Sometimes ministry days are fulfilling and rewarding. The church folks respond well to leadership and the direction the church is going. They love your sermon and speak well of your oratory skills and how God used you to speak to their hearts. The church is enjoys an influx of guests and many of them are sticking around and engaging in steps to membership. Other times ministry is like plowing rocky soil. It seems like you're hitting rock after rock and stump after stump. You've poured everything you know into your ministry and it seems like you're still at a standstill and you're at whits end. It's not that your prayer life is dry, you feel connected to Jesus it's that you just don't see the blessings coming your way. You feel like you're hiking up hill and a stiff wind is in your face. We have all been there whether we are in vocational ministry or believers who love Jesus and seek to honor him in all we do. Ministry has its high and lows just like anything else. The challenge is that not only does the minister engage people as he seeks to lead the congregation to be Great Commission and Great Commandment driven in order to penetrate the culture with the gospel; he has to fight the spiritual battle the enemy puts on him. So I've been thinking about my day to day journey to be an effective Christ-follower, soul winner, disciple-maker, and minister of the gospel. I get much encouragement in my devotion each morning, my studies in the Word uncover gold nuggets of truth that inspire me, and my desire to pursue the righteousness of God motivate me to be like Jesus. But I must say there is a person of flesh and blood that also encourages me and inspires me to be a "vessel of honor" and to pursue my God-given vision for ministry......That is my wife. Errin has been a tremendous encourager. Not to belittle her role in my life; she is an incredible cheerleader for me, and has the ability to read me to effectively inspire me to be God's man for the ministry God has called me to and for her and the family. She.... ...Believes me! When I feel inadequate, frustrated, or just worn out from intense seasons of ministry she reminds me "I can do all things through Christ". She knows I can make, I can do it, I got this. ...Prays for her man! I can tell when she prays to! I see evidence of her faith in what God can do and her faith in me. As we serve together she has a faith-filled heart that believes we can be greatly used of God. ...Encourages me! No one knows me better than she does, She knows the battles I face, the burdens I carry and the temptations often faced. She owns my heart so she knows exactly how to speak to me in a way that encourages me and helps me to stay focused. ...She speaks honestly to me! When I'm brainstorming, dreaming about what could be or should be, or heading off in the wrong direction with a crazy idea she is one who can speak truthfully to me. Sometimes the words can be strong, but usually they are gentle and loving filled with what I need to stay the course. ...She is my confidante! She is completely trustworthy never breaking her silence when we talk about personal issues, family, ministry, concerns, etc. She keeps our secrets to herself. ...There is no end to her work which is really her ministry to me. She is amazing with the children, I often state "she is the glue that holds the family together". She is a Kingdom leader with a tender heart connected to God. ...She is my best friend. Proverb 18:22 "He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord."