by Charlotte Ennis
My husband and I each spent several years living with families when we were single, and the experience changed our lives. There is no way we could have forseen how much God would use that time to prepare us for the years to come.
The mature Christian families we lived with invited us to watch them closely and to ask questions. We learned much from observing how they applied the gospel to marriage and parenting in all kinds of circumstances. I was privileged to live with a pastor’s family, not knowing one day I would be married to a man in ministry. How grateful I am now for the nine years I watched Betsy Ricucci serve her husband, Gary! God knew how much I would need that experience to be able to serve my husband now.
Those times were so rich that we became eager to provide similar opportunities for others. First, we hosted wonderful friends who had been invited to attend the Pastor’s College. Fellowship was rich but sometimes sporadic. We each started with a small child, then I had a baby, then she had a baby, then I had a baby, then she got pregnant. They gratefully moved to their own home about that time! We’ve also hosted two single international PC students, and three other single men, and have joyfully walked through courtship and marriage with every one of them. Another single man lives with us now. Most people spend two to four years here, and everyone who has lived with us seems like extended family.
Inviting people to live with you, like anything else, starts with God. You and your husband should be convinced that sharing your home this way is what God intends, and that He will provide the grace for all parties to do it. Remember, it can be just as daunting to move into someone’s home as it can be to open that home. Both sides will have adjustments to make.
Because of my husband’s ministry responsibilities, we think it wise to open our home to people who are fully involved in the church in ways a bit separate from us. When my husband is home, his primary responsibilities are his wife and children. While he loves to help counsel and care for the people who live in our home, family comes first. Our home is a place of rest, rejuvenation, and discipleship for our family, and we guard those things carefully. The people who live with us watch and benefit just as we once did, but they have friends and pastoral accountability apart from just us.
Finances are important, but it’s good to think twice before taking people in purely for financial reasons. It’s one thing if you are renting a basement apartment, and another altogether if people are sharing your living space. While the rent money helps, we try to live in such a way that we are not dependent on it. We want our motivation to be the desire to serve. We have had paying boarders and we have also welcomed those who were serving the church but were unable to pay rent. They have served us in practical ways instead, like lawn mowing and childcare.
Before people move in, take the time to discuss expectations on both sides frankly. How will food and chores be handled? Will you have private family times when your boarder is not invited? How will childcare be handled? Laundry? What about your boarder’s need for privacy? Will they be able to have friends over? When? False expectations often are a source of conflict and dealing with them quickly can help reveal God’s purposes in every situation.
We try to treat our guests as much like family as possible. We talk a lot and ask and answer questions, and pursue observations. We learn from them as they do from us. We eat together, watch movies together, and we laugh. We still chuckle about the “Chinese Dance” we did with the PC family (and all the little kids) on the front lawn whenever the Chinese food delivery person was late!
Above all, we try to make the most of the time we have. Scripture says so much about the growth that comes from biblical fellowship and personal interaction. We don’t want to miss any of it!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Overnight Guests
by Charlotte Ennis
Whew! We just said sad goodbyes to our ninth overnight visitor in ten days. Part of the privilege of my husband’s job is the opportunity to host visitors from all over the world in our home. Rarely does a month or two go by that we don’t have someone staying with us for a couple of days, a week, or even longer.
A great experience with overnight guests begins with thought and prayer. We need to be ready to serve without significant temptation, and that means anticipating the unexpected. Wedding guests may need emergency clothing alterations, help making hair appointments, and lots of maps or directions. International guests may have language difficulties, or feel lost in the new environment. Some guests need transportation. Others have dietary restrictions requiring all peanut butter or other foods to disappear from the living space for the duration of the visit. Do you have a pet? Guests need to know in advance as many people suffer pet allergies. There also may be laundry needs, computer needs, and personal needs. Prayerful preparation will help you find joy in inconvenience and grace for loving people.
We try to provide a private room for couples, single women, and older people. If a guest room isn’t available, one or more of our children move into our bedroom to free one up. Sometimes, though, there is “spillover.” Young college men have slept comfortably on couches in the basement, and kids seem fine on the floor in sleeping bags.
It will bless your guests if they have as much bathroom privacy as possible. Be especially considerate of the sexes and ages of people sharing the bathroom. Maybe your whole family can share one bathroom in order to free one up for your guests, or at least you can encourage family members to keep to a set bathroom schedule and tidy up promptly. Guests (especially those with time limitations) really appreciate being able to count on private bathroom time!
Our home is a bustling place, so as a whole it’s not often “squeaky clean”, but I try to make sure it is orderly and good-smelling when guests arrive. We want to provide a “squeaky clean” guest room and bathroom for guests, though. I wash guest room windows, vacuum or launder rugs, and dust before each guest arrives. I keep at least one extra pair of sheets always clean and ready for each bed. There are always extra hangers in the closet, unopened boxes of gentle bath soap in the bathroom, and plenty of tissues. Check the plastic shower curtains. They get really gross, so I replace ours often. I put out plenty of towels and washcloths, and replace them every few days. We provide a bedside table and lamp, a clock, and a comfortable chair for private devotions. There usually are interesting books and sometimes magazines in the room as well. I buy extra toothbrushes, sample tubes of toothpaste, and other toiletries and keep them in the medicine cabinet. They are used occasionally by grateful but forgetful guests. I even try to keep an extra box of feminine hygiene products around. Finally, I write a welcome note to first time guests inviting them to treat our home as theirs. A festive bag of Lindt truffles or other snack is a welcome treat too.
I used to bring out the best china and linens for everyone, but we’ve found over the years that most guests are more comfortable if we treat them like family. In fact, I often tell people that it actually serves me if they help themselves in the kitchen. We show them where things are, and invite them to help themselves to whatever is in the fridge. People usually relax visibly then. They may offer to help empty the dishwasher or take on other clean-up activities, too. Sometimes this means I can’t figure out where things have been put, but I’m grateful for the help, and many people seem grateful to help.
Food depends on the guest. We have had people in for conferences who don’t eat anything at our house at all, but we still make sure bagels, yogurt, and fruit are available for them in the mornings. My husband and I discuss whether I should prepare a meal, and how formal it should be. Often he grills out on our deck, laughing and talking with everyone the whole time! I keep frozen hamburgers, hot dogs, and chicken breasts always ready. It’s easy then to pick up some rolls, chips, and a veggie plate. It’s fast and the clean up is minimal. Our experience is that most people don’t expect to share all of their meals with us, and we are careful to be sure they don’t feel obligated to do so.
Like Dorothy said in the Wizard of Oz, “People come and go so quickly here.” It can be easy to get caught up with practical needs and miss many blessings. To make sure that doesn’t happen, we try to share as a family at least one meal, dessert, or evening conversation with our guests. One of the things I am most grateful for is that my children have sat at the table with strong, committed Christians from every major continent in the world. They have learned that Christians come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and languages, but that God is the same everywhere. They listen to mature young men and women discuss their challenges in light of the gospel. They learn from older people. These times give them a unique view of many of the things God is doing in the church at large, both in the United States and elsewhere.
Not everyone who comes here is a Christian though. Family members and friends of friends sometimes aren’t and serving them gives us opportunities to share the love of Jesus Christ. Together our family watches and listens and learns and prays.
Is it all worth it? We believe it is.
Whew! We just said sad goodbyes to our ninth overnight visitor in ten days. Part of the privilege of my husband’s job is the opportunity to host visitors from all over the world in our home. Rarely does a month or two go by that we don’t have someone staying with us for a couple of days, a week, or even longer.
A great experience with overnight guests begins with thought and prayer. We need to be ready to serve without significant temptation, and that means anticipating the unexpected. Wedding guests may need emergency clothing alterations, help making hair appointments, and lots of maps or directions. International guests may have language difficulties, or feel lost in the new environment. Some guests need transportation. Others have dietary restrictions requiring all peanut butter or other foods to disappear from the living space for the duration of the visit. Do you have a pet? Guests need to know in advance as many people suffer pet allergies. There also may be laundry needs, computer needs, and personal needs. Prayerful preparation will help you find joy in inconvenience and grace for loving people.
We try to provide a private room for couples, single women, and older people. If a guest room isn’t available, one or more of our children move into our bedroom to free one up. Sometimes, though, there is “spillover.” Young college men have slept comfortably on couches in the basement, and kids seem fine on the floor in sleeping bags.
It will bless your guests if they have as much bathroom privacy as possible. Be especially considerate of the sexes and ages of people sharing the bathroom. Maybe your whole family can share one bathroom in order to free one up for your guests, or at least you can encourage family members to keep to a set bathroom schedule and tidy up promptly. Guests (especially those with time limitations) really appreciate being able to count on private bathroom time!
Our home is a bustling place, so as a whole it’s not often “squeaky clean”, but I try to make sure it is orderly and good-smelling when guests arrive. We want to provide a “squeaky clean” guest room and bathroom for guests, though. I wash guest room windows, vacuum or launder rugs, and dust before each guest arrives. I keep at least one extra pair of sheets always clean and ready for each bed. There are always extra hangers in the closet, unopened boxes of gentle bath soap in the bathroom, and plenty of tissues. Check the plastic shower curtains. They get really gross, so I replace ours often. I put out plenty of towels and washcloths, and replace them every few days. We provide a bedside table and lamp, a clock, and a comfortable chair for private devotions. There usually are interesting books and sometimes magazines in the room as well. I buy extra toothbrushes, sample tubes of toothpaste, and other toiletries and keep them in the medicine cabinet. They are used occasionally by grateful but forgetful guests. I even try to keep an extra box of feminine hygiene products around. Finally, I write a welcome note to first time guests inviting them to treat our home as theirs. A festive bag of Lindt truffles or other snack is a welcome treat too.
I used to bring out the best china and linens for everyone, but we’ve found over the years that most guests are more comfortable if we treat them like family. In fact, I often tell people that it actually serves me if they help themselves in the kitchen. We show them where things are, and invite them to help themselves to whatever is in the fridge. People usually relax visibly then. They may offer to help empty the dishwasher or take on other clean-up activities, too. Sometimes this means I can’t figure out where things have been put, but I’m grateful for the help, and many people seem grateful to help.
Food depends on the guest. We have had people in for conferences who don’t eat anything at our house at all, but we still make sure bagels, yogurt, and fruit are available for them in the mornings. My husband and I discuss whether I should prepare a meal, and how formal it should be. Often he grills out on our deck, laughing and talking with everyone the whole time! I keep frozen hamburgers, hot dogs, and chicken breasts always ready. It’s easy then to pick up some rolls, chips, and a veggie plate. It’s fast and the clean up is minimal. Our experience is that most people don’t expect to share all of their meals with us, and we are careful to be sure they don’t feel obligated to do so.
Like Dorothy said in the Wizard of Oz, “People come and go so quickly here.” It can be easy to get caught up with practical needs and miss many blessings. To make sure that doesn’t happen, we try to share as a family at least one meal, dessert, or evening conversation with our guests. One of the things I am most grateful for is that my children have sat at the table with strong, committed Christians from every major continent in the world. They have learned that Christians come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and languages, but that God is the same everywhere. They listen to mature young men and women discuss their challenges in light of the gospel. They learn from older people. These times give them a unique view of many of the things God is doing in the church at large, both in the United States and elsewhere.
Not everyone who comes here is a Christian though. Family members and friends of friends sometimes aren’t and serving them gives us opportunities to share the love of Jesus Christ. Together our family watches and listens and learns and prays.
Is it all worth it? We believe it is.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Going It Alone
by Janelle Bradshaw
As pastors’ wives, we know that our husbands belong to the church and not just our families. But it takes some getting used to. With small children, even the most ordinary events are difficult without help, and yet we have to learn to “go it alone.”
I’m still learning
Last week, for example, Covenant Life was having an all-church picnic after the service. My husband, Mike, needed to run the games for the kids, and I would be on my own with our two little girls (Caly and MJ, ages 3 and 1).
No problem, I thought. Lunch is provided. I’ll just throw the girls in the double stroller and enjoy some fellowship. Ha!
After the meeting, I pushed the stroller onto the back lawn trying not to look at all the families who had daddy helping out. But the oppressive heat was hard to ignore (found out later it was the hottest day of the summer so far!) and I seemed to pick the slowest moving food line (of course!).
As I tried to talk to the guest standing next to me in line, crying began in the stroller. I leaned down to reassure the kids that we would get our food soon. I tried to keep talking to the guest. The kids kept crying. The line still wasn’t moving.
We eventually reached the front only to find out: “no more hot dogs.” We needed to wait for the next batch to cook. More crying from the stroller and I began to sweat in earnest, all the while trying to look happy, cool, relaxed.
When our food was ready I juggled hot dogs, drinks and chips and maneuvered the double stroller to the nearest seat.
“Where’s daddy?” Caly asked as we began to eat. “He’s playing with everyone else’s kids right now” I wanted to say. But I bit my tongue and tried to fellowship with the other church members at my table, all the while stuffing food into MJ's mouth to keep her from crying.
After one bite of hot dog Caly was ready for the park. The temperature was climbing as we trudged to the playground. I helped Caly use the equipment, tried to hold on to MJ who kept trying to dive out of my arms, and kicked myself for forgetting the sunscreen.
After a while, the heat, the crying, and my aching muscles won out. We went home.
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!
As pastors’ wives, we know that our husbands belong to the church and not just our families. But it takes some getting used to. With small children, even the most ordinary events are difficult without help, and yet we have to learn to “go it alone.”
I’m still learning
Last week, for example, Covenant Life was having an all-church picnic after the service. My husband, Mike, needed to run the games for the kids, and I would be on my own with our two little girls (Caly and MJ, ages 3 and 1).
No problem, I thought. Lunch is provided. I’ll just throw the girls in the double stroller and enjoy some fellowship. Ha!
After the meeting, I pushed the stroller onto the back lawn trying not to look at all the families who had daddy helping out. But the oppressive heat was hard to ignore (found out later it was the hottest day of the summer so far!) and I seemed to pick the slowest moving food line (of course!).
As I tried to talk to the guest standing next to me in line, crying began in the stroller. I leaned down to reassure the kids that we would get our food soon. I tried to keep talking to the guest. The kids kept crying. The line still wasn’t moving.
We eventually reached the front only to find out: “no more hot dogs.” We needed to wait for the next batch to cook. More crying from the stroller and I began to sweat in earnest, all the while trying to look happy, cool, relaxed.
When our food was ready I juggled hot dogs, drinks and chips and maneuvered the double stroller to the nearest seat.
“Where’s daddy?” Caly asked as we began to eat. “He’s playing with everyone else’s kids right now” I wanted to say. But I bit my tongue and tried to fellowship with the other church members at my table, all the while stuffing food into MJ's mouth to keep her from crying.
After one bite of hot dog Caly was ready for the park. The temperature was climbing as we trudged to the playground. I helped Caly use the equipment, tried to hold on to MJ who kept trying to dive out of my arms, and kicked myself for forgetting the sunscreen.
After a while, the heat, the crying, and my aching muscles won out. We went home.
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!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Joy in Trials
by Janis Shank
James 1:2-4 “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
Joy in trials sounds like an oxymoron to me. Have you ever had that thought? How do these two go together?
As pastors’ wives we are in constant proximity to those who suffer and, alongside our husband, we serve people when they are faced with trials of various kinds. From a flat tire on the freeway to a flat line on the heart rate screen, we hurt with and for the saints in our churches.
Not only do we hurt when others do, we have our own trials. A reoccurring conflict with our husband, a difficult situation with a child, an illness or physical affliction, financial downturns, hopes deferred, expectations unmet, slander from former friends, ongoing besetting sins, these are a sampling of my trials at present. How can we “count it all joy” when we “meet” these, and learn to skillfully serve others who face similar testings?
I am learning (again and again!) that what God wants to produce in me differs from the results I so often seek, which tend to center on happiness now. God desires my faith to be tested and produce steadfastness that won’t fail in the long run. Steadfastness can also be translated endurance or patience. Eugene Peterson calls endurance “a long obedience in the same direction”. Long obedience, that sounds hard! I am more often like the child that is motivated to obey for the promised candy! Yet, when I draw near to God, I see Him working in me a desire to endure with my Savior. Most importantly, I see the gospel and all He endured: His incarnation, His sinless life, His substitutionary death, His resurrection, His ascension, to secure my steadfastness. I find a growing desire to center my hope on the ultimate happiness of eternity with my Creator. I want to grow strong in this hope and encourage others with it too. Trials are what produce this patience, this endurance, this steadfast hope in me.
Have you ever stopped to realize that our entire lives we are waiting, which is often at the center of our trials? My daughter recently shared this quote with me: “Trusting God is the reliance of the soul upon God in Christ for something that is out of sight.” (William Bridge; Hope for the Downcast) There is always something beyond us or just out of sight that we are anticipating, a season of life, a provision, a fulfillment of a promise, our own character development, and these things in the ones we love. Until the day God has ordained to bring us to His side, we are waiting. So are the dear saints God has called us to love and serve. He has ordained the waiting to teach and test our faith so that we realize that He is what we are waiting for! To think that I will be rewarded in the end with perfect completion and being like my Savior! I will count joy in the trial, not the candy.
In closing, I recommend the following sermon on this passage by Charles Spurgeon http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/1704.htm and encourage you with his words:
“Mr. Greatheart, (from Bunyan’s Pilgrims Progress) who led the band of pilgrims up to the celestial city, was a man of many trials, or he would not have been fit to lead so many to their heavenly rest; and you, dear brother (or sister), if ever you are to be a leader and a helper, as you would wish to be, in the church of God, it must be by such means as this that you must be prepared for it. Do you not wish to have every virtue developed? Do you not wish to become a perfect man (woman) in Christ Jesus? If so, welcome with all joy divers trials and temptations; fly to God with them; bless Him for having sent them: ask Him to help you to bear them with patience, and then let that patience have its perfect work, and so by the Spirit of God you shall become "perfect and entire, lacking in nothing." May the Comforter bless this word to your hearts, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.”
James 1:2-4 “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
Joy in trials sounds like an oxymoron to me. Have you ever had that thought? How do these two go together?
As pastors’ wives we are in constant proximity to those who suffer and, alongside our husband, we serve people when they are faced with trials of various kinds. From a flat tire on the freeway to a flat line on the heart rate screen, we hurt with and for the saints in our churches.
Not only do we hurt when others do, we have our own trials. A reoccurring conflict with our husband, a difficult situation with a child, an illness or physical affliction, financial downturns, hopes deferred, expectations unmet, slander from former friends, ongoing besetting sins, these are a sampling of my trials at present. How can we “count it all joy” when we “meet” these, and learn to skillfully serve others who face similar testings?
I am learning (again and again!) that what God wants to produce in me differs from the results I so often seek, which tend to center on happiness now. God desires my faith to be tested and produce steadfastness that won’t fail in the long run. Steadfastness can also be translated endurance or patience. Eugene Peterson calls endurance “a long obedience in the same direction”. Long obedience, that sounds hard! I am more often like the child that is motivated to obey for the promised candy! Yet, when I draw near to God, I see Him working in me a desire to endure with my Savior. Most importantly, I see the gospel and all He endured: His incarnation, His sinless life, His substitutionary death, His resurrection, His ascension, to secure my steadfastness. I find a growing desire to center my hope on the ultimate happiness of eternity with my Creator. I want to grow strong in this hope and encourage others with it too. Trials are what produce this patience, this endurance, this steadfast hope in me.
Have you ever stopped to realize that our entire lives we are waiting, which is often at the center of our trials? My daughter recently shared this quote with me: “Trusting God is the reliance of the soul upon God in Christ for something that is out of sight.” (William Bridge; Hope for the Downcast) There is always something beyond us or just out of sight that we are anticipating, a season of life, a provision, a fulfillment of a promise, our own character development, and these things in the ones we love. Until the day God has ordained to bring us to His side, we are waiting. So are the dear saints God has called us to love and serve. He has ordained the waiting to teach and test our faith so that we realize that He is what we are waiting for! To think that I will be rewarded in the end with perfect completion and being like my Savior! I will count joy in the trial, not the candy.
In closing, I recommend the following sermon on this passage by Charles Spurgeon http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/1704.htm and encourage you with his words:
“Mr. Greatheart, (from Bunyan’s Pilgrims Progress) who led the band of pilgrims up to the celestial city, was a man of many trials, or he would not have been fit to lead so many to their heavenly rest; and you, dear brother (or sister), if ever you are to be a leader and a helper, as you would wish to be, in the church of God, it must be by such means as this that you must be prepared for it. Do you not wish to have every virtue developed? Do you not wish to become a perfect man (woman) in Christ Jesus? If so, welcome with all joy divers trials and temptations; fly to God with them; bless Him for having sent them: ask Him to help you to bear them with patience, and then let that patience have its perfect work, and so by the Spirit of God you shall become "perfect and entire, lacking in nothing." May the Comforter bless this word to your hearts, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.”
Monday, August 3, 2009
Grace to Carry
by Carolyn Mahaney
Here is a prayer that clergyman Philip Henry—Mathew Henry’s father—prayed for his family in regards to their responsibility to the church. As pastors’ wives, it would be good for us to follow Mr. Henry’s example and ask for God’s grace for our husband, our children, and our selves:
“Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife….He must manage his own household well, with all dignity….Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace.” 1 Timothy 3:2-7
Here is a prayer that clergyman Philip Henry—Mathew Henry’s father—prayed for his family in regards to their responsibility to the church. As pastors’ wives, it would be good for us to follow Mr. Henry’s example and ask for God’s grace for our husband, our children, and our selves:
'That we might have grace to carry it, as a Minister, and a Minister's wife, and a Minister's children, and a Minister's servants, should carry it; that the Ministry might in nothing be blamed.' (The Christian Ministry, p. 165).
“Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife….He must manage his own household well, with all dignity….Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace.” 1 Timothy 3:2-7
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