In her third book, Gloria Furman promises to drill down to the things that matter, and her busy readers will find that she does, indeed, honor her word. The Pastors Wife was written in the small spaces between mothering four children and serving alongside her church-planting husband on the Arabian peninsula, so it is more than simply a job description or an I feel your pain encouragement card. Gloria has written a mission statement wrapped around a practical theology lesson for ministry wives. Her drilling down bypasses the stereotypes, the diatribes about roles, expectations, and needs, focusing instead on the truth that were all in this over-arching circumstance of needing and receiving grace from Jesus.

Gloria helps us to see that the focus and privilege of the pastors wife is three-fold:

1. Loving the Chief Shepherd: If God is my first love, I will not be trapped into making an idol of ministry, the opinions of others, my children, or any other circumstance or opportunity. Living in the awareness that I exist to please God, I see all things in relation to Him, and am able to happily receive my position as a sheep, serving fellow-sheep in the flock of God.

2. Loving an Under Shepherd: Since the duties of an elder are clearly spelled out in I Timothy 3 and Titus 1, ministry wives (and all wives!) have a starting point, because Scripture also designates our role to be helper to our husband. Gloria shares personal experiences and encouragement specifically related to these biblical qualifications, and then offers Psalm 121 for any whose hackles rise with the question, Whos going to help me?

My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.

Therefore, with God as her helper, the pastors wife can confidently serve her husband and family without feeling that this is nominal and diminishing when compared to other opportunities she has to serve in and through the church. Relationships with other women (modeled on Titus 2) are also a rich resource for growing in the grace that is needed for serving alongside a servant in equipping the saints for the work of ministry.

3. Loving the Bride of Christ: The robust ecclesiology that undergirds part three of The Pastors Wife is an important foundation for anyone who believingly follows Jesus Christ. Seen through the grid of New Testament truth, the church is the spiritual temple in which [God] chooses to dwell. Acting with this knowledge base will elevate the life of the local church above the sometimes deadening routine of nursery schedules, potluck dinners, and business meetings devoted to what-color-should-we-paint-the-ladies- bathroom? As the most visible part of our theology, a Christ-centered church is a platform for displaying the grace of God through the gifts He bestows.

Whether reading from the unique perspective of a ministry wife, or simply from the position of a woman who wants to understand and support her pastors wife, there is rich truth in these page. When Gloria wrote Glimpses of Grace, my youngest son was eleven, so I read the book in order to recommend it to the young women in my Sunday School class. We are at very different phase of life, but what I have found is that the Scriptural truth behind her words is transcendent, and I always come away with concepts that I cant wait to apply. For example, in Section 2, Ephesians 1:17-19 is trumpeted as the basis for seeking Gods help in a marriage that demonstrates Gods design: We need the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God to enlighten the eyes of our hearts . . . The power by which we live is according to the work of Gods great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead, (v. 20); and we are privileged to serve Christ, who is seated at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion . . . not only in this age but also in the one to come. This rich gospel orientation strips away all the questions that start with how, what, and why, with a laser focus on Christ, the object of and power behind all true ministry. The Pastors Wife reveals service to Christ for what it is pure grace.

This book was provided by Crossway in exchange for my honest review.

This book is written by Gloria Furman who is always a student of Scripture as well as a wife to church planter Dave Furman in Dubai and she is a mom of 4 kids. This book was filled with encouragement on how to love well and serve dutifully in the home, at the church, and in the community with the grace of Jesus. She gave real examples for how moving to another country changes a few of the details of ministry and how culture plays its own role in how things play out but what remains the same and constant is Jesus and his love and grace. I was encouraged by her words and stories and I know that if you are in the pastorate with your husband or maybe that is something in your future then this would be a great book to read. The author has a very unique perspective and shares her heart and you can see that with the good and the bad Jesus is still the Lord of her heart, marriage, and home.

If you are just curious on what the heart of a Pastor's Wife looks like and the things that one may encounter then this books is great insight into that world.