Beyond Ordinary
Dear sweet friends of L&L It,
Over the past three weeks my husband Justin and I have collectively written a half a dozen plus blog post for various blogs. My post for Leading and Loving It has been on my calendar for weeks. If I’m honest it’s the only one I felt confident I could write because, well… you’re my people. My tribe. My community. Whatever you want to call it, I love those of you who are a part of this ministry.
What I assumed would come with great ease has instead been rather difficult. I have talked about our book so much I should be able to do so in my sleep, especially for this post. So why am I almost on the brink of tears trying to write it? I’ve tried to convince myself maybe I’ve written so much that I’m all out of words? Maybe I’m just tired? But I know deep down inside that neither is true.
Although this book isn’t specifically geared towards pastor’s wives, the words I have labored over in our book had you specifically in mind. Much of my story is your story. It’s not about a wayward pastor who cheats on his wife. It’s not a story of how we once had a terrible marriage and now we have an extraordinary one. It’s a story of how two people who passionately love God, his church and each other, got lost along the way.
All of us experience the highs and lows of ministry. Regardless if you’re a church planter’s wife or a pastor’s wife of a mega church, the Bride of Christ can often feel like your best friend one minute and your worst enemy the next. It’s easy to get lost. I’m not naïve to the fact that some of you reading this post are contemplating calling it quits. It’s okay for you to be right where you’re at but we don’t want you to stay there.
The name of this ministry Leading and Loving It was chosen with a purpose and passion. We want to come along side you and help you find community and encouragement. We don’t want you to just survive or settle for marriage and ministry as usual… we want you to LOVE IT!
Cindy, Jenni and I, our Equipping Marriages Team, are passionate about pouring into your marriage because we know what it means to feel lost! We know life in the good and the bad of marriage and ministry. The book I share with you today is simply another resource we hope to use to love you and encourage you along the way. Although Cindy and Jenni didn’t write it, they along with many others on our L&L IT team have poured into my life in order for me to pour into this book.
The heart of our book is a call to live beyond ordinary in your marriage. But due to the context of my story I hope you will glean how to go beyond ordinary in your ministry, too. Extraordinary is possible when we choose to trust that God always keeps his promises. It’s possible when we believe we are still heirs to the throne regardless of our title or marital status. It’s possible to experience the extraordinary in the midst of the ordinary, mundane and sometimes painful parts of life, marriage and ministry. I pray that my book will be the catalyst that starts you on the path of extraordinary or encourages you to stay on it.
I’m so excited that today we’re giving away 5 copies to this special Leading and Loving It community. Just answer the following question in the comments section to enter! Giveaway closes Thursday, January 10th at midnight.
What area of your life do you hope goes beyond ordinary in 2013?
UPDATE: Here are the winners of the Beyond Ordinary Book!
Bethany T.
Deb S.
Lisa
Mellissa W.
Amy
You can purchase the book at your local bookstore or at any of these on-line retailers: Amazon Barnes and Noble Christianbook.com Books a Million Lifeway Parable
91 Responses to “Beyond Ordinary”
January 8th, 2013 at 5:54 amI need our ministry to go beyond ordinary. I have been totally deflated this past year of the joy of ministry. I used to look forward to Sundays now I look forward to Mondays! I’m sure lots of church planter wives feel the same. I’m praying for God to give me a different look at ministry this year.
My hope and prayer for myself this year is to see myself through God’s eyes and to finally be able to recognize my worth and potential that is God-given. As a pastor’s wife, I have let fear and hurt hold me back for too long and am ready to go beyond ordinary in my service and love for the church and my community.
January 8th, 2013 at 12:19 pmPraying this for you today Stacey…
Ephesians 2:10
New Living Translation (NLT)
10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
January 8th, 2013 at 5:57 amI want my love for Jesus to be beyond ordinary, & everything else in my life will spill out from there to also be beyond ordinary!
January 8th, 2013 at 12:43 pmYou go girl!
Health & confidence.
Since surgery in February, I’ve put on 30+ pounds and lost about every ounce of confidence I had. I want to lose the weight, but mostly, I want to get to the place where God says it, I’m doing it.
January 8th, 2013 at 12:34 pmFaye… I’m sorry to hear that. When Justin and I got back together after being separated I gain 30lbs in 6 months. I know its not fun BUT be encouraged to know your weight doesn’t define you.
I’m praying you simply start. Start doing whatever exercise you can. Although it will help you loose weight, more importantly it will make you feel better all around.
January 8th, 2013 at 6:04 amMy marriage. 2012 was a reality check for my marriage and this book has hit home. I am praying for a beyond ordinary marriage for 2013 and every year to come.
January 8th, 2013 at 12:46 pmMy prayer for you…
Isaiah 43:19
For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun!
January 8th, 2013 at 6:05 amI am hoping my love for Jesus, my love for family and my love for humanity grows to be beyond ordinary. Jesus love is a great testament of what unconditionally loving can do.
January 8th, 2013 at 12:47 pmAwesome!
I want my relationship with God to go beyond the ordindary, beyond the routine and the “known” steps…a fresh anointing….a greater anointing! I know that I need to start here if I want my ministry to grow and honor and glorify Him. So, I want to grown in Him so I can grown HIS ministry to others.
January 8th, 2013 at 12:48 pmThat’s a prayer God will always answer! Get ready 
I am praying my marriage goes beyond ordinary, that my husband and I find ourselves more in love with each other after 34+ years if marriage and 12 children. Its been all about our children for so long we’ve pushed our relationship to the side. I have truly mussed my best friend!
January 8th, 2013 at 12:52 pmDid I read that right? 34 years? 12 kids???
First, I want to know how to look as young as you!
Second, I think YOU should write a book!
Seriously though, I’m excited for you to start dating your husband again so you both look forward to the next 34 years!
January 8th, 2013 at 6:09 amI want my mentality toward my job to go beyond ordinary. Also, I’d love to share/show the love of Christ more visibly to everyone I meet.
January 8th, 2013 at 12:52 pmLove that Jessi!
January 8th, 2013 at 6:11 amTo love people and see people as Christ does even when…especially when…I (my husband) have been wounded by them. We’re in a definite ministry low right now! But His name will be glorified and the restoration of this little church can become beyond ordinary.
January 8th, 2013 at 12:54 pmMy prayer for you Gina,
Romans 8:26-28
New Living Translation (NLT)
26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers[a] in harmony with God’s own will. 28 And we know that God causes everything to work together[b] for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
January 8th, 2013 at 6:13 amLove and patience for my husband and our new son. I want to be an out of the ordinary mom an wife! Well I don’t want to be an ordinary anything: friend, follower, daughter, etc! 2013 will be an extraordinary year.
January 8th, 2013 at 12:55 pmCongratulations on your new son!
January 8th, 2013 at 6:18 amMy marriage… we are still in the early stages, and I want us to be as strong as possible.
January 8th, 2013 at 12:56 pmAwesome!!
I am hoping that I can start writing more…and encouraging others on my blog. I would LOVE to win a copy of this book…read the first 2 chapters and they were great!
January 8th, 2013 at 12:58 pmKristin,
Thank you for reading the first two chapters! I hope you enjoy the rest! And KEEP WRITING!
January 8th, 2013 at 6:22 amMy attitude. I’ve become complacent & status quo in my attitude towards just about everything that I want it to go beyond ordinary in 2013.
January 8th, 2013 at 1:02 pmTracey
I think we all can relate to being in a season like that. Sometimes the best way to break that cycle is to go do something completely different than anything you’ve ever done before. For example, conquering a fear.
For me, I just try to make a new recipe for dinner. I’m such a bad cook and when I try and usually fail at it I’m reminded of how thankful I am for the things I am good at!
January 8th, 2013 at 6:22 amSince I just got married last month, I want my marriage to go beyond ordinary and to thrive while we do ministry.
January 8th, 2013 at 1:03 pmCongratulations Katy!
January 8th, 2013 at 6:23 amI’d like for my parenting to go beyond ordinary. The busy-ness that we face being involved in so many ‘good’ activities has taken its toll on our parenting… Few family meals, game nights, and shallow consistency in expectations. It’s fragmented, and so we are giving to others and leaving out our four, precious sons.
January 8th, 2013 at 1:07 pmLori I know we all can relate to this! Schedules are CRAZY theses days. Praying you keep fighting for it even if it’s only one night a week in this season. I promise your whole fam will crave to do it more!
January 8th, 2013 at 6:28 amSo hard to choose one area…pretty much all areas of my life need to go beyond ordinary in 2013. We just moved a week ago from a big city to a small town for my husband’s first lead minister position. Our lives are topsy-turvy as we begin this new adventure…add in our four young kids and homeschooling and I need a lot of extraordinary grace and God’s love!
January 8th, 2013 at 1:11 pmHow exciting, scary and exhausting! If your’re not a part of a virtual group I HIGHLY recommend it! It will give you an opportunity to connect with other lead PW who become a safe place of community and encouragement!
January 8th, 2013 at 6:28 amI want to be beyond ordinary in my love for ‘difficult’ people at our church! Bitterness, resentment- those are ordinary reactions to mankind! I need/want to go beyond that!
January 8th, 2013 at 1:15 pmSo very hard I know… My prayer for you…
Romans 12:12
New Living Translation (NLT)
12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.
My family. I have struggled to successfully find a sense of balance over the past few years and have fallen painfully short. Already this year I have made some adjustments to ensure that my family feels that they are the top of my priority list!
January 8th, 2013 at 1:18 pmLiz,
It’s so hard to balance life at times. I hope you can make time to watch the JustOne conference. There is always someone who seems to touch on this topic and it breaths life into your heart and mind to keep trying.
Praying for you!
January 8th, 2013 at 6:40 amThat my walk with Christ will be more than I have ever had and our family will be willing to go beyond the ordinary. I also pray that our new ministry will go beyond more than we can imagine.
January 8th, 2013 at 1:19 pmLove this!
January 8th, 2013 at 6:42 amI am endeavouring that my love for Christ will go beyond the ordinary in 2013. I know that if this truly happens, my passion for Him will enable my worship of Him to be deeper, my love for others to be broader, and my evangelism for Him to be more captivating.
January 8th, 2013 at 1:20 pmAbsolutely!
January 8th, 2013 at 6:50 amI hope to get a “grasp” on the continuation of raising my wayward, now 20 year old! Everyone thinks raising kids is the hardest part -when in fact, to me- its the AFTER part that’s the hardest- once they hit adulthood-talk about something that will tear a marriage apart!!!!
I just continue to pray and KNOW God is STILL in charge of this mess! I’ve just never felt so hopeless and alone in my entire life! There is certainly no support groups (other than rehab!) out there for parents like us, well…. That I have found anyway…
January 8th, 2013 at 6:52 amThere are so many areas in my life that I want to improve upon. It’s hard to limit the list to a few New Years Resolutions, so I’ve taken up journaling. By doing this, I hope to sharpen my focus on the most important things, as well as track my progress as I go. I feel that if I celebrate the small successes along the way, I will embrace traction. For many years I have been defeated. But through Gods grace, I recognizing that my limitations are simply an opportunity to allow God to work in and through me! My husband of 14 years committed his life to Christ just this past December, and I feel God calling me to be an anchor on his life. I know that my personal development and relationship with God will spill over in to my marital relationship and be a beacon of light for my family and friends. I aspire to have a “beyond ordinary” relationship with Christ, my savior, my king.
January 8th, 2013 at 6:52 amCourage to move beyond researching great ideas to actually implementing them and listening to God’s direction as I do so (more than running to check other ideas online and seeing how mine measure up).
January 8th, 2013 at 6:57 amI am so excited for this coming year and all God has in store for me personally, my family and my ministry. I’m praying all aspects go beyond ordinary this year.
January 8th, 2013 at 7:02 amThat I will see God as beyond ordinary in my life as He truly is! What can compare?
January 8th, 2013 at 7:03 amSo many areas of my life need to be lived beyond ordinary, and I know that i must begin with my relationship with God. Every year i say i am going to do this, but this year i am having faith that God is going to do “immeasurably more” in me, thru me, and for me and my marriage, kids and ministry.
My husband and I will be completing our 2 year internship at an amazing church and we will be moving to plant a church in Tennessee. I want Gods passion and vision to be beyond ordinary in our lives! We are so excited to step into this new adventure in our lives!!
January 8th, 2013 at 7:08 amI want to go beyond ordinary in many aspects. Start writing, in parenting, being intentional with relationships, not being skimpy with grace or mercy, and definately with God. I don’t just want to live anymore, I want to thrive.
In 2013, I pray that my love for my husband goes beyond ordinary.
2012 was hard in the Jones home. My husband had major back surgery and that put alot on hold for us. Life. Ministry. Fun things that my husband and I use to be able to do together- we could not, due to recovery…
I want 2013 to be a marked differnece in my love for Adam.
I want my marriage to be beyond ordinary in 2013.
January 8th, 2013 at 7:40 amI’m taking on our greeters/guest services ministry and I want to see it go beyond ordinary. I want new people to fell welcomed and get connected to Jesus.
Excited about your book!
This is different than any other year, but I am asking for our finances to be beyond ordinary this year. With out transition to a new state, new unexpected expenses have come up. We have not been able to give and bless like we have always liked to do.
We are asking for provision to be stable on our own, so that we can bless others in the process!
January 8th, 2013 at 8:06 amI pray that in 2013 my faith in God is beyond ordinary.
Definitely my marriage, but also my responsibilities as a mom.
January 8th, 2013 at 8:28 amI want to go beyond ordinary in the way I love people. I know God has called me to be an encourager. I want to take people on journey of just knowing who Jesus is to loving Him wholeheartedly.
January 8th, 2013 at 8:34 amI have GREAT expectations for 2013! I am ready to grow like never before AND help others to grow and be challenged as well! I get the honor of leading 24 women to Calcutta in November, many first timers for missions, and I pray that together as a church and ladies ministry we go WAY beyond ordinary…into the realm of EPIC
I am hoping that my walk with God and my trust in him goes beyond ordinary this year. As I search out what direction he wants for me in my ministry, my family and in my community. Wanting more of him and less of everything else! And I am trusting that it will be more than I could ever hope or imagine!
January 8th, 2013 at 9:09 amI’m looking for beyond ordinary in my marriage for 2013. I have only been married to my husband for 3 1/2 years and it has been a challenge to say the least. I’m just praying that God moves like he has never moved before in our marriage, family and ministry. God Bless
I want my marriage to go beyond ordinary this year. It has been hard. Last night I asked a dear friend if she’d like to go through this book with me. She is on the verge of ending her marriage. We are both really tight on funds, and this would help us both out so much.
January 8th, 2013 at 9:17 amI want to get beyond the daily struggle of getting things done, by being more disciplined- in turn, allowing more flexibility for all the things that “come up” that need our attention. If we can manage our time well, it takes a lot of stress out of ministry!
It’s honestly hard to narrow it down to just one area. I think it would have to be my grasp of the deepness and sufficiency of the gospel. I’ve lived a life looking at the gospel as an answer to my eternal salvation, but not my everyday living. I want Jesus to be my everything!
We are waiting on God for some answers that will take our little family, Lord willing, beyond ordinary. My hope is that the answer will come in 2013!
I am hoping for a beyond ordinary year for finding funds for nonprofit organizations.
I am also hoping for a beyond ordinary year every year for my marriage.
January 8th, 2013 at 9:51 amI am so excited about this book! I want to go beyond ordinary with my walk with Jesus. I can only lead people as far as I’m willing to go so I want God to push & stretch me to new heights!
January 8th, 2013 at 9:54 amIt is easy to allow your marriage to get into a “rut” when you are busy growing the kingdom that God has placed at your feet. I look forward to reading Beyond Ordinary!! Thank you for sharing your heart with us…your tribe…and for allowing us to be real with ourselves.
January 8th, 2013 at 10:06 amrelationship with the Lord, marriage, parenting and ministry… all need to go beyond ordinary for me in 2013!
January 8th, 2013 at 10:24 amOur family is in transition right now. I pray that in this time of transition we will flourish and be the light of Jesus. It is so easy to get down and stay down. My heart hurts because we are leaving a ministry that has become my life. Being the first children’s director in our church I have poured hours, my heart and so much of myself into the lives of the children that I am losing a part of my identity. I pray through this time that I will know who I am and walk strongly into where God is leading us.
I am so excited for you Trish and the amazing impact this book will have on so many. I can’t wait to read it and will be buying it this week!
Beyond ordinary … what first comes to mind is my discipline, specifically in time management. Gotta get that to a good place so I can truly be productive in the ways God has called me to be!
January 8th, 2013 at 10:30 amMy family. We will add our 4th baby in early February and I really want to step up as both mom and wife to make this a wonderful year full of great memories in both our personal and spiritual lives.
January 8th, 2013 at 10:42 amI have a preteen daughter…I would love to be a beyond ordinary parent to her and our boys.
January 8th, 2013 at 10:57 amI want to go beyond ordinary as a mom to our 3 girls, to teach them to be salt and light in the world, to live as examples of Christ’s love. I want to be an extraordinary helpmate to my husband, a United Methodist pastor, who is struggling in his ministry right now. I would love some tools to be able to help him be the pastor God called him to be.
January 8th, 2013 at 11:15 amWith moving into a new home and the upcoming transition of our church experiencing great change, I would love for my “home” life to be beyond ordinary this year. We are hoping to have children soon, and I know I want my marriage to be strong and my home to be established before that next chapter of life begins.
January 8th, 2013 at 11:55 amI want my “home” life to go beyond ordinary in 2013. I am a new mom (my little girl turns 1 TODAY!) and trying to be good at all the things I am passionate about has been difficult. I want to gain God’s perspective for how he wants me to do ministry, love people, grow a business, all while loving and cherishing my husband and daughter, while TRYING to keep a clean house, cook, do laundry…the list never ends, does it? I know I am not the only one, but this has been a bit overwhelming for me this last year and I want God in the middle of it all…not my expectations!
January 8th, 2013 at 11:59 amParenting…I want to go beyond ordinary so that my children go beyond ordinary and show Jesus with everything they say and do!
January 8th, 2013 at 12:14 pmThat’s easy – my marriage! We are trying to overcome a big obstacle right now that I know is holding us back from having a “beyond ordinary” marriage! Praying that God will help restore it!
January 8th, 2013 at 1:47 pmMy heart for God. He has allowed several trials in my life which I have allowed to take my focus off Jesus: two children and serious struggles with postpartum depression each time, my husband’s lengthy seminary education, transitioning from being a working mom to stay-at-home mom, unsaved and seriously lost family members… But He is and keeps reminding me to TRUST Him. I need and want my heart for Him to affect every area of my life. I pray that I will go beyond ordinary in my love for Christ and passion to share Him with others.
p.s. I just found your blog and am THRILLED to add this as a resource for me as a pastor’s wife! I can’t wait to read your book!
January 8th, 2013 at 2:28 pmWell–maybe it’s not ordinary, but where I want to be beyond ordinary is in the way I view myself compared to others in ministry, motherhood and relationally. In 2013 I desire to see God go beyond my ordinary dreams in the areas above.
I am praying that my husband and my life would go beyond ordinary in MANY things! I’m a dreamer and a prayer warrior and I know my God is a huge God! I am praying for BEYOND ORDINARY in our adoption of a teenager from Belize, in our youth ministry (he is the student pastor), our mission trips to Belize and Costa Rica, and in church! We are so excited to be on the journey to adoption and love investing in students’ lives locally. We are asking God to do IMMEASURABLE more that all we ask or imagine… and know that will be Beyond Ordinary!
Thanks so much!
January 8th, 2013 at 3:24 pmThe health of our 17 yr old daughter. She’s been sick for a year. Just diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. Believing her health will be beyond ordinary and we can do all we can in our family in regards healthy eating and exercise to help her live in health and wellness.
And I send a lot of pastors and their wives to your website. So excited to start recommending your book too!
Your book sounds amazing Trisha, and I believe it’s going to encourage and inspire many couples.
January 8th, 2013 at 8:23 pmI thought about so many areas that i want to “improve” : marriage, ministry, life, weight, kids, etc… and really , the area that needs to go beyond ordinary for me is, me and God. I don’t want to read my Bible or sing worship songs or pray etc…just so that I can give or teach something to someone else, but so that I can just be 100% in love and in tune with God. I believe that going beyond ordinary here, will most def. strengthen or change the areas of my life that need to be different, stronger, better!
January 9th, 2013 at 1:11 amWhat area of your life do I hope goes beyond ordinary in 2013?
Every year I want to make better and it seems that the more I want for me and my family, that Satan creeps in to stop it. In 2013 I want, my marriage, my family relationships and my own personal spiritual relationship with God to go beyond ordinary. To wake up every morning with a positive outlook on each and everyday and not worry about tomorrow. Having faith and believing that all will turn out good….in His time, not mine.
January 9th, 2013 at 8:34 amI want my passion and pursuit of God to go beyond ordinary. I want Him to give me a strong hunger and thirst for the Living Water!
January 9th, 2013 at 9:14 amI have been in the last year of internship for my Master’s in Marriage & Family Therapy this past year. It’s a huge victory for my husband and I to have finally finished my degree, but all of the hours have definitely taken a toll on our marriage. On top of this, my husband has been in a very hard ministry position, we have a son who has Asperger’s and another 5 year old. We’ve been stretched very thin – not settling for ordinary has been challenging this year more than ever!
2013 is a new start for us, and so I am excited to get back on task again of pursuing the Extraordinary in our marriage. We were given a CRUISE this February, and so we are so excited for that time away to reconnect! We do a lot of writing and teaching about marriage, so this year of reconnecting and reigniting is so important and exciting!
Thanks for what you ladies do to inspire and encourage other ladies in ministry – and thanks Lisa & Justin for this book. I’m pretty excited to read it!
I want my passion for our ministry to be beyond ordinary this year! I want to actually follow through on ways to encourage others this year! I want to be more deliberate in every way I guide our children to make decisions with the right heart attitude (they’re 3 and 6)instead of just avoiding discipline. I want an even more extraordinary marriage and I want to work harder on overcoming the obstacles we face as a couple. May others see our relationship and want to know Jesus more because of it! This is my prayer for 2013!
January 9th, 2013 at 2:04 pmMy walk w/ Him…. We moved from Katy, TX to Anchorage, AK trusting God has lead us here. I am praying my walk with Him goes beyond ordinary this year!
January 9th, 2013 at 2:32 pmI pray that my relationships with other ministers wives in our church will move beyond ordinary. We’ve had some difficult things happening in the last few months and I’ve learned how important they can be to me. I’ve been suffering with depression for several years and finally reached out to our staff wives and was honest with them about it. I received such positive feedback and found many of them battled with depression as well. I can’t wait to see how God grows those relationships in 2013.
January 10th, 2013 at 3:03 amI need every breath of my life to go ‘beyond ordinary.’ And while I do need an exceptional amount of healing in my marriage right now, I think the greatest need is that I live beyond ordinary, so that I am a reflection of God’s love to others. I live in Michigan, my husband lives near Nashville, TN. Because of his work, we have not lived in the same house for 5 years. We see each other 30-50 days out of each year. There is a tremendous amount of hurt and resentment on both sides, that can only be healed with by God’s hand. My greatest hope is that I can reach other’s in the same situation I am in (very few are Christian in my husband’s line of work), and show them there is love and forgiveness and life, if they come rest at His feet.
My prayer is to go beyond ordinary in our marriage. We are still in a season of healing but I feel hope!! Thank You Lord! I pray God can use us to help others.
Thank you for your honesty Lisa. Praying for you!