Oh, girls! You do not want to miss this recap video by our dear Rich from Living Proof Live this weekend. Honestly, they never get old! I personally could use an editing video tutorial in the worst way. Thanks for all your hard work, Rich!

We heard that God did a marvelous work this weekend in Charleston. Praise Him! If you were there, we’d love to hear what He did in you!

Living Proof Live – Charleston SC from Rich Kalonick on Vimeo.

And might I leave you with this gem? Your fearless leaders. The best part of this picture, besides the air Travis is getting, is the fact that the staff around them is not phased one bit by their jolliness. In other words, this is normal. I love it!

Hey Siestas! Can you believe we’re already past the middle of August? Where in the world has 2012 gone? Wow.

Before we let August completely fly by, we wanted to bring your attention to our fast approaching simulcast.

If I know anything about women, I know we like a girls day away with each other and this simulcast opportunity is no exception. It is perfect timing to pull away and get in the Word for a time of refreshment and renewal either in the comfort of your own home, or at a local church. Plus, it’s the perfect opportunity to extend an invitation to those in your neighborhood!

So, without further ado, take a quick listen to our Siesta Mama. Also, for ALL the details and information you would ever want, click here for the official simulcast website.

2012 LPL Simulcast from LPV on Vimeo.

Today is the last official day of summer for Houston. Well, the last summer weekday. Come Monday morning, all manner of children with their crisp, new school clothes and fancy haircuts will either hop on a big yellow bus, sit in a carpool line, or brave the daunting humidity and walk to school for their very first day. I know kiddos who get to experience their first day of kindergarten, and other ones who get to experience their first day of their very last year of school as they’re the big, bad seniors.

All of that to say, although the heat is screaming otherwise, according to our calendar, summer is over.

So, I thought it was only appropriate to share my 2012 summer highlights. Please note, however, that I spent the majority of my days in Houston with minimal traveling and fun experiences, so please lower your expectations. What you won’t be seeing is fancy trips to Hawaii or days traveling NYC. But it is what it is.

In no particular order, here are my top 12 highlights of the great summer of 2012.

1. The Nehemiah Bible study. Listen, I am taking my sweet time, meaning, I am STILL working on it, just keeping it real. But, that doesn’t mean I haven’t loved it. And I know for a fact you all loved it too, so at least we have that in common. Grin.

2. Don’t think I wouldn’t talk about Girls Bible study. I loved the 10 weeks I got to spend with these sweet girls studying and pouring over So Long, Insecurity. The last night we went out in style with some fun giveaways, a few words of wisdom from our own Beth, and most importantly, dinner from Pappasito’s. Go big or go home has always been my motto. If I had to pick one thing, I’d say these girls were THE highlight of my summer.

I couldn’t say that without sharing this gem. When you get to see changes you’ve been praying for in girls, it brings much joy to your heart. So imagine how thrilled I was when one of my leaders asked if one of her girls could bring her guitar to one of our meetings. Of course I said yes, and she proceeded to tell me that one of her insecurities was playing her guitar in front of people, so she wanted to bring it one night and play it for her small group. Y’all, that’s a big deal. I was thrilled when she got their a little early that night because it was just me and her in the room, so I asked her to play a little bit for me and she not only played, but nailed it. I was so proud! Can you say precious? The Lord was so sweet to her.

3. Beth’s birthday cake. Yes, it was a highlight. It was that good. Don’t judge.

While we’re talking about her cake, here is a picture of Amanda, Beth and Melissa at Beth’s LPM birthday party!

4. My pool. Well, this is actually my apartment pool, but as you can see, it’s pretty empty, so I’ve claimed it as my own. I would be here every day if I could, but alas, my job keeps me pretty busy, so I got out on the weekends as often as I can. This screams relaxation to me!

5. Austin Living Proof Live. What a great weekend with a great Word that I’m still gleaming from. And it also may or may not have been the only place I traveled all summer.

6. Label me materialistic (again, just keeping it real), but you can imagine my sheer joy when H&M, the clothing store, opened up at Willowbrook Mall here in Houston. Score! H&M is a really cute, cheap store that is very similar to Forever  Twenty-One, but dare I say, cheaper. My coworker and I may or may not have visited the day after it opened on our lunch break. I’m telling you, I don’t get out much.

7. Okay, I may have fibbed just a little. One weekend I went away for one night with some girlfriends to a quaint little farmhouse in the country. We enjoyed ourselves so much while we laughed, ate, talked and even did some fun extra-curricular activities. Such as riding on a Gator to tour the land and kayaking. (See below.)

Exhibit A: Athleticism at its finest. Kayaking. Because this was during this summer’s Olympics, I was feeling really inspired. You can catch me kayaking in Rio during the 2016 games.

8. Catching up with my best friends. You know those friends you’ve had since the womb? These are those friends. We’re all in different seasons and live miles away from each other, but when we get together it’s like nothing has ever changed. Highlight? You bet it was. A really sweet one.

9. I took a day off work to go hang out with our students from church in Galveston one day. Since BCF is such a baby church (we’re turning one soon!), this was a really special week for them because it was their very first summer camp. They’ll never forget it! It was a sweet change of scenery for a day and it was exciting to be with them outside of church, even if just for a short time.

Galveston, oh Galveston. We take what we can get here in Texas as far as beaches are concerned.

10. My very best friend had her very first baby. A baby girl. Ellie is my new obsession and rightfully so, she’s a living doll. I was blessed to get to be there on her birthday and I’ll never forget it. This and Bible study tie for my number one highlight. It’s amazing to me how much you can love something when it’s not even yours. That’s how I feel about her.

11. Did we ever tell y’all that a tree right outside of our office got hit by lightning one day? It was the most bizarre thing I’ve ever seen happen right before my eyes. Not to mention the sound like a bomb going off. Beth and I happened to both witness it and I fear we’re both still scarred from it. However, we’re all convinced the Lord put the tree there so it wouldn’t hit the building.

Since the tree took the hit, we unfortunately, lost it. So as to not cause any more damage, we had it removed yesterday. To say we were all enthralled by the process is an understatement. So much so, that I documented the entire event. So intriguing.

12. Lastly, and certainly not least, Bayou City Nights, our church’s first VBS. To serve together as a church body and watch everyone come together and do the thing was a beautiful gift. There is so much more I could say about this, but I’ll just leave you with this little sneak into a few of our evenings together, a collage if you will. That, right there, is some joy, my friends.

I happen to have the cutest team. Go green or go home was my motto! Skipping, singing, dancing, laughing and making crafts with these little ones was a complete joy.

So, now that I’ve rambled on about the great summer of 2012, I’d love for you to share a highlight from your summer. I guarantee you girls have some pretty sweet stories. Spill them!

We really do love y’all so much.

Happy Friday, y’all. And happy back to school!

Update: Siestas, I just wanted to inform you that each of our 20 tickets have been spoken for. Be blessed, ladies!

Good Thursday morning, ladies! It has been busy around here, but really, you are thought about nearly every second of every day. I’m hoping to have a fun post up tomorrow!

However, before we do that, I wanted to bring your attention to LPL Charleston today. Thanks to the Siesta Scholarship fund, we have 20 tickets to give to those of you that would love to attend the conference this weekend, but just don’t have the funds to make it happen. So, if this is you, please call our office toll free at 1.888.700.1999 during regular business hours (8:30 – 4:30 CST) and ask for Kimberly Meyer. If you happen to reach us while we’re at lunch, leave a message and Kimberly will get back to you.

And as always, Beth, Travis and the entire LPL team covet your prayers as they head that way this very day. Pray that the Spirit would fall fresh on that city. Thank you so much, girls. You are priceless around here, as are your prayers. We love you!

Update: Thank you so much to all of those who were able to join us. In case you missed you, you can jump on and watch it now like you would a recorded video. Just click this link. For some reason, it cut about the first 30 seconds off, but after that you’re good to go. We love y’all!

Hey, you sweet things! You better know that I have not forgotten you for a single solitary day but, wooooo-eeeeee, girlfriends, your blog mama has had her hands full! I miss you so much, though! Would any of you like to jump on livestream right at 12:00 noon central standard time today (Wednesday) for 20 or so minutes? It would just be to say hi and to catch up a bit so if you’ve got something important going, don’t sweat it. There’s no big announcement or prepared subject matter. Just a happy hello and I surely do love you and I pray that you’re seeing Jesus revealed in all sorts of ways. That kind of thing and from the heart because you are indeed so dear to me. SO, I’ll see anybody there who has the time and, even if it’s just ten of us, I’ll be thrilled to touch base.

Just click on this link to hop on and join us!

I love you guys!

P.S. Just a friendly reminder that you do not need a password. While we’re preparing to launch, we have it up to work on a few logistics, but we will remove the password about five minutes before we go live at noon.

Happy Wednesday, Siestas! It looks like a ‘few’ of you were able to join Beth and the team in K-Town last weekend. Much praise to God for you and all who were able to attend the Living Proof Live in Knoxville!

Rumor has it that Miesta Travis brought a few of his peeps with him to form a choir. 

Here’s Beth having a moment with the choir. No doubt she is sharing from her heart, and quite possibly also telling on Travis. He’s always a good source for material. Grin.

During worship:

From the looks of this recap, it appears you had a rich time in worship and the Word, Knoxville.  We never take for granted that the Lord speaks through His Word and blesses us with His Presence.

Without further delay, enjoy this recap video from our photographer extraordinaire, Rich.  Your Siesta Mama loves you so!

Living Proof Live – Moline IL from Rich Kalonick on Vimeo.

Good Mornin’, ladies! Thanks to our Siesta Scholarship Fund, we were able to snag and give away 20 tickets to the Knoxville LPL this weekend. We just wanted to give you a friendly reminder that these tickets are for those of you that would love to attend, but financially, just cannot afford it at this time. So, if you fit that bill, we’d love nothing more than to bless you. All you need to do is call our office toll free at 1.888.700.1999 during regular business hours (8:30 – 4:30 CST) and ask for Kimberly Meyer. She will get you hooked up and good to go!

Thank you so much in advance for praying over this weekend. It’s the buzz around here and we can’t wait to hear all about it upon our Siesta Mama’s return! If you wouldn’t mind, please pray the team safely there today as they travel. We love y’all so much and are so grateful for every prayer lifted up on their behalf!

Nehemiah Summer Session 4 from LPV on Vimeo.

Good grief! We’re already closing up! How is that even possible? I am so grateful to God that we’ve had the opportunity to spend the summer together in Bible study and hope with everything in me that the last six weeks have been profitable to you. 1 Timothy 4:8 is popping into my mind:

“For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” (NIV)

Look at it again: it holds PROMISE and not only for the future when we see God face to face. It holds promise right now. Right here in this present life. Just where we could really use some help. We women are stretched and stressed to ripping seams from every conceivable direction. We are constantly faced with multiple choices concerning how we’re going to spend the limited resources of our day and our energies. We so often give way to the thing that screams the loudest…and, if it’s your baby, Lord have mercy, you should! But sometimes God doesn’t speak through the wind, the thunder and storm. He lowers His voice so that we’re forced to get quiet and still if we want to hear.

And, boy, do we ever want to hear. If we’ve learned the value of His life-giving, life-defining, life-refining, life-forgiving, life-surviving, life-thriving voice, boy, do we ever want to hear. I have no doubt that you’ve heard some things from God this summer through our study of Nehemiah so let’s get to it and share a few of them in closing.

As usual, your comments to this post will come AFTER your gathering but here’s the part that will be very different! EACH of you will comment this time individually rather than through a representative from your group. Your comment will be in answer to question #3 below and will be addressed straight to your teacher for Siesta Summer Bible Study, Kelly Minter. (Start it very simply, Dear Kelly…)

In our wrap up today, I’d like you to answer three primary questions. The first will be drawn from Session (or Week) Five, the second from Session (or Week) Six then the last one will be in reflection of the study as a whole. It’s the one you will EACH answer in your comment to this post. After the questions, I’d like you to join me for just a few minutes in the 3rd Chapter of the Book of Ezra. First, the three questions:

1. From Session Five: Review the top half of p.120 and the Derek Kidner quote that Kelly included. If your personal response to the question in the middle of the page is appropriate to share, share it! Get very specific about how some difficult facts in your life right now are reframed in light of “eternity…and of God’s unimaginable greatness.” Read Romans 4:18-25 for the perfect paradigm.

2. From Session Six: Go back to p.150 and reread the personal reflection question in the left-hand margin. Again, if your answer is not too personal to share, what do you long to see God bring full circle in your life? Listen carefully to one another as you share, jot down some reminders, and, at the end of your gathering, agree with one another in prayer for God to bring those things full circle.

3. In reflection of the study as a whole: What is the primary thing you’re taking with you out of this study? Your party favor, so to speak? Your take-home? In other words, what do you know for certain He meant for you to receive? Try to be as succinct as possible. Share it in the context of your gathering but, this time, I want you to answer this question as your concluding comment to this post. It will be the only one you answer in writing this time around.

Our brief devotional time in Ezra 3 will be in the video only. Please forgive any inconvenience. It was just better suited that way. If you’re unable to watch the video today, no problem! The most important part for the wrap up is right here in writing through the three questions. The devotional was just for added reflection.

Oh, mercy, Sisters. Thank you so much for joining in! I’m so crazy about all of you. Words fail to express the joy this community brings me.

And Kelly…

Honestly, Sister, I cannot fathom how I could love you more unless I just flat out moved in next door. You are so loved and appreciated by the Body of Christ. God has gifted you enormously with a unique voice and a beautiful pen with which to express it. We have learned from you, our sister. Thank you for pursuing God so flagrantly that we catch your fever. Don’t stop writing. Don’t stop sharing your works and your quirks. We find you believable, teachable, reachable, and, even on occasion, hysterical. We are the better for having pulled up a chair in your classroom. Thank you, dear teacher.

I just spent the past ten weeks immersed in a group of high school girls as we studied the book, So Long, Insecurity together. It was a really sweet (and slightly exhausting, in the best way possible) ten weeks. Among other issues, I bet you could take one guess into a major theme we discussed week in and week out. Dating. Are you shocked? If you are, you might need to get some young girls around you for an hour so you can hear it for yourself. The topic of boys is a popular one. It will get any girl talking. In fact, we spent one entire week hearing all about boys from one wiser, older man and the girls were on pins and needles the entire hour and a half.

To lead a small group and to get girls talking means being authentic and sharing your own struggles and hurts, so inevitably, the girls asked me every question in the book about dating and wanted to hear all about my love life.

Questions like, Are you dating anyone? and Are there any prospective guys in your life? swirled around. While part of me would have loved to have testified about the amazing man the Lord had provided for me, I answered with a simple, Nope!

Because we were all getting to know each other and because they assumed I lived a chick flick kind of love life, I went ahead and told them a bit of my story which included that I’d never “officially” dated anybody nor had I ever had a boyfriend. To be honest, they are always slack-jawed. At 14, you still believe you’ll meet the man of your dreams in college, have 2.5 children and live in a house with a white picket fence, so to meet someone with a different story is slightly shocking.

More often than not, I’m able to encourage the girls when they think their life has gone to shreds because they either don’t have a boyfriend, or they’ve just been broken up with. I never want to dismiss their feelings, but I also want them to know that life is so much more than the boy next door. Plus, the fact that I’m living, breathing and thriving in life gives them a peace that they too will be okay even if it stinks at that moment. And that in all circumstances, God is still good, not because of what He does, but because of who He is. If that’s not a testimony for teenage girls, I’m not sure what is.

One interesting question that arose was, Is your lack of relationship/no boyfriend due to choice or due to just never feeling like it was’time? (They assumed it was due to a choice.) In other words, had I rejected a lot?

Have I rejected a lot? I’ve rejected none.

Let me just say that if I stopped right there, and took a good look at my dating circumstances, I could get so depressed. What girl doesn’t want to be pursued? Asked on a date? Taken to a fancy restaurant? Hugged (or kissed, yes kissed) goodnight? It’s every girls dream to be swept away by her prince charming. Every. Single. Girl. Whether they admit it or not.

Let me also set the record straight that I’m not against dating whatsoever. I didn’t make some rule for myself when I was 10 that I wouldn’t date until I was 27. Nor did I make a rule that I wouldn’t date anybody except my husband. It’s just turned out that way. When people ask if I’ve ever been interested in anybody, I want to laugh. If you’ve been around me more than one hour, you probably know I’ve had multiple crushes at multiple times. I’m a girl. I like boys. Enough said.

However, the truth of the matter is, it just hasn’t happened for me. Am I depressed about that? Well, no. Yes, I’m sure the Lord’s holding a bottle of boy cried tears, and lonely tears here and there, but it doesn’t keep me down and out in the mornings. Do I know why it hasn’t happened? If I did, I could maybe tell you why the sky was blue, too.

What’s more clear to me now more than ever is that the Lord, for a reason only He knows, has guarded my heart and emotions from any romantic relationship. From my perspective, they’re just not interested in me. (That was really weird for me to type, but let me help you understand a little further why I say that.)

For instance, in the past year or so about three different people have tried to set me up with one of their single friends. Listen, I’m not against blind dates, nor am I against being set up. It’s been people that I trust and know and they know me, so why not? I’ve learned that sometimes your friends know more what you need than you do. Most times I knew information had been exchanged, as I would wait for that potentially awkward phone call and two times, the set-ups even landed me a date. But what came of it? Nothing.

If I said I wasn’t a little disappointed after that I’d be lying. Of course I was a tad upset, I’m human and I’m a girl. But it didn’t break me. The last thing I want to do is run some guy ragged myself just so he’ll ask me on a date. No ma’am.

Do you see the pattern? They’re just not interested.

I don’t tell you this to gain any sympathy or to even have a pity party. I’m so over pity parties. (Until my next one creeps up on me!) What I do want you to know is that those boys not pursuing me is not a reflection of me whatsoever. It’s not because I’m fat, or ugly, or don’t dress cute enough, or am not outgoing enough, or am not godly enough, or whatever reason we girls can come up with. I truly believe it is the Lord protecting my heart.

Although it could be easily labeled as rejection, it’s simply the Lord’s protection. At least that’s how I’ve seen it.

I don’t know why He’s chosen to protect my heart for so long. I do know that it’s His grace in my life. I do know He alone has spared me from many broken hearts. I do know that He is building in me something beautiful. I do know that He is sanctifying me through and through and molding me into the woman I am to be one day to my future husband. However future that may be. I do know that marriage is a legitimate desire of my heart that I believe He’s placed there and that He will be faithful.

I might not be able to testify to the girls about the amazing man the Lord had blessed me with, but I am able to testify about His faithfulness despite my circumstances. He is good.

I know that I have rejected not one date, nor has the Lord ever rejected my heart, my desires, or me. And He won’t reject yours, either.