Create Your Own … Blog

Obviously I write this blog mainly about leadership or my own personal experiences in life and ministry.

Pretend we are back at Starbucks, (since we planned events and conferences before) brainstorming and dreaming about awesome blogs.

What would the best blog for Pastor’s Wives and ladies in leadership look like?

What things would be discussed?

What do you wish you could find, in relation to ministry and leadership, on a blog?

What would be the purpose of reading? Connection? Information? Growth? Encouragement? Something else?

Thoughts?

We Don’t Take the Paper

Some thoughts from my awesome friend Donna. Wanna see & hear more from her … and you totally should … Click here, here, here, or here.

 

Sunday mornings around the Politz home look a little like this…

Our 11-year-old daughter is up first and is usually ready before anyone else wakes. Tommy is next. If I wake up before 8, we may chat while he irons his shirt. Then the boys and I get ready for the morning. Cole and I eat at home. My older two eat at church. Tommy doesn’t eat before our services. That’s it.

A pastor and his wife stayed with us a while back. He was in town to speak one Sunday morning for Tommy. They are great and super fun. Their Sunday mornings look a lot different from ours. Let me begin with some background information… we don’t take the paper. This amazing wife gets up, makes her man a hot breakfast with the paper next to his plate. Oops, we don’t take the paper. Thankfully, we had eggs in the refrigerator.

So, what does Sunday morning before church look like at your house? Even if you attend Saturday night service, how does Sunday morning look?

The Name Game

I’m horrible with names. Horrible. I try hard … but … horrible.

 

I’ve just about decided that my brain has some kind of name holding capacity. In order to cram another name in there, another has to drop off the back.

 

I can’t you how many times I’ve walked up to people and said, “I don’t think I’ve met you before, I’m Lori.” And then I hear the dreaded, “Um … I’ve actually met you 3 times.” Oops. Horrible, I tell you!

 

So, here is what I do now. I greet everyone like I’ve met them 50 times … because, in fact, I actually may have.

If someone asks me if I know their name, I always (in my super sweetest voice) say, “We’re a little outnumbered around here. I’m sorry, but I’m going to need you to help me out.”

 

So, help me out. How do you remember people’s names? And what do you say if you get caught not knowing someone’s name?

Through the Eyes of … the Senior Pastor’s Wife

This is my very fun friend Amy Bloye. She agreed to give us a little insight into her role as the Sr Pastor’s Wife.

Check out: her blog and her church

1. What is your role in leadership/ministry?

In different seasons of our church and in different seasons of my ministry I’ve been involved in a variety of leadership roles–from preschool age director to women’s ministry. Several years ago, we started the West Ridge School Of Church Planting, and now I get the opportunity to mentor and encourage church planters’ wives. In addition to working with church planters’ wives, I plan opportunities several times a year for our own pastors’ and directors’ wives to get together.  I enjoy teaching our monthly membership class with my husband, and recently volunteered to host the church small group for my son’s high school freshman class. We are seeing God do some amazing things in that group at our house on Wednesday nights!  The most important thing I do is take care of my family and encourage my husband, Brian.

2. What is your favorite thing about your role?

My favorite thing about my role is that I just hang out with Brian!  He is my favorite person, and I feel called to him.  I really enjoy being the one that gets to encourage him and fill him up and free him up to be all that God called him to be!

3.  What is the most challenging thing?

The most challenging thing about my role is the fact that my boys are extremely involved in sports, and I am therefore, a taxi.  I love it, but it saddens me that in our American culture, kids’ schedules often dictate family life.

4.  What do you wish someone had told you before you started in your area of leadership/ministry?

I would have loved for someone to have freed me up to say “NO” with confidence.  Now I say “NO” to most everything and feel pretty good about it, but it took me a long time to get there. Secondly, and more recently, we have realized that people can only handle so much personal information about their pastor and his family.  We have always been so authentic and transparent.  We still are.  In fact we are opening our home weekly to teenagers and facebooking about what we ate for lunch!  At the same time, we are learning that it is not always helpful for people to know certain details about us (where we went on vacation etc); and we only tell so much.  That is unfortunate, but as our church grows, we are growing a little more inward as a family.  We need that, and our kids need that.

5.  If you could pass one little piece of wisdom to someone else in the same leadership role, what would it be?

If I could pass on a piece of wisdom, I would say do what is IMPORTANT, not what is URGENT.  You cannot do it all, so pick the two or three most important things you want to do in life and do them really really well.  Say “NO” to everything else.  Feel confident in what God has called you to do and do not worry about what everyone else thinks.

Secondly, if you are a pastor’s wife, save some of your energy and fun for your husband. He is a man that people are admiring on a stage, and many women will tell him how great he is and how he has changed her life.

6. How do you meet the needs specific to the people in your town, city, circle of influence?

When it comes to meeting peoples’ needs, I know that I cannot personally take care of everyone.  Honestly, I pray and ask God to give me direction, and when I cannot stop thinking about a specific person and their need, I feel like God has put them on my heart. Then, I personally do something for that person.

What’s Your Flavor … TiVo

This week’s ‘get to know you’ question:

What is season passed on your TiVo?

I watch an obscene amount of TV at night while writing or reading. Yep, I’m a multi-tasker. But still … I love TV. I tell Jud it is a ministry because i have at least one connection point with everyone … ev-ry-one. So, my TV watching is ministry people.

Here are the shows that are currently on that I season-pass:

The Office & Glee: These are the funniest shows on TV! Pure comedy gold. Every show should think of incorporating song and dance.

The Vampire Diaries: I can’t help it … it is just too good.

Fringe & Dollhouse: I always love a good, freaky sci-fi drama.

Survivor, Biggest Loser, SYTYCD, Project Runway & Amazing Race: I love Reality shows. My friend and I talk about auditioning for Amazing Race as “Vegas Pastor’sWives.” Don’t you think they’d let us on?

Robin Hood: Pure British fabulousness on BBCA.

Heroes: I’m one of about 5 people who are still watching this show. It isn’t even that great … I just have to know what happens.

House Hunters International: Jud and I love this show. Who doesn’t want to look for a house in Belize?

Friday Night Lights: I’m a Texan. What can I say?

So, what’s on your TiVo? Or if you don’t have TiVo, what are your no-miss shows? Or if you’ve canned cable, what do you hop on Hulu to catch?

And the Winner Is …

Thanks to Random.org the winner of the drawing from Wednesday’s post is:

Kendra

I’ll be sending you a big box full o’ fun. CDs, books, etc. Celebrating all that is going on in your church plant, Kendra!

FOR and WITH

A little quote from someone to chew on:

“There are friends that are for you, and friends that are with you. We usually get hurt when we confuse ‘for’ friends and ‘with’ friends.”

The point is …. “For” friends are those that care about you and are for you as long as you are walking in the same direction and as long as their thinking aligns with yours. “With” friends are those through the good and the bad, no matter what similarities or differences they are WITH you.

This could translate to people that are “with” your ministry, or you personally, or your leadership.

Thoughts? Can you think of people in your lives that fit into these two categories?

(Orginally posted 9/08)

Celebrations

Yesterday was confession day. And yep, just as I thought, we don’t fit some preset mold or set of expectations. Some of that was stinking funny … Cindy Beall … you crack me up.

So today, I think we should try something a little different. Yesterday was confession day … today is celebration day. Today we are celebrating all of the awesome things about being Pastor’s Wives and being in ministry.

If we can get more comments on this post than yesterday’s, I’m going to do a big, fat drawing from among the comments. What am I giving away? Not sure yet, but I promise it will be the biggest giveaway I’ve had on this blog yet. Can you comment and be entered into the drawing more than once? You better believe it!

Same as yesterday, I’ll give a couple of things here and then I’ll add more later:

1. I get a front row seat to seeing God change people’s lives. And that never gets old … never.

2. I get to work with the stinkin’ best staff and staff wives anywhere.

All right, you’re turn. Cut loose … and let me hear it. Celebrate.

Confessions …

Last week I wrote a little note to “I’m a bad pastor’s wife.”

That day I got this excellent tweet in response:

I thought that was a great idea … and a great confession. And since Jenn agreed to let me blog about it, here we go.

Confession 1: I don’t cook. I avoid it when at all possible. If I have to bring something to a potluck, I purchase. If I’m having guests over, I’m the queen of take-out.

Confession 2: I read vampire books, and I like them.

Your turn. What expectation do you turn on its head? What do you do that is seemingly out of the pastor’s wife norm? Don’t be shy. Share away. I’ll share some more later too.

Crashing the Mancave

Apparently even though I am “girly” I have gained entrance to the Deadly Viper Online Mancave. Jud and I, along with Mike Foster, are going to be talking about marriage. So, would love to invite you girly ladies to come and join me in crashing the Online Mancave on Tuesday at 6pm PST. I’ll be there and would love to chat!