Tag: Joy

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Isolated But Not Alone

The week of March 16, 2020, our church was told we couldn’t gather. The same week, my U.S. university-attending daughters bought tickets to Dubai and arrived home the day before the airports shut down. (We loved having the girls home!) After they arrived, only one of us could leave the house at a time with a permit once every three days. At first it was fun, but it’s not easy having five adults locked down in the same house 24/7 with online school in session at various hours of the day and night.

Of course, all of us hoped that things would turn around soon. But then the cancelations started rolling in: retreats, conferences, graduation ceremonies, summer abroad programs, internships, training, and a language immersion capstone year. All of our plans were canceled with a slew of emails.

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Fruit

Romans 6:20-23

Have you ever picked up an entertainment magazine in the checkout line or watched an interview with someone who is rich and famous? Broken marriages, repeated rehab, estranged children, living without reference to God. No desire for him. No delight in him. Sin and self reign. With all the designer clothes, magnificent homes and extravagant vacations, there is still no lasting joy. It seems that the more of the world a person has, the more miserable he or she seems to be. One famous actor said, “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.”

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Joy for Joyless Pastors’ Wives

A young pastor’s wife sat across from me in tears, wondering how she would partner with her husband in ministry with three little ones in tow. She had a head for theology and a heart for women, but two babies had slowed her down in the last few years and now she was pregnant with her third.

I can remember the days of wanting to partner with my husband while running after little ones. When I was a young assistant pastor’s wife, I asked an older, wiser woman how to have spiritually encouraging conversations after church with tired and hungry kids clinging to me. Her answer wasn’t filled with the practical advice I expected. “Sometimes you just have to go home,” she said.

Often pastors’ wives feel like what we do is trivial compared to our husbands’ eternally significant work. It’s not just young kids that slow ministry wives down. Chronic pain, rebellious teens, or sick parents can drain time and energy. Or we may just be introverts who need time alone with our thoughts. Our husbands are at it full-time—studying the Bible and theology, preaching, discipling, sharing the gospel, and more. And what are we doing? There may not be much on our to-do list that feels very important.

Read the rest of this article in the 9Marks Journal.

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Christmas is Coming!

The first Christmas was announced with great joy. Emmanuel was coming into the world!

We were created for this joy—the joy of knowing God and experiencing his presence. Why not give your mother, daughter, sister or friend a Christmas gift that increases that joy?

The Good Portion: Scripture will cause you to see the treasure that is God’s word and to savor its sweetness.

The Good Portion: God will open your eyes to God’s glory and lead you to rejoice in his goodness.

Curl up with a good book this Christmas and give a gift that keeps on giving joy.

 

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