Hey, my dear, dear Sisters. I thought about you so much while we had the privilege to serve in Washington State. We cherished every second we were there and God was so gracious and merciful to us. He could not have given us a more wonderful group of participants to kick off the 2011 Living Proof Live schedule. We lapped up every second with them. They were so full of praise and expectation for God to speak and so rowdy and fun. I would have brought every single one of them home with me to Texas if I could have.
I want you to know that you sowed very direct seed into that event. On Friday afternoon my notes were, for the most part, ready to go but I just sensed a desire to seek something more from God. I knew in my heart that it involved prayer so I got down on my knees again and prayed but I got back on my feet still not quite feeling the breakthrough that I was hoping for. The thought came to me, I believe by God Himself, to get on the blog and scroll through all the comments to the Tacoma Ticket Giveaway post and look for entries where Siestas had prayed specifically for the event. I hit a gold mine. I stopped at each one of them and actively agreed and received all that had been prayed. The breakthrough came! It was God’s good pleasure to raise up seed-throwers from spots all over the United States and Canada to sow into the Tacoma LPL harvest. I can’t express to you how deeply and profoundly it hit me. Sometimes I feel like I harass you guys half to death for prayer but we are so desperate for it. I knew this weekend that it is God’s way. Profit sharing. Oh, how I pray that we might be able to believe God for a 2 Corinthians 4:15 work as we partner together:
All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
I think God particularly blesses our seed sowing when we have no direct involvement at the event or gathering. No personal gain except the glorious nod of God. I’m actively praying for Priscilla Shirer’s simulcast in several weeks even though I’ll be in Fresno. I don’t doubt she’s praying for us, too. I can’t wait to hear the report of all God is going to accomplish through that mighty servant of God as she teaches and as her brother, Anthony, leads worship. This is the will of God for us in Christ Jesus. One Lord. One Body. One Spirit. If the grace of God through Christ is “reaching more and more people,” our thanksgiving overflows to the glory of God!
The group in Tacoma exceeded our expectations in so many ways. Their outpouring for Japan moved us so deeply. Our wonderful brothers and sisters from Samaritan’s Purse were swamped. They were so overwhelmed at the break that we had to keep them open after the event and position them at exit doors They counted dollar bills all afternoon to the tune of $66,025.25. As soon as the horrific tragedy occurred, we asked Samaritan’s Purse if our offering for that LPL could go specifically to relief for Japan and they complied joyfully and set up an immediate fund. (Any of you are welcome to get on their website and also contribute if you feel led and aren’t already giving through another organization. No pressure. Just opportunity.) We are all stunned and heartbroken over the devastation in Japan. It’s just incomprehensible. The images are more than I can wrap my mind around. May “the Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness” show Himself in every possible and undeniable way. May one of those ways be the banding together of His Body around the world to be His hands and a healing balm within them. They need our help.
It’s time for Siesta Scripture Memory Team Verse 6! Ready, Sisters?? Stay with it! I’ll give you my sixth verse (it reminds me of you) then show you a small handful of pictures I took over the weekend on my iPhone.
Beth, Houston. My goal is that their hearts, having been knit together in love, may be encouraged, and that they may have all the riches of understanding of the knowledge of the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Colossians 2:2-3 The NET Bible
OK, here’s some pictures from Tacoma if you want a peek before you chime in with your verse.
This was my one glimpse at The Mountain. We had rain most of the time and, mountain girl that I am, I just kept looking out of my hotel window for a glimpse of that famous sight. While I was studying, I felt a tugging at my heart and I jumped up in hopes that the clouds were lifting somewhat and sure enough, there that bad boy was. I was so happy, I cried.
This was the sunrise the next morning. I was always an early riser as a kid and, now that I am an adult, I know it nearly drove my mother crazy because she’d have preferred her Folgers by herself. (This helps explain to you why I was a coffee drinker by the ripe old age of six.) My dad used to take up for me and say, “The early bird gets the worm!” Well, when I caught a glimpse of that sunrise in Tacoma Saturday morning and fifteen minutes later it was pouring down rain, I knew my Daddy was right.
I can’t believe I’m about to let this come out of my mouth but I had some of the best Mexican food on earth there in Tacoma. I was baffled. Someone had recommended “Masa” (on 6th Street) to us but Michelle and I looked at each other like, “Texans better not try it. We better leave that to the Tennesseans. They might not know better.” But, after the event, we were about to have a meltdown for hot sauce and decided to cave to the pressure. It was so good I couldn’t believe my own taste buds. We started with this unbelievable Bean and Queso dip then, because cheese enchiladas weren’t on the menu, I decided to get Vegetable Fajitas. I’ve never tried them before but I’ve been with Travis and Angela when they’ve ordered them. (And I looked with contempt upon them.) They were unbelievably good. Really fresh – chunky and grilled and topped with cheese. Side of rice and beans. Sara was our waitress and took such good care of us. She’s expecting little Christos in a few months and we loved getting to talk to her. We saw a couple of tables of women from the LPL event, too, and so loved getting to hug their necks.
As if the Mexican Food wasn’t good enough, there was a Stumptown coffee bar attached to it. Talk about the ultimate way to end a meal! I have become a fan of Stumptown through our dear Kelly Minter who considers it a friend that sticks closer than a brother. (My words, not hers.) Michelle has been ordering it for me for a year or so and it’s what I grind and fix about twice a day in my office at LPM. Darla was our barista at the coffee bar in Tacoma and, as I live and breathe, the woman was an artist. Look at this crema. That is not whipped cream. That is how she finished off a Latte with plain-old low fat milk. UNBELIEVABLE. I was so impressed. I wanted to ask her how she dealt with her pride but she seemed astonishingly humble for such a craft. Almost like she didn’t notice she was a rock star.
These were two of the most wonderful women we had at the Tacoma Dome. (Blood) sisters Roxana and Christine sat down nice and close to the front and gave God considerable glory in my earshot. They and their small group wore tiaras to the event so we were blessed to no end by every glimpse of them. That is, of course, Michelle in there with us.
This last picture is of a group of really young women that were having coffee at the Starbucks we went to several hours after Stumptown. (No coffee for me that late. I’m saying that because I know somebody’s going to get into my business. I got Blueberry water but I didn’t want to. I drank four sips.) One of these darling things is getting married next week and had a little veil on. They were so cute we could hardly stand it. Just as they were getting up to leave, one of them looked over at me with wide eyes and asked if we were we.
WHY DIDN’T YOU COME TO THE EVENT??? We asked.
Because we couldn’t afford it!
Then I said: NEVER let me hear you say that again!
We do anything possible to get our college girls tickets to LPL’s. For crying out loud, if somebody’s broke, it doesn’t matter what age they are, we try to get them tickets if they really want to go. LifeWay, too! They are tremendously tenderhearted and willing to do whatever they can to minister and disciple. Tons of tickets were given away to that event in Tacoma. You have no idea how much we’d like to do it for free.
This was my view from the airplane seat just as we were about to put our tray tables up and our seat backs forward for departure. I wanted you to see my cute rain boots peeking out from the bottom. I’ve had them for a couple of years and worn them about a thousand times but they were for such a time as Tacoma.
Well, I’ve rattled your ear off. You guys are important to me. I love you. I think of you everyday. Now, cough up your sixth verse!
Hold tight to Jesus in the ebb and flow of this temporal world. One sweet day this convulsing earth will be made new. The skies will tear open like a veil and every eye will see. Come quickly, Lord Jesus.
Bev in Austin – I’m standing!
“For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us.
We do not know what to do but our eyes are on You.
And [they] stood before the LORD…and the LORD said to them:
Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde.
For the battle is not yours but God’s.”
2 Chronicles 20: 12, 15 ESV
Barbara, Arcadia, CA
Without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope we say we have, for God can be trusted to keep His promise. Hebrews 10:23 NLT
LOVE this is the first verse I read this morning! Thank you God hat you keep your promises!!
Cindy, Midland, TX
Deut. 29:29 NLT
The LORD our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions.
Nancy, Denver
And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying,”Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.
I Chronicles 4:10 (NKJV)
Oops:) Psalm 57:1 NIV
North Palm Beach, Fl
“I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love and to know the Messiah’s love that surpasses knowledge, so you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
Ephesians 3:17-19 HCSB
Jerri
Cookeville,Tn
Vicky, Germantown, TN
Yours, O Lord, is the greaatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.
1 Chronicles 29:11 (ESV)
Bridget~ Bloomington, Illinois
The LORD will accomplish what concerns me; Your lovingkindness, O LORD, is everlasting; Do not forsake the work of Your hands. Psalm 138:8
Kristi Rogersville, TN
Ephesians 3:20-21 NIV
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Sharon: Hamburg, NY
“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:5-8 NIV
Terri, Pleasant Hope, MO
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
For you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:6, 9 (NIV)
Jean, Rubicon
Romans 5:1-5 NIV
“Therefore, since we have been justified by through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into his grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who he has given us.
Ms. Jean,
This verse is particularly dear to me, it got me through and still gets me through the rough spots of living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Thanks for posting it, it gives me such hope.
Lu, Raleigh,NC, 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 (NLT)
“If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. 13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure.
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven. Matt 5:12 NIV
Jerri
Cookeville, Tn
I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me. Psalm 13:6 NIV
Kathy S., Hudsonville, MI
Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV)
You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
Beth, Toronto: Therefore, He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
Hebrews 7:25 NKJV
” for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, not of works, lest anyone should boast!”
-ephesians 2:8-9 gnt
Edna
O’Fallon, MO
“And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
Luke 1:45
ESV
Staci – Wichita KS I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.
Psalm 130:5 NIV
Patty~ Talbott
The Lord will march out like a mighty man, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; and with a shout, He will raise the battle cry and triumph over his enemies. Is. 42:13
Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:3-4 ESV
Viola, Lubbock, TX Galatians 5:16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. NIV
Yikes! I posted the wrong scripture! I haven’t had my hot tea yet,.I thought that one sounded pretty familiar. LOL!
So here’s the one for today:
Psalm 46:10
Be still and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. NIV
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but of power, of love and of self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7 NLT
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 ESV
A joyful heart is good medicine,but a crushed spirit dries up the bone. Proverbs 17:22 ESV
Tammy from Fort Myers, Florida: “You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.” John 15:16 NLT
Nakisha, Zeeland MI
And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8b NIV
Beverly
Midlothian, VA
But I will sing of Your strength; I will sing aloud of Your steadfast love in the morning. For You have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.
Psalm 59:16 ESV
especially encouraging now, as I am almost 2 weeks’ post-op from thyroid cancer surgery. He is my strength!
And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?
Esther 4:14b (NIV)
Anita- Gardner, Ks
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.
Ps 16:6 (NIV)
Jan, Troy, “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” 1 Thessalonians 5:22 KJV
Phil. 2:3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. NIV
“Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.” Ephesians 5:8b-10 NIV
Kathy
St. Louis, MO
Meredith, Valdosta, GA
Philippians 3:3 (NASB)
…for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh,
Siesta in Virginia, “Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” I Cor. 16:13-14, NRSV
Jenny, Elida, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Philippians 4:4 (NIV)
Grace, Elida, “So stand strong, with the belt of truth tied around your waist and on your chest wear the protection of righteous living.” Ephesians 6:3 (ICB)
Bridget in Phoenix, AZ
14 Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life.
Philippians 2:14-16a NKJV
Donna
Eldorado,Texas
‘Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.’
Proverbs 17:28 (NIV)
Donna B.
Tuscaloosa, AL
“As has just been said: Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.”
Hebrews 3:15 NIV
Susan (Nokomis IL) So we must be more careful to follow what we were taught. Then we will not stray from the truth. Hebrews 2:1 (NCV)
Psalm 18:28-29
You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. NIV
Liz, Logansport
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us – whatever we ask – then we know that we have what we asked of Him.” 1 John 5:14-15 NIV
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.
Phil. 4:8
Stacy B, Detroit Michigan
Ephesians 3:20 NIV
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us”
Julie Hodges Eden Texas
Psalm 84:1 New Life Bible
How beautiful are the places
where You live, O Lord of all!
O Lord live in me!!!
Amy
Oklahoma
2 Corinthians 4:8 (NIV)
We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.
Candice
Evanston, IL
I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.
Isaiah 45:3 (NIV)