Why Are We Laughing?

Welcome to Laughing Out Loud in the Ministry! I'm Jill, and I created this blog with my daughter, Stephanie, and my daughter-in-law, Kylee. I'm a pastor's wife, church secretary, public speaker, sometimes writer and matriarch of a not-so-normal ministry family.

Stephanie:  What is a "normal" ministry family anyway? Is there such a thing?

Kylee:  Homeschoolers, table manners and side parts, no ankles showing and everyone plays an instrument. That's a normal ministry family.

Jill:   Well we do have table manners. At least, the female family members do ... at least, the adult female family members do.

Stephanie:  Then we are so not normal. We don't fall into any of those categories. Except homeschoolers, but we're a special breed of homeschoolers.

Kylee:  Mom can play the tambourine, too. Does that count?

Jill:  By normal I meant most people think of pastors' families as very pious and serious. I've had lots of people tell me how surprised they are that I have a sense of humor once they find out I'm a pastor's wife.

Stephanie:  Surprised you have a sense of humor? Wow. You do have one, twisted as it may be. Like the time you told us that you and dad were aliens and then you would "beep" talk at each other until we cried.

Kylee:  I can play the armpit straw ...

Jill:  Okay, well I think we've established how not normal we are. To continue introducing myself, Ahem! I am married to a man who is not only an excellent preacher, but also an NRA instructor and a black belt in Krav Maga. The man loves adventure so much I call him the original Indiana Jones (before Harrison Ford made the part famous). Indy and I have raised six children, five boys and one girl, all of whom share their parents' love of ministry and their dad's zest for adventure.

Stephanie:  Speaking of "zest for adventure", I'm Stephanie, the daughter. Right now my adventure is traveling around the country on deputation with my husband and two children. Why is that an adventure? I hoped you'd ask. Because my kids are eight months and almost two. That would be fifteen and a half months apart, if you're doing the math.

Jill:  Which you should be able to do since you were homeschooled.

Kylee:  As long as x = 5, right, Mom?

Stephanie:  Traveling with children that young means that every time we leave for a meeting or a month of meetings, we move. Everything goes. It means potty training is going ... well I don't really want to talk about it. It also means I have no idea when a two year old and an eight month old are supposed to go to bed every night.

Jill:  So you're saying you're not normal either? I mean, I know you're not. I was just clarifying.

Stephanie:  Normal people know when their kids should go to bed.

Jill:  I knew when my kids were supposed to go to bed; I just never got them there on time.

Stephanie:  Oh, and I forgot to mention that we are on deputation because we are going to Brazil as missionaries. That's kind of an important fact in the "getting to know me" department. Learning Portuguese faster than my toddlers pick it up, now that's where the real adventure begins. 

Jill:  Kylee's turn for an introduction!

Kylee:  Sorry I haven't said anything for a while. I almost started a fire in my kitchen! No big deal.

Stephanie:  Blogging and cooking is like texting and driving. They don't mix well.

Jill:  My cooking doesn't go well even when I'm not doing something else.

Kylee:  Okay, I'm Kylee. (Obviously.) I am a multi-tasking Ninja, balancing life's roles as wife, mommy, professional diaper changer and Assistant Pastor's secretary. I like long walks on the beach ... just kidding. No one has time for that! I have been married to my husband, Matthew, for almost six years and we have three beautiful daughters ages four, two and eleven months.

Stephanie:  She may not have time for walks on the beach, but that's because she forgot to mention she also has a diy home decor business on the side.  https://www.etsy.com/shop/My31Treasures

Jill:  Our crazy ministry family is part of the reason why we titled this blog Laughing Out Loud in the Ministry. The other part of the reason is this: serving in ministry is hard. And lonely. And sometimes very discouraging. But the Bible tells us that the joy of the Lord is our strength and that a merry heart doeth good like a medicine. With that in mind, we often find ourselves laughing through life as we serve Jesus. We hope you'll drop in occasionally and laugh with us.