Comment on the comments

I hope you gals are reading one another's comments--they have definitely been encouraging to me. Thanks for sharing some great Scriptures and thoughts!
Love, Lori

Quote of the Week: Success

No amount of success in ministry will make up for failure at home.
(I heard this from Beth Moore who was quoting someone else.)

Seeking FIRST

Matthew 6:33-34
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

What great words for any Christian, but even more for a woman married to a youth minister! If we can get ourselves to quit worrying and focus on His kingdom and His righteousness, He will take care of all the daily worries! Note that He does not say your righteousness—even our own “doing good” is not to be our focus. We must learn to look through Christ’s wide open kingdom eyes. How easy it is to get distracted by lack of funds and mounting bills, or who in the world are we going to talk into teaching Junior High boys Sunday School, and when is my husband going to be home from that meeting??! But true trust, letting go of worry, allowed Abraham to take off for a destination unknown, trusting the God who spoke to him. And Sarah went with him, even though she didn’t hear the voice of God herself.
What are you worried about? What are you seeking today?

The Blessings of a Ministry Life

Being in the youth ministry with your husband is a busy, rewarding life. Many times people in our church remark, “I don’t know how you guys do it!” And I say, “I can’t imagine doing anything else!”

Why would anyone want to do this? There are so many reasons!!!!! Here’s some I’ve thought of:

1. It’s rewarding - lost souls are saved. I’ve seen kids turn their lives around. I’ve seen kids GET it for the first time. There’s nothing more exciting than that. My husband and I vividly remember one youth group member asking a question that was so obvious to us, but she really didn’t know the answer. She asked, “How do we really know God created the world? Why do we say that?” He had her turn to Genesis 1:1 and she read it aloud, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Then she paused for a couple of seconds of contemplation. We literally saw the light bulb come on in her brain and she said, “Oh!” I think that was one of the things that happened in her life that got her going on her search for God. Now she is a youth minister’s wife and is impacting so many other young people! We’ve seen thousands of kids worshiping God together. It is a beautiful sight. We’ve seen kids give their lives to Christ and totally turn around. We’ve seen whole families impacted for Christ! It’s awesome!

2. It’s enriching! We’ve been to more places and heard more preachers, singers, speakers, bands, drama groups, comedians, etc. than we ever would have if not in the ministry. We’ve met lots of people, we’ve talked and even worked with missionaries, and had them stay in our home. Our kids have met so many people they wouldn’t have met if not for the ministry. You can find someone you know (or at least someone who knows someone you know) everywhere you go.

3. It’s energizing! (This is kind of a paradox, since youth ministry is also very tiring at times). We’ve had so many fun experiences. And when lots of people our age quit experiencing the fun stuff, we get to keep on doing it. We get to act like kids and stay younger longer.

4. It’s satisfying! It is so awesome when you can use the gifts God gave you to serve Him. It is wonderful to see the fruit of your labor, and the labor of others like you—when the fruit of the spirit (Gal. 5:22) starts showing itself in the kids’ lives!

There are so many other good things about being in youth ministry with your husband. Maybe you could share some of the blessings you’ve noticed in your own life. Feel free to post them here as an encouragement to others!

Welcome to Youth Ministry Wives

Welcome! We are excited to be starting this blog as a source of encouragement to women married to those amazing youth ministers! We invite you to visit with us here and participate in the discussion with us. Our prayer is that we may strengthen one another and help each other along in this awesome journey to which God has called us!

In the coming weeks and months, we will be sharing our thoughts about topics that relate to being a youth ministry wife. And we invite you to participate in the conversation. Upcoming topics will include: balancing marriage, family and ministry, open heart-open home?, ministering to the youth minister, self-worth, mentoring and more!

Please feel free to pass along this blog to any friends you have who are part of this fellowship of youth ministry wives! We're looking forward to sharing this journey with you!