Archive for December, 2008

Survey Time Again!

*Comments now closed*

*Last call for comments! We will close the post at 9:45 a.m. central time so that we can keep the comments at a number we can manage. Thanks so much, ladies!*

You, my darling Siestas, have become an invaluable resource to this teaching ministry and outreach to women. I’d love to hear from you again on something God keeps talking to me about and going way out of His way to show me. It’s the issue of insecurity in women. I’ve mentioned it in several Bible studies and at various events but I’ve never taken concentrated time (never had it to take!) to pounce on it and really explore it as a topic all by itself. I’m very impressed in my spirit that the time has come. Below you’ll find the answers I’m looking for and if you’ll simply number your responses accordingly, you won’t need to repeat the questions. Two of the most important things to keep in mind:

ALL RESPONSES MUST BE ANONYMOUS.
ALL RESPONSES NEED TO BE BLATANTLY HONEST! Please don’t answer like you think a Christian woman ought to answer. It won’t help.

OK, here goes: (Women only please)
1. What age-decade are you in? (Teens? Twenties? Thirties? …Sixties?)

2. Single? Married? Divorced? Or widowed?

3. How big an issue is insecurity to you personally? Respond with one of the following answers: None at all; A little; Enough to bother me; Pretty big; HUGE.

4. What do you see as the 2 leading sources of insecurity in your personal life? (Use brief answers please)

5. Give this one serious thought: How much would you say a man or men play into your insecurities? (Use only a few words.)

6. If you have something to share and particularly if you feel your pulse rising a bit at the subject matter, write one BRIEF paragraph describing specific impact insecurity has had on you. (We will not be able to post lengthy ones. Please keep these a length many people will read. I think women will be interested in this topic and want to see what everybody has to say. Personally, I can’t wait.)

After I see your responses, I may come back and ask a few more things if that’s OK but this will at least get us off the ground on the subject. Thank you so much, Siestas, for taking the time and going to the trouble to lend your insight! YOU ARE A WEALTH! And you are making such a difference in our lives here at LPM and the lives of those we have the privilege to serve. I love you like crazy. Jesus is life.
Oh, P.S.!! Do us a huge favor! See if you can get some of the young women in your life who are in middle school or high school to hop on the blog and take the survey. They would lend priceless insight. The same is true for college-age so if you have access to young women, we’d so appreciate you asking them to consider helping us out. Thanks!

Share

This One’s For the Birds

Jackson and Bibby out in Bibby’s backyard throwing the red ball to Star who retrieves it and drops it at our feet no less than thirty times. Jackson keeps glancing at St. Francis statue in flower bed right beside us. Has no idea who the dude in the robe is. Bibby can tell his mental wheels are turning. He keeps throwing ball. Finally stops and stares at St. Francis, brow furrowed, giving the scene some deep thought. Obviously reflects back on the pictures in his Jesus Storybook Bible that Daddy reads him every night. Finally breaks silence:

“Bibby?”

“Yes, Baby?”

“Birds love Jesus.”

Killed me. I’m not letting anybody tell him that’s St. Francis out there. It’s Jesus from now on. After all, who else dresses like that? And, anyway, the birds love Him.

And speaking of birds, one of our most popular LPM staff members who is famous around here first of all for her prayer life but second of all for her hilarious, endearing malapropisms (as in, “I’m just saliva-tating for a work of the Spirit!”) and who will yet remain unnamed, was standing next to me yesterday after I dropped a beautiful glass statuette gift we’d just received on the marble floor in ten thousand pieces. Crestfallen, I said, “I’m such an idiot.” To which she said with all the love and emotion and encouragement in the world and in front of most of the staff, “You are most certainly not! You are blessed and highly feathered!”

Yes. Feathered.

Amanda posted this for me because I’m not good at downloading pictures but it’s from me. Your own Siesta Mama. Although Amanda is blessed and highly feathered, too.

Jackson with the St. Francis/The Birds Loving Jesus statue on Easter

Share

Converge!

Hey, Siestas! I can’t believe I’ve let the 1st of December hit before inviting you to please come Converge with us! I am ecstatic to have the opportunity to serve with my dear brother, Travis Cottrell, and our LPL praise team at this Christmas celebration in Houston, Texas. AND, if you think you can bear it, God opened the door for us to have as our special guest vocalist (drum roll please), the reigning Queen of my IPOD (cymbals and dance), CeCe Winans! Don’t even tell me you can resist that kind of joy.

Our hope is to see lots of people converge in the Berry Center that night that normally might not worship and get in the Word together. We’re planning to make Jesus some room and get a fresh glimpse of His glory. We’re counting on being on His Christmas speaking schedule this season. The evening just wouldn’t be the same without a heaping helping of Siestaville. (I just got a flashback of a bunch of our Canadian Siestas at a recent event with their Canadian flags. Yes, they gave me one and, yes, I stuck it in my big hair. I wish so much it weren’t so far and you could wave those flags in the Lone Star State, eh! We’d welcome you with open arms!)

If the trip is at all doable, you can throw some great Tex Mex and terrific Christmas shopping into it. There are sales all over Houston, the malls are fabulous and it’s not 105 degrees. Nor are you liable to get snowed in. THIS, Siestas, is the time to come to Houston, Texas! No hurricanes in sight. Just a Lone Star that we hope will shine bright over the city that night.

Come on and join us if you can, and if you can’t, we’ll miss you and take a raincheck. Sure love you darling things.

*Click here for FAQ’s*

*Click here to order tickets*

Share