Introduction

[littlemrs]

Hello everybody... I just kind of stumbled onto this forum and figured I'd do a little post. I'm getting married in May to a mighty man of God who has been preaching for about two years now; he has been ordained a little more than a year. I have no doubts this is the man I am going to marry and God has blessed us so tremendously with our love for each other and our relationship. I am looking forward to all the things that marriage brings into our lives, however, I am somewhat nervous about the expectations that people will have of me as a preacher's wife. So have any of you seasoned preachers' wives any tips for a newbie?

 

[Ms.Garnet]

Hello & Welcome LittleMrs. If you look like your CF character - you look so petite & cute ! If you have not already read our earliest posts (this is a new forum & there really aren't that many posts yet) - take time to read them. You will see some of our biggest gripes & see somewhat what you can expect. Now take our gripes & make a positive out of them - if you know it is part of what you can expect - then you will not tend to take these little issues personally when & if they come your way --- just tell yourself it is part of the territory - learn from any negatives and continue to strive to be yourself, yet strive to grow spiritually & while you do want to model Christ & be an example - do not knock yourself out trying to be perfect or all things to all people. You will find what you enjoy doing in your service to the Lord & work on being the best in that area that you can. Never speak negative of your husband to any church member & be careful of what you share with other preacher's wives too. Maintain a close friendship with a strong Christian outside your church & confide in that person when you need to vent. I can promise you once you adjust to being married/a newly wed and settle in to be the PW (preacher's wife) - you will find the joy of service far outweighs the negative. The blessings are so many you will realize that the Lord put you in the best possible vocation and that it really is a priveledge to be in the role of the PW.

 

[erin74]

Hey there and welcome.

You're a young preacher's wife (I usually find myself as one of the youngest in a crowd of preachers wives - I guess that is changing a little though). Is your dh young also? I hope that does not sound condescending. It was not meant to.

A great book though as you set out on a lifetime of ministry.
"Going the Distance" by Peter Brain.

It is a really great book written to help ministers avoid burnout. There is a terrifically high burnout rate in ministry. Read this early in your ministry journey and help prepare for a long haul ministry. It has some great sections on being a ministers wife.

 

[Ms.Garnet]

Hi Erin ! Thanks for sharing about the book. I will try to find it & give it to my husband for Christmas. Have a good weekend everyone! Ms. Garnet

 

[erin74]

The publisher has just opened a US store
http://www.matthiasmedia.com

They haven't got their site quite schmick yet, but you can order through them. On one of the pages their is a pastors resource guide, which might be helpful, and would mention this book I am sure.

But just drop them an email and you could order it through them - in their news bit down the right hand side they mention having it in stock.

 

[Heart4Him]

Hi littleMrs.! I'm glad you happened upon this part of CF. I have only been a pw for about 3 years myself, so I wouldn't exactly consider myself seasoned yet.
I love to hear what these other ladies have to say, though.
Some of the best advice I can offer is to maintain a strong prayer life and studying the Word. Try to balance your time together and make time for your family and your ministry.
Hope to see you around!
God bless you!

 

[Heart4Him]

The publisher has just opened a US store
http://www.matthiasmedia.com

They haven't got their site quite schmick yet, but you can order through them. On one of the pages their is a pastors resource guide, which might be helpful, and would mention this book I am sure.

But just drop them an email and you could order it through them - in their news bit down the right hand side they mention having it in stock.

Thank you for the book recommendation, erin! I want to check this one out for both of us for sure.

 

[Maeyken]

Hi I've seen you posting elsewhere on CF but didn't know your fiance is a pastor. Very cool.

I just got married in June, and my husband is in his last year of seminary right now. I'm just learning about this pastor's wife thing too.

One thing I've learned so far is that just because he is super-involved in the church does not mean I have to be. Right now I am working full time and it's just not possible to be involved in much due to my hours at work. It's been hard getting to know people at church, and we've talked about it and he is making more of an effort to involve me and help me get to know some people so that's good I try to stick close to him so that when people come to talk to him at church, I get to meet them too.

Getting married was also a big adjustment- not a bad one for sure, but just that it takes a lot of effort! For us it's been 5 months now and it is getting smoother each month! Eventually we'll get it all figured out (haha!)

 

[littlemrs]

I nearly forgot about posting this in here!

Thank you all so much for your welcoming posts. I really appreciate it. I also appreciate the advice you've given me, and I'll be sure to take it all to heart when I encounter any troubling situations.

 

[Sophia7]

Welcome!