encouragement for today's ministry leaders, mothers, & pastor's wives
Denise Harlow has served in ministry in various capacities over 35 years. Having three adult daughters serving Jesus in their own churches, on staff and volunteer, Denise desires to encourage young women in their own life and ministries: church staff, Pastor's wives, & leaders in ministries. Her blog, podcasts, & speaking engagements are all geared to teach and encourage her audience.
It’s funny—I don’t recall seeing any men stressed out because of Christmas, do you? One reason for the difference in attitudes is I believe we women put so many high expectations and added pressure on ourselves!
So do this with me, okay? Take a deep breath. And another. (Psychologists say this helps clear the brain and calm us!
Read MoreI confess I sometimes catch myself being apathetic or even stone-hearted—especially when I am so busy, like in December.
Sadly, it is true. It might be as drastic as ignoring someone who needs something, or it might be a sudden realization I am having thoughts or attitudes that are not very nice towards someone else—not even close to what God would want.
At all of these moments, I decide one of two things: either I don’t care how I am acting or thinking. (Maybe even enjoying it! Yikes!) OR I choose to change my actions and thoughts, and therefore my attitude, by thinking about God’s Word and what He would want me to do.
Read MoreGrowing up, I didn’t know being organized was a skill. I thought everyone was organized. But I have since learned that I am an organized and administrative person. When I took the DISC test, I was about as high on the “S” (stable) and “C” (conscientious) as you can get, and on the Animal test, I am a beaver and golden retriever. (My husband was totally the opposite!!) What these both clue us in on is, is that I could become obsessed and over-the-top on organizing my life. And I do realize many of you are not. You would never ask for labelers, notebooks, staplers, or anything that resembles those things as gifts… (Not saying that I would!)
But I have found that by getting organized at the beginning of a season like Christmas, can really help!
Read MoreWhen I first got married, I learned very quickly that Christmas happens in my home because I make it happen. My husband loves Christmas too, and definitely turns into Clark Griswold at some point during the season, but other than the outdoor lights, most of the season’s tasks, as I soon discovered, fell on me.
Now, my mom was the Christmas queen. She decorated her house for Christmas: beautifully, in every nook and cranny. She didn’t work outside the home, mostly due to two things: that generation of women weren’t encouraged too much to pursue a career and because my dad was a traveling evangelist who was gone a lot. She traveled and sang with him as much as possible but they had decided that her priority needed to be keeping the home fires burning as much as possible.
Read MoreAs I watched my mom lean on my sister, and her legs freeze up and not move how she wanted them to, I had to fight back the tears. You see, my mom has Parkinson’s disease. She and my precious dad still live together independently in a home that we just downsized them to in the Ozark, MO area 6 months ago. My husband and I were “soul resting” (more on that another time) at a family lake house in Missouri for a few days, and I had planned to drive down to my parent’s house to help them put up their Christmas tree and decorations. It is impossible for my mom to do that any longer and very hard on my 82-year-young dad, but still a high priority for my mom. (You should see how cute their house is!)
My sister lives 10 minutes from my parents, my brother lives 3 hours away in the same state, but my husband and I live 8 hours away from them. We live in a time when it is uncommon for adult children to live in the same town (let alone state) as their parents. Look at my girls—all three are living currently in states very far from us. Sniff, sniff. But they are serving God and we knew that might be a sacrifice we had to make, as my own parents knew. So as our parents age, it begs the question (especially for those of us who live far from them)...
Dynamic Women? I don’t think most of us would put ourselves in that catagory. But I believe most women have some amazing gifts and insights that they can use for God, His church, and the world. And that is what this blog is about. Encouraging you, as I encourage myself, to be determined to serve God in the best way we can, however and wherever that may be.
Read More