Hey, Sweet Things! I miss being on here with you! I’ll need extra patience from you for another four weeks. But, I’ll tell you what I told some of you who are on Twitter. When it seems like I’m really quiet, it’s because I’m talking my head off to you through writing. Believe you me, you are on my mind continually as I write straight to you in every segment of this curriculum. Melissa would say the same thing. Bless her heart. She worked all weekend because she needs to be finished with her excerpts a tad before I do. It’s best not to glamorize writing because it is a very demanding assignment but, if God calls you to it, receive it with joy and with the open-mindedness of a student rather than a teacher, with much self-discipline, and with relentless prayer.
Melissa said something to me yesterday that I’ve thought about a lot. She said, “You and Daddy and [insert Amanda’s nickname] are pretty much my social life right now outside of home because I can’t be a dependable friend.” Whoa. Have I ever been there. People ask often how I’ve “balanced” (me balanced???) ministry with family and I’ve said the same thing over and over: I dumped practically everything else. If you have the updated version of David: A Heart Like His, it’s dedicated to my friend, Johnnie Haines, because she stuck with this on-again-off-again friend for 30 years. I’d drop out of communication for weeks at a time. I’m not suggesting anybody out there dump their social life. It’s not healthy. It’s just what I had to do for long stretches of time in order to fulfill my responsibilities to family and calling. These days I have my fellow sojourners at LPM and YOU and I am inexpressibly grateful. Truly, it’s one reason why I love blogging so much. It’s the way I get outside without ever leaving my home or office.
Well, that was a rabbit trail. I meant to just get on here and tell you quickly what I’ve been doing for the last few days. Friday was my wildman’s birthday (I first wrote girthday! It just so happens that his girth is not a bit bigger than it was when I met him.) I asked him several days earlier where he wanted to go eat for his celebration and he said, “I just want to get to-go food so that we can have the babies, too. It wouldn’t be as fun without them.” I agreed but I stressed about him not having something special to eat for his birthday and then it hit me that I should do what most wives might do: bite the bullet and cook. That would have been a quicker decision if I’d been able to take the day off but I didn’t have the luxury. So, what to cook?? Then it hit me: Christmas dinner.
(Side bar: I tweeted that the first person who guessed what I was making for his birthday dinner would receive the book of her choice and I purely laughed out loud as it took several hours and several hundred responses for someone to guess it. FINALLY, after about 25 shots at it – ministerially speaking – our own long-time Siesta – on Twitter as @Micheledidasko – got it. What made it so hilarious and so GOD is that she hadn’t ever done Breaking Free. Well, she took her win as a sure sign and that’s what she requested. We love you, Michele! You’re a great sport! And I hope your care package makes it there soon!)
Good heavens, you guys. You’re the worst things on earth about getting me off on a tangent. Back to Christmas dinner. It’s my man’s favorite meal on earth and, six months after the holidays, it was sure to taste so good that we’d want to slap something. So, I went to the freezer section of Kroger for a turkey, made cornbread for traditional dressing, then broccoli and rice casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy and Sister Schubert’s Homemade Rolls. AND, drum roll please, WHITE WEDDING CAKE!!!! I know you were expecting Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake but I’d just baked one on the 4th of July. Keith’s mother always makes him a scratch German Chocolate Cake so I had to come up with something different. The 4-Moores LOVE white wedding-type cake. My cake portion was really good but you should have tasted my homemade cream cheese frosting. Honestly, I could have fluffed it up like a pillow that night and slept on it. Oh, for the sweet dreams!
We had the whole family over, stretching from Keith’s Dad, “Big Pops,” to Annabeth Ellen Jones, who, by the way, is the potty-trained princess. We had the best time even amid the chaos that is my cooking. (I made this whole gorgeous meal then threw Chinet and plastic forks at them. When someone arrived and saw the dining table barren of dishes and asked if I needed help setting the table, I may even ever-so-slightly-recall saying something like, “I worked all day long before slaving over this meal.” Servant-fail! Blast it all!)
Even so, we had a great party and I ate Christmas dinner again the next day all by myself. Then Amanda and Melissa came over yesterday late afternoon and we four original Moores heated up the leftovers and ate it AGAIN, cranberry sauce and all. Then I threw the rest away…because, by then, we were on our way to celebrating our girthday.
Yesterday both girls looked shocked when they walked in the door and saw their Daddy and me dressed alike. It was an accident. I guess I got the subliminal idea for purple in my head when I saw him dressed and ready to take me to breakfast at the BBQ place. (Yes, you read that right. You can get ribs right alongside your flapjacks.) When we were on our way in the car, he looked over at me and said, “We’re dressed alike.” (Kinda horrified. Then I was, too.) So I said, “No, we’re not! These are clearly two distinct shades of purple!” Then I kind of made that “puh” sound, like “it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that.” Then we got to the BBQ restaurant where you slide your tray all the way down a cafeteria-style line and the young woman at the cash register had the gall to say, “You are dressed alike.” I said, “Well, it was an accident…” to which she said, “Oh. I thought maybe y’all were on a team of some kind.”
To which Keith said (in that slightly irritable way that Keith says things when he’s exasperated), “Well, we ARE on the same team. We’ve been married over 30 years!”
That’s the story of our lives. We never do anything simple.
After both girls made ample fun of us, Melissa clicked this picture with her cell phone. So, here we are. Team Moore.
I love you guys.
Love that Michele Won!!!!
Love your work. Thank you so much for serving our Lord.
My fella would have loved that meal.. wedding cake and all! He would eat dressing any time of year!
I love the dressing a like story… we do it by accident all the time… often on Sunday mornings and the thing is we are in such a rush we don’t notice until we are sitting in church after Sunday school and someone says “Ahhh you match”… we look at each other and sure enough… we have on the same color! Oh well… maybe it isn’t an accident afterall… maybe that oneness causes us to think alike and choose the same color.
Happy Belated Birthday to Keith!
Too cute:) The pic of you and Keith is darlin:):) I enjoyed reading your hello note, I’ve been in need of something to make me relax and smile. Happy birthday to Keith and to you too, I realized I never said that to you, Beth, and your birthday has already passed. I’m looking forward to James coming to my local Christian bookstore shelf:)…your thoughts on time balance between family and friends and ministry got me thinking. Actually, it’s a preoccupation of sorts for me for awhile. I’m trying to get a healthy balance of fellowship and family time in my life with real face to face friendships and still be what I need to be for my husband and daughter, and I’m realizing have to wait on God’s timing, because I can’t force close friendship on anyone and God knows best who is supposed to share this life journey with me for the long haul. It’s frustrating though when I know I need real fellowship and encouragement. I think I’m just tired of seemingly endless acquaintainces only in my life. Family is the longest term relationships I’ve got. It seems people are too “busy” sometimes or too self-absorbed to make time for anyone but themselves and/or their immediate family, it seems me included at times too! Yikes! Ok, I’m quitting my tangent now:)
Blessings to you Beth, I’ll be praying for you all.
Thanks so much, Miss Beth, for your post. The whole thing made me smile, but the part about giving it all for the ministry at times… I have a six year old with severe autism, plus a three year old and a 17 month old, and social things just don’t happen for us, mostly for safety reasons. The friends who are understanding of this and are happy to see us when it’s possible are such a gift from the Lord! I can’t begin to describe what it’s like… how I ache to be around others, to even be the churchmember I wish I could be… but it’s just not possible at this point. Just a touch of understanding goes such a long way, and you gave me that this evening. Thank you!
Crystal, I work with autistic kids and I know your pain. Hang in there and be firm, they are so difficult but also so very cute and in their own way free from so much that keeps us in turmoil every day. God bless your little one and give special grace for favour with others all their life!
Ruth Cherry, Royse City, Texas
Psalms 46:1
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
Laurie Chester “Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness: give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.” Psalm 86:11 NIV
(East coast early! Hope this is in the right place! Go team Moore!)
It’s rare nowadays, but for the first several years we were married, my husband and I would dress alike (identical t-shirts~we were in youth ministry, so there were plenty of event shirts to choose from). Now I just try to complement his colors on Sunday morning (being the pastor’s wife 🙂 It DOES produce an air of camaraderie, though. Glad you two got to have some fun with it, even if it wasn’t intended!
Praying for the whole Moore/Jones/Fitzpatrick team today 🙂
love you, too!
Audrey
Barb, Lakewood, CO (sounds like the perfect birthday meal; Team Villani also loves Christmas dinner mid-way through the year!!)
Isaiah 41:10 NKJV
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
James 1:2-3
Onsider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
Gail Jones
Decatur, TX
P.S. Love the purple!
Nancy, Oxford, FL
2 Corinthians 12:9
My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. NIV
Tammy
Lusby,MD
2 Peter 3:13 (NIV)
But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.
Think purple is a great color for team Moore and love the pic! 30 years is such an awesome glory to God. Praying that things are getting wrapped up with not too much stress and that LPM is blessed many times over for the blessing you are to me. Amen!
Do you know what I love about this blog, Mrs. Beth? Just how real you are. It is so refreshing. I have this iconic image of you because of all the studies I have done with you-and that can be a bit intimidating. There have been moments in the past where I thought…I’ll never get there…I fall so short…she is so much…more than I will ever be. And then I started reading your blog and I fell even more in love with who you are. Because through your vulnerability, authenticity and preciousness I realize that I am there. We are the same. Women who love God, who have answered a call and are still being transformed into the best versions of ourselves. I love that you allowed the Lord to “burn the fake out of you”. Because you didn’t have to. You could have walked away and settled for less then. But because of your love for the Lord and willingness to cooperate-God has used you to change my life forever. You, having walked the road ahead of me and sharing your lessons along the way, have allowed me to heal and grow in ways I never thought possible. So thank you. Your life has made a difference in mine.
GO TEAM!! 😀
Love you too! I was cleaning out drawers yesterday and found a printed copy of your “surgery testimony.” I was sitting on the floor just bawling again. Our God is SO good!
ally
Oh I just had to jump on here and say ~~ GO TEAM MOORE ~~ ROCK RIGHT ON WITH YOUR CUTE SELVES!!! Often my man and I dress in the same color when we go to church. If I’m wearing my cute little black dress, he will put on his black slacks and cute shirt (did I just call my man’s shirt cute? ~~ heehee my manly, body building man would roll his beautiful blue eyes at me)….and no we are NOT newly weds. We’ll be married 13 beautiful years the end of September. He is the love of my life next to Jesus Christ and it makes me so happy to be on His and his team!!!
Thanks for the joy of this post ~~ Blessings and Love ~~ Dawn in MO (AKA Petrii ~~ per my adorable man =)
Kim, Richmond,Tx: Ps19:3, “There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.”(NIV)
Who is there who speaks and it comes to pass, Unless the Lord has commmanded it? Lamentations 3:37
Beth, you are hilarious! I SOOOO get your humor. It always makes me laugh out loud. I am a Virginian…not as southern as a Texan, but close. Your stories, full of local “flavor” are so heartwarming. I must close by saying, “When I get up of a mornin’, after I’ve had me a good dose of GOD and strong coffee, I can do near ’bout anythang!”
stacey- new orleans
romans 12:12 nlv
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer
And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32 NIV
These past two blogs made me giggle out loud. 🙂 Thanks for the humor in our far-too-serious lives at times.
Blessings~jana
Beth – and everybody else, really – I have meant and meant to ask y’all to lift this family up to the Lord in your prayers, and just haven’t managed to do it yet. I met Danielle because she’s a friend of a woman I know from an online discussion group (I know, tenuous at best). I started reading her blog because our mutual friend Deb would repost her stuff on facebook. Anyhow, been wanting to point you toward her in particular Beth because her child has been sexually victimized, and now Danielle is being sued by the molester because he feels he is being harmed by Danielle posting her family’s story and his public records regarding the case. Anyhow, the blog is here: http://ourstoryhelp.blogspot.com/ It’s a hard story, but the family is doing their best to help protect others, even if they can’t turn back the clock on the damage they have suffered.
Does anyone on the other end really read these comments? Just wondering.
I’m about half way through the Esther study and last week during the video session, Beth, you quoted words from a Casting Crown song, ‘but today I feel like I’m just one mistake away from You leaving me this way.’ It’s a shame that at 50 years old, these are the words that frequently come to my mind. Lord, don’t give up on me! I must say that I was a bit surprised that you say those words Beth. Oh to be in eternity and done with this earth! Life stinks. Yes, I know, there is so much to be thankful for and I ‘know’ all the right stuff. There have actually been times when I really felt like I KNEW it in my heart but not these days. I’m mentally tired and spiritually frustrated and I just want to go home. I always have an excuse for everything that I should be doing that I’m not and I hate myself for it. As you say, Beth, ‘Is anyone working with me here?’ How do you get past an apathetic husband, children leaving home but still have a 9 year old at home, post menopause, and a famine of accountability?
Dear Elaine,
Yes we really do read these comments. I so agree with you, I’m ready to go home, my real home in Heaven, but then I still want to see my daughter get married, my son get accepted into the Airforce Academy, (please Lord), grow closer to my husband, and see my 40 yrs. old brother surrender to Jesus…besides sharing Christ with those who need to know Him.
Stay encouraged, there is still much to do here on earth before we go home. I’ll see you there.
Love and blessings to you,
Sahar
“See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Psalm 139:24, NIV
Sister I absolutely love your stories!! It just lets me know that I am normal:-)!! I have always self diagnosed myself as ADD because when I tell stories I seem to somehow end up in left field on some other story, but I do always end up coming right back around to my original story! So in reading your story today, and hysterically cracking up, I’m pretty sure that God wants me to stop calling myself ADD, although it’s kinda my excuse for alot of things, but I’m pretty sure he just doesn’t like us calling ourself names:-)! Love you girl and all of your stories you share with us!!
God Bless,
Corie Reynolds
I am almost always a week or more late in reading the blog entries so this comment may never get seen I suppose, but I am trying to write and the challenge to find time has been so very hard. I am encouraged and disappointed to know the cost ahead of me if the project is ever to get finished. Shalom dear friends, you bless me more than you will ever know and you are friends in a very real and spiritual way. I miss you and look forward to visiting on the blog whenever I can. If I am able to dicipline myself to seperate and write you may be my only friend for a while!
Lynn, Lubbock. “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”
Philippians 2:13 NLT
Beth, you are so refreshing! Thank you for your years of service and dedication – you have helped me “grow up in the Lord!”
That is great!!! My hubby intentionally tries to match me. Cracks me up!
I loved this post because I just made Christmas dinner for my 19 year old before he left for Germany. He was on his own and I needed to fix him something to shore him up. Also my husband and I had to quit buying similar t-shirts because inevitably we would wear them at the same time! That’s what 30 years of marriage does to a person. I hope we don’t start looking like each other?!
It’s been FOREVER since I’ve been on here (even though I watch you every Wed. on Life Today), but it was good to catch up with you! That’s an adorable pic of you and your wildman…all dressed in purple. Y’all still look head over heels. 😉 Christmas dinner and wedding cake sounds de-lish!!!
AAAAHHH I am slave to white wedding cake. Oh how I love it. That AND Christmas dinner? Oh my. ::faints:: You are a hoot, Beth Moore!!
you just simply make me laugh !!! as you share your stories. I appreciate your realiness- hope that’s a word.t
share that cream cheese frosting recipe?
Sahar, Gainesville, VA
However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me- the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace. Acts 20:24 NIV
Could you just please pray for our church, New Life Community church. We are going through some hard stuff and so many staff changes. I just want God’s will to be done but it is so heartbreaking. I know God’s in control but it’s hard to see His hand through all this junk. Please just pray for us!! Thank you so much!
Jennifer, Denham Springs, LA
By humility and fear of the LORD are riches, honor and life. Proverbs 22:4, NKJV
Team Moore just happens to be one of the teams I cheer for the most! I’m just catching up on the blog after a Trip to Tyler Texas to visit my mom (it was hot and sticky) and laughed when I saw the Christmas dinner! I just made a turkey dinner a few weeks ago too. It was yummy! I love you guys!
What a great picture!! You guys look great.
I just want to say Thank you, Beth…you made me laugh. This is my first time to “comment” . though I have loved you for years and been eternally blessed through many of your books and studies. Your family is precious and I love the picture of you and Keith. God is so good isn’t He!!!!
Your sister in Surfside
Beach,SC Carol
This is my favorite blog post ever! I cried a bit! I love it, TEAM MOORE! 🙂
Beth, I love reading your posts and appreciate the peeks you allow us into your family life. I know you and Keith have crossed a lot hurdles in your marriage and it’s great to read that at the end of the day you’re both still “Team Moore”. Frankly, it gives me hope because after 17 years of marriage, I can’t help but wonder with tears in my eyes if my man and I will ever get there. Thankfully we serve a big God and my hope rests in Him.
With much love to you and your family,
Melanie
I love your stories. I’ve been married for 34 years. It’s hard. Can’t say enough about my God. He’s my Rock, my Deliverer and my Satisfaction. My All in All and every bible study I’ve done proves Him beyond my wildest dreams. Thank you for being part of my growing up in Christ.
Love it – boy, you must have a little ADD! I do, so I go off on rabbit trails too… My husband and I quite frequently both end up wearing orange. So I couldn’t really joke about your Keith wearing purple, though my boys would call it a “girl” color. And I am so with Melissa – my youngest is about to go to kindergarten and I am going through a mini-mid life crisis. I have spent all my time with my family, what am I gonna do now? I know, make new friends and keep the old. So tell her she is not alone!
I’ve miss yall… well sorta. I’ve kept up with all the main posts on my non-smart phone, but I couldn’t see any comments or post any myself. I’m bumbed I missed the SSMT this go around, but pray yall have a great blessing when yall get together. Loving yall!!!
I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED! I just pre-ordered the James Study. I know I am a dork, but I want to have it first thing so I can get right into it. I CANNOT WAIT. 🙂
Hello Beth…. I really didn’t know what to call you.. Mrs. Beth sermed proper orvmaybe Mrs. Moore, but i I feel like I known you so well!?! All from the simulcasts and bible studies I have done!! Love you so much and what God has done in I’d life..
Quick question… I love the pic of u and ur hubby.. Did u use the Instagram app to add the effect? I have that app on my iPhone and love it!! Just curious…
Thank u for ur ministry.. U are amazing….
Beth- thank you for being so transparent, and for loving God, family and ministry so much. You have been a long distance mentor of mine for over 10 years.
thank you!