Lighten Your Mood 101

So one of my friends today was brainstorming a list of things she could send me to remind me that it's okay to be a little bit crazy, even when you're a pastors wife.  Nothing super rebellious (which is good--I'm certainly not advocating rebellion since God definitely seems to be against it), but a lot of funny things.  Here a couple of her ideas...

1.  Bright colored nail polish (I admit I have painted my nails blue before the intention of wearing it to church to see what the older women in our congregation would have to say, but it looked awful.)

2.  Loud, clunky jewelry.

I feel like either of those would lighten my mood on some days when I just want to find some curtains for this fishbowl where I live and make everyone stop looking at me.  If you're not a pastors wife--laugh, be entertained.  And maybe think about buying your pastors wife some bright nail polish (she can at least wear it on her toenails) if she seems to be having a bad day.  

If you are a pastor's wife--I also highly recommend red high heels.  Not only does it make you feel tall and bold, they're also super cute.

Alright, here's your turn.  Does anyone have other ideas of silly little things women can do to have a little harmless fun and quit taking themselves too seriously?

The Face I Don't See in the Mirror

            I can see her in my mind.  The perfect pastor’s wife.  She’s about five foot four, petite, with perfectly styled blond hair and a sweet smile.

            She looks nothing like me.

            But when I married my husband last year and he became the pastor of a little church in our small southern town, I became a pastors wife. 

            I do believe that was the moment when the world stopped spinning normally on its axis. 

            I love being a pastor’s wife.  I also love being me.  Sometimes it seems like the two won’t fit together, and a struggle ensues inside of me.  I fight with expectations—my own are usually the worst—and strive to live life in a way that pleases God and makes everyone other individual on the planet happy as well. 

            I know I’m not the only one who does this.  Pastors wife or not, all of us have felt expectations.  There are articles online, in women’s magazines, in the newspaper, everywhere we’re seeing the struggle of women to accomplish the most incredible task—being herself.  It seems like something that sounds so easy should be, well, easy.  Why isn’t it, do you think?

            This blog is about my life as more than a stereotype.  It's about having the courage to be espresso in a latte world.

    I know I'm not the only one on this journey--so join me.  I'd love to hear your stories, too.