Putting Feet to Your Faith

By faith...Abel offered, Noah built and Abraham went.

Hebrews 11:1-8

As Fall's last word fluttered down, Scott's phone rang. The call came as no surprise. My life and those I most loved flanked left in a 30 second call.

That moment was birthed about six months prior as my husband lay in a hospital bed recovering from cancer. What raged within was so much more than a physical battle. It was from that very bed he first uttered his heart's dream - to use all his gifts of management and leadership for God's church instead of financial gain. 

Every day of those six months was lined with prayer. Only God knew of Scott's dream but talking to Him about it was more than enough. One ordinary night, Scott stumbled across an internet posting for the position of COO at Hope Church in Cordova, Tennessee. A quick Google search confirmed this as one of 50 largest churches in America.

It wasn't humanly possible that they would hire Scott, but God makes the impossible possible.

Three weeks later we were seated on a plane - me, Scott and Senior Pastor Craig Strickland - who just "so happened" to be returning from Dallas to Memphis and just "so happened" to be next to us on our flight. God spoke so loudly, Craig's phone call offering Scott the position was more like God's whisper.

Still it was relatively easy to take that call. It was incredibly difficult to act on it.

Answering meant moving my oldest daughters...again. Sadness lined my heart.

Answering meant leaving my parents and sister behind. Regret squeezed my heart.

Answering meant surrendering my own dreams to chase Gods. Faith met my feet.

The point where our faith meets our feet is the point at which it's actually made real. It is one thing to believe; it's another to act on our belief.

Faith is loving my spouse when he doesn't deserve it.

Faith is disciplining my kids when it doesn't seem worth it.

Faith is moving from where I am to where God wants me to be.

How has your faith moved you? Where does it still need to take you?
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Shannon is a morning runner, an afternoon carpooler and all-day lover of Jesus.

She is the voice of Jesus & My Orange Juice, a fresh-squeezed oasis for ordinary living. Shannon finds joy among piles of laundry and miles of carpools and delights in leading others to this place of contentment in life, through the written and spoken word.

Connect with her online at ShannonMilholland.com or on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Moving from Satis-fiction to Joy

by Shannon Milholland

Also, their neighbors from as far away as Issachar, Zebulun and Naphtali 

came bringing food on donkeys, camels, mules and oxen. 

There were plentiful supplies of flour, fig cakes, raisin cakes, 

wine, oil, cattle and sheep, for there was joy in Israel.

1 Chronicles 12:40

Banished. 

David was anointed God's servant but that anointing didn't come without cost. He was banished from the presence of the king. Sometimes in ministry what we long for most is elusive.

Intimate friendships.
Financial freedom.
Opportunities for our children.

The call is certain. The anointing is definite. But sometimes walking it out feels more banishment than banquet.

In 1 Chronicles 12, David is hiding from Saul. He is waiting for outward evidence of an inward call. Over the course of this chapter resources trickle in. What starts with seven men (verse 20) ends with a vast army of loyal followers of over 340,000 (verses 24-37), abundant food and resources.

But what we can't miss is the basis for abundance - joy in Israel. No person in scripture was more transparent and honest with God than David. Yet no matter how overwhelming his circumstances or insurmountable his emotions, he sought God's presence. In God's presence there is joy. God's presence brings abundance.

Do you long for intimate friendships? Do you dream of financial freedom? Do you envision better opportunities for your children? First find joy and satisfaction in God. Everything else we chase is nothing but satis-fiction. 
_____________________________________

Shannon is a morning runner, an afternoon carpooler and all-day lover of Jesus.

She is the voice of Jesus & My Orange Juice, a fresh-squeezed oasis for ordinary living. Shannon finds joy among piles of laundry and miles of carpools and delights in leading others to this place of contentment in life, through the written and spoken word.

When she’s not speaking and writing, she enjoys her favorite job of wife to Scott, COO of their church and mom to four daughters from kindergarten to high school.

Connect with her online at ShannonMilholland.com or on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

An Early Warning System for Burn Out

"Mam-Maw's up!" my hubby teased when I stumbled into the kitchen this morning. Lately I've been falling asleep before the sun relinquishes rights to the day. Any chance I'm bordering on burn out?

Burn out sneaks into your heart and home as stealthily as a shadow. It moves the front of your emotions and spirit an inch at a time. So sloth-like is its attack, you find yourself surrounded by darkness before you register the first symptom. Like a coastal town, we need an early warning system.

Early

Early in my day I tend the fields of my own heart. I spend time talking to God. I explore His Word and allow Him to talk to me. I walk or run to prepare my body for the day's battle. I fuel my body with the most nutritious food our budget allows. I stimulate my mind with reading other sources as well.

This isn't selfish - it's making the best use of God's day. I can't give out what I don't have and I have to make the choice to possess God's best as early in my day as possible. I can't reach the finish line of my day without properly preparing for the starting line.

Warning

We each have a "tell" to indicate impending burnout. Mine is when opportunity becomes irritation. When I have so little margin I no longer want God to interrupt my day. 

On Tuesdays at Jesus & My Orange Juice, we've been learning about the 8 life transforming one-sentence prayers that have changed my life. One of those I learned to pray over my home and schedule - Lord, direct me. When I see my tell, I return to that place of prayer, surrender my day to Him and ask for His direction.

System

Through prayer and with the guidance of my husband's wisdom, I make choices. I make these decisions long before they're needed. They are my ultimate protection against burnout.

My children only enroll in a limited number of activities.

I only speak a certain number of times per month.

My children have friends to play a determined amount of times.

I say yes to an exclusive number of ministry opportunities.

This system of careful choices prevents burnout before it can begin.

I once heard a pastor's wife quip, "To be successful in ministry, you have to fly under the radar and above the fray." There is real wisdom in this but the best place to fly is in the shadow of His wing. With His radar and utilizing this Early Warning System, we'll be in the ministry sweet spot - far from burnout.

______________________________

Shannon is a morning runner, an afternoon carpooler and all-day lover of Jesus.

She is the author of Jesus & My Orange Juice, a fresh-squeezed oasis for ordinary living. Shannon finds joy among piles of laundry and miles of carpools and delights in leading others to this place of contentment in life. She presents the gift of prayer in her free 30 day prayer guide PrePrayed: Preparing for Life’s Events. She is a frequently published author. Most recently, she was a contributing author to Always There: Reflections for Mom’s on God’s Presence.

As a speaker, Shannon is straight forward about her own struggles. She is a compassionate advocate fighting for victory in the life of her audience with a message of hope and encouragement.

When not writing or speaking, she enjoys her favorite job of wife to Scott and mom to four daughters from kindergarten to high school.

Connect with her online at ShannonMilholland.com or on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.

Will You Marry Me?

by Shannon Milholland

Scott & Shannon on the night of their engagement

Sun-kissed skin and hair did little to hide my smile. The salty Jacksonville air blew around us as he looked into my eyes. I wanted to drink in the moment. I knew the question he would ask. The man of my dreams would soon ask me to marry him.

"Will you marry me?" The question asked and answered for centuries by millions of lovers, fell from his lips. My heart beat erratically in response. Before I could shout, "Yes!" he stopped me. He had a question to ask of two little young ladies first.

The thirty minutes from the beach to my home passed in alternating periods of stall and blur. Soon we were seated on the couch surrounded by my seven and four year old daughters. "Girls, I asked your mommy to marry me tonight. That means I want us to live together and be a real family but I won't let her answer until I ask you a very important question. Will you be my daughters?"

Their enthusiasm, fueled by surprise, outweighed my own. A stuffed animal sky rocketed to the ceiling as a chorus of "Yes! Yes! Yes!" rang from their lips.

Finally it was my turn to answer. My yes completed our joy. In nine months we would marry in a small church in a small town in Mississippi, witnessed by a few lifelong friends and our immediate family. The vows we would all exchange entered us not just into the covenant of marriage but the covenant of family. That day four became one.

Five years later my husband left his corporate executive job to become the COO (Executive Pastor) of a church 600 miles away in the last city where I shared happiness with my first husband. It was a place I never wanted to return. Since then, I have teased Scott many times that had I known what he was really asking that day, I may have changed my answer.

Indeed marriage is for better or worse. Sometimes ministry births days that stretch my marriage almost to its breaking point. For the good of God's church, we both carry burdens we are not entirely free to share with the other. Our hearts ache because close relationships are elusive. What should drive us together some days drives us apart.

Can ministry be a happily ever after?

Yes! I live my happily ever after every day...even on the really hard ones. Here's how:

Gratitude - It sounds simple and it is. As I move my thoughts from what's wrong to what's right, my heart warms to my husband. I whisper single sentence prayers of thanksgiving to the Giver of every good gift.

Thank you for my husband who comes home to me.


Thank you for my husband who cares so deeply for Your church.


Thank you for my husband. He is a gift from Your hand.


Time - I once heard a youth speaker say children spell love T-I-M-E. He asserted there was no such thing as quality time, only quantity. My husband spells love the same way. I often leave dirty dishes to crust in the sink because I'd rather awake to crusty dishes than a moldy marriage.

Some evenings we mindlessly watch American Idol while we hold hands and judge each performance. Other nights we whisper the secrets of love in a language unique to marriage. Many times we just enjoy being together and building our marriage one day, one trial, one stress, one ordinary at a time.

Oneness - Have you ever noticed that God says at least four times, "The two shall become one?" When I read God's Word, I try to pay extra attention to things God repeats. I figure if He felt it worth repeating, I should find it worthy of my full attention. The principle of oneness is a guiding principle in our marriage.

The activities I engage in, the way I spend money, the things I watch and think about are all sifted from the perspective of oneness. If something makes us more two than one, I make the choice not to invest time or energy there.

If we're married, we all answered the question. We said yes. Now we need to daily learn to say yes to living our happily ever after today among real stress, real pain and real issues. When we follow hearts of gratitude to spend time being one with our spouse, we'll find our happily ever after was here all along.
 

Finding the One in LOnely

by Shannon Milholland

But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

Luke 5:16

It's crushing. My soul gasps for relationship but attempts collapse. The pain of loneliness is palatable. As a pastor's wife there is usually no need to withdraw. We live, work and worship in lonely places.

We forge a deep, abiding relationship with our husbands but places of our hearts are a mystery to him.


We find satisfaction in the ordinary rhythm of caring for our home and family, but underneath the drum of solitude beats.


We delight in serving our King but find His courts an empty, solitary place.


How can we as pastor's wives fill our God-given craving for female companionship?

Seek Relationship Beyond Your Boundaries - Don't expect your new best friend to occupy the rocker next to you during your nursery rotation. But you might find her in a community Bible study, on a non-denominational ministry board or in the school PTA. Jesus withdrew to a safe place. We'd be well-advised to find a safe place outside the brick and mortar above which our church sign hangs.

Consider Going Cross-Country - I'm not advising ultra-marathons or running away from your family to join the circus. With the world wide web, communities like A Pastor's Wife's Garden are just a click away. We can find a place to pour out our hearts and pray without even leaving our favorite chair.

Re-Kindle Old Loves - Sorry girls, your college sweetie is off limits, but your college roommate probably isn't. Consider reconnecting with a sorority sister, a girl from your hometown or pretty much any woman who knew you pre-POW. (POW = the pastor's outstanding wife!) Sometimes the one who's known you the longest can be an oasis in a relationship desert.

This week let's face our loneliness. No we didn't have to withdraw to get there but we can commit to pray for each other in our lonely place. We can take a single step out of the shadow of lonely and into the light of relationship. Most importantly, we can seek the One Who guarantees we're never alone in our lonely.

Love,

 Shannon


* To read Shannon's bio and her previous post, click here