I was a bit idealistic as a child. I'm not sure if you noticed.

Now that I'm older, of course, I know that there are few people who are in the flat-out trenches of ministry like ministers' wives. OH MY WORD. I have several close friends whose husbands are pastors, and while those ladies are just as humble and encouraging and all-around wonderful as the women I remember from my childhood, they deal with a whole lot more behind-the-scenes stuff than my eight year-old self could have ever imagined.

And the biggest thing that I know now that I never would have known back then is that being a pastor's wife? Is exhausting. Grueling, even. It's a special calling for special women - no doubt about it. It's incredibly hard - and selfless - work.

So I'm excited to tell you - or in some cases, to remind you - that there's a special Living Proof Live for Ministers' Wives in Nashville on March 13-14. It follows the Between Us Ministers' Wives Conference on March 12-13. I can't think of a better way for these women who serve so selflessly to recharge their batteries and fellowship with other people who experience similar joys and frustrations on a daily basis. It'll be a good time.

Maybe the ladies in your women's ministry would love to do something special for your pastor's wife this Christmas; or maybe your pastor has no idea what to give his wife and would benefit from a helpful hint. Regardless, this conference would be a wonderful gift - and oh have mercy, it would keep on giving in the days, weeks and months that follow.

More than anything, I hope we'll all remember to encourage our pastors' wives - not just at Christmas, but all year long.

Have a great Monday, everybody!

The winner is:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

69
Timestamp: 2008-11-28 17:47:39 UTC

Congratulations to Megan at Rapp Family Aixtreme Life!

Please email your mailing address to kris.seidenkranz@lifeway.com and we'll get this in the mail for you!

Hope y'all have a great day!

We're so grateful for every single one of you.

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful." - Colossians 3:15

Things I have tended to take for granted such as air-conditioning, clean water straight from the tap, and electricity.

So this year as I sit around the dinner table, I will thank God for the many blessings He has bestowed upon my undeserving, often ungrateful self.

I'll thank Him for His love and sacrifice. I'll thank Him for His mercy. And I'll thank Him for blessing my life so richly with precious family and friends.

How about you? I'd love to hear what you are most thankful for this year.

Well, here's what we're going to do next in our efforts to spread the Christmas cheer.

Comment to this post if you'd like to be included in the giveaway of a Beth Moore "Loving Well" Retreat Kit in a Box. Check it out!

If you've been looking for a great way to get your best girlfriends together for some fun, fellowship and some bigtime focus in God's Word - THIS retreat is your answer. In fact, a retreat like this may be the perfect ministry opportunity to reach out to unchurched friends in your community and get them involved!

This retreat kit is chocked full of terrific bible teaching by Beth, with some downright funny stuff from Living Proof Praise & Worship guy, Travis Cottrell. There are even some suggestions for games and goodtimes to help retreat leaders "fill in the gaps" between awesome teaching sessions from Beth on how to "love well".

And of course, there WILL be some discussion to share about hair products!

So, wait no longer. Comment on, girls. We'll hold the random drawing and announce the winner November 28!

And today, it was this:

"I have to learn that the aim in life is God's, not mine. God is using me from His great personal standpoint, and all He asks of me is that I trust Him, and never say - Lord, this gives me such heart-ache.... He simply asks me to have implicit faith in Himself and in His goodness. Self-pity is of the devil, if I go off on that line I cannot be used by God for His purpose in the world. I have 'a world within the world' in which I live, and God will never be able to get me outside it because I am afraid of being frost-bitten." - Oswald Chambers

That'll preach, won't it?

Because we are all about spreading a little Christmas cheer!

The winner is:

Random Integer Generator

218
Timestamp: 2008-11-21 16:42:05 UTC

The winner is Angela Bauman.

Angela, just email me your address at bigmama8303@yahoo.com and we'll get your Esther leader kit in the mail.

Thanks for playing everybody and y'all have a great weekend!

And I guess it's only natural for holidays to make us nostalgic - especially when it feels like the little ones in our family are growing up way too fast. I PROMISE that my nephews were just born last year, but somehow they've turned into nine and ten year-old football players. Blows my mind.

But one thing that alleviates the bittersweetness of time flying by is thinking about Thanksgiving traditions in our family that stand strong year after year after year: Mama's cornbread dressing and sweet potato casserole (with pecans, not marshmallows). Circling up and holding hands while my daddy prays. Watching college football all day long. Planning a fun day-after-Thanksgiving activity with my sister (this year we're driving down to the very small town where my grandparents lived). Wandering into the kitchen around five o'clock in the afternoon for a "light snack" of turkey and congealed salad. Listening to my aunt, my mama and my cousins tell story after story about the good ole days. Laughing until my whole body hurts.

Makes me smile just thinking about it.

So what about you? What are some your favorite family traditions at Thanksgiving? And if you could only pass down one of those traditions to your kids, which one would you choose?

I'll be waiting on y'all in the comments. And I may even have some of Mama's homemade chocolate pie with me.

And you know what happens after Thanksgiving? I mean, other than a nap, watching a lot of football on T.V., and braving the shopping malls?

Time to get your Christmas music on.

There is no better way to do this than buying your very own copy of Travis Cottrell's "Ring the Bells" CD.

It's awesome.

If you don't believe me, go read the review it received in CCM magazine.

And it's on sale right now for $11.99.

I will go ahead and confess I've been listening to it since October.

And might continue listening to it for the next 12 months.

Because I am a rebel.

And there's one other thing that makes reading / Bible study time even more special when it's chilly outside: apple tea. I love it so much. My mama's friend Mary John makes one of the best versions I've ever tried, and in addition to tasting great, it makes your whole house smell absolutely divine.

Heat until it boils, then reduce heat until ready to serve.

Now obviously we talk a whole bunch about books, authors and Bible studies here on AllAccess, but I'm curious: do you have a special place you like to "settle in" when you read or have your quiet time? Are there things you do to make that time especially relaxing? Do you have a special routine you like to follow?

And don't worry - I'll snuggle up under a comfy blanket before I read your comments. That only seems right. No apple tea today, though - just diet Coke. I'm pacing myself for the holidays, you see.

Have a great Tuesday, y'all!

A few minutes later a man about my age came walking into the park with his little boy who looked to be about two years old. The little boy immediately toddled off towards the slides and the man and I began to visit.

He introduced himself to me and told me they had just moved to San Antonio from Connecticut about four months ago. I laughed and told him he must be in the midst of a huge culture shock. He said he'd actually lived in San Antonio when he was about the same age as his son because his dad was in the military, but had no memory of the city other than pictures from family photo albums.

I told him the girls were five and I was giving them the chance to burn off some energy before we headed home for the day. And then he asked me a question that I can't quit thinking about, he said, "Do you remember being five?"

Yes. I remember bits and pieces of being five. I remember that my Kindergarten teacher's name was Mrs. Sudela and I thought she was beautiful. I remember that we walked through the school searching for a leprechaun on St. Patrick's Day. I remember that I wore some socks with a patch featuring a banana wearing a cape complete with pom-pom fringe for Super Sock today. I remember that one day I didn't get off the school bus and the driver had to turn around and bring me home.

But there are other things I don't remember. I don't really have any memories of day-to-day life. I don't know if my mama had a snack waiting for me after school. I don't remember if I played with my little sister or if I watched a lot of T.V. I can't remember dinner time or the things we talked about. I know those things existed, but I can't recall them.

And maybe I just have a bad memory.

It made me think about how strange it is that Caroline won't remember a lot of her life at this point. Yes, she'll have bits and pieces, but as much as all these days and years will be memories I will hold onto and treasure forever, she probably won't remember the day I took her to the park after school and she slid down the firemen's pole by herself for the first time.

Yet, even though she may not remember, these things are making her into who she is and who she will become. They are part of the tapestry of her life.

It's made me think about what I hope she remembers for the rest of her life. It's made me want to take the time to laugh with her more, pick her up while I still can, and give us lots of chances to make some sweet memories together.

Because of all the things I want her to remember, what I hope for the most is that she will always know how much she is loved. She may not remember that we made chocolate chip cookies yesterday and she definitely won't recall the night she was two years old and threw up every thirty minutes, but I hope she'll remember that I was always there.

I know I'll make (and have made) my share of mistakes along the way, but God will cover my weaknesses. And I pray that He will fill her mind with sweet childhood memories.

How about y'all? What do you hope your kids remember about you and their childhood? I'd love to hear about it.

So now I will share it with you. You're welcome.

And seriously - what a word.

You have until next Friday to leave a comment on the giveaway post - and thanks so much, y'all, for your incredible participation so far!

What a time we have had this week in Nash-vegas for two big events...the National Women's Leadership Forum at LifeWay and that little event last night called the CMA awards. Those country icons don't have anything on our guy Travis who led us in some serious worship and even blessed us with a Christmas concert as he shared songs from his new album.

We had 500 incredible leaders from across the country like Liz from San Jose, CA and the sweet pastor's wife slash women's ministry leader who came by her self from the hills of New Mexico...and the girls right down the street from Mount Juliet, TN. We worshipped, shared ideas, had full breakouts and heard a great word from Kelly Minter and Angela Thomas yesterday. Basically we got together and told our stories...some hard stories, but all stories of God's faithfulness. I'm not just talking about women dealing with one hard thing...but how about the woman who found herself near bankruptcy, with a serious illness and a teenage son who's girlfriend got pregnant. She beamed as she told of God's faithfulness and how sweet her little grandchild is. Only GOD!

We have had a blast. Be safe going home girls. We hope to see you next year when we try our two Forums back to back! That's right. Pray for us! ;0) We won't think about that now. We'll just bask in the glow of having 500 women in the halls of LifeWay. Forum energizes us for the year to come. We love you so! Any sweet Forum stories to share?

Fired up for some women's ministry!

Paige 

This has been quite the busy week here on LifeWay campus. We've got 500 women walking the halls and attending the National Leadership Forum. It has been a great week so far. Angela Thomas was keynote last night and girls, she is so good. If you ever get a chance to see her live or do one of her Bible studies, you gotta do it. I laughed so hard and got tears too. God's gifted her and using her in a mighty way.

Okay, well, don't want to keep you waiting any longer so here goes. We're gonna give away an Esther Bible Study kit (yes, I said kit, not member book!) with a drawing we'll do here from ya'lls comments. So , post a comment about why you want your church, friends, neighborhood girlfriends, etc. to do this study. Comments will be open until November 21. So comment away and we'll use random.org to draw a winner on November 21.