Love & Respect

"Ministry life is not normal."  These are the words that came out of a pastor's wife at Exponential.  Although my husband and I have participated in ministry most of our married lives, the past two years with him being on staff have been different.  We have new titles and new responsibilities.  This man that you see has a huge heart and works very hard, always striving for excellence.  And since the demands on his time are never-ending, it's sometimes hard to keep everything in balance.  As he's learning to manage his time, I'm learning to adjust to the new normal. 

 

Last weekend is one example.  We had a marriage conference at our church called Love And Respect.  We couldn't attend in the typical fashion because Jeremy was in charge of running the sound and computer.  So we did the next best thing. I sat next to him...in our "box seats" :)





 

 



And you know what?  I think I enjoyed our semi-private time more than if I would have been sitting among the crowd.  Sometimes it's more fun not to be normal!

I highly recommend the Love And Respect conference videos.  Here are some of my take-aways: 

• Men and women approach things differently.  It's not that one is right and the other is wrong.  We are just different...from the things that we crave the most to the way we handle conflict.  It was eye-opening to hear about these differences and confirm them with my husband.
• These differences can also help me to understand my sons better! 
• My response is my responsibility.  When pressure or stress is applied to something, it simply reveals the inner properties.  Check out this clip...

While I think a conference is more engaging than a book, I know the Eggerichs have several books that also explain this material.  I encourage you to check them out...both for marriage and parenting application

I hope to be able to say like Paul "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith".  I want to finish well...and finish together.