Hello, friends! Look who arrived at our office on Monday, just in time for our Boss’s Day lunch celebration.
Our first copy of Esther is here! LifeWay always sends my mom the first one to roll off the press. It was such an exciting day! Mom brought her out while we were all there together, seated around our banqueting table and enjoying Nancy’s orange pineapple cake and Kimberly’s banana pudding. Then she had Nancy read the dedication page aloud to us. It was dedicated to my sister and me! What a surprise and what a special honor! What is so fun is that Melissa had just arrived from the airport a few minutes beforehand. It was perfect timing. (Esther’s estimated shelf date is November 15. But it could be a little earlier or a little later.)
All of us at LPM are incredibly blessed to have the WORLD’S BEST BOSSES! Beth and Sabrina, you lead us with such grace, wisdom, humility, and strength. We praise God for you!
The gift we gave our bosses was a donation made in their name to a family that has been severely affected by Hurricane Ike.
Changing topics now. Monday night our family had my birthday dinner. I had requested spaghetti and meatballs from my mom and she came through big time! It was so good! She also baked me a cake for the second year in a row. Now I’d like to rise up and call my mother blessed because look at this beauty. My mother loves me.
What? Do you not think my cake was exquisitely beautiful? The nerve! Maybe you need to see it in the gentle glow of my 29 candles. (I am getting dangerously close to more than a gentle glow.)
Still not doing it for you? Well maybe you’d like to take a look at my cake from last year.
Mom had a little icing malfunction and all she could squeeze out was “H B A,” which symbolized “Happy Birthday Amanda.” Do not be fooled by this cake’s appearance because it was the best cake of my life, only to be outdone by this year’s blue ribbon winner.
I got one present from my parents – a gift bag full of spending money which I plan to put into action this weekend. Mom is taking me on a little getaway and we are going to shop! Isn’t she the sweetest? Have a great day, girls!
Tags: Esther
Oh my–Esther is the picture of her mother! Love her look and from her face she looks like she has a lot personality. I can’t wait to meet the new little one and get to know her! Thank you, Beth, for birthing another study for all of us. All the hard work from you and your team is already appreciated.
Happy Birthday Amanda–love the cakes 🙂
A home cooked meal, a cake made by a mom who adores you and a bag of money. Sounds like the perfect birthday to me. AND, that cake looks like every cake I’ve ever made….
CAN’T hardly wait to do Esther! We won’t be starting it till January…Bummer! But I feel like we helped it along with Beth. Lots of prayers and a little input and I’m just so excited to do the thing!
Have fun shopping!
Melana in Wyoming
ps Having trouble getting a comment on here…will try anonymously. Things don’t look right. Is it just my computer? Other blogs look ok.
Happy Birthday Amanda! The cake is far more beautiful than any store bought cake. Love makes it shine!
Can’t wait for Esther!!! Oh happy day.
Kim . . who is
Grafted by Grace
Congratulations on every bit of this post… The Esther release, the awesome bosses, the beautiful dedication, the birthday celebration and gifts, and the lovely birthday cakes (which prove that some things do get better with age!
With much love to you all…
I got an email from Lifeway the a few days ago announcing the arrival of Esther. I was perusing the sample session and came across the dedication and it brought tears to my eyes. What a lovely gift. I laughed out loud when I saw the cakes!
Okay, here I am investigating the apparent comment format issues we are having. I’m not seeing anything yet. Blogger just went down for a few minutes, so maybe there was a bug and they fixed it. Hmmmmmm….
I was JUST wondering about Esther today. This is exciting!! And Amanda’s birthday cake is beautiful! rats, now I’m craving cake.
Homemade cakes (even those out of a box) with that personal touch are great. I think your cake is just perfect. 🙂
And you just have a BLAST shopping. None of it for that new lil girl – well – okay maybe one or two things – but you spend the rest on YOU! 🙂
The comment section is back to normal. Yeah!
aww happy birthday amanda!
Doing Anointed, Transformed, Redeemed right now and can't wait to start Esther in 2009.
Happy Birthday & Happy Shopping!
Happy Birthday, Amanda!
It sounds like it was perfect. I think that your mama was able to cook after her whirlwind eastcoast trip is more than I could do. Bless her heart! I hope you ate 29 meatballs. 🙂 And of course the cake, I would have finished off in one evening with the pan on my lap and a fork in my fist. 😉 yum
Simply cannot wait to do Esther again after doing it live here in Houston. Love it, love it.
Thank you for sharing Curtis on Tuesday nights. He is immensely talented and a delight. I hope he will consider doing more studies in the future.
You girls go shop, laugh, love, eat, & shop some more. Tell Jackson to go with "Daddy Monster Truck."
a springfield buddy
I love the HBA cake.
And I can’t wait for Esther to be in my hand.
May you all be blessed as you see what the Lord does in and through all those that read and study the book of Esther through that precious resource that will soon be available to them.
Love you all…
The cake looked wonderful! How sweet! I hope you had a wonderful birthday, Amanda!
I was just giddy with excitement to see the Esther workbook! I cannot wait!
Blessings
Michelle
Happy Birthday Amanda!
I laughed and laughed. Jsut give her a few more years and she will be the new Ace of Cakes!!!LOL Have a great weekend! Sure wish I could go!!!
Love you! and Happy Late Birthday!
Amanda in SC
Sweeeeet! I can’t wait until it’s available to us, gonna be my winter study!
cracked me up!!! My kids will say the same about me, since I always make a lopsided cake. But they’ll be able to say it was made with love.
Way to go Beth! It is a beautiful cake, made with such love. You and Amanda are both very blessed to have one another, Melissa, too. Enjoy a wonderful weekend, being strong in the Lord’s love!
And I can’t wait for Esther!!!!!
I can’t wait to get this book for one! I love the cakes! They crack me up and well it’s a great testimony that we can’t be absolutely, fabulous at every little detail, even when our name is Sweet Beth Moore! 🙂 Her frosting and writing remind me a lot of my own! It may not always look like it came from the towns BEST bakery, but it always tastes good!
love the cake!! moms are awesome!! Even when we are grown up with a family of our own there are some things that moms do that are so simple yet touch our hearts like no other!
I’m so excited about the Esther study – Yay! (And I’ve made Kimberely’s banana pudding – de.li.cious.)
Enjoy your getaway and shopping spree!
To all who have contributed to Esther,
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am not kidding. The Lord gave me a word for my 8 year old daughter contrasting Delilah and Esther. Ever since, I have been wanting to dig into that book. I have had a sense that there is a lot of nuggets that will direct my life and help me to provide input as we direct the lives of our children.
Honestly feeling conviction, that I didn’t need Beth to write a study on Esther to dig in to the book, but I must admit after being a Living Proof ministries “student” 🙂 I am so excited to use the study as an excuse.
Have a great weekend celebrating your gift with your mom Amanda! It must be amazing to have a mom who knows when and where to be serious and the corner market on how to have a blast! I hope that made sense…
Blessings to you all.
Jina
Rejoicing with you over all of this!
Sounds like one sweet gathering of a room full of strong women…Esther included!
Blessings and hugs all around!
Melinda
Both cakes are just wonderful!
It doesn’t matter what they look like on the outside as long as the inside tastes yummy! And a cake baked by mama will always be yummy!
That’s exciting about the Esther book! I think I’ll have to check that one out when it arrives on the shelves in the bookstores! Love the pictures of your cakes! My brother and I look forward to our mother’s butternut cake every year. we don’t feel like we had a good birthday unless we get that cake! Ha!Ha! God Bless!
charlotte – in Georgia
I’ll take a piece of that cake! And while I’m enjoying it, could you maybe read the first lesson of the Esther study to me?
Pretty please!?~
Have a wonderful getaway…love you all with agape love…
Thank you, Amanda. I needed that good laugh!!!!!
KP in NOLA
I think your mom’s cakes are beautiful…’cause they look just like mine! 😀 Happy Birthday AJ!
And how exciting that she got the first print of Esther, and thanks for sharing that with us! Another study..woohoo!!!
I hope y’all have an absolute blast this weekend! I know you will. 🙂 And YES…your mom IS the bestest! Tell her we think so!
Love and hugs,
Missy in SC
Happy “birth” day to Esther! And of course Happy Birthday Amanda! I tell you what, I like the gift bag full of money idea! You and your mom shop till you drop girl!
Happy boss’s day Beth and Sabrina!
Will continue to pray for those affected by the hurricane.
Loved the cake! Good job siesta mama!
Much love as always!
Kristi B.
The cake looked great, I loved the pan even more! Happy late birthday. Enjoy your spending money, good thing you will be helping our economy out, we need it. So, spend, spend! SO, SO excited about Esther!
Happy Birthday late Amanda!!
I just found out we are studying Esther after Christmas!!!
Happy Birthday Amanda!! I hope it was a great day for you!!
Have tons of fun doing your all your shopping! Hope you find tons of great deals and lovely outfits!!!
I am sooo excited about Esther! I hope that we will do it next in our bible study!
WOW…your Mom is getting good at decorating cakes! What will it be next year!
Looking forward to getting the book, Esther. I know it will be wonderful!
Hope you have a super duper weekend, Amanda!
Love, Allison
Totally loving the Esther book! From one who was there on Tuesday’s I feel a bit like a proud big sister. She is a cutie isn’t she???
And that cake is beggin’ for some milk!
Peace.
Love the cake, they look just like the ones I make 🙂
And I can not wait for the new study,
Beth, thank you for being a great mom! Your precious time and gift to Amanda are particularly special to me today. To spend a day with your daughter full of treats and blessings just for her as a special young lady is the best- may we all be inspired to “indulge” and bless a special person in our lives- I just spent a few days with a mom- well, who can’t make me feel worthy of a “splurge”- I’m old and I should know better, but seems we always want our moms to make us feel special and just spoil us on occassion- Lots of love and appreciation-Have FUN!
It is HARD to write in icing!
H-A-R-D I tell ya! What a sweet mom to do that for you.
I have those little letters that you press into the icing to make an indention of the letter and then you go over it with your icing. Works like a charm!
Oh H.B.A.!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hope it is the BEST! Have a wonderful Shopping weekend with your mom! Happy Bosses Day to the Bosses too! Would love the recipes from today…Banana Pudding and Orange Pineapple Cake…are they in the Siesta Cookbook??
Happy Happy Birthday!
Dana J
Amanda: How exciting! I have pre-ordered Esther and can’t wait until she arrives at my door. My birthday is November 16, so that will be a great gift to me! I’ve promised my Tabernacle (Woman’s Heart) class that we will start fresh in January! They can’t wait – and I’ve been reading Esther over and over to get ready!
Love your birthday cake – what a sweet momma you have. I know she made it with love, just like I made a good old-fashioned 5-layer caramel cake for my son’s birthday yesterday. He turned 24, and that is his favorite, so he requested a caramel cake. He got married this past June 7th to a precious young woman – we love her (and I miss him).
Happy Boss’s Day to Beth and Sabrina! Two beautiful servant leaders.
Have a blast on your shopping getaway weekend. My mom and her three daughters (of which I am the oldest) are having a girls’ weekend at my middle sister’s lake house. We can’t wait.
Much Love,
Georgia Jan
Oh Amanda, I think that those cakes are just precious! You are so blessed to have such a wonderful momma!!!!
Love you all!!!!
Blessings,
Lori in central California
I love the cake… so sweet! How blessed you are Amanda to have such a godly Mom and how blessed we are to have her as a Bible study teacher. I hope that you have a wonderful weekend… shopping and enjoying one another’s company.
Belated Happy Birthday to you! Will be looking forward to picking up Esther soon. Have a great “girls” time shopping with your mom.
I noticed that at least this year
Bethie used a real cake pan..last years was in one of those dollar store foil pans. I guess there was room in the kitchen after her summer cleaning. Just think of all the love that went into it though.
Can’t wait for Esther to come out. May God use it for his glory as we all dig a little deeper in his word.
LOVING that the book is here and done.
LOVING the birthday cake.
LOVING your present from your parents.
Have a blast shopping with your momma! 🙂
Happy Birthday Amanda! Enjoy! Enjoy! your great get away. Time with your mama – what more could you want? (I can say that cause I am a mama and love spending time with my girls!)
Just can’t wait for Esther!
Oh, and Happy Boss’day, Father!
love
mk
Amanda,
When my baby girl grows up, I hope she will still enjoy her Mama as much as you enjoy yours. What a blessing your relationship with one another is! Y’all are too, too cute! What a blessing you are to all of us!
My kids and I just packaged up their Daddy’s birthday gift to be sent to his deployed location. I couldn’t quite make a German chocolate cake work in the mail, so we made German chocolate chip cookies instead! A fun compromise!
God bless y’all!
Lots of lovin’,
Kristen
Amanda, it truly was a beautiful cake. Mama Beth can cook AND decorate a cake! My own cake decorating wasn’t nearly as pretty. It’s hard to write pretty while squeezing the nozzle on a can of icing! Enjoy your shopping trip. I know it will be a blast.
SO excited about Esther!… You do have wonderful bosses… they have wonderful employees!
Loved the cake… I remember last years… can’t wait to see next year!
Have fun shopping this weekend! So fun! It is tough being a woman! : )
Happy Birthday and Bosses day! We love you all!
Emmy : )