Hey, you mighty warriors!
By the time you get this SSMT post, I will be on my way to Nashville for the videotaping of James: Mercy Triumphs. It almost makes me cry to see the actual (recently settled-upon) title in print. So much time and focus and prayer and frustration and second-guessing and bewilderment and wonderment – and learning and thrilling and growing and wallowing – go into the whole process of a Bible study journey. Many tears. Healthy laughs. Big eye-openers. Rich conversations. Moments of, “What on earth was I thinking??” Above all, so much desperation for Jesus. If God doesn’t pour His Spirit into it, it will fall flat like a collapsed pup-tent. That’s the God’s-honest truth. After 14 journeys similar to this one, I know just enough in advance to be dangerous. Enough to start shaking (not with anointing but mostly with anxiety) when the outline first goes on paper. I know now how life’s going to go on in the middle of it and how all sorts of unplanned ups and downs, woes and joys will mark its pages. I know now how I’m going to end up writing about things in my life and family that haven’t even happened yet. Some of them will be wonderful. Others will be painful. It’s kind of like starting a new journal. There is a certain amount of trepidation because you simply can’t guess what will fill those pages. It’s a stomach-knotting blend of anticipation and raw fear. But what I forget sometimes in that anxious moment when I know there’s no turning back is the grace. The goodness of God. The fact that I’m invited to believe He was the initiator of it, as He is in all things faith (Hebrews 12:1-3) and that I don’t have to assume complete control over it. I’m invited to remember what life the Scripture has and how much this woman has to learn.
Good grief. I’m sitting in a salon chair about to bawl my head off. (Writing this to you on Friday.) I’ll try to rein this one in and quit being so dramatic. This is no time to wear you guys out about the James Bible study because Melissa and I still need you to pray us through until the complete manuscript is turned in at the end of summer. The beauty of all the studies prior to Esther is that they were pre-blog and I didn’t gnaw you like a bone throughout the whole ordeal. It’s too late now.
Make no mistake. The studio audience, the LifeWay video crew, and I need your prayers like crazy this week. Yes, pray for us during the day when preparation is taking place but especially pray for us in the evenings on Monday (tomorrow) through Thursday. That’s when the actual sessions will be taped, two per night, back-to-back. And pray big things for the participants, too! They are so incredibly important in the process. Pray for them to get totally caught up in the Scriptures and in what God is speaking into their lives and be oblivious to the cameras. Pray for them to experience a powerful encounter with Christ through His Word and for Him to do something utterly remarkable in each life. THEN, pray for that anointing to also transfer just that heavily to the women who will one day watch the series on the other side of the screen. I requested a smaller group of participants this time (like I have at Life Today – the perfect size!) but that means the cameras will be much more obvious to all the ladies in the audience. Pray also for us to bond in the Spirit right from the beginning.
Thank you so, so much.
I won’t get a chance to blog much (if at all) while I’m in Nashville but Amanda and Melissa will chime in. I will try to get on Twitter a time or two a day perhaps so, for those of you who like that, we’ll stay in touch that way. (@BethMooreLPM – writing that kind of thing always makes me want to throw up in my mouth.)
After the sessions are complete, the video team and I will spend all day Friday doing some additional taping that won’t require an audience. Later in May they will come to Houston and we will do yet more taping. At that time (later in May), I’ll do the intros to the session and also an on-camera dialogue with Melissa over the project. She has been a huge part of this journey. In fact, she was the first of the two of us who felt drawn to this book of the Bible. She is not a camera hog and won’t let me add her name on the cover but it would be a crying shame for the women not to get a chance to connect with her on screen. She has zero interest in entertaining but she has a huge interest in studying. That’s enough to make her push past her discomfort and get on the screen. In case you’re not up to date on her part of the project, she is writing extra study portions 2-3 times per week of Bible study for the student that wants to go deeper.
I am always reluctant (as both my daughters are) to mention two of us instead of three. Amanda, Melissa and I are, as my people would say, thick as mud and we don’t like to pair off. As I mention Melissa often in this process, rest assured Amanda is cheering us on and praying for us every step of our way. She is not actively participating this time in the editorial process (I miss her so much) because her focus and energies need to be on her family but we three women are together continually.
SO, did you think I’d forgotten what we’re doing on here today???? No ma’am. I most certainly did not. All I’ve just told you led to the Scripture I’ve chosen as my ninth verse.
Beth, Houston. “Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!” Psalm 27:14 The NET Bible
Yes, Sir! If this selection resonates with you, join me with it! I’d be honored to memorize with you. I will say it over and over this week. Maybe you will, too, and He will hear us each time and find joy in it. I pray with all my sappy heart that the Spirit of God loves to hover over this community.
OK, so what are your verses, Sisters??? DON’T YOU DARE QUIT!!!!!
I love you to pieces.
Melissa, St. Mary’s County, MD, Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord. Psalms 27:14 KJV
Tricia Union, Ky
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you
1Peter 5:7 NIV
Devi
Geneva, Switzerland
It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful.
1 Corinthians 13:5 (ESV)
Megan
Blytheville, AR
Wait for the LORD; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!
Psalm 27:14 ESV
Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
‘I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.’ John 16:33, Holman
Laura, Bossier City:
Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your right hand upholds me.
Psalm 63:7-8
Kim in Springfield – Psalm 71:9 KJV
Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.
Alicia, Gulfport
Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!
Psalm 27:14 NET
Yes, I’m “borrowing” yours this time 🙂
Rock Hill, SC
He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city. Proverbs 16:32 NKJV
“faithful is He who calls you, and He will also bring it to pass.” -1 Thessalonians 5:24
Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. Isaiah 64:4
Carolyn, Maryville
Rachel- Memphis, TN
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12 NIV
Laura, Morgantown, WV
“However, as it is written:“What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard,and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him.” -1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV)
Galatians 6:9 (NIV)
Jill – Noblesville: Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord! Psalm 27:14 (NET)
Andrea Porter, Pottstown, PA
Psalm 40:1 NIV
I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.
Geneieve, Orange, Texas Isaiah 61:10 I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridgegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
Galatians 6:9 (NIV)
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Jane
Boone, NC
The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him; to the one who seeks Him. It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. Lamentations 3:25-26
“Teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom.” Psalm 90:12 NLT
Julie
Clanton, Alabama
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1-2, NIV
Melissa, Miles City, MT, “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. I Chronicles 16:34 NIV
Norma Bowers
Dallas, NC
“So let’s go outside, where Jesus is, where the action is – not trying to be privileged insiders, but taking our share in the abuse of Jesus.”
Hebrews 13:13 (The Message)
Sarah, Marshfield, MO “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” Matthew 6:21 NIV
Barb, St Cloud, MN “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.” 2 Corinthians 7:1 ESV
Jill from Jacksonville, Florida
If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicket ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins and heal their land. Chronicles 7:14
Toni, Morgans Point, TX – Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24 NIV
Psalm 34:4 NIV I sought the Lord and He delivered me from all my fears.
Viola Dodd, Lubbock TX Matthew 5:15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. NIV
Yolanda, Queen City, Texas
Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Georganne, Piedmont, Okla.
Proverbs 15:32 NIV
He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whosoever heeds correction gains understanding.
Michelle, Piedmont, Ok Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: I am the Lord God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me. Jeremiah 32:26,27 NIV
Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! Psalm 27:14 (ESV)
Amber, Pearland “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1, ESV
Melissa, Sulphur, LA
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32 (NIV)
Erin
Chippewa Falls, WI
“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
Heb 4:12 NIV
Martha, Lynchburg,VA
The thief cometh not, but for to steal and to kill and to destroy: I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10 KJV
Ingrid,Frenchtown,MT
Romans 13:10 Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law. NLT
Carrie Hunter Hindman,KY
Jeremiah 17:7 KJV
Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.
Ingrid, Frenchtown, MT
Romans 13:10 Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law. NLT
“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are His” Daniel 2:20 (NIV)
Keysha McNeil
Roanoke, VA
Isaiah 51:16 (ESV)
And I have put my words in your mouth and covered you in the shadow of my hand, establishing the heavens and laying the foundations of the earth, and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.'”
My friend sent me Psalm 27:14 last week as encouragement in a time of waiting. I had already decided to make that my ninth verse, and thought it was so cool that’s what you picked.
Elizabeth, Charlottesville
Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
Psalm 27:14, ESV
Janae – Riverside,PA
Psalm 117:2(Amplified) “For His mercy and loving-kindness are great toward us, and the truth and faithfulness of the Lord endure forever. Praise the Lord!(Hallelujah!)
Kelly Snodgrass
Rogersville TN
to remind me to pray for last weeks storm victims
Psalm 57.1 NIV
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.
Christelle, Delafield Wisconsin, USA
“He won’t brush aside the bruised and the hurt
and He won’t disregard the small and insignificant,
but He’ll steadily and firmly set things right.
He won’t tire out and quit. He won’t be stopped
until He’s finished his work—to set things right on earth.”
Isa 42:3 (The Message)
Susan in Bradenton,FL
Ps. 27:14 NET
Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not preceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:19 NIV
Praying for you and for the way God will use the James study. I got to come to a few Houston sessions and regretted I could not come to them all (kids basketball schedules were king at the time). I truly thought it was amazing.
I speak to womens groups and know back to back sessions … are taxing … add several days in a row and lot of wardrobe changes is a lot so I will be praying for you especially the next several days.
Can’t wait to see it on the “big” screen!
Lisa, Edinburg,TX
“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid;do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 1:8 NIV 2011