Welcome to my fishbowl!

My name is Amy. I'm a youth pastor's wife, and homeschool mom of two pretty awesome kiddos. I married my husband Allen in September of 2001, after dating for a little over a year, but knowing him for 7 years. You see, he was my youth pastor. Eek! Does that sound just awful?! I promise it's not as scandalous as it seems. There was no funny business going on while I was in the youth group. Perhaps I'll share that story sometime.
At any rate, life keeps us extremely busy, but I am beyond blessed.

I can't remember a time in my life when i wasn't in a fishbowl, a glass house, under a microscope; call it what you will. 
My dad started leading worship bi-vocationally when I was about 7 years old. He loved it and felt it was something the Lord had always been calling him to do. Even before that I remember he and my mom both being involved in the music ministry at whatever church we were members of; singing, playing instruments, and even filling in occasionally when the "real guy" wasn't there. In 1995, when I was almost 14, dad quit his job at 3M in Austin and took a full-time position leading worship at a church in Round Rock. This pulled us out of our church where we had just settled in after a big move from Dallas about a year before. I went kicking and screaming (only in my mind, though; in real life i just copped a really bad attitude) to Central Baptist, where I was now a legitimate "PK." Most of the time I didn't mind the attention and everyone knowing who I was. There were definite perks to being a PK. Sometimes, though, it was a real bummer.
Fast forward 6 & 1/2 years and at the age of 20, I moved from one fishbowl to another when I married my youth pastor husband. 

After 25 years now of living in ministry, it's still something I learn from; about myself, about others, and about the Lord. Ministry is hard, and it's messy, no matter what your title or level of involvement. The longer I'm on this journey, the more I come to realize how important it is to have women in my life that are on the journey as well, in some capacity; not to gossip or complain, but to walk alongside, encourage, support, relate to, ask questions, and sometimes reassure me that I'm not crazy.

My prayer is that 'The Fishbowl Effect' will provide a place for pastors' wives and women in ministry to receive support and encouragement, and perhaps be the ones to give some out as well.

If you have anything in particular you'd like to address or discuss, or see a post about, please feel free to share your thoughts. Leave a comment, or email me.

Welcome to my fishbowl!