Top 5 of 2012: #3

“Imagine That!” is the third most viewed post from 2012.  It’s about being comfortable with who God created me to be.  I did make it to the Leading and Loving It retreat in Oklahoma in September and had a blast!  Here I am with my roommate, Stephanie!

You would think by now I’d have this yearbook picture thing down.  I forgot about the first picture day and decided that I would catch the photographer on our make-up day.  Of course, I also forgot about the make-up day and this is what will be in the yearbook this spring.  Yep, that’s me – ponytail and sweatshirt.

I should look “teacher-ish” right?  Make-up picture day was on a Friday.  At my school, we can wear jeans if we wear our school colors or “Spirit” wear on Fridays, and I never miss the opportunity to wear jeans!  We all have some type of image of what a teacher should look like.  I know I do, and the above picture is not the image that I wanted to show on picture day.  Not looking like a teacher doesn’t change the fact that I AM a teacher, though.  Who cares what I look like?!

What image comes to your mind when you think about a preacher’s wife?  Back in undergrad, when PB told me that he was going to be a preacher, this is the image that came to mind:

This is PB’s aunt and at that time, she was one of a very few number of preacher’s wives that I knew personally.  Oh yes, she is always FLY, but me living up to this image caused all kinds of anxiety!  I’m not a hat person unless it’s a baseball cap.  My shoes never match my purse…what am I talking about?!  Most of the time, my purse is really my wallet in a diaper bag!  Wearing a dress or skirt has to be a special occasion!

I can poke fun at myself now, but imagine my 21-year-old self trying to figure out who I wanted needed to be in order to portray the perfect preacher’s wife image.  What didn’t help was most people in my circle had similar images of a preacher’s wife.  I had tons of advice about what I should or shouldn’t wear, where I could or couldn’t go, where to sit, how to act, what to say…and I was MISERABLE!  I felt like I had the two little “mini-me” devil and angel pair constantly sitting on my shoulders talking me through my every move.  It’s exhausting trying to be everything that OTHERS want you to be!

What I’ve learned in the almost 15 years of being married to a preacher is that I’m fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).  God made me the way He wants me to be and His works are WONDERFUL!  I enjoy being ME!

Just like taking a horrible school picture doesn’t change the fact I’m a teacher, nothing about how I look changes the fact that I’m married to a preacher.  I’m not perfect…far, far from it!  I’m a little goofy and extremely shy (which is often translated as “stuck up”) until we get to know each other, but I’m happy and content with the life God has blessed me to have with my PB and cubs.  I’ve learned that I don’t have to try to be what others want me to be so that I fit THEIR image of me.  This lesson didn’t happen overnight.  Honestly, it took about ten years for me to stop trying to please others.  I started focusing on my strengths and how best to use them to glorify God and gain his approval – not everyone else’s.

Monday is the beginning of an on-line conference that I plan on participating in on the Leading and Loving It webpage. Here’s the link to the conference if you want more information about it: http://live.mediasocial.tv/leadingandlovingit.  I haven’t participated in a virtual conference before, but I’m expecting to be blessed by the speakers that will share over the next four weeks.  If you are the wife of a preacher/pastor or a woman in any type of ministry, you should register for this FREE conference.  The road trip that I want to take in September to Oklahoma is also hosted by L&LI (PB and I are still in negotiations about getting me there!).  Imagine that!  I WANT to go hang out with other PW’s for three days, and I’m excited about it!

Okay, I got off-course just a little, but my point was to tell you to enjoy being the FEARFULLY and WONDERFULLY made person that God created you to be!

Peace and Blessings!

My Thank You’s

To the leaders of Leading and Loving It (Lori, Brandi, Jessica, Lisa, and Tiffany) who have connected pastor’s wives and women in ministry from across the country;

To Stephanie, who through her blog, introduced me to Leading and Loving It and offered to be my roommate this week to cut the hotel costs in half;

To the adorable couple at church who provided my round-trip airplane tickets;

To the little 5 year old girl who sat behind me on my plane ride to Oklahoma City and continuously kicked my seat (making me miss my cubs);

To the taxi driver I had a hard time communicating with, ran a red light, and used my GPS to find my hotel;

To those who traveled alone (like me) and ate dinner at Zio’s for our first evening together;

To Tiffany for sharing great advice in our break out session and teaching me how to say no without explanation;

To Oklahoma City for constructing an emotionally-moving memorial for those who lost their lives in the 1995 bombing;

To the owner of Pinketzel, the most beautiful cupcake and candy store EVER!;

To Different Drummer for letting us preview a new movie called Home Run (I LOVED it!);

To the sweet lady who treated me to a fruit cup and Starbucks Frappuccino just because she wanted to;

To the ladies who sat at Table 20 with me for sharing your hearts;

To the individuals and organizations who sent us gifts that had me worried about whether or not I would have enough room for them in my suitcase;

To the free hotel shuttle service that got me safely to the airport in the midst of a storm;

To Jaye and Laryssa who let me sit with them on the plane ride home so that I could hang on to every last thread of face-to-face conversation with other PW’s;

To my 2nd grade teammates who probably had to explain, edit, and revise my lesson plans for my substitute while I was away;

To my cubs for being their normal selves and making me feel like a celebrity when I returned with gifts;

To my amazing husband for saying yes to this whole trip when it meant he would have to spend 48 hours being SuperPB;

To PB’s staff who filled in where needed and pushed him out of the office on time to pick the cubs up from school;

To those of you who prayed for me before, during, after, and even now;

To my Lord and Savior for this season of my life, at this time in my life…the plans you have for me blow my mind sometimes and for that I have to say…

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!  I am beyond grateful for God’s blessings!

Peace and Blessings!