Brianne Henry

F or the last two weeks, my kids have been sick (insert all the frustrated and sad emojis here). This was my first experience with two sick kids and Becca's first illness. It was terrible. On Day 10 or so of being at home and not exposing our germs to anyone, Cooper looked at me and said, "Mom, it's been a long time since people came over!" I wasn't sure what he meant so I asked if he was talking about his grandma and grandpa  - they were supposed to come over but couldn't because of said sick kids. He replied, "No I just mean any people. No one comes over to eat dinner with us anymore." Practicing hospitality is one of my favorite things. I love to have people over, gather around the table, eat yummy food and have real conversation. And while we do have guests in our home often, I didn't realize what an impact that made on Cooper. I didn't even realize he would notice if we didn't have anyone over for a couple weeks. My heart filled...

A s women, we want our husband's full attention. We long to be their #1, to know we are their top priority. And I can attest to the shift that occurs when a man takes over a congregation, as it has happened to me quite recently. Our pastor husbands have a deep responsibility, a deep burden, for the people that walk through the church doors (and rightfully, thankfully so!). But sometimes, figuring out where we (and even our kids) fit into all the things he has on his heart is hard. A few weeks ago, I woke up around 1:45am and noticed Luke was still awake watching Netflix. The next morning, he had to wake up super early to head to the hospital for a couple of surgeries of church members. I know why we was still awake at 1:45...he had church on his mind. Whether it is inability to sleep because a sermon illustration pops into mind, heavy burdens laying on them that church members are facing or the stress of a complaint or confrontational conversation weighing on them - our husbands...

O ne thing about walking into a new church is the excitement that you feel from its members. Anytime we've been the new kids on the block at a church (four times over guys), it's been refreshing to feel the excitement ooze out of the folks waiting for you to plunge into ministry. Shortly after that excitement comes the list of needs...we need a pianist, we need a children's ministry volunteer, we need a secretary, we need someone to clean the toilets, we need... And suddenly you feel as though you are expected to do all the things. We feel like we must fill in all the gaps. Sometimes our church expects us to fill in all the gaps. Jesus, the guy we are all chasing after, was the perfect Servant. He embodied the fullest aspects of servanthood. His serving abilities were perfection. If we want to be like Jesus, we will serve. Joyfully. He wasn't "just" a servant and neither are you. We are servant leaders, just as He was. We are all servant leaders in the chur...

W e may not have a moment in our life where we "surrendered to the call of ministry" (allow me to speak in church-ese for a moment here) but friends, we've been called whether we like it or not. You may not have married a pastor. You may have married a businessman-turned-pastor and thought to yourself many times that you didn't sign up for this life. According to Mark 10:8 we are "no longer two, but one flesh." We are one and guess what? God doesn't call one half to ministry and tell the other half they are off the hook. Can I also follow this up by encouraging you that when He calls, He "will equip you with everything good that you may do his will." (Hebrews 13:21). It may not feel like it, but you've been called and equipped for such a time, for such a ministry, as this. We are our husband's supporter, created to love and encourage him. That is our ministry. It is what God has called us to. It is not how many hours you log at the c...

O ur first lie to expose is one that runs deep, painfully deep. When I married a youth pastor at the tender age of 22, a fellow pastor's wife told me one of the biggest lies we buy into. "Your life is over as you know it," she said, "you will never have friends again." I've learned through the years that the women who live by this lie have been so, so hurt by others in the church. They have chosen to build walls instead of fight for the relationship. I, too, have suffered deep hurts from church members I considered a friend. It's a conscious choice and decision that we have to make - to keep pressing on in the fight of building relationships and fight the urge to keep everyone at arm's length in an effort to protect ourselves. I truly believe this lie expands so much further than just to the pastor's wife, but to women in general. Raise your hand if you've ever worn a church mask? (mine is up high) We spend Sunday morning yelling at our ki...

F or the last few years, I have tried to choose a word or phrase to focus on in the coming year. I ended 2015 on a spiritual high and I recall 2016's focus being "dedicated passion." That was mostly lived out in the leading of the MOPS ministry at our last church. Then 2017 came barrelling in and knocked me off my feet. I had no word or phrase that I remember striving for except "survival." This past year has not been one where I've grown leaps and bounds in my relationship with Christ. Until the later part of the year, it was one where I didn't even have the energy (or quite frankly, desire) to open my Bible or pray. I say that in complete honesty and transparency. 2017 was tough. But here we are, just a couple weeks away from yet another new year. I'm feeling so much better than I was six months ago. I'm feeling like me again. And while I can think of a whole slew of things I need to work on, one is key. Luke has a sign in his office that re...

I                turned 30 on November 22, 2016. I was 8 months pregnant on my 30th birthday and just a couple of days before the start of 2017, Rebecca Sue joined our family. 2017 has been a hard year for me...mentally, physically (looking at you, lost sleep), and spiritually. Here are three things I've learned since I celebrated my 30th birthday. 1. I am weak and that is okay. God uses all kinds of circumstances and experiences to shape us. Some of those are great experiences and some of them are tough. This year, I walked through one of those tough experiences. I'm a firm believer in sharing our struggles with one another. There is no shame in your struggle, your hard place, unless you keep it hidden from the world. Darkness creeps in when we refuse to bring our struggles into the light. After I had Becca, I suffered from postpartum depression. There, it is in the light. I am just now beginning to dig dee...