake 

and I don't drink tea.

I am a pastor's wife. 

by JoEllen Claypool
A poem from A Realist's Guide to Being a Pastor's Wife
http://www.amazon.com/Realists-Guide-Being-Pastors-Wife-ebook/dp/B008EYONAC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1454204586&sr=8-1&keywords=joellen+claypool

EVEN IF

Keeping our emotions in check is a very difficult thing. Wouldn't you agree?  Many of our emotions are dependent on our circumstances.  We get frustrated if things don't go our way.  We get  angry if someone cuts us off in traffic or we feel that some injustice has been done to us.  We are sad if we lose someone we love. We feel insecure if we are not being recognized. We may be disappointed if someone else wins a record-breaking lottery. Those are all natural emotions. However, we have to exercise some control. II Timothy 1:7 says "For God has not given us the spirit of fear or timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self discipline."  It has always comforted me to know that the one emotion that I know can remain constant is joy. No matter what I am experiencing, my joy can never be altered because it is not dependent on my circumstances but on the hope that I have in Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.

I have MORE good news! There is an emotion that we do not have to control:  unashamedness.  Yes, it's a word. I looked it up. It is the feeling of no remorse, shame or embarrassment.  In fact it can be an impossible one to control. In Acts 4, Peter and John have just been released from jail and have been told not to speak the name of Jesus again.   Acts 4:20 shows their response. "As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard." They just couldn't help it! They HAD to speak about it.

Wouldn't it be great if our faith was as natural as our emotions that want to explode from our inner being?  Three young men in the Bible have become my new heroes lately as I have examined one little phrase that they said to King Nebuchadnezzar as they were getting ready to be thrown into the fiery furnace. Here is the passage from Daniel 3:16-19:   "16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." 19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed."

Did you catch the phrase that hit me? In verse 18 , the words BUT EVEN  IF hit me like a brick. They were so sure of the fact that the Lord was their Defender and that He was able to save them. They even said, "He WILL rescue us from your hand".  These boys were wise enough to know that the way in which God chose to defend them and rescue them may not necessarily look like what they felt rescuing was, but they would be rescued nonetheless. No matter what they were being threatened with , they were not willing to compromise their faith.  "EVEN IF He does not...we will not serve your gods." That's a boundary, if I've ever seen one!  What courage! Do you have that kind of faith? EVEN IF things don't go your way, are you going to continue to serve God?  No matter what's at stake, are you willing to live in obedience and trust that God will rescue you? Are you willing to take it a step further, as these young men did, and be unashamed and proclaim boldly that you will continue to serve your God?

It made me reflect on a few of my EVEN IF moments from the past. EVEN IF my marriage fails, am I going to continue to serve? EVEN IF I have a miscarriage, am I going continue to praise the name of the Lord? EVEN IF it takes me over a year to conceive again, am I going to acknowledge that the Lord is in control? EVEN IF my house burns down, am I going to love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength?  EVEN  IF I have to sit back and helplessly watch my husband go through the loss of his ailing father and muster the strength to preach at his funeral, am I going to fall at the feet of Jesus and thank Him for that trial?

Here is my honest answer. I got angry. I asked, "Why?" I cried many tears throughout my trials. However,  I never lost my joy or my hope and I never doubted who I was or Whose I was. I remember the pastor from our previous church asking me how I was doing after our house fire. I gave a one word answer, "Victorious." Believe me, I was just as surprised as he was with the answer that automatically came out of my mouth. I am victorious in any situation because I am the daughter of the King Most High! I am Royalty and I choose to have EVEN IF faith!

Lose Sight of the Shore!

Lose Sight of the Shore!! 

            “You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”  I came across this quote this week and it reminded me of the many steps I have had to go through as a pastor’s wife, as an author, and as one who wants to improve as a public speaker.

            Only fifteen years ago, I was a complete introvert. I would rather cross the street than chance having to look up and say hi to someone. People terrified me!    I had the perfect job for my “condition” as I was a medical transcriptionist and was able to sit in my own little office with headphones on all day and not talk to anybody.

When my family moved to Idaho, however, the only job opportunity that I had near home was at the local bank, where I had to work with the public all day long. My husband says that I began to “blossom”.   I enjoyed my customers and it was the one thing I missed when I chose to come home and be a stay-at-home mom.   My time at the bank however, was used as a stepping stone to help me be more comfortable around people because in 2006, my husband was called into the ministry.  The Lord was gracious in the fact that he slowly helped me to overcome my fear of people because now I was in a position where I would have to deal with a lot of people on many different levels. I quickly learned that people all needed to be ministered to differently.   It was quite the challenge for me.  

I had one woman in the church who completely empowered me. I have never been a great or confident decision maker and when I would ask her what her opinion was as far as preparing lessons for the youth group or Sunday School, she would turn it around and say, “Well, what do you think?”  With much uncertainty I would tell her my thoughts and she would smile and exclaim, “That sounds like a wonderful idea!”  She helped me to start moving away from the shore a little bit at a time and before I knew it I couldn’t see the shore anymore as I was planning events for the church, finding curriculum and planning lessons for the youth group, Sunday School, discipleship, women’s studies and fundraisers! 

Soon I found myself back at the shore when  I was asked to be a speaker at a Women’s Retreat.  I found myself getting off the boat and running inland as far as I could.   I had to speak at seven sessions.   Panic rose in me.   I did prepare my sessions….but ripped them up as I shouted to God that He could not make me get back on the boat.  The next day I taped up my papers and packed my suitcase.   I was not graceful at all as I talked. I shook and had to read every word off my paper.   I went to the bathroom and cried after each session as my nerves got the best of me.   How the Lord ever used any of my words to make a difference, I will never understand, but He did.  

As I was asked to do other speaking events, I graduated to using only an outline. I could tell the boat was starting to drift a little further from the shore.   I spoke and recorded a testimony that I gave to a church youth group and even got brave enough to send it to a Christian radio program, as it was in line with the topic of one of my books I had written. It wasn’t able to be used at that time, but I could feel the wind catching the sails of my boat, pushing me further out to sea.  I was asked to speak for a High School Career Days and did my first PowerPoint presentation and didn’t use any notes at all! That was a huge milestone for me.     

Last week I had the privilege of being on a panel with six other women authors. I realized that with it being a panel discussion I would not be able to prepare anything as I would have no idea what the audience would ask me about.   I got a bit nervous as people kept coming and coming into the event. I forced myself to mingle and smile.  We were finally called onto the stage and we introduced ourselves and our books.  People asked questions about writing and publishing and about our topics.   I never would have guessed the response that this short time on the panel would generate.   People were thanking us over and over again for being real and for being transparent and for encouraging them.   Little did they know how much the seven of us were truly encouraged!   This has fanned a flame in our hearts, letting us know that we have something to offer others! 

My boat is in the middle of the ocean right now.   I can’t see the shore…..and I’m not afraid.   I’m going to cross this ocean!

I would love to invite you to meet  the other women authors with whom I have had the privilege of learning and growing.   Their stories will bless you and encourage you!    http://idahocreativeauthorsnetwork.com/


Published works available at http://www.amazon.com/JoEllen-Claypool/e/B008I6EGR6