Girl-to-Girl Talk: Noel Piper

We are very excited about a new feature here at girltalk. On occasion we will introduce you to godly women who are making a significant difference in the lives of others both in the church and in our culture. We’re calling it girl-to-girl talk.

Today we want you to meet the first of these godly women: Noël Piper. Noël is a pastor’s wife, mother, and author, and over the next few days we have the delightful opportunity of getting to know her better.

To begin, we want to share a brief profile of Noël’s life along with several pictures. Then, over the next three days, we will post portions of an interview with Noël.

So pull up a chair if you will, and join us at Noël’s kitchen table. We know you are going to thoroughly enjoy learning and laughing along with this godly woman.

Noël Piper

You probably know me as: John Piper’s wife

I’ve been married for: 38 years

My children are: 4 adult sons--all married with 7 children among them, and our 11-year-old daughter

I was born in: Norfolk Virginia and grew up in Barnesville, GA

The best “spiritual” book I’ve ever read (besides the Bible) is: ...and besides my husband’s books . . .  Combining bad memory with too many books, I’ll mention authors instead: Elisabeth Elliot, Joni Eareckson Tada, Edith Schaeffer. One with long-lasting impact is Schaeffer’s Hidden Art (now with the unfortunately-limited title, The Hidden Art of Homemaking.

The “non-spiritual” book I most enjoyed reading was: Bad memory again--it would probably have been a historical fiction saga or a multigenerational family memoir/saga.

Right now I am reading: Whatever I can find about Betsey Stockton and her early-1800s settings in the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) and Princeton.

The movie I've watched more times than any other is: The Princess Bride (my children made me!)

The music (genre/artist) you’re most likely to find me listening to is: Mountain/old-time country gospel (when I’m by myself) or maybe 1960s folk.

My favorite food is: Chocolate eclairs (filled with custard, not cream)

My favorite morning beverage is: Strong coffee with cream or Yorkshire tea with milk

The household chore I most enjoy is: Enjoy? I’ll have to think on that --- a looooong time.

If I have free time, you’ll most likely find me: Reading or—more recently—you’d find me online arranging my computer “piles” of photos into photobooks that, when I’m done, we can actually hold in our hands, turn pages, and see the best pictures without plowing through hundreds of others.

My favorite place in the world is: Anywhere with a book and the sight and sound of water.

A Bible verse I return to often is: Romans 8:38-39--"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Woman I most want to be like: The one who’s on my mind right now is Joni Eareckson Tada. Probably no one but she and Ken, her caregivers and God really know how limited the hours of her day are once her basic physical needs have been dealt with. And only she and God know how limited her strength and stamina are. I find myself dragging at the imagination of it. And yet she travels frequently, and whenever she is with people, she gives herself wholeheartedly, smiling, greeting, giving an appropriate and upbuilding word. When you see Joni, you see the joy of the Lord. It has to be his, because she has every legitimate human reason to be a quiet, stay-at-home, reserving her strength.