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 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.
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