Contagiousjoy4him.com

Contagiousjoy4him.com

praying lady

Contagious Joy #2 June 2009
In This Issue
From One Minister's Wife to Another - Meet Tracy!
Monday Pastor's wives Session of the SBC
Remembering
Book Review
Submit your Book Review or Devotional.....
Who is She?
Ashley Brooks
 

She is Ashley Brooks.  Ashley is someone who deserves recognition for her ministry as both a minister's wife and a military wife!  Her husband serves as a minister and serves with the Army National Guard as a Chaplain.  As a recent Ph. D. graduate, Ashley has opened her own counseling firm in New Orleans.

Ashley and her husband have faithfully ministered in Alabama and Louisiana, where results are not easily seen.  Over two years ago, the couple began an adoption process.  Now they are the proud adopted parents of two beautiful girls.  She and her husband made the decision for Ashley to be a stay-at-home mom that counsels married couples at specified times, and teaches internet courses for a Christian college.

With a possible deployment looming ahead for her husband, Ashley is preparing for more than a year without him.  She has begun working with the Family Readiness Group of her husband's unit in order to build relationships with the other military wives.  She sees this as a way for her to share God's love during a time of apprehension and sadness.

Please pray for the troops and their families, especially those serving in a capacity like a Chaplain or Chaplain's spouse.  These individuals have a particular impact on those serving and those waiting on loved ones to return.

We bless you Ashley in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Thank you for serving so faithfully for many years.  May your blessings be sevenfold as you continue to serve our great and mighty God. 

We honor you for your testimony and legacy.  We pray continued spiritual and physical strength to finish your race.  Hebrews 12:1-2


book review
Who do you know that we might honor in this spot?  There are minister's wives out there who have never been honored for their faithful service throughout the years.    They are called of God to do the work He has for them.  They are faithful servants.

 In this column we would love for you to submit  the name of a minister's wife to be honored for her faithful service.  Please click on the link below and email us her name  and a few honoring sentences  for her work in ministry.
Ministry Quicklinks
 
 
sitting
From One Minister's Wife to Another
I have been on quite a journey the last few weeks!  I have traveled to Texas where my husband and I were to attend the funeral of a long time friend.  On the way to Texas from Louisiana, my sister called me to inform me that she had just found our mother wandering in the neighborhood wearing her pj's, barefooted and confused.  She has Alzeihmer's and has just progressed to the next level.  We were on the way to the memorial service of our friend and received a phone call that a long time friend and secretary to my husband died that very day.  She also lived in Texas and so we extended our stay and both worked from our computers.   When I returned home I made plans to drive 14 hours to be with my sisters as we worked together to find an assisted living space for my mom and finally, on my way back I contracted a stomach bug.  YUK!

All the while, I am praying and seeking God as He directs my steps in the days that I am living.  I told someone, "all of this is called, LIFE."  Has "LIFE" ever overwhelmed you?  Has your stength ever been tested to the point of despair?  Nothing in this world should take us by surprise.  It amazes me that we let the events cause us such pain but they do.  I do know that we are emotional creatures and that we have an emotional side that our creator gave us but I also know that as a Woman of God I am to expect the unexpected and to KNOW, not just in my head, but in my very being that my Abba Daddy God is not caught off guard by the events of my life.

In the last few weeks, every thing that I have read in my quiet time or pick up to read,  has referred me to, "Asking God for...". What I soon realized is that God was reminding me of my need to have such a walk with Him that as I go through the weeks of the unexpected that I am to continually ask Him for direction.  "What should I do, Father?"  Where should I go?"  "What decision should I make?"  "Please show me."

This type of conversation with my Abba God requires something from me.  This continual "asking and seeking" conversation requires that I am in constant communication. If you will, it takes me "being" in His presence regularly.  It is the overflow of a time with HIm that causes me to confide in and ask advice from my Holy God almost as if I am talking to myself but I'm not.  I am talking to my God.  Asking Him.  Refering to Him.  Seeking guidance from Him.

I might sound a little radical for some of you but I am convinced that we fold many times under the pressure because we have nothing in reserve. Psalm 46:10 states, "Be still and know that I am God!"  Remember that we are to "be" not "do" but "be".  It is in "being still" that we can hear our Father.  To "be still" cries against the flesh of the human race today.  "Being" is like abiding.  Do you remember the verses  from John 15:4-5.  Jesus said for us to "abide in Him."  Oswald Chambers says that we are to "determine to abide in Jesus where ever we are placed."   So, you and I, where ever we are, need to abide. Be.  So as you go through this summer let's "be" together, ok? I'll meet you in the forums.......

There are at least 400 hundred minister's wives who have registered and you are reading and checking us out but you are not posting - so please post and ask questions of Tracy.  Talk with one another and let's learn to "be" together.

Check out the devotional by Anita this session.  Don't miss the recognition section and if you know someone who you would like to honor for her service please pass on her name. 

Finally, if you are going to the Southern Baptist Convention in Louisville.  We are going to be at the Minister's Wives Luncheon at the Women's Expo.  Stop by and see us and ask any questions you would like.  Look for the Contagiousjoy4him.com banner.  I would love to meet you.

Never Give Up!
Smiling,
Diane Nix
John 15:5; 16:33

book review
Remember to Meet TracyO on the Forum!
Click here to go to the forums
Don't Miss the Pastor's Wives Session!

Minister's Wives Monday Conference


Devotional Remembering........

Wherever you are, regardless of the size church you lead, or ministry you participate in, we share a similar dilemma: we have certain things we want to remember - some things we want to forget, and then there are things we want to remember that we seem to forget!  Of course, there are other things we must remember, yet occasionally forget!  I have searched scripture and found things God remembers, and hope it brings a soothing calm to your heart. I pray that His word today will meet you in that place where only He brings the balm of Gilead.

"Remember" is such a common word and scripture uses it often. It means to keep in mind carefully, as for a purpose. To bear in mind with affection, or awe, as worthy of a reward or gift; to mention a person to another as sending kindly greetings-and lastly, it suggests something stored in the memory for future use.  God remembers!  Look with me at what He says through His word.

God Remembers. In Genesis, God remembered Noah, and repeatedly mentions that He remembers His covenant. I praise God for the sign of His covenant - the rainbow - because in Genesis 9:13-15, He says, "I set My bow in the cloud and it shall be a for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth - - -and I will remember My covenant."  Does it stir up confidence and security when you see His bow in the clouds? Is it always a reminder that God remembers you? I hope it is!

However, God tells us so many more things He remembers - things He desires us to know about His purposes, things he wants us to know about His affection towards us, that He places value on His daughters. He remembered Rachael's need for a child - - and answered her need with baby Joseph.  One of the most comforting things God communicates to us is that He remembers we are but dust!  Are we kind-hearted to others in remembering that we all are but flesh - prone to sin, prone to disappoint, prone to human frailty?

God wants us to remember. God actually instructs us to remember specific things. He says we must keep some things in mind - to keep in our focus for today, and for future use. Look at some of the things God wants us to remember.
�    He formed me, (my life is NOT a mistake). Isa. 44:21
�    He created me for His purpose. Isa. 44:21
�    I once was a slave, in bondage to ---? You answer the question. Do you remember the time of slavery and bondage? Do you remember crying out to God for release and freedom? Deut. 5:15
�    He saved me.  Eph. 2:11-13
�    He has power to deliver you today, from threatening circumstances or things that loom on the horizon: as he saved Moses and the Israelites from Pharaoh and his armies,  Deut.7:18
�    He leads you: He led His children then, and continues to do so, Deut. 8:2. He leads with clarity - look for His direction and guidance.
�    All - all - a-l-l- His benefits! Deut. 8:18, Ps. 105:5, 1Chron. 16:12. Make a new list - not merely a gratitude list, but a Benefits List.  What benefits are yours that God provides? What benefits grace your life because you are a minister's wife?????  
�    Ways you and I provoke Him :( :(  Deut 9:17.  Fess up: be honest with yourself and before God. Make a decision today to be pleasing to Him, and not provoke Him.
�    Stories about how God is real to others. Ask others to tell you! Be ready to tell others all the ways that God is real.  Deut. 32:7,  Jude 1:17

Friends and ministry-sisters, this is not an exhaustive list, merely something to whet your appetite to feed in His word for yourself. There are also things God tells us not to remember. Isaiah 43:18a says, "do not call to mind [remember] the former things or ponder things of the past..." Yesterday IS gone. What was good is back there, and what was bad is back there also. Live in today. Live TODAY. Live today.  

Something God says He will not remember: my sin. Is 43:25b. Heb. 8:12, 10:17. Are you grateful today because God will NOT remember your sin? Praise Him once again for His mercy and grace. He does promise us a future, and a hope - forgetting what is behind. Think about what He says in Isaiah 65:16-17: " ...he who is blessed in the earth shall be blessed by the God of truth...because the former troubles are forgotten and because they are hidden from My sight! For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind."

Psalm 63: 6 says, "When I remember Thee on my bed, I meditate on Thee ... For Thou hast been my help...I sing for joy."  Is your joy contagious? I pray your memories will glorify Him who loves you most.

To post a thought or a response to this devotional click here to go to the forums
Check out our Book Review
 
book review
She Can't Even Play the Piano: Insights for Ministry Wives
Compiled by Joyce Williams

    She Can't Even Play the Piano: Insights for Ministry Wives, compiled by Joyce Williams,is filled with uplifting testimonials from seasoned ministry wives.  The book focuses on the stereotypical expectations placed on a ministry wife.
  As a pastor's wife myself, I cannot count how many times I've been asked, "Do you sing in the choir or play the piano?"  In the earlier years of our ministry, I often felt that this was some sort of unwritten requirement that somehow made me unqualified!  Now I find the question comical as my husband sometimes answers, "No, but she does everything else!"This book just about covers every topic a ministry wife has been through, is going through, or at some point will go through.  Such topics include: raising children while the congregation watches, maintaining confidences and friendships, dealing with temptation, when you've been hurt, and maintaining joy.
    I recommend this book not only because it's uplifting and lighthearted, but because it proves that while we ministry wives may not all personally know each other, we share a bond that no one else can quite understand.  So sisters, if you cannot play the piano and if you even have to lip-sync the words to a hymn in order for heads to not turn, praise God with me for the simple fact that those things actually are not a requirement to serve our Lord!

To purchase this book please click here

Submit a book title you would like us to feature through our contact form on www.contagiousjoy4him.com.
 
Review by Kristi W. Cook
Wife of Dr. Jay Cook, pastor, First Baptist Church, Pascagoula, MS

 Calling All Minister's Wives

woman in fieldHas God been speaking to you lately in a very real way?  Has He shown up and showed off?  Or are you walking in the deepest valley that you have every known and our Father who knows our hearts is speaking to you like He never has before?  You might have been in the desert and now when you are on the back side of it you are ready to share with others that are in the middle of their deserts an encouraging word.
 
Or maybe you just have a funny or embarassing story that has happened to you that God has used to keep you laughing and communicate a message.  We know that "laughter does good like a medicine."
 
We are looking for some minister's wives to share what God has taught them through submitting devotionals, a good book to read, quotes or funny stories.  Click on the picture or the link below and submit your story, a devotional word, a book review or a quote.  We will prayerfully consider when it would be the right time to use your  submission and give the proper acknowledgement.  Please include your name and where we might contact you.  Remember this is not about you building your own ministry or about you sharing our contact information but is  about us supporting one another in the "high call" God has called us to.  Thanks and we look forward to you making an eternal investment into your site:  www.contagiousjoy4him.com.
Prayer Works
book reviewWe would love to pray for any need that you would share with us.
We would love to celebrate your victories.  If we can pray for anything please click on the link below fill out your prayer request and we will put our prayer team to praying for you.  Please know that anything that you submit is confidential and nothing is shared outside of our Contagious Joy team. Prayer Request
Upcoming Events
Do you have something exciting happening at your church?  Submit general information to us by clicking on the link in this space with a contact for information and we will put it in this section.Submit an Event
Contact Info