“I am blessed and favored of God!” This is Mark’s new quote that is quoted daily in our home. One I have come to appreciate when I take a moment to reflect on just how blessed and favored I am.

When I was in my pre-teen years, one of our favorite pastimes at a sleepover would be to take a peak into our future! I am sure many of you have played the childhood game. On paper you would list 4 of each of the following: possible candidates for marriage, desired amount of children, honeymoon destination, career choice, annual income, style of your first home, etc. After giving your favorite number the process of elimination would take place and your future would be read! How fun it would be to pretend how trouble and worry free our futures were going to be!

On March 22, 1986 I had the privilege to marry my best friend. My life’s dream had finally begun to unfold. My goal was to be the best wife, mother, and Christian that I could possibly be. In 1988 our daughter, Miquel, was born. My joy was overflowing. How blessed I was! Miquel was only about 6 months old when Mark and I began to feel the call for our ministry to go full time. We knew this would take many adjustments of the lifestyle we had been living. We made those adjustments and climbed upon the Potter’s wheel. I wasn’t sure I was going to fit into the mold that the Lord was preparing for me. He didn’t just set me on a shelf as a lost cause. He worked on me, repairing me every time I failed or fell short.

In 1990 our first son, Jared, was born. How blessed and favored we were! Our ministry was growing but so were the struggles. God was so good to us. He would remind us in the small and sweetest ways that He was there for us as He kept molding us and preparing us for His purpose. In 1994 our family was once again blessed with a son, Bryce. Now with three children I really began to feel the frustration of trying to balance the time with my husband, home school and care for my children, and stay connected to our ministry. Four years later we were surprised to learn that our fourth child, Chase, was on the way. What an unexpected blessing!

Another of Mark’s famous sayings, “I love my life!” is also the way I feel. I absolutely love being Mark’s wife and the mother to our four children. However, keeping it all balanced can be quite an undertaking. Here are a few of the guidelines I have tried to live by.

1. Schedule special days. For me I try to make sure our birthdays, anniversary, holidays, last day of school and etc. are “touch me not” days on the calendar. (Since I home school we celebrate 4 times, the last day of school for each of them!)
    
2. Set aside quality time with your spouse! This is so important. Mark and I have remained best friends because we have made this a priority. His travels have made the time we are together all the more precious. What works for us is to try and take lunch out without our children a few days a week and a couple evening “dates” during the month.
    
3. Protect your children’s view of the ministry. Make sure all discussions that involve the conflicts you may be experiencing are kept from your children. Try not to complain about the “ministry” in front of them as well. I don’t want my children to ever resent being a part of our ministry and it is all up to us to make this happen.
    
4. Plan an annual vacation for just your family. Based on your budget, plan far enough ahead for this special time whether you can only take two days or two weeks. Once there, protect your family’s time. A couple years ago the kids and I made a contract that Mark had to sign as we crossed the state line. It was all in fun but it let him know just how much we wanted this quality family time!
    
5. Quality time doesn’t have to cost you money. We all crave those moments of quality time. My life had gotten really busy not long ago and Chase, my youngest, had gotten quiet one afternoon. He came to me and told me that he wished he were sick. I looked at him in shock and asked him why he wished for that. He said to me that when he is sick, just he and I would lie around and color together, do a puzzle, play a game and eat popsicles. I hadn’t realized how unbalanced I had become but I quickly worked on getting it back!

Life is so much more than choosing your favorite number and coming up with the perfect future. It is something that you must daily work to achieve. I am blessed and favored of God!