Noël Piper

There is one passage of Scripture that Noël Piper finds a way to use almost every time she speaks—Deuteronomy 11:1-19. "You shall therefore love the LORD your God. . . . You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul. . . . You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." She sees this passage building a framework for a life that glorifies God.

Noël grew up in Georgia, the oldest of 10 children. Though her family was not perfect—in other words, they were normal—they laid a foundation that prepared her for faith in God through Jesus Christ.

Noël has been married to John Piper since 1968. They have 4 sons and a daughter, 3 daughters-in-law, and 5 grandchildren. Their children grew up in Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, where John has been a pastor since 1980. Talitha is the only one still living with Mom and Dad. She is a grade schooler and Noël is her main teacher.

Noël met John at Wheaton College, only a few months after making the definite pronouncement, "I will never marry a pastor!" This went right along with the assurance that, "I'm going to wait a long time to get married so I can see the world first." John was pre-med, so that was all right. Their wedding was a month before she finished college. Then God was very patient in preparing this rash young woman to become a pastor's wife 13 years later.

Now she travels for missions and speaking as often and as far as possible. And she smiles to think of the naiveté of the 19-year-old who assumed that nothing as good as seeing the world could ever happen after marriage.

Every year, she realizes more clearly when we trust in the LORD with all our heart, and do not lean on our own understanding—that when we acknowledge him in all our ways—he will make straight our path (Proverbs 3:5-6). And she prays for his Spirit to work in her that trust and that wholehearted acknowledgement of him.