How do you enjoy your family and the ministry?

Over a year ago, my husband asked Randy Alcorn this question on his blog under his question and answer of the week.



I’m a full-time youth pastor with four beautiful kids and an incredibly supportive wife. It is so hard to juggle ministry and family and do it well. As someone who has reached the other side, and now with grandkids, does it get easier? How did you find the energy and time to really enjoy the kids AND the ministry?



He wrote back an answer on my husband's blog, and just a couple of weeks ago, he used that same question and elaborated more on his answer.



Here is a link to the post.



We found his answer very helpful.

Our plans to leave the country!

So my husband announced last Sunday to our church of our intentions to pull aside from full time ministry and study full time for 3 - 4 years. Over the past year his desire to study and know the Word more has grown and our dream of going back into study for a period of time started to become a reality!

We were married 11 years ago last month, and we have been involved in full time ministry our whole marriage. And after 11 years, my we are certain we don't want to be doing anything else with our lives (ie. secular work) but we are feeling overwhelmed with the responsibilities of full time ministry and are seeking to be better equipped to withstand the coming 20 or so years more of ministry!

So what that all means for us is that we are applying to colleges in the USA because the options for study appear to be more appealing and suited to our needs and desires. We have considered options in Australia and a few other countries, but we feel more led to the USA at the moment.

For me, I have always wanted to live in another country for a reasonably long period of time. The thought of never living anywhere else except Australia is quite stifling for me. God has made this amazing world and I want to see and experience so much more of it!

These are some of the things I am looking forward to.

- The challenges of packing up and leaving the city I have lived in for the past 34 years

- The opportunity to be completely dependant on God for provision of everything

- The opportunity to home school our 4 children for 4 years

- Taking almost nothing with us and starting out new in a completely different country

- The opportunity to experience a different church

- The opportunity to meet many new people

- The opportunity to learn, from what my husband is studying and by being involved with the college we will attend

- The opportunity for all of us to depend upon each other, and God, as we will be away from the familiarity of family and friends

....and there are so many more things I could list!

People ask me if I feel overwhelmed by everything, and my response is, if I think about it too much I do! But I have chosen to not be overwhelmed by it all, to just take things one step at a time, one day at a time, to wait patiently upon the Lord to guide and provide for us.

God's will for me this day is to love Him with all of my heart, soul and mind, to love my husband and children, and to love others, I try not to get too caught up in the tomorrows!

We would appreciate your prayers for us over the next 8 months, as you can imagine there is so much to plan and organise.

When we are going it alone

I came across this post today and it was so encouraging for me. It is called "Going it alone", she describes a time at a church picnic when her husband was busy and not with her, and she felt like her time at the hot church picnic with two small children was a waste because she interacted with only one other person, and in general it was plain hard work!

I have been in the same situation Janelle described in her post many many times before! It was so uplifting to read about someone else who also feels the same way, and to realise that there are good reasons for sometimes "going it alone".

This is a part of the post.

Why did I even go? I wondered to myself later that afternoon. I didn’t have any profound ministry moments or evangelistic opportunities. The one guest I spoke to probably doesn’t remember our conversation. The church members we sat with at lunch are probably still laughing at us. Was that all just a grand waste of time?

No. When I stopped to think about it, many good reasons for "going it alone" at the church picnic came to mind. Here are three:

1. “Going it alone” shows my kids I love the church. It proves Daddy and Mommy really mean it when we tell them: “Sunday is the most important day of the week” and that’s true for all of us, not just Daddy. It shows them what it looks like to be committed to the church even when it is not convenient or easy. Sure, they may not understand that lesson now, but someday, by God’s grace, they will.

2. “Going it alone” shows the church I love the church. Whether we’re aware of it, or not, people are watching us. They notice when we attend and when we don’t. (Actually, sometimes, when my kids are screaming, they can’t help but notice I’m in attendance!) But simply by showing up at a picnic, the Sunday morning meeting, or any other church event, I am showing the people in the church that I care about them and that I want to be with them, even when it isn’t easy. And hopefully I’m encouraging them, (with actions, if not with words) to love the church too.

3. “Going it alone” shows I believe God is at work. God is always at work in the church! He’s always up to stuff—conforming us all to be more like His Son, building us together in unity, using our lives to display the gospel and using our words to preach the gospel. If I truly believe this then I’ll go expecting God to work, even through an overwhelmed mom with two crying, hungry children (and no sunscreen!).I may not have thought anything profound took place at that picnic. But I may be surprised one day to learn that God was using me in ways I had no idea. So, was going it alone all a grand waste of time? Not a bit!

I totally agree to each of these 3 points, and this verse came to my mind after reading them.

"And let us not grow weary while doing good,

for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."

Galatians 6:9

Reflections and Friday nights!

This year we are venturing into some changes. Mainly they are to do with my husband's role as a Pastor in the church we are at. One of the most noticeable changes are to do with Friday nights, he will be home on a Friday night regularly for the first time ever since we have been together! He is no longer running the junior youth group on a Friday night. He has been involved with youth groups in 3 different churches for the past 19 years (I have been good friends with him for around 17 of those years!)

A lot of people might read that and think, well he deserves to have his Friday's back, he deserves a break from youth, he has done his time, it's probably time for him to move on... But the truth is he has never thought of it in those ways. There have been times when he's come home late from youth group and there have been issues with kids or leaders and he feels tired, discouraged, disappointed, but he's never wanted to give up.

My husband is so very patient, faithful and committed. He may feel like he fails or gives up, he might feel weak, but I know that his heart is firmly planted in God's hands.

As tempted as he has been at times to give up the ministry, he has always pushed through, kept persevering, waiting and trusting in God to pull Him through and for Him to keep working.

I was reflecting this morning on his work at the church. Personally he has gone through some difficult times particularly in relation to his health, which has overflowed into and affected all other areas of his life! But as I look back I can see so much fruit that God has and will continue to produce through him.

At the last church we were at 7 years ago, there were doubts from the elders there about my husbands abilities and skills, but what I think they failed to look at was his heart. My husband has a heart that is full on for God and for serving him.

I often remind him and myself of this verse,

This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop (pastor), he desires a good work. 1 Timothy 3:1

There are not many who desire to be elders or pastors, but my husband desires that, he longs to serve God wholeheartedly, to serve His people, to shepherd, nurture, lead, build up. The temptation for him to leave the ministry has always been overcome by his desire to serve God, sometimes the grass looks greener elsewhere, but to be where God wants you, there can be no better place.

I have so much love, respect, admiration, for my husband and for all that he has been through the past years. I am so thankful for all the trials and hardships God has allowed us to go through because they have only brought us closer to Him, to each other, they have given us wisdom and insight into the ways of God and His ministry, and built up our hope, patience, faith, character. We probably still have another 20 or so years of ministry left in us, so I am thankful for the lessons we are learning adn for what He is preparing for us in the years ahead.

We looking foward to this coming year, it has and is taking us a while to adjust to the changes, especially having Friday nights free! Although I don't think they will be free for long!