Life In My Father's World: Meet author Rhonda Rhea!

Rhonda is the wife of a pastor, Mother to “two adorable daughters and three amazing sons, all serving on the staffs of different Missouri churches. I also have an amazing son-in-law and two superb daughters-in-law. Our biggest haps of late are: 1) the addition of our first grandbaby nine months ago—the cutest baby boy in all of history, and 2) the coming addition of our second baby this summer—a girl, and no doubt the cutest baby girl in all of history. Evidently we’re super good at making history.”

If you have read her contributions to magazines including; HomeLife, Leading Hearts, The Pathway and numerous other publications over the last 15 years, you already know that she does far more than make history! This busy pastor’s wife, radio personality, humor columnist has authored 10 books, including Espresso Your Faith, How Many Lightbulbs Does It Take to Change a Person?, and Join the Insanity—Crazy-Fun Life in the Pastors’ Wives Club, AND along with her two daughters (Kaley and Allie) Rhonda also hosts a weekly TV show, That’s My Mom, which airs in mid-Missouri at Christian Television Network’s KNLJ!

She wrote Join the Insanity—Crazy-Fun Life In the Pastor’s Wives Club, “because I’ve run into ministers’ wives from one side of this country to the other who felt isolated, misunderstood, overworked and lonely. So many of the books for pastor’s wives are filled with more instructions for how to become “the perfect minister’s wife.” But, oh man, the women I’ve met didn’t need another boatload of guilt and feelings of inadequacy. So this book is filled with a lot of stress-relieving humor and even more of God’s Word, as well as plenty of reasons to embrace our calling and the crazy-fun (and sometimes just crazy) that’s all wrapped up in ministry life.”

In Join the Insanity – “I wonder how many things I’ve left on top of the car over the years. I lose more coffee that way. I call it “road-spill.” I’m thinking of putting a cup holder up there. Go ahead. Compliment me on the cool vinyl top on my car. We both know it’s not vinyl. It’s aged and weathered cappuccino. Which, just so you know, ends up looking like some sort of alien leather. I may put this on Pinterest.”

Rhonda Rhea and Kaley Rhea

Also coming in 2016 is a fun fiction book co-authored by mother/daughter team, Rhonda Rhea and Kaley Faith Rhea. “In Turtles in the Road, Piper Cope is our main character—a gal who was so sure the Lord called her to be a pastor’s wife. So when her pastor/fiancé breaks it off, she’s every kind of puzzled. Does God even have a purpose for her anymore?

On the road halfway between the bridges she’s burned and some kind of new start, she encounters the most unexpected detour. She swerves on a rainy road to miss a turtle and ends up in a ditch with an airbag to the face. Now stuck in this little town, she wonders how in the world she could’ve gotten her God-signals so very crossed. And how in the world is she supposed to know what He wants her to do now?

In the meantime, at least the community center guy, Jay Marler, has her working a temporary job there. Problem is, somehow she’s coaching a children’s basketball team. She does not…basketball. And she certainly does not children.

Kaley and I wrote Turtles in the Road to give readers a laugh, yes, but the overarching message is one of finding the will of God and our purpose in life—what that means and how we know we’ve found it. Also, did I mention laughs? Because there are lots of those.

We would love for readers to take away a nice, endorphin-producing laugh. But also it’s a reminder that we all feel out of our element now and then, and oh so far out of our comfort zone. Stepping out in a new direction can be terrible. And beautiful. And a grand adventure. And sometimes all those things at once.”