How is my favorite blog community? I’ve been keeping a close eye on all of you for the last week but I intentionally left our blog wide open to Amanda as she went on mission to Guatemala with Compassion International. I am so proud of her. She went way out – I do mean W-A-Y O-U-T – of her comfort zone to take that kind of mission trip and see those horrible conditions with her tender heart. Don’t get me wrong. Amanda’s always been courageous but she has as sensitive a heart and conscience as anyone I’ve ever known. It’s part of what makes her the wonderful person she is. She can’t look intently at something without taking it on. The only thing further outside her comfort zone than going to those projects and that vulture-infested dump was then asking if anybody wanted to help. That’s the thing about taking a trip like that. Your comfort zone is forever changed. I think God means to get each one of us to a place where we’re more comfortable asking for help than we are with closing our eyes, turning our heads, and letting things stay the same.That applies to any dimension of life, really.
We are convinced that God wants us to take time out of our regular routine around here at least once a year to highlight specific world needs and offer opportunities to help. You are never under compulsion. These are just opportunities for those in search of some. A platform of this kind comes with serious responsibility and stewardship and is meant for more than a social outlet for an isolated sanguine. It’s a frightening prospect apart from the grace and mercy of God. About four or five years ago, Travis and I also heard distinctly (and separately) from the Lord about giving to the poor at our Living Proof Live events. There are so many great opportunities for giving that we’ve chosen to spread it out a little bit through the various arms of this ministry. At Living Proof Live, we partner with Samaritan’s Purse. Here on the blog, we partner with Compassion International and, through the Wednesday broadcast, we partner, of course, with Life Outreach and Mission Feeding. Our efforts are pathetic if God doesn’t add the increase through the power of His Spirit but we trust Him to do so. After all, it was His idea. He is the one who said,
Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter – when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn and your healing will quickly appear; then righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
Praise His faithful Name.
We’ll move now from the sacred to the virtually meaningless and then hopefully back to the sacred. Since I talked to you last…
*I’ve had a weekend off. Got to sleep in. Read, read, read, and go on a walk and, afterward, drive over to see my dear sister, Gay, where she serves Jesus. I am so honored to pursue Him with my very own blood kin. She was the dearest thing in the world to me growing up. We shared not only a room but a double bed. That’s what you do in big families with small bank accounts. The word “mine” wasn’t in our vocabulary much in those days and we were the better for it. We shared the same dolls and were dressed in matching home-sown outfits a good bit of the time. We were inseparable till life took its grievous toll. Believe me when I tell you that we both earned the right to self-destruct. We never quit loving each other even through periods of hurt and silence. We just quit doing life together for a while. God is restoring to us the years the locusts have eaten. That’s another story for another time but one of the biggest things going on in my personal life. I love Jesus so much for what He’s doing. (OK, so that one didn’t turn out meaningless at all. Often when I write, I mean to head one direction and end up in another.)
*I’ve had a fancy dinner with my man. Colin and Melissa gave us a gift card for Keith’s birthday to a steakhouse in Houston that we really love and we shared a crab cake, each got a wedge salad with crumbled blue cheese, steaks (mine 6 oz filet, his, a honking – or shall I say mooing – rib eye), cheese grit souffle, green beans, and croissant bread pudding for dessert. It was incredible and so much fun. My man was so handsome sitting on the other side of that candle-lit table.
*Keith shot in two sporting clays’ tournaments over the weekend and won first place. The man can shoot. I love it when nothing perishes.
*Curtis and the kids flew back from his parents Saturday night and I got to see them Sunday at church. I so enjoyed just sitting with my son-in-law in the worship service. It’s rarely ever just the two of us and I am such a fan of his. We are blessed beyond measure to have the two sons-in-law our girls brought us. I got to have Jackson all afternoon until Curtis grabbed him to head to the airport to get his mama. I would love to have had Annabeth, too, but she’s pretty tanked after Sunday school and church and is most blessed by a nice, long afternoon nap. I’m the same way most weeks. I get to spend many Monday mornings with her anyway so that’s my consolation.
*Jackson had his very first soccer practice last night! Yes, Amanda and Curtis have entered the wild world of children’s sports. He was so proud of his shin guards that he slept in them the first night.I love the little dude so much.
*It’s still 100 degrees in Houston.Do NOT send me any pictures of autumn leaves. Melissa tried that yesterday and I called her mean names.
*There is a rat in my garage.
So, what are you guys up to this Fall? I’d love to hear about your plan for victory over the next several months! What Bible studies are you in this semester? Are you engaged in a small group or are you going solo? Do tell!
Sorry I’m all over the place. I think I’ve had too much coffee.
Beth,
I recently listened to your teaching on Life Outreach titled “The Happy Blessing”. The teaching has clarified something that I have always questioned. I’ve had some
teachers who have explained that happy is an emotion, here today and gone tomorrow. So Christians should always say they are joyful or blessed. Your teaching explained it perfectly.
Thank you,
Kim Cosby
Good Morning Beth,
I am trying to do some MUCH needed catching up on the blog while I have a free (& quiet) moment. Sometimes 1:40am is the only chance I get, but I’ll take it! 🙂 Oh how I’ve missed this community so…. it gets lonely out here in the busy world, phew!! I need a few minutes to prop my feet up and catch up with my Siesta Momma & all the Siesta Sisters!!
To tell you the truth, I am really looking forward to fall this year. Not for just the cooler Texas weather to get here, but for the fall activities to begin too. Things like Harvest Festivals, pumpkin patch’s and having picnics in the park with my Man & my Lil’Man! Good ‘ole fall family outings & fun! And fall is when our Ladies Bible Study starts back up and am so excited. We’ve done one of ‘Your’ fantastic bible studies the last 4 years! In fact, we start back up on Tuesday & I honestly can’t remember what we’ll be doing! Huh? Drawing a blank… nice!! But I’m excited anyway… YAY!!
L♥ve you so much Siesta Momma!!
(I hope you’re still enjoying your Mother’s day gift!)
Hollie
AT church this morning I was told about a women’s bible study starting up in a few weeks and they are doing ESTHER! I’m so excited!
I’m leading the revised Breaking Free study at our church on Thursday evenings. We have the sweetest group of ladies coming together for it. I’m so excited to walk this journey with them. …It’s the first time in years that I’m doing an evening study because I got a JOB – an answer to several years of prayer, and the happy end to the anguish of waiting, waiting. Thankful indeed.
I’m a bit late in posting a comment; I just got caught up on your posts. Two weeks ago, I joined a women’s Bible study at church. We are doing the “Here and Now” study on Revelation. I pray that I won’t become discouraged or lazy and drop out. I think this happens when I’m afraid to hear what God wants to teach me.
These things have happened. My father turned 80. I can see old age closing in on him, not helped any by residing in assisted living. My daughter keeps adopting strays to save them from the animal shelter. She now has five cats and two dogs.
I will never have a grandchild because of The Kitten. One of the dogs brought it to my daughter, with the cord still attached. It was one of four; the others died. For several weeks, my daughter fed The Kitten arond the clock, losing sleep and nearly her job because she overslept. She said I had no idea what it was like to lose sleep over night feedings. Yeah, right. To make a short story long, she decided The Kitten was lonely. So she adopted another kitten to keep it company. The Kitten does have a name. It is nearly five months old now. But everyone still calls it The Kitten.
Last but not least, my 99 year old great aunt died two months ago. She was the last of her generation. At the visitation, I noticed my daughter hunched over in a corner of the chapel. I thought she was praying or grieving. She was gaming on her BlackBerry! I wonder if it’s because I didn’t breast-feed?
Love to you all, even though I don’t know you!
I do so enjoy your posts! Did you get that rat out of your garage??? We had a skink family recently and they caught them by putting sticky pads on the floor of our garage. Good luck!!!
exactly what is a siesta sister any way?
do ya just get to be one by just being on here on this blog or is there something special to do to become a siesta sister? doing the jesus study this year- have had 3 soon to be 4 weeks so far. we break it down some, slow it down, and do the video first week, day 1 and 2 second week, day 3 and 4 third week, now this fourth week doing day 5, then the sixth week will watch video again. that’s how we do it so as to really get alot from our individual time homework and then have time to discuss it on meeting day. plus we have snacktime. and small group prayer time. really -thursday mornings are a time I fight for to keep them free just for this time together with these women and the way “a beth moore study” brings the bible to life. thanks so much For BRINGing it. wonder if you and me will meet someday one to one, and wonder too how that would be, would i be shy or not so much,… dont know really. and then You, dear beth, write that you have a Rat in your garage… oh, too funny!!… last winter I had mice… there was 30 feet of West Virginia snow outside that refused to melt with each new snowfall, and the MOUSES decided to come inside -I dont know what your rats like to eat, but my MOUSES loved Hershey’s chocolate bars… forget cheese; chocolate!, and those black sticky pads I put everywhere and the cat! but she didnt care, she’d just watch them scamper then roll over and take a nap, I’m rather sensitive when it comes to animals but I did not mind smashing those mice with my hammer when they were so full of my chocolate that they were dragging the sticky boards behind them… just dont mess with a girl’s chocolate… oh well… and if I had some pretty leaves I’d send them to you but the drought just dried them up on the tree, maybe you’ll find some in boston. good evening beth.
Hey, Pat! “Siesta” is just a silly name for “Sister.” The explanation is somewhere in the margin. Around here, it just means any woman in Jesus. We’re glad you’re here!
I am finishing the Esther study :). It is definitely more difficult when you do it on your own, but that is just the season I am in! I finally finished the Ruth study from the summer, and now have returned to the Esther one. Sorry, I didn’t mean to skip around, but wanted to be a “Summer Siesta.” 🙂