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the interview: michelle wegner

THE STATS

Husband: Rob Wegner
Family: Madeline-10, Whitney-8, and Isabelle-4
Occupation: Stay at home Mom, but I have picked up a few babysitting and puppy sitting jobs in the neighborhood to make ends meet. I am the only mom that stays home in my neighborhood, so it works out well for me!
Church: Granger Community Church, Granger, Indiana
Years Married: 15

THE INTERVIEW
How did you two meet?
Rob and I attended the same church growing up. When I was 12 and he was 15, he became good friends with my older brothers. It was love at first sight for both of us. We were best friends first, but started dating when I was 16 and he was 19. We were married when I was 19. I have never regretted being married so young.

How long have you been a PW?
15 years- Rob started working at GCC right out of college. I followed him here after we got married.

What is something you wish church members knew or understood about you (or your family)?
We love to see you in public, but my children get confused when you start crying and telling their dad all your problems at the mall or the McDonald’s play area.

What is your favorite way to partner with your husband in ministry?
I love hands-on ministry in India or at Son City Kids, our ministry to the children of inner-city South Bend.

What's the hardest thing about being a PW?
Making and maintaining friendships.

What are some of the perks of being married to a pastor?
Of course the very spiritual answer would be “all the changed lives” , but other pastor’s wives know that already soo…

Traveling with him to India and seeing the Taj Mahal.
Conferences that are located in WARM places during the winter.
I got to eat lunch sitting next to President Jimmy Carter and his wife Roslyn once. That was a pretty big perk.

In what ways would you still like to grow in your role as a PW?
I love the age and stage our children are at right now, but it really limits my “hands-on” time for ministry. I am really looking forward to the day when I can travel to India more often with Rob, not just to see exotic things like the Taj Mahal, but reaching women and children of the third world is a huge passion of mine. I look forward to the day when I can invest more of my life there.

How do you help your kids deal with the pressures of being pastor's kids?
My kids are pretty fortunate to be raised in such an amazing community and church. I rarely see our church members treating our children any differently than the other children at our church. Our senior pastor, Dr. Mark Beeson and his wife Sheila paved the way for us with their children. They did not allow their children to have special privileges or use the term P.K. with them. Neither do we.

What is the most meaningful thing you do to support your husband?
Being a dutiful housewife (sarcasm intended). I am not Suzie Home-maker, but I do my best to maintain our household at a level that brings peace and happiness to all. This is really hard considering I have rheumatoid arthritis and have three extrememly spirited little girls.

Do you have any PW mentors?
I sure do. Gail MacDonald has been an amazing friend and mentor to me in many ways. She is a fountain of wisdom, and she speaks to the deepest part of me.

Sheila Beeson, our senior pastor’s wife is an amazing wife and mother to her grown children. She and Mark did so many things right in raising their kids, I just want to be like her.

What are you reading?
Alaska by James Mitchner and Edges of His ways by Amy Carmichael

What's playing on your iPod?
I don’t have an iPod, but I do have a Zune, which was supposed to be my Christmas present. (I accidentally opened it because the package had my name on it.)

I just downloaded Handel's Messiah. It's a huge part of my personal Christmas tradition every year. The girls don't appreciate it, so I listen with my headphones.

Other stuff that's on it:

John Denver (don't laugh)

U2

David Crowder

Hillsong United

Rich Mullins

Celtic Woman

Your husband is a pastor at a church with four weekend services (2 on Saturday and 2 on Sunday), how do you manage that weekend schedule?

The girls and I usually attend Saturday nights when Rob is on. It's easier for me to get them ready in the evening than the morning. I used to attend several services before we had kids. I really wish I still could, but with 3 kids, it's just too much.

Have you encountered any "expectations" in that regard?

Nope, none whatsoever.

How do you like to spend your husband's day off?
Sleeping in, going out to breakfast together if the girls are at school, hanging around home, going hiking, having family pizza/movie night so I don’t have to cook.

Michelle is an active blogger. Check her out here. Have any questions for Michelle? Ask away!

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his day off

Due to our husbands' unconventional schedules, it's oftentimes necessary to do creative things with time management in order to make married life and family life work. You need a day to catch up on things around the house, do family things, run errands or relax with a good book or favorite TV show. Some pastors choose to use their day off as a sabbatical of sorts, where they disconnect from all errands, responsibilities, stresses and concerns and commune with God.

So, tell us about your husband's day off. Is it always the same day each week? Do you get to spend it together with him? If so, how do y'all spend it? Have you made any "rules" about his day off? Do the church members know to respect that day?

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thanks for something

All the festivities are done. The turkey is eaten (and you've probably started your new year's resolutions list already!). Black Friday is behind us. Your Christmas decorations are probably on display already. The weekend services are done. Now that you have time to reflect on this Thanksgiving, we're wondering, what PW-related blessing are you most thankful for?

Okay... I'll go first.

I'm thankful for a husband who, despite the hundreds of things he has to do, and the mountain of work that he has when we get back, knows when and how to go on vacation. It helps that we're in a place where our cell phones don't work, too. I know I couldn't be any other pastor's wife. He even left his ministry-related reading material at home, though we ended up reading So you don't want to go to church anymore together.

Your turn!

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holiday gratefulness

This year was an unusual Thanksgiving month for us. My job took me to the UK and then Russia for the first two weeks of the month, then a week at Andrews University.

Then, for Thanksgiving week my pastor husband had to travel to Brasil for 10 days to prepare for next year's mission trip. Our church is planning to build two churches in the Amazon interior. I'm thankful for his passion for taking people on mission trips - it changes lives - but the idea of being at home alone on Thanksgiving was pretty bleak.

So I spent the holidays in Chicago with cousins. We made a massive batch of yummy chocolate cherry cookies, gluten steaks, chik'n artichoke bake, potato leek soup and pumpkin pie.

There was a very cool barn door with an old sign on it. Just begged to be photographed. And it felt very spiritual, too - the light bursting through the window and the One Way arrow...

Another thing I'm thankful for this year is female friends. Loneliness is something I've struggled with for years, and knowing that it's usually unwise to get close to (even the nicest) church members doesn't make it easier.

My husband challenged me a couple of years ago to purposefully focus my energy on building some strong female friendships. I prayed for quite a while about whom to even begin getting to know! Since then, God has put a variety of amazing women in my path and I feel incredibly blessed.

This year I got the unusual and precious opportunity to spend several days with some of those girlfriends (some of whom were fellow PW's), and for that I am grateful.
R>L: me, my cousin, a friend, a fellow pastor's wife, and another friend - out in the snow

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