michellesingleton.com // Confessions of the Preacher’s Wife

Yesterday, I got the nicest compliment from my son.  We’d had a house full of people all week and after everyone left, Nathan and I had a few quiet minutes together before our next guests arrived for dinner.

“Mom, the older you get, the more you are becoming like Grandma.  Not so much in looks, but Grandma is so much fun to talk to.  You never get tired of talking to her.  Her sweet spirit really keeps a conversation going.”

I have to agree that my mother is terrific.  She is an amazing “people person.”  Very easy to talk to….and she is a very good listener.  She is genuinely takes an interest in others.  I am glad to know that my son recognizes this quality as something that is really special.  And I am happy to have his encourgement that I am on my way to becoming more like my own mom.  

What a good reminder for me to take the time to listen to my children…really listen.

Have you listened to your kids today? 

Ever once in awhile I get a wake-up call ~ that is exactly what happened yesterday.  I was returning a purchase I made 15 days ago.  The sales clerk politely infomed me that she could not refund my money, even though I had my receipt.  She went on to explain that the store’s policy allowed full refunds for up to 14 days.  From day 15 on, I owned the purchase forever…not even exchanges or store credits were permitted after 14 days.

Frustrated with the store policy, I was tempted to snap back with a not so kind retort.  I really did not need this purchase.  That is why I was returning to the store.  Only 12 hours late?  It seemed ridiculous to me…12 hours late!  Couldn’t she see I kept a busy schedule?  Couldn’t she bend the “rules” for me?  Was she nuts? 

As these thoughts were going through my mind, the sweet clerk said, “Aren’t you Pastor Rob’s wife?”

I felt a pit in my stomach.  I was ashamed of my thoughts and my mind immediately shifted gears.  In an instant, God used this girl, that I’d never seen before, to wake me up.  And I sincerely wanted my words to be pleasant and honoring to God.  I genuinely wanted to please God, respectfully represent Southbrook church and my husband in the community, as well as be an acceptable witness for Jesus.  But I fall short more than I’d like to admit.

I am forever grateful that I did not blurt out my selfish thoughts.  I could have ruined this girl’s impression of Christ Followers, my husband, our church and how a godly woman should act.  Only by God’s grace did I save face.

I left the store, got back in the car and broke out in a praise song…no one heard me…just God.  I thanked God for His gentle, loving prodding to get me back on track.  He is so good, so patient and so kind. 

Psalm 13:6 I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me. (NIV)

Our new puppies get a lot of attention.  But the regal Queen Nala, our very first lab, still holds a dear spot in our hearts.

Nala is 14 years old, completely deaf, skin and bones, walks with a limp, has failing eyesight and yet, is the first to greet us, wagging her tail, at the end of the driveway every day when we come home.  She is, and always has been, a faithful dog who aims to please.  She still retrieves on land and in water although recently, after catching the frisbee, she holds it in her mouth and looks around a bit confused.  Now what am I supposed to do?  And after taking a moment to figure it out, she hobbles the frisbee back to us.

Yesterday she got locked out of the garage where her bed is located.  I found her sleeping ever so peacefully on a bale of hay.  Truly a sleeping beauty.  Never whining, never complaining.  Just making the best of her life—living to please her family, one day at a time.

I would do well to be more like my old dog…and live my life, without complaining, to serve and please my family ~ just making the best out of each day!

Sometimes real life heroes don’t get a ton of media publicity.  And some real life heroes like it that way.  This is true for one my own personal heroes.  Her name is Kate Doiron. 

I first met Kate when she applied for a job in my office — I hired her on the spot.  She turned out to be a faithful, dependable, devoted employee and hard worker.  She never let me down. 

Kate and her husband, Adam, made a perfect match.  They were cute, young and had so much going for them.  Both Kate and Adam loved the Lord and were active in our church.  They had their heads on straight, were crazy over their dog Storm, and loved to laugh.  Adam adored Kate.  On an occassional day off, Adam would drop by our office and surprise Kate with a picnic lunches, flowers or sweet notes. 

What I admired most about the Doirons were their hearts.  Both of them had servant hearts — always looking for ways help others.  They found no task too low or too menial.  And you could count on them.

Together they made a decision to leave their comfortable American life and pursue a more uncertain (and adventurous) life in Germany as missionaries.  Just before they were scheduled to leave for Europe, Adam suddenly died in the night from diabetic complications.

Heart broken and dreams shattered, Kate found strength for survival in her relationship with Jesus.  Her family, friends and small group rallied around her and Kate made the decision to follow God’s leading to Germany — alone.  Very brave.  Very bold.  And very much committed to the journey God shaped her for.  Kate is one of my heroes.

This past Sunday, Southbrook Church sent Kate off with lots of love, tears, hugs, prayers and blessings.  We love you, Kate.  And we look forward to hearing all the neat things God will continue to do through your life.  God bless you as you set Germany on fire for Jesus!

To track with Kate, please visit her at www.katedoiron.blogspot.com . 

I can’t stop thinking about the plane crash survivors of Flight 1549.  And what must be going through their minds!  How about their families— what are they thinking?

Having the opportunity to host  Survivor Don Norton at our church, I was taken back by his story.  Don was the passenger in seat 11F— right by the emergency exit.  He was the one responsible for opening the emergency exit door. 

During Rob’s interview, Don told us that as the plane was going down, he prayed, “God, don’t let me die.”  Don said he was focused on one thing:  opening the emergency exit door.  “I’ve got a job to do,” he repeated to himself during the descent as he read the ‘how to open’ instructions printed on the emergency exit door.

Once the plane hit the water, Don opened the door and pulled it off.  He told us those doors are not on hinges so he had to maneuver the door back through the hole and then throw it into the water.  He then stepped onto the wing and everyone started streaming out of the plane.  Right away ferries and helicopters converged on the plane to rescue the passengers.

Pictured above is Don’s wife and 2 year old son.  Don encouraged our church to spend time with our families.  He said the people sitting next to us were the most important people in our lives.  Don admitted to working 12 hour days and said he was going to rethink that.

God, don’t let me die.  I’ve got a job to do.

Don’s words are something all of us should think and pray about each day.  “God, what job do you have for me to do today?”

I pray that Don will continue to yield to God’s plan for his life.  Obviously, Don was spared for a reason.  I believe God has many more jobs for him to do.

How about you?  What job has God given you to do?

Seems like everywhere you turn, people are talking about the miracle of the 155 survivors from Flight 1549–the plane that crashed into the Hudson River last Thursday. 

There is nothing about the crash that was short of a miracle:

• birds take down a jet airplane
• experienced captain is a former fighter pilot and safety consultant
• crew and passengers prayed and were calm
• plane crashes and remains intact
• water temperature of the Hudson River was 35 degrees
• many passengers were able to step out of the plane and onto a resecue boat
• other passengers stepped out of the plane and onto the wings and waited for a rescue ferry
• all passengers and crew survived the crash

We had the privilege of having 2 survivors share their experiences at our Sunday services at Southbrook Church.  Pictured below from left to right are Pastor Rob (my favorite pastor and only lover!), Dave Sanderson and Don Norton.

Both Dave and Don acknowleged that they should not be here….only by a miracle are they alive and safely home in Charlotte with their families.  Who could have pulled all these things together? 

The media has given some incredible coverage of this miracle.  And everyone is calling it a miracle.  But what about the Miracle Maker?  Shouldn’t the One who orchestrated all these life-saving events get some credit?  Of course!  

That is really Who this is all about— Our God— Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!  He is the Giver of all good gifts, the Miracle Maker.  Let us remember Him, His goodness, His faithfulness and the miracles that He sends our way.

My prayer is that this near tragedy turned miracle would turn all of our hearts to God, and that we would give Him the praise and glory that he is due!

What a gift to personally know the Miracle Maker!  All praise and Glory be to Him!

One of our most loveable family members is really not so loveable to outsiders.  All of us Singletons think our terrier is tops.  He smothers us with his wet licky kisses.  But despite our great love for Strider, The Terrible, when friends visit (especially with small children), we resort to strapping a muzzle on the little guy.   He likes to snip at kids and strangers.  Not very often, but once is enough.  Friends don’t want to hang out around a biting dog!

And so Kate asked me, “How did you end up with this dog?”  I explained that we fell in love with him as a puppy before he was tortured by a small child, in our old neighborhood.  The child shook the little dog’s kennel with him in it, yelling and screaming at the him, and ever since then, Strider was afraid of small kids and strangers.  I’m not sure Kate bought my story at first.  But as we’ve gotten to be close friends, she realizes Strider is not going away and has made an effort to befriend our terrior.  Even to the point of letting him kiss her ~ through his muzzle and all!  Now that is a good friend!

If we were that patient and accepting of the not so loveable people in our lives, I wonder how their behavior towards us and others might change. 

Something to think about! 

I must admit, I’m not a Panthers Fanatic….don’t know any player stats, can’t even pronounce some of their names, but like most folks, I can’t resist pulling for the home team!  And that is what we did last Saturday.  Nathan and Juliana really got into Panther Spirit Wear.  We counted Panther flags on cars as they drove by.  We gave a nod of acknowledgement to fans at the market dressed in blue and black.  We bought Harris Teeter Panther decorated cookies and cakes, filled our home with blue and black balloons, and invited friends to watch the game.

But our excitement could not bring a win to Carolina’s home team.  The kids were very disappointed.  “Mom, what are we going to do next week?” Juliana asked.  And Nathan consoled, “Mom, don’t be too disappointed.  It was worth your effort.  Our friends were here and it was still a very fun night!”

And he was right.  The unity of friends and neighbors cheering for the same team and the community it brought was terrific fun.  How neat to have common ground with folks you may not otherwise!  And now, doors are opened for further conversations as relationships grow.  So even though the Panthers won’t be playing in the Superbowl, cheering them on through the playoffs made the season a win for us! 

One of my New Year’s Goals is to keep doors open for communication with new acquaintances so that I might earn the right to tell them about Jesus!

Pastor Geoffrey, from Southbrook Monroe, gave an awesome New Year’s message.  And with it, he issued a challenge.  He encouraged us to read through the Bible in its entirity this year.  He said his grandfather read through the Old Testament once and the new Testament twice every year.  And that his life was blessed through the reading of God’s word.  Pastor Geoffrey also said that if you listened to the Bible on tape, it would take about 75 hours to get through the whole thing.

I thought about how much I drive and jumped right on that idea.  By tape or cd, I can easily get through the whole Bible this year.  My personal goal is to listen through the entire Bible 2 times before Christmas 2009.

I’ve actually done this before.  And I can’t even tell you how many times God has brought to mind a passage of scripture that I had listened to on the way to work or on the way home that applied directly to that day’s circumstances awaiting me.

God’s Word is alive and relative to my everyday life.  And this year, I intend to soak up all I can from God’s message to me. 

Will you join me?

We must be crazy!  We have become a 4 dog family.  The last addition, Paws, a sweet, small yellow lab was a gift to Juliana from Santa.  Although the new puppy shows signs of Marley Mischief, she has stolen our hearts.

The little pup was left behind her litter mates after getting into a scrap with an older dog (her own mother), leaving the little gal with facial wounds that needed time to heal.  It seems she was the forgotten puppy.

For Juliana, it was love at first sight.  The scars on Paws’ face did not matter one bit.  “Mom, I don’t understand the animal kingdom and how a mother could hurt her own child, but this puppy needs a mom and I’m it!”

And from that moment on, Juliana had her mind set on taking care of Paws.  She prayed for her each night.  She dreamed of taking Paws on walks, feeding her, playing with her and giving her baths.  Seeing Juliana’s sincere desire to adopt and love this puppy melted my heart.  I even found myself praying that Santa could somehow make this work.  I so deeply wanted to give Juliana a good gift.

Juliana already did such a good job taking care of our other 3 dogs, I had a hunch that Paws would be a perfect gift for my daughter.  And my daughter has not let me down.   It thrills me to see Juliana so happy with her gift.

This reminds me of God’s love for His children and His desire to give us good and perfect gifts.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.  James 1:17

Take time today to thank God for His good and perfect gifts.