Yokemates

Is it the influence of our ‘me-centered’ society or just the reality of our humanity? The tendency to look toward and anticipate the next big thing on the horizon is all too common – even for the believer. Our intent to walk carefully on the path of healthy pursuit can easily get muddled by the whispers of selfish ambition and pride. We dream of achieving a long-desired goal, and we wait impatiently for enough wiggle room in the budget to buy that special something. There is always something bigger and better to work toward. Opportunities abound in our world, and we are bombarded daily with fun ideas, interesting destinations and creative ways to organize our homes or spice up next week’s menu. Juggling the many demands on our calendars takes a healthy dose of planning, patience and grace. We do our best to meet the needs of those we love without neglecting the demands at work or our husband’s desires. We have a heart for the unmet needs at church, yet know that there is only so ...

At most, I have about two dozen pairs of earrings. A few pairs that I bought as souvenirs while on vacation are set aside in boxes, but the rest are just tossed into a small glass container. Not surprisingly, these earrings get tangled up with each other quite often. This morning was one of those mornings. Too lazy to search for my reading glasses, I tried to detangle this mess. It quickly became apparent that my earrings weren’t going to come apart easily. So, I tossed the whole container onto the bathroom counter and started placing one earring at a time back into the jar.  Surprisingly, there were only two earrings that were actually intertwined. So, I gave in and put on my glasses, and the earrings were separated in mere seconds. What, at first, seemed like a complicated mess actually turned out to be quite simple to remedy – once I knew what to focus on. Another challenge I faced this week involved my husband’s tool set. I can’t count how many times I’ve picked up th...

There is a lady in my church who I love dearly. She has been a mentor to me for years, but she doesn’t even know it. Her life has been a roadmap of sorts for me. Specifically, she has challenged me in my love toward others – just by her example. She’s not quick to take sides. (In fact, I don’t know if she has ever taken sides.) But, she’s no push-over either. She is not quick to judge and is very kind-hearted. She has a way of seeing the best in others even when their faults and failures are glaring. She is one special lady! She’s served in so many roles within our church that I wouldn’t even know where to start listing the myriad of ways she has blessed our church and community with her love, dedication and commitment. She is not a whiner, and she has a great sense of humor. Her years may categorize her as old, but she is ever young at heart and eager for the next adventure. She has the gift of story-telling, and oh can she keep a carful of ladies laughing when on road trips. ...

That title sounds like it could be part of Stormie Omartian’s collection of prayer books, right? If you’re not familiar with her work, Stormie has published multiple titles including “The Power of a Praying Parent,” “…Woman,” “…Mom,” “…Grandparent” and on and on the list goes. One of her books, “The Power of a Praying Wife,” is one of my favorite titles, and I’ve enjoyed teaching from her DVD materials on that topic as well. But, I must confess. I have dreamed of writing to her and saying, “Hey, would you ever consider writing a book entitled, “The Power of a Praying Pastor’s Wife”? I don’t know if she’d think I was nuts or if she would be intrigued. Needless to say, I’ve not taken that huge leap of faith – or craziness – but I do think it could be an invaluable book for many. The prayers I’ve prayed on behalf of my husband over the years are countless. Many of those prayers had absolutely nothing to do with him being a pastor, but were focused on our relationship, his relations...