OK, Siestas, remember two posts ago when I told you about finding those old Scripture cards in that desk drawer? Eureka! Old girl struck gold again! To appreciate this particular brand of gold, you have to think in broad terms. In my family, amusement is a fist full of gold. Absurdity is a brick of gold. And a belly laugh is a ton of gold. To my dear friend Sophie (Boomama) and me, the national reserve of gold would be anything that makes us lean back in our chairs and clap our hands with glee. I’m not saying you’re going to get one of those. I’m just helping you sort out various levels of gold so that you know when you’ve struck the mama load.
I was three drawers down this time, looking for a set of immunization records which, incidentally, I never found. Since this is the second discovery I’m sharing with you from this old desk, I’ll provide a proper visual.
I love, love, LOVE that piece of stained glass above it. Keith’s youngest sister, Mary, salvaged it – with permission – from an old Methodist church under reconstruction. Our friend had it framed for us and we’ll keep it forever.
Back to the desk. So, this time it wasn’t Scripture cards from the family altar that I found in those bottomless drawers. It was speaking notes from the 1980’s and early 1990’s. Honestly, I sat in the floor slack-jawed, looking from message to message and laughed so hard that I could have cried. And sometimes I felt like crying so hard that I could have laughed. I wish you could tell from this picture how thick the stack is. (Every bit of three or four inches.) Some of the messages are on typing paper from my first word processor but many of them are handwritten on notebook paper.
How about a closer look?
Could you possibly have missed that I used HOT ROLLERS (I think you’re supposed to say it really loud) as an illustration?? I bet you anything it was to explain how we need to plug in to the Holy Spirit. Bless my sweet heart. I can hardly sit up to type. The worst part is that I am still using hair-related illustrations. One would so hope she’d grown in 25 years. Below is one of my favorite smatterings of messages. Please behold the broad stretch of topics. Can you make out the one at the top about “Table Manners and Table Settings”?
Talking was all I ever could do. My brothers and sisters were musical and theatrical. I simply talked. As you can see, it took me a few years to figure out what I was actually called to talk about. There were innumerable messages about Christian fitness in the stack. I may keep some of them. After all, Jane Fonda made an aerobic come-back. Here’s another one. The part that nearly sent me over to my side, kicking my legs, was the “POEM, end.” (It is of such importance that, lo, it is in my notes twice.) Well, of course, say a poem then end. That’s what speakers and even preachers did in those days. Please note my commitment to cultural relevance as the inclusion of a story about Rosanne Barr clearly illustrates. (Correct spelling of her name is actually Roseanne but I didn’t know that at the time nor did anyone ever whisper in my ear, “You’ll be showing these notes to a LOT of people in 20 something years.”) Oh, what I would give to know what story I was telling about her. As you might note, my source was the Enquirer.
No doubt, you are on pins and needles by now over this riveting post but, alas, the fleeting clock permits me, yea, only one more brick of gold. But it’s a doozy. This is a list of my seminar topics that I included in my “packet” to anyone who showed interest in asking me to speak.
Perhaps my favorite of all is “The Many Hats of God.” (I can no longer sit up to type for laughing. Lord, I am so sorry that I helped these innocent audiences of God-fearing women picture You wearing all manner of head gear.) My mind is eased only by the clear remembrance of often receiving a potted plant as honorarium. And, if you care an iota about accuracy, please picture me giving most of these messages wearing a corsage pinned over my bosom by the pastor’s wife. (That is not a bad word. Check your hymnbook.)
In closing, permit me to say that, if you think the (looooooooong) life of a Christian communicator is easy, you have clearly been set straight today. My son-in-law Curtis, is presently going through a stack of old cassette tapes of my earliest Sunday school lessons and messages to see what needs to be kept and what can be tossed. I can hardly look him in the eye right now. And he’s my pastor. Oh, the gifts that keep on giving.
Well. There you have it. Surely somewhere in those notes you’d find this saying: “Be patient. God is not finished with me yet.”
And, Lord knows, He’s still not.
Oh Beth, I soooo needed this “pot of gold” today. Life is full of so many treasures! Isn’t it wonderful to find so many in the “Old Desk?” You will never know how much you have lifted my spirits this evening as I read this.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
That made me so happy! 🙂
Is there anyway to record a clip of one of your old tapes on the blog! It would be such a treasure to us!
Hilarious. As a writer I can’t look at my portfolio from last year, let alone 10 years ago when I was first published. I cringe, I squirm, I hope to heaven no-one holds it against me, the time they spent reading my first stories as a journalist.
It is so sweet that you can laugh about it.
Beth, You are a sweetheart! Love this, just talking and sharing! I wish I had known you way back then. Hair is a big, big issue here too! Even if I loose some hair, I would find more the next day. No worry about going bald.
Curl or not to curl…I look pitful without curl and my hair is so thick. Maybe, I could use your curlers_old habit for me.
Seems alittle silly, but I wrote poems and Bible notes since I was sixteen.
I have letters my dad wrote when he was in the Air Force and some from my grandmother when we lived overseas.
We have lots of cassettes, two of James Robinson, plus videos which include Billy Graham films I saw back in 1972.
Isn’t neat how God prepares our lives and leads us, then you look back to see how far you have come to be closer to the Lord.
Your girls, will cherish all those things you kept. You are a beautiful person in the Lord.
I adore this post 🙂
It grieves me to hear you think any of that was silly! The teaching provided through your vessel saved me, praise be to god! Your hair brought me to the most fun living lord of the universe!!!! It still does!
Oh Beth…. hahahaha….. I LOVED reading about your treasures and seeing your old notes!!! Those are the BEST!! The ones before we get all organized and computerized. How much fun that you shared this with us!
Time for me to get to bed. This was a GREAT bedtime story! Thank you! hahaha
BETH!!! I love a woman who can laugh at herself. I, too, lack the ability to take myself seriously. :))))
Dear Mamabeth,
You just make me SMILE!! Thank you sharing the gift of laughter with us all, especially the ‘freedom-to-laugh-at-myself’ kind … we just all need that so much!! And I think that’s what God is doing, too … just smiling down at you and all of His daughters who have hearts to love Him but often try to do it in the craziest ways!!
Moma Beth–you make my heart smile!! Thank you for sharing–what a wonderful gift from God you are!
Gold! and more Gold! You totally crack me up and always just when I need it!!!!
You’re the best!
Where is the “like” button here? 🙂 I think you need to post a picture of the fitness-teacher-Beth…..I bet you were a fun aerobics instructor!
I have to admit I have wanted to see your notes for years. Many of us talk about it. To see how a message comes together under God’s leading and your writing.
It blesses me to know that as you have taught through the years you can go back and find the gold and the HOT ROLLERS. Crack me up!
I have had possibly the worst migraine of my 34 years today and grateful I got to wake up to this post.
A woman who can laugh at herself is pure gold!
(C’mon…ya’ll are still using those hot rollers today???)
You are just a breath of fresh air. Even with your rollers and old notes. I thank God for you, Beth. You are fearfully and wonderfully made!!
oh beth moore, only you could be so humbly honest and open! you are a true blessing and a dear friend if only in my heart. i love your precious notes even if one of your sources was the enquirer! lol! God bless you sweet Beth!
I really love you. Hot Rollers, big hair, hats and all!
You’ll never know what an encouragement seeing those notes was to me Beth.
I’m a bit of a fledgling speaker myself,and when I watch you, I cringe at my attempts (including my poetry!)…..but God grew you!
Believe it or not, I’m currently part of a group of “sisters” who watch you “quietly and discretely” in a living room in Saudi Arabia.
I’m praying today for God’s blessing and protection over you in that part of the world.
Oh, wow, Heather! May God hold all of you so close and make you feel His outlandish favor. I’m blessed to be your servant.
Thank you for sharing! As humorous as the notes may seem to you now, it is such an encouragement to a beginner like myself. I tend to look at the seasoned women that serve the Lord in ministry and compare myself to them. It is such a relief to know that the seasoned women of God started right where I am now.
Thank you again!
Ahh, Beth, You are a delight! ‘Nuff said!! Love you!
(p.s. I, too, love exclamation marks!) 🙂 JBY girl!
Hey siesta mama!
I teach public speaking and I must say one of my best and worst visual illustrations was a real live cow! Long story short cows walk up stairs not down. No elevator in the building so we all had steak for dinner! (Just kidding) But the cow was tranquilized and carried out by several farm hands. Thanks for reminding me of a mooooving memory. lol.
Love you lots!
Cant wait to “see” you in Charlotte next month!
Beth,
I LOVE YOU!!!
Beth,
Two things, well maybe three or four:
1. I LOVE my hot rollers!! They have gone in and out of use for several years. NEVER and I mean NEVER get rid of the hot rollers.
2. Please consider holding on to everything where you have put the pen to paper. It will be a treasure to your family in the years to come and may I add in time a great comfort to them as well.
3. I love the desk and I love the stained glass. Beautiful!!
4. I have been very blessed to follow you over the past many years. I started with you on A Woman’s Heart! God really used that study to lure me back to Him and I will be forever grateful for your obedience. The first time I heard you speak was in Jackson, TN. I think their was about 3000 of us then. Our women’s ministry chartered a bus. We had the time of our lives on that trip and your teaching was on “dry bones” and something about getting out of the boat. LOL!!
Our bible study group just finished the Revelation study and it was of course life changing.
All of that to say this….you have stayed consistent!! You have never failed to teach the TRUTH boldly and your listeners have grown and many will enter the kingdom because of your obedience to His calling on your life. That’s saying somethin’!!
Thank you, thank you….you have taught me well.
You C-R-A-C-K me up is all I have to say:)!!! Love you!!!
I so wish that I had a LIKE tab on this one…………..Beth…..You are priceless..Thank you for being you…
I loved hearing about your desk drawer escapades. But the plant as an honorarium? A corsage? That sent me over the edge. So 80s, hilarious! That’s a ton of gold there.
Oh my gracious, Beth! That was HILARIOUS!! Thank you, I so needed a laugh! (and please, Curtis, I’ll pay good money for a tape — (was in an 8-tract?) of Beth giving a talk on the Many Hats of God, goodness! Let’s hold a Silent Auction here at Siestaville and see how much we can raise for a charity of your choosing!)
(I’m just teasing! Kind of….)
(Goodness, I almost wrote my whole response in parentheses! Time for bed!)
(and I’m only joking about the 8-tract! I know you gave those talks in the 80’s and 90’s – not the 70’s!)
Beth, you are proof that God is faithful. He has walked with you every step of the way – first baby steps, now adult steps. I’m so glad He has never let go of you – nor will He let go of any of His kids.
Love in Him,
Barb
Beth – This post just made me smile (and laugh too) at your transparency of heart. I love that you can laugh at “from whence you came!” You are a hoot and a half!
Proverbs 31:25-26 came to mind:
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity,
and she laughs without fear of the future.
26 When she speaks, her words are wise,
and she gives instructions with kindness.
YOU are gold to me!
G.J.
Thanks, Beth, for sharing from your past!! I got a chuckle from the “bosom” comment…I remember not being able to sing that word from the hymnal (way back when) without thinking it was a bad word! I enjoy your blog so much!!
Thanks! I just love it and you! I too can only talk!
BETH, Thanks for sharing! I am curious about your fit for a king presentation…I have often thought during my meditation while doing aerobics, how much more I could honor God if there were only praise music to dance to. Wondering if that is what you did or is that class out there somewhere?
It is amazing what we draw from our lives to illustrate some of God’s principles. You know what? I think God loves that we use the simple, sometimes silly situations of live to bring his word alive. That’s one of the things I love about your ministry. You are so REAL! Thanks for the pics too. Very fun to look at. Blessings.
I love that you shared this! It is a relief to hear that even the best speakers may not have begun that way…we all grow in our gifts. In a small group once, I tried to make a point (I’m not sure why) about how we probably don’t really understand how much there is a connection between what we think and how our bodies respond…that God may have designed the two to work in tandem. I made the point by re-telling a news story I had seen about a man who wanted to breast feed his soon-to-be-born baby. He said he spoke “truth statements” daily that he would produce breast milk, and lo, and behold, he did. That man was able to breastfeed his baby. Well, you should have seen the looks they gave me (a room full of moms) and then we all cracked up! I cannot believe I told that!
Beth,
I really sense a theme here! You’ve walked with the Lord long enough that I am sure you’re wondering what He is up to as well. Many times, just before God catapults me onto a new planet, He spontaneously moves to revisit an inventory of the past.
As my husband says about my cooking, “You’ve come a long way baby!” As my counselor said yesterday, “All I have to do is the possible and God will do the impossible”. I love your example of courage and radical obedience sprinkled (maybe doused) with humor.
Thank you for making your love for Jesus your priority. Whether you think it is polished or absurd, God has used your heart and your mouth to affect thousands. It has certainly been used mightily to help me see the pit I had made home and grow intimate with the Savior who pulled me out.
Blessings,
Jina
Beth!
What a great post and a even greater find! I think a scrape book is in order for that paper work you found. Most things are on computer these days so your children and grandchildren will treasure those one day. I have been going through old stuff of my pops and we have found stuff from his Mother. What a treasure but our real treasure is in heaven. Thanks for being a talker and a I hit the Mother load with you and the words you speak.
Love you!
KP:)
This was a great laugh to start my day! Thank you Siesta Mama!
I echo Amy Beth’s earlier comment that I would love to see you do a blog post about Christian health and fitness. It is an area that I think effects many women with the culture we live in today.
Keep following Jesus Siestas!!!!
I just love you! Your posts make my day. This one reminds me of why I don’t like to clean out things like old desks, closets, etc. Don’t get me wrong, I love finding the little surprises like this, but I get so caught up reading through old notes and letters and things that I totally forget my cleaning and the next thing I know, I have a bigger mess than I started with!
And please don’t get rid of any of your old stuff! I think you should set up a section on the blog so we can get peeks into it and maybe listen to some of your old tapes, please? 🙂
Oh Beth please keep everything! Find a big box and put it in a closet for your grandchildren, and their children. It is a history of faith lesson for them! I have the first A Woman’s Heart God’s Dwelling Place in it’s zippered DVD case I could add to the collection. I admit I keep more than most because my family’s home burned when I was 5 what I would give for family “treasures” you are a family treasure! I have a personal story about myself, my husband told our daughter when she was about 3 she was hatched from an egg, she replied daddy I know you are foolin me because Moma would still have it! I love you Beth and would be happy to add the box to may closet if you don’t have a spot, next to the egg. 🙂
Beth,
Think about how you would have felt if you did not see such humor in your “growth” notes.
I don’t find it strange at all that you found your notes, etc. If it was me, I would have purposely saved all of them to begin with. That’s just the way I am. In reading your notes, it just shows how much you’ve grown in your relationship with the Lord. I couldn’t read any of your pictures, but to see your list of seminar topics would be great. And I’d love to read or hear your talk on the Many Hats of God! Bless you! I like your examples – you always use stuff that we women will understand and relate to. So don’t beat yourself up about the hot rollers. Know you’re always in my prayers.
Sweet Beth….all I know is that you are gold to God and to all of us! I remember a hair example from one of the speaking events you did here in ATL. I think you were staying at the Omni hotel and the power went out as you were styling your hair. You said you could just picture all the women sent into alarm while styling their hair and then you performed a visual demonstration!! I love it!! I can just imagine the smile on the Father’s face as He watched you discover these precious notes. I feel sure He was enjoying some belly laughs right along with you. I am so glad that you yielded your life to Him in speaking so many years ago. He first used you in my life back in my college days to spark a passion for His Word and He has used you countless times since! I love you my sweet sister in Christ!!!
Beth,
I thought I was easily amused, but I think you have me beat (smile). I bet a family gathering at your house is a hoot! Thanks for the great laugh sister.
You have a gift and thanks for sharing it with us.
I used to roll my hair on socks. It was so much more comfortable than rollers.
Ahh, but you were faithful and obedient to His call!
Love you much, and grateful …
Oh, Beth! I just love you and if I had not just had a hysterectomy, I would be laughing hysterically with you at the memories, provision, and lessons you have learned over the years. “And the One who calls you is faithful and he will do it.” (see 1 Thes 5:24)-And HE continues to do it!-What a wonderful testimony that you have your son-in-law as your pastor now, and he is learning from you. (Smiling from ear-to-ear)!
Girl … you crack me up! Wish I could bottle your personality and sell it … it’s worth a ‘national reserve’ of gold!
Love you to pieces!
Ahh…try NOT to discard this treasure. As happy as it made you this day, it will give great heartwarming comfort for those in the future generations that share them FOREVER. Scan them into a book Beth ~Notes of my Journey~. They are true treasures of gold.
Love
Cathy
Oh, Beth thank you so much for these stories from the old desk. This one is abolutely priceless. What a wonderful find! Looking back and seeing how God is taking you on to maturity and what a blessing to see how He is still using you to bless all of us. It is wonderful that we can laugh with you and at ourselves.
Keep up God’w work!
🙂 Don’t despise small beginnings…yes? The human courage and spirit is so amazing. In the 80′ and 90’S, would you ever believe the journey that your obedience has carried you towards? God is faithful but we must be faithful also.
Still prayin’ for you. Your tenacity encourages me to pursue my dream/calling every day…even though I am 51…it can still happen.
Also…other stories that inspire me.
* a blind woman in Tennessee who makes beautiful quilts.
* a 98 yr old man who learned to read… then wrote and published a book before he died at 103. (my favorite!)
Thanks once again!