Shout Out for Elder’s Wives September 19, 2008

I have been studying Acts for the past couple of months now, so the Holy Spirit and His work in us has been on my mind a lot.  This morning I was reading Acts 20 when Paul is talking to the elders at the church of Ephesus.  In verse 28, he says,

Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

The part that hit me hardest this morning was the reminder that the Holy Spirit, not man, made these men overseers of their flock.  The same is true today.  We should have confidence knowing our elders are in that position because the Holy Spirit put them there. 

Then I began thinking about their wives.  They also were given to these men through the Holy Spirit, and though often forgotten, they have a tough job.  The elders’ wives at Sojourn are continually giving of themselves, serving their husbands sacrificially every day so our elders can be freed up to serve their flock as faithfully as possible.  These women do most of their work in the background but work harder than most in the church.  I was reflecting on each of the six women who fulfill this role at Sojourn and was filled with joy as I could see how God has used them in my life alone, knowing how vital they are to the spiritual health of our church.  My dear friend Karen (who coincidentally is one of our elders’ wives) has shared with me more than once the importance of encouraging others to their faces, and though this isn’t technically face to face, I want to publically praise our Savior for the work He is doing in each of their lives.  Some I know better than others, but all have been part of my spiritual growth.

Karen Cheong–I could write a book here.  This beautiful woman is the one every woman wants to be her mentor.  She is the epitome of biblical womanhood.  I have often prayed God would teach me to love my husband, children, and others in the way Karen loves.  She is possibly one of the busiest women alive, but when I have called on her, she has often dropped everything to meet my need.  This woman knows how to encourage!  She has taught me more in the brief moments I have had with her than I could ever learn from a book.

Sarah Cosper–Is there anyone who has a sweeter spirit?  This lady loves every person she meets unconditionally, and she always has a kind word to say.  She is an amazing example of humility.  She dearly loves her husband and daughter and is regularly public about her affection for them.  No corrupting talk comes from her mouth, but only talk that is good for building others up.   

Amy Ems–Pure wit.  She can help you see the funny side of most things in life.  I have shed many tears of laughter while listening to Amy talk about, well, basically anything.  How we need people that have the gift of bringing joy to those around them!  Another side of Amy, though, is her willingness to be vulnerable.  She is not too proud to admit she is a sinner and has encouraged me through her example to practice humility by “laying it all out there.” 

Ginger Lewis–I have never seen Ginger without a gorgeous, joy-filled smile on her face.  There have been times I have felt down or discouraged until I was warmed by her welcome.  She treats no one like they are a stranger but like they are the one person she was hoping to see that day.  I have to admit that I love watching her when Chad preaches.  Her face shows so much adoration for him.  I pray God continues to challenge me to respect my husband as Ginger openly respects and loves hers.

Mandy Montgomery–Superwoman!  This mother of three small children seems like she can do it all.  She has many talents, but she constantly puts herself aside to fulfill her first role as helpmate to her husband.  She is selfless and a hard, hard worker, working with joy for the Lord.  She is filled with wisdom and grace.  Mandy is also extremely gifted in hospitality (her husband publicly praises her for it), and she has taught me much about what true hospitality is.  I have grown largely in this area over the past several months, mainly due to a conversation I had with Mandy a while back.

Chandi Plummer–Wisdom.  She is the kind of woman you just want to be around.  For one, she’s just fun!  She has a very optimistic personality and is always reminding me of the power I have in Christ to do all things.  Talk about gospel-centered!  Though Chandi is not my “official” mentor, I don’t think I’ve ever talked to her, even for short periods of time, without growing spiritually.  She is always ready with a word of wisdom or encouragement.  She is also an amazing example of how to be a God-fearing mother, pointing her daughters to the good news day in and day out.

I praise God for each of these women!  How richly He has blessed me and our church through His work in them.

September Family Update September 7, 2008

So, Court’s always written these in the past, but now you get me and I’m probably not as detailed as she is.  Nonetheless, here we go (and yes, there are pictures at the end):

As of this month, a lot has changed for me in terms of my involvement at Sojourn.  We just started a new community group, which is only the second one in Southern Indiana.  It’s pretty exciting for us for a number of reasons.  First, we finally have a group that’s close to our house (if it weren’t for a lack of sidewalks, we could easily walk there).  Second, this is really the first time I’ve stepped into any kind of leadership role since stepping down at Cedar Grove.  This is a relatively small role (which I’m glad for) and volunteer (which I’m also glad for) in which I get to enjoy meeting with others and seek after Christ together through fellowship, discussion, and prayer.  I’m pretty stoked about it and the two meetings we’ve had so far have been truly enjoyable.  Third, it’s part of a movement to reach out to Sojourn members who live here and to start ministering to the needs of this particular area.  Fourth, it’s always great to have a group of believers with which to grow in grace.  Also, I’m going to start being involved with the music at Sojourn.  I’ll be playing piano next week, which I haven’t done anything like this in almost two years!  Also, Court and I will together be leading the music for some of our quarterly member’s meetings, which should be a truly great experience as well.  As for work, more of the same, but that’s good as God has granted me a great job (even if I lose sight of that sometimes).  Funny story: I really can’t think of one right now.

Courtney has also had several changes going on.  In addition to the two things I listed above (about leading a community group and being involved in music at Sojourn) she’s also getting started with more in-depth mentoring at Sojourn.  God has graced Courtney with a great deal of varied experience and knowledge in marriage and parenting that I have seen bless several other women.  I’m very pleased to see her putting her grace gifts to use in this way.  She also just started preschooling Liam last week, which was a total blast for her and Liam.  We’ve been gearing up for this for a while and Court has embraced it wholeheartedly, for which I am incredibly grateful.  Incidentally, not only is Liam in “school” here at home, but Ariana and Esther are getting some instruction in the day as well.  And Court’s pregnant!    The due date (we think) should be sometime in April.  Funny story: Courtney and I were pretty tired last night, so I told her (playfully) we should aim to be asleep by 8:45.  While we were in bed reading, she read a funny part of her book to me and then within seconds, she fell asleep.  I looked up at the clock: 8:44:33!

Like I said, Liam just starting preschool with Courtney last week and he loves it.  He loves to tell me all about everything he did during the day.  Also, with Liam being the little organized dude that he is, he thrives having the kind of super-structured schedule that Court has set up for him and it’s been good for him.  I’m excited to see how he’ll continue to develop as Courtney teaches him about God and the world he created.  And talk about cute, Liam had his first soccer game yesterday.  Sadly, he was a little tired and a little confused by the whole thing, so he mainly just stood in the middle of the field and looked around at all the parents surrounding the small field.  We also think he was a little intimidated by so many adults all around him.  I’m pumped about taking some time this week to practice with him at the field down the street so he can get a little more used to the whole thing.  And Liam is also Potty-trained now, which is rockin’ awesome.  Finally got one of these kids out of diapers…  Funny story: Tonight, Liam was dawdling over his supper and I knew that if he didn’t eat more, he would be telling us that he was hungry within ten minutes of clearing the table. So I said to him, “Liam, you need to finish eating now or forever hold your peace.”  He replied by picking up one of the pieces of food on his plate and saying, “I wanna hold this piece.”

Ariana is growing into more and more of a cutie every day.  She’s getting faster, growing longer hair (finally), and, if possible, becoming more and more girly all the time–you should see how she oh-so-delicately brushes aside the hair from her eyes.  She’s really hit a booming point with language and is communicating extremely well with us.  Her enunciation is vastly improving and she’s forming some pretty complex sentences.  She’s also found that she likes this one particular hat (looks a little like a fisher’s hat) and was quite determined to have it on all day today.  Funny story: Ariana has heard Courtney calling her cute and she’s picked up saying the word now that she’s repeating so much of what we say.  Tonight at supper (it was a funny meal all around), she looked at Courtney and announced “I’m cute!”  While we burst into fits of laugher, she looked at us with a slightly confused look as if she didn’t know why we were laughing and asked, “What?”  Priceless…

Esther is definitely discovering her voice and is using it with all her might.  It’s hard to imagine such a little body making such a racket, but she does quite well for herself.  Perhaps she’s just trying to insure that she’s heard over her rather noisy brother and sister.  Esther is still working on sitting on her own (not quite there yet), though she is quite accomplished at rolling and turning and grabbing things to stick in her mouth.  Like all of our kids, her smile is incredibly beautiful and she charms her daddy all the time with it.  Funny story: As I said, she’s quite good at rolling and turning.  We have now gone in several mornings to find that Esther has wiggled herself out of her gown and is only in her diaper, which is rather impressive since that makes her our only child that can successfully undress herself without any assistance from us. 

Last thing: we’re totally pumped about our first ever family vacation that’s coming up in a couple of weeks.  We’re going to be hanging out in Indianapolis, which should be an ultra blast.

All right, that’s all I have to say.  Here are the pictures: