Happy Thanksgiving, My Dear Siestas!
I got up early this morning and recited to our gracious Abba a long list of things I’m thankful for today. Important things like the laughter and love of family. Like lives of purpose even in pain and relief to our insufferable egos that it’s not all about us. Like fellow sojourners who make me want to love Jesus more. Like favorable prognoses for a couple of loved ones recently diagnosed with cancer. For heroic determination to bring glory to God in the lives of several others with less favorable prognoses. For the steel resolve of people I know who are determined to fight the good fight of faith even if it kills them. For four generations of Moores that will celebrate Thanksgiving together today. For our only missing loved ones, Melissa and Colin, and the joy of picturing them gathered around the table with Travis and Angela and Jack and Lily Kate and Levi Cottrell. For two six month-old puppies that bring so much life to this house and for the great relief that they’ve finally quit trying to dig up Beanie and Sunny. For a Texas Chocolate Sheetcake cooling on the counter and the heavenly scent of our very own Natalie Mikles‘ Buttermilk Pie baking in the oven. (Siesta Fiesta Cookbook, p.277!)
Oh, mercy. And for you, Siestas. And for you. I am so thankful for you. You have grown so dear to me this year. Such a blast. Such encouragement. Blessed Community. Day before yesterday I was on a walk with God at our cactus-ranch with my Scripture memory index cards in tow, reciting them to the One who wrote them. This is one of my favorite memory segments of the last year and with deep sincerity and teeming love I speak it over you this special day:
“I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God that was given to you in Christ Jesus. For you were made rich in every way in Him, in all your speech and in every kind of knowledge (dig Paul’s inspired concept of real riches! these riches are already yours! claim them and put them to use!) – just as the testimony about Christ has been confirmed among you – so that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. GOD IS FAITHFUL, by whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 NET
We are rich in every way.
Nothing makes us richer than the knowledge of Christ and the everyday-speech to share it with a hurting, wandering soul.
We do not lack a single spiritual gift we need to fulfill our destiny.
We will be strengthened by God to the very end then we will flat-out see Jesus.
He will never – not ever – be unfaithful to us.
Yep. That makes for a mighty happy Thanksgiving. Do not under any circumstance let Satan steal your joy and your gratitude today. Get down on the floor of the bathroom at your relative’s house if you have to and grab it back in Jesus’ Name. Give not one inch to your betrayer nor trust his lying tongue. Love the Truth today more than your turkey and dressing and gratitude will flood your heart.
Thank you for being such a sweet part of my life and my pursuit of Jesus. We are a mighty cloud of witnesses. Let’s cheer each other onward, Dear Ones, for the joy set before us!
I lift you to our Father with joy and gratefulness today, Siestas. Thank you for everything.
Thank you Beth for your encouragement. I recently found this site and was encouraged to see your note for the day. May God bless you in your ministry. I for one have benefited from it.
Stacy.
Rarely if ever have I commented on your blog! But since it said no one commented yet ….I just wanted to thank you for all you do and all you are in Christ. Your love for Jesus is contagious and my prayer for you is that you will always keep Him first in your life. I am so grateful for the time, energy and sacrifices you have made for the cause of Christ. Thanks also for being real.
It’s always a joy to hear from you, Beth, thanks so much for the encouraging words.
Love and blessings from Florida,
Patti Hayes
I started out my day the same way, a list of things I’m thankful for. And you were one of them. Thank you Beth for teaching us and doing this blog. Liz Hinze
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In His GREAT mercy, He has given us new birth into a LIVING hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can NEVER perish, spoil or fade, kept in heaven for you, who through faith, are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time … ” I Peter 1:3-6
SO thankful for God’s unending grace, mercy and love! I am thankful for LIFE and purpose amid confusion, trials and difficulty. Praising our LORD in all things great and small!
oh my goodness Beth!
thank you so much for this beautiful post that spoke right to my heart!!
I just finished your “Get out of that Pit” book this week and God is totally at work in our lives here 🙂
I wanted to take a moment and just thank you for your books that each stand completely on His Truth, and for sharing your all that He has taught you with all of us.
You are such a huge blessing to me, especially right now, as the Lord has used your book to literally begin to get me out of my pit!
thank you for being you and for letting the Lord use you mightily in the lives of so many.
love you,
Jill
Wow, Beth, I feel like I’ve been to church after reading that post. Wish I could give you a big old hug and say “thank you” in person.
Love you,
Susan Kennedy
Cartersville, GA
My Cup Runs Over, Mrs. Beth. Love to you and yours and thank you for the sweet blessing and encouragement in this post. The Joy of the Lord carries me through every single day… Even the ability to be grateful and nostalgic all at the same time… Yesterday, my daddy who was my son’s best bud and golf partner sat on the couch at my brother’s house holding the youngest member of our clan — the darling 9 month old, Wyatt. Wyatt prefers my father’s company over everyone else’s including his own father and mother.
I told my daddy I thought Wyatt might indeed become his best buddy, his boy. My daddy said, “HE IS my best buddy.”
And for just a sweet moment I had the opportunity to cry a few tears of both gratitude and longing to see my precious boy again. But, mostly I’m grateful that we have three precious boys coming up in our family to be my father’s playmate and fill our heart’s with joy as I watch God redeem the suffering of a life lost with so much gained. God is indeed gracious and redeems those things that hurt the worst to bring us such everlasting joy!
Many, Many blessings – now and ever more.
Love you.
Thank-you for the sweet words, Dear Beth. Thanksgiving was just wonderful. Family, food and lots of laughter. In my prayers of thanksgiving yesterday, I included you.
You have made the life I now have in Christ a reality for me. He is the love of my life. And I know you hear it over and over, but it’s because of your teaching, your encouragement and your own life that I have learned over the last few years, just what this life in Christ, really means.
God Bless you sweet Siesta Mama, Beth, from my Grateful Heart.
Melana in Wyoming
Thank YOU Beth, for your steps of obedience! And to our great God who saw fit to raise up a woman as yourself to reach other women across the world!
Words so aptly put. Oh how easily we forget to really be thankful and remember just how rich we are in Christ. We have so much to be thankful for and a big one is our Bible Study Teacher. My walk with Christ in the past few years since I’ve begun your studies has grown and changed by leaps and bounds. I don’t take that for granted this Thanksgiving season. When real authentic Christianity can be scarce at times, it’s so refreshing to be connected to someone so REAL. Thank You, Lord for Beth Moore and for the gifts you have given her and for her dedication and sacrifice to share it with all of us. Blessings to all the Moores!
I Am so thankful for you dear Beth!! I Love to hear you speak or read something that you wrote… The Lord is so good-at times when I need to hear something encouraging or uplifting, I can turn on the t.v. or even read a blog or going to a bible study he always gives you the words to
say to me!!! I am so thankful for you!! Love-Mandi
What a blessing you have been to me this year! Though we have never met face to fce, I feel like I know you like the back of my hand. Like Paul and Timothy I continually give God thanks for your faith you share so freely with your Siestas! Jan
Dearest Beth,
Your words spoke volumes to me today. I am daily loaded with benefits and so very thankful for many things. Eternal life. my husband and family, my first holiday meal cooked in a brand new kitchen. And going thru some stuff at the same time, but God is always faithful and will be our guide to the end. I can’t wait to celebrate His birth.
Love, Kathie
Beth,
A world of thanks to God for your obedience in all of His wonderous BIBLE studies penned through your hand. My life has changed so much this year and My # 1 thank you to Jesus is that HE WILL NEVER CHANGE NEVER. May your contagious love for HIM kee drawing us closer by the minute.
I love JESUS and I love you…Bless your family and puppies too!! Suz
Beth, I have just completed two of your studies-yes, two at the same time– Breaking Free and Living Beyond Yourself. What a blessing you have been to so many of us. We pray constantly for you and your ministry. Have a Blessed Thanksgiving.
P.S. We are going to begin Esther after the New Year begins. Thanks for all your hard work on our behalf.
and i’m thankful for your ministry… and the way God has used you in my life to bring me closer to Him.
Oh how thankful I am! And for you Beth! Thank you for cheering me on, more times than you could ever know. With much love to you.
I am thankful for YOU 🙂
Blessings to you and your beautiful family this Thanksgiving.
Happy thanksgiving beth!
So thrilled to hear from you on Thanksgiving, Bethie! I thought about you and yours and could imagine what kind of day you all were having. I was truly blessed and thankful to spend it with my entire family and even to have my 12-year old niece WANT to spend the night with her Mimi (what they call me)..so of course she did! 🙂 Thankful for my sweet Yorkie I adopted two months ago who is absolutely attached to my hip. Thankful for great friends, good job, wonderful church family, and much, much more. And so truly thankful for you, Amanda, Melissa, and for the other siestas who make me laugh, cry, and say “awwww.” What a blessing this blog has been to me!! 🙂
Much love and heartfelt thanks~
Missy in SC
We all likewise share the same feelings of thankfulness right back at you, Beth!
I was basking in one of your lessons on wednesdayswithbeth.com, The Power of Words. It was awesomely inspiring! I got out my Bible and just spent my morning with you and took 11 pages of notes on that topic!!LOVED IT!!!!! Thank you so much for your never ending desire to share your passion for the Lord with us!!
How about some new pictures of those pups?! Been wondering how they are doing.
Humbly and lovingly your sister in Christ,
Siesta Bunny
Beth,
Thank you so much for your gift of showing all of us the love of Jesus! I just love you so much and I am thankful for Jesus today and everyday! May we always show Him our hearts and praise Him for all of our days!! Happy Thanksgiving to all and to You, Lord we give you Glory!
Beth, I have never left a comment before, but I am a faithful blog reader. Your ministry is one of my blessings. Know, dear one, that I see God at work through you. He has touched my heart in unspeakable ways through the study of The Tabernacle, The Beloved Disciple, and others. You will be blessed to know that while a woman from the Ukraine was here in the states visiting a fellow Bible study member about 3 years ago, she joined us in our The One and Only Bible study. Her month-long visit was highlighted by meeting Immanuel, God with us. She still talks about Him and cherishes Him. God has used you, girl! God richly bless you as you continue to serve Him. Amelia
Happy Thanksgiving! I just now got to read this post from you cause I’ve been away from home, and with limmited internet access for a while. Got back home last night, and couldn’t wait to check the blog.
Thank YOU for everything you do for us!! You are awesome!!
Thank you and a Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours also.
Thank you for allowing God to use you to minister into my life today!
My family has been eating a lot of “humble pie” for some time now. My husband was laid off and we’ve been praying for him to be the missing piece of the puzzle for the right employer. The giants we’ve been facing have been mighty and fierce, but we know our God is mightier, stronger and ABLE!
Though, we know we are on the Potter’s wheel, we are grateful that the Lord has been shaping, molding and refining us spiritually through it all.
Thanks Beth, for being the “real” deal!
Happy Thanksgiving! We have had a busy fall. Shortly after my husband left for Kuwait, the girls and I left sunny San Diego for the chill of Minneapolis, MN! We’re here staying with my mom and busy seeing family and good friends. It is making the time of separation go a little faster.
However, my hair is just not behaving itself in this cold, dry climate! It doesn’t know what to do and is so flat- it’s pitiful.
However, it is quite possibly still better than it would do in Kuwait!
Love you all!
Rebekah
i love you Beth Moore, and I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.
I am glad that you have been able to have a lovely Thanksgiving. My own family has had our traditional Thanksgiving celebration completely shook up this year. My Nanny has had some back problems in the past few weeks as well as having a small heart surgery. Because of all she has been going through we did not really want her to try and have Thanksgiving dinner at her house. My cousin just got married in Oct and her and her husband decided to have it at their house. He loves to cook and entertain and she is the perfect hostess. A week or so before Thanksgiving I found out that my mother was having some pretty serious surgery the day before Thanksgiving that I didn’t know about. I was pretty upset that my parents didn’t tell me and there was no way I could be home for her surgery because of work. I was able to get there not long after they brought her back to her room. The surgery went really well, thank the Lord, but she was in severe pain. Come to find out that the whole time she was in recovery, the machine that was supposed to administer the pain meds was broken. She went a long while with no meds coming in. Finally they were able to get her feeling no pain and resting. She spent Thanksgiving in the hospital and has only today come home.
So for all the crazy changes that has happened this year, and especially this Thanksgiving, I am soo blessed. I have a family who loves the Lord and loves each other. My mother made it through the surgery beautifully and is on the road to recovery. My grandmother was able to enjoy Thanksgiving with her family and not have to be in pain while preparing the dinner. We were all together.
I am soo grateful for your ministry, Siesta Mama! You and your family have greatly enriched my life by your willingness to share what’s going on in your lives and what God is doing for you. Beth, your teaching and breaking down of the word has taught me soo much, I couldn’t even beging to express it all. I thank God for you constantly and I pray that He will continue to bless you and your family.
Thank you for all you do, the things that we know and all that we don’t know of.
Love you!
Nikki
Lelia,
Keith and I got in a fight, too. A whopper. Which is PRECISELY what motivated me to write about refusing to let Satan steal our gratitude and joy. We’d had one of the best weeks of our lives together then got home and it was like the devil was waiting for us. Something got said, and off the handle we both went. He was okay long before I was. Much better now, praise God, but I just wanted you to know that I’ve been face down on the floor a NUMBER of times in the last few days. God is gracious and forgiving! And, praise His Name, hearts can mend quickly. I do dearly love my man. Today. Grin.
We love you too!! And I thank God for allowing us to create this “blog”….it has brought so much truth and joy to my life. thank you mama beth 🙂 i love you dearly!!
Beautiful, A simply beautiful posting and blessing over us. Thank you Beth! I loved your suggestion about the bathroom floor at the relatives, sometimes that’s what it takes! Sister in Missouri
Thank you for the blessing, Beth, in your original post, and for your “real life” comment this afternoon. Satan works so hard to destroy relationships! Satan, I rebuke you in Jesus’ name. Stay away from our marriage and my husband’s mental health!
Any further word from Kristen of “thedunnshow?” I’m praying for her dad who got sick at their Thanksgiving dinner.
Hope you and your family had a wonderful holiday!
So thankful for you and your ministry and what you have given to us this past year!
Can’t wait to see what the Lord is going to do in 2009!
Much love!
Kristi B.
SO THANKFUL FOR YOU and your life and ministry. How I long for other sisters (other pastor’s wives) who thirst for Him like you do! Guess I should start with the lady in the mirror. He beckons me through you, Ms. Beth, with you heart full of gratitude and puppy breath…it’s the best!
You go sister! You have become my inspiration to start my own blog. I love your ministry.
Lord bless you, Beth!!!!!
Well, Beth, thank you for your insiring words! I just got done having a pity party with my Mom. We were watching HGTV and looking at these people trying to decide between these 3 fabulous homes and after it was over we found ourselves lamenting over our sad state of living. I did conclude, before coming home that we should be thankful we actually have a house to live in as many others do not even have that! Then, I read your Thanksgiving blog…God is so good, He knows how I yearn for more comfortable living, and yet, He reminds me that I have all the riches I need in Him! AMEN! Thank you siesta…Lisa Shuler
i am thankful for
-bills being paid
-food being on the table
-finding at least one good pair of winter socks without holes in them from my big toes
-my sweet 2 yr old nanny child who grabbed my face and kissed me today and then said “i love you so much”
-my birthday gift card that was just enough to buy the book and cds for my new esther bible study the day before thanksgiving 🙂
God is good, all the time.
love you, friend
Whew! I love that! This is my first Thanksgiving with the Lord, so I’m very thankful that He lives and works in and through me. Amen!
Beth,
I just read your reply about you and your husband having a whopper of an argument. This past month of November our church has encouraged husbands and wives to commit to praying each day for each other every day in November. They gave us a laminated card with specific prayers for our spouse and to sign on a board our committment to do so, well i can tell you how hard this month has been for us. It seems that every little thing he did or said to me just drove me nuts, we did more arguing then we ever did until about 3 weeks into the month before i realized what was going on. Satan was NOT happy about the prayers going on and was doing everything he could to discourage it! If only we would have wised up sooner!
Beth,
Thank you so much for reminding me of my riches in Christ Jesus! I have been reflecting over this truth the past few days, and it has been such a sweet time!
Love to you and yours!
Beth, How did you know that my prayer time at my parents’ house is on their bathroom floor? Going home for the holidays is sometimes stressful. I always take my bible with good intentions but usually never crack it open. I miss my quiet time and extended prayer time so much when I go for a visit. When I went home this time, I started to see the enemy at work, so I started reciting scripture over and over and over and then I went straight to the throne of God in the middle of the night. I also looked for God everywhere during the holidays. There were moments when I would say, “OK, Where have I seen God today?” I need Him soooo much and miss Him sooo much when I don’t make Him a priority. Looking forward to time alone with my God on my knees Monday morning. I am thankful for LPM and this blog. You are encouraging.
I sit here with tears flowing because when I read Lelia’s post I thought, I wish I could be that brave and share that I pushed my Man’s buttons one to many times over this precious holiday weekend. I thought to myself as it was happening, when will I ever learn. Why do I allow my feelings to get so involved?
So I wrote my precious friend away from the blog spilling my heart that she wasn’t the only one. Then low and behold, there is the post that caused my overflow. Beth, you weren’t imune either and today…Lelia, Beth and I all can say with sincere hearts, we love our men.
Hi Beth. Thanks and love you too. Could you remind us about the bathroom floor at our relative’s house again on Christmas Eve- I’m serious.
Thanks and Hugs
Rosie
Beth, thanks again for reminding us …. man am I blessed to be a part of this group. I love you and all the women at lpm . enjoy your time off. luv ya, robin
I know it is a little late to comment on this post, but I have been out of the country and am just now back to reality. Thank you for your words of encouragement! I have so much to be thankful for and tend to forget when things are hectic. Have a blessed Christmas season and keep up the great work that you are doing…….
Blessings to you and yours Beth.
Thank you for encouraging me to keep on drawing near to Christ and our Father even when I felt they had withdrawn from me. I’m so very Thankful for the fact that I have, once again, gotten back into the habits that restored my ability to hear from HIM. Sweet Joy! Being able to hear your weekly teaching and being a part of Siesta-ville has helped by standing in the gap for me.
I love you and I love our GOD!
Anna
Dear Beth,
I, too, had a long list I shared with God for all the mind-blowing blessings and provisions(especially in the last several months). I am thankful that we have a God that we can, personally, go to with these praises.
However, I wanted to take a minute to tell you why I’m thankful for you.
I am thankful that you were the one to show me that the Word of God is alive and active.
I am thankful that God worked through you and your studies to help me (and I know so many others) gain a better understanding of His Word.
I am thankful that through that understanding from your studies, He set my heart ablaze with passion for learning, digging, researching, and discovering more and even recently allowed me to return to college to learn so that I may be a better servant to Him and others!
I am thankful for your obvious, sincere love for Christ and your enthusiasm and your humor.
I am thankful for this blog.
Happy Thanksgiving!!!!
I am so very grateful for this ministry. It has helped me through my journey over the past few years. This is the first time I have posted, but I have read this blog daily. What an inspiration.