Hey, my beloved Siestas!
I am writing you from a bumpy altitude of about 28,000 feet on my way home from the Greensboro, North Carolina Living Proof Live. It’s Sunday early afternoon, a day later than I was scheduled to fly out. When I checked in at the United Airlines’ desk in Greensboro, a screen popped up saying that my itinerary had been altered and asked if I wanted to proceed. I reviewed the itinerary carefully on the screen and compared it to my schedule and could not for the life of me tell any difference. I shrugged my shoulders and carried on with my check-in and never gave it a second thought.
I got to Washington DC for my layover and looked at the screen in the bustling corridor for the gate number to my 5:10 PM flight and that’s when I saw it. My flight was so delayed out of Honolulu (seriously?? straight to DC??) that our earliest departure would be 11:00 PM that night and, best-case-scenario, would land us in Houston at 1:30 AM. That translates to a final home-getting out in the sticks where I live at about 2:45 AM. Hmmm. When I checked at the customer service desk to see if there had been any update on the schedule, the attendant confirmed the bad news as delicately as she could and added that the flight was at risk of cancellation and that, if she were me, she’d switch to a flight the next day and run for my life to a hotel. Otherwise I could get stranded in the middle of the night with no plan. So, that’s what I did. My dear and most excellent assistant, K-Mac, hopped on her computer at home in Houston and started finding me a hotel room nearby while I stood in another line to book this flight and waited for the next 2 hours in baggage claim for them to find my suitcase.
It all sounds worse than it was because Jesus stayed so near me. Typing those words, I could almost cry. He is so gracious. I’ll get to more of that in just a moment. I tried to call my man a couple of times before I made a final decision but couldn’t reach him. I hated the thought that I was going to cancel out of that flight and come home the next day without even letting him know in advance. When you’ve been married as long as we have, a few days pass and it just doesn’t feel right not to be back together. I started to say, “When you’ve been married as long as we have, you get used to one another,” but I said that not long ago to Keith and he looked at me glibly and said, “Lizabeth, I’m used to my underwear. I love my wife. That’s why I want to be with her.” And it made me laugh.
The older we get, I sometimes have the quickest shot of panic go through me when I say bye to him. It’s only on occasion. The rest of the time I keep my wits better about me. But sometimes before I walk out the door I touch his tan face, lined handsomely by the years and Texas sunshine, and I permit myself the moment’s agony, “What if I never saw this face again??” Ugh. Even now that wells a lump in my throat. I know I’ll see him again in heaven and throughout eternity but he’ll have his immortal body and not the one I helped heap a considerable amount of age on. And he’ll be my brother and not my husband.
That’s kind of a game changer.
I left Keith a few voice mails but had been in baggage claim a while after making the final decision when he called me back. Of course, he gave me his blessing and said he’d never want me in a car in Houston after midnight and out to the country at 2:30 in the morning if we could ever help it. I knew he’d say that but I also knew we’d miss each other that next Sunday morning.
“And now,” Keith said, “I don’t even have to feel guilty about going to a sporting clay shoot tomorrow.” That right there is vintage Keith.
“Honey, you still could have gone.”
“Oh, I know, Sweets,” he said, “I was going to go but I’d have to have felt guilty about it.”
I laughed. Just when I’m feeling all gushy about him, we get a fresh reminder that he and I are still mostly oil and vinegar (not saying which is which because that depends on the day) but at least we like being bottled up together. Yep. Almost all the time these days.
God was so good to us in Greensboro and so spared us the strivings of the flesh with the fullness of His Spirit that I very much did not want to get a bad attitude about the flight drama and 2-hour suitcase search. I also knew that, once I told Sabrina and K-Mac that I was stuck, they were liable to shake their heads as the wonderful, responsible coworkers they are and think again that it’s not the best idea for me to go alone. This is a loving discussion (from all sides) that comes back to the table again and again. They are so dear to me. I have no idea what I’d do without them. The thing is, I love traveling alone. It tends to offer me the strongest sense of Christ’s presence and often seems to amplify His voice to me about the message. But it can on occasion have a challenging side.
This was not really one of them. I laugh every now and then with Sabrina that no matter who she could send with me, I’d have more travel experience than any helper would by about 20 years. I say that laughing. At this point, I am fairly well versed in the airline drill as much as a civilian can be. And I truly do love to fly the friendly skies. Our compromise is that I go alone on a LifeWay event (like Living Proof Live) because they have an incredibly good and familiar system once I land in that city but that, if I’m heading to any other event, I take an assistant. Of course, all that is more than you want to know but I am stuck on this long plane ride and in the mood to talk to somebody. And you’re the one stuck with me.
About an hour and 45 minutes into the wait in baggage claim, I did almost feel like crying for a split second because I’m so completely drained after an LPL and couldn’t yet see rest in sight. I texted Amanda and Melissa and asked them to press in and pray a smile on my face a bit longer. They did.
And I ended up getting more than a smile. Right after that, the United agent in baggage claim told me they’d finally found the suitcase and it would be down in 15 minutes. It was. I cheered when I saw it, both fists in the air, and the agent grinned.
By the time I got to the curb, I’d missed the hotel shuttle by a few minutes and would have to wait another thirty minutes for the next one. I grabbed a cab instead. After checking into the hotel (at a good rate, thank you, Expedia.com), I took the elevator to the fifth floor, and began wheeling my cute, light blue briefcase and big ole suitcase down the hall. That’s when I got tickled. Out loud. I may have even bent over laughing. Our subject matter in Greensboro had revolved strongly around increasing our time in the “secret place” with Jesus. I had told them that I was exhilarated by the challenge and could not wait to get started into a deeper secrecy with Him. Let me just say, Jesus took me up on it. Immediately. I had all evening with Him then all the next morning with Him. Just the two of us. We ate dinner together. Well, we sat at the same table is what I mean. I think He was fasting. But He was fine company indeed.
(That’s gorgonzola on that beef medallion and the sides are fresh spinach and fried polenta. It was fabulous, especially because I was really hungry.)
I missed Bayou City Fellowship and my brothers and sisters at church so much this morning but, thanks to podcasts, got to have my own church service right there in the hotel room. With Jesus. By myself.
Then I got on this plane, got into the air, put my headphones on and listened to “Crown Him with Many Crowns” (the Chris Tomlin, and Kari Jobe remix on the Burning Lights CD) and cried over the pure awesomeness of this One who saved us by His own blood. It’s always awkward to cry on a plane with a stranger in the next seat touching elbows with you. I opened to the Book of Revelation in my red soft leather Bible and read the passages about crowns cast at His feet and crowns placed upon His head.
Revelation 4:9-11…
And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who is seated on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for You created all things,
and by Your will they existed and were created.”
Revelation 19:11-14…
Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems, and He has a name written that no one knows but Himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which He is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following Him on white horses.
The words kept echoing, “Worthy are You!”
It’s almost more than my heart can bear. Amid the brevity of this vaporous earthly life, we will all soon see the face of the One who is so worthy of our worship and the priority affections of our hearts and the focused attentions of our minds. The One worthy of our faith when we cannot see our way. Worthy of our taking the way of escape when temptation beckons us into a whirlpool. The One worthy of gracing others because He has forgiven us at so high a price. The One worthy of counting on when the world calls us fools. The One worthy of taking at His glorious Word.
Don’t you on occasion find it slack-jawing astonishing that this same Jesus seeks us out and wants to be with us? It’s happened to you just like it’s happened to me. If you’ve known Him long, you’ve unexpectedly found yourself alone and lonely only to realize that He has temporarily isolated you just to be with you. And you realize you’ve never been less alone in your life.
Most of the time I accept the thought of His pursuit of us with genuine appreciation but with a certain amount of familiarity. I’ve read it enough in Scripture to believe it and receive it and want it in the worst way and enough to feel weird and worried if I go too long without sensing it. Other times, I’m thrown facedown over the wonder of it. I’m there right now. All of us in this community get why we should yearn and press past every obstacle to get to a place alone with Jesus but, seriously, why on earth would He yearn to do the same with humans? It’s just too much to wrap my mind around sometimes.
“He yearns jealously over the spirit that He has made to dwell in us.” James 4:5
Sister, Jesus is hemming you in. If He’s backed you into a corner, it’s not to isolate you but to freshly exhilarate you. He loves you. He’s seeking you out. Slow down and let yourself be caught by this holy jealous-for-you love that will not let you go. We are not just tolerated. We didn’t make it in by the skin of our teeth. We have been planned for and pursued. We are the deep desire of Someone’s heart.
Did you think I’d forgotten why we’re on here today? Smiling.
Nope. It’s just taken me a while to hash out my selection this time around. I know we’re supposed to stick mostly to one verse each 2-week period but I just can’t help myself. Some things can’t be sliced up with a knife and fork and taste the same way on a tongue.
Beth, Houston. 3 When I look at Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, 4 what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You care for him? 5 Yet You have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You have given him dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet. Psalm 8:3-6 ESV
You, Lord, YOU crowned us??? What were You thinking?? You have multiplied, O Lord my God, Your wondrous deeds and Your thoughts toward us; none can compare with You!” Psalm 40:5
Jesus, we long for the day when You will split the sky like the veil before the Holy of Holies and bound through the heavens on horseback, Your crimson robe whipping in the wind behind You. Every eye will see Your glorious face. And on Your head will be many diadems.
Crown Him with many crowns.
Awake, my soul, and sing.
Let’s have those verses, you Scripture-memorizing women of God.
Tags: Scripture Memory 2013
Shannon Thies from Pekin, IL
“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” Philippians 2:13
Dear Beth, I have been blessed by your ministry for years. I would like to have the closeness to Jesus that you describe, but just don’t and don’t know how to get it, even though I have been a Christian for more than forty years. Tragic loss seems to have put distance between God and me, certainly not the intimate trust that your trauma has brought to you. I suspect that I do not know how to really trust. Thanks for the space to say what is on my mind. Blessings, Carolyn C.
Praying for you, Carolyn, my sister, that God will meet you right where you are and overwhelm you with His loving presence.
Alice, Dallas: But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings as eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31 NKJV
Sara, Plymouth, IN
But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it-not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it-they will be blessed in what they do.
James 1:25
Tina
Waxahachie, Texas
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)
Susie, Columbus, Ohio Blessed is she who has believed that what The Lord has said to her will be accomplished. Luke 1:45 (NIV)
Beth, Lititz PA
“You have multiplied, Oh Lord, my God, Your wondrous deeds and your thoughts towards us; none can compare with you.”
Vicki, Grapevine, TX –
Happy are those who obey his decrees and search for him with all their hearts. ~ Psalm 119:2 NLT
Heather G. Fredericksburg, VA
Psalm 27:14 (NLT)
Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.
Candace Hendrick, Texas
The steps of a man are established by The Lord & He delights in his way. Psalm 37:23 NASB
Emily Byrd; Baton Rouge, LA
The Lord is compassionate & gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
Psalm 103:8, New American Standard
Diane, Cypress, TX
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Cor. 4:18 NIV
Susan, Durango
Wait for the Lord: be stron and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14, NIV
Connie from Friona, Texas
“To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning and Your faithfulness by night.” Ps 92:2 NASB
Jennifer, Sisters,OR
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8 ESV
Kelly, Enid, OK
Who are those who fear the Lord?
He will show them the path they should choose.
Psalm 25:12 NLT
Brenda, Byhalia, MS
But blessed is the man who trusts Me, God,
the woman who sticks with God.
They’re like trees replanted in Eden,
putting down roots near the rivers—
Never a worry through the hottest of summers,
never dropping a leaf,
Serene and calm through droughts,
bearing fresh fruit every season.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 (The Message)
Natalie from Lynchburg, VA
“Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles. His faithful love endures forever.”
(Psalm 136:4 NLT)
Mary Soisson, Barboursville, VA
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. ~Isaiah 26:3
Karen, Redmond.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.” John 14:1 NIV
Debbie Gentry, Poplarville, MS
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28 (NIV)
Kim S., Nashville, TN
The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever–do not abandon the works of your hands. Psalm 138:8 (NIV)
Cheryl, Houston “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength” Phil 4:13 NASB
Kristen, Rawlins, WY
“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. ” NIV Jeremiah 33:3
PerryLove, Gallatin, TN
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.
Psalm 19:14 NKJV
Teresa Landreth, Chadron, NE. “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”
II Corinthians 4:7 NIV
Romona, RoseWood Heights
If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. I John 4:15 (NIV)
Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4 NIV
Glenda from Antioch, IL
When I am afraid, I will trust you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?
Psalm 56:3-4 NIV
Natalie, Grand Prairie, TX. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgement, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
Romans 12:3, NIV
Susan~Kearney, NE~Isaiah 48:17 (NIV)
This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you what is best for you,
who directs you in the way you should go.
Jana, Brenham, TX
“Timothy, (Jana), guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge which some have professed and in doing so have wandered from the faith.” 1 Timothy 6:20-21
Rachelle, Gardner, KS–“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 31:8, NIV
Vanessa from Victoria, TX
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:4-5 NIV
Kelley, San Diego, Ca
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, You are very great:
You are clothed with honor and majesty,
Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment,
Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.
Ps. 104:1-2 (NKJV)
Ginny Wilson, Ooltewah, TN
“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.”
Psalm 143:8 NIV
jaimee. madisonville. still working thru ephesians…
“but because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive in Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved.”
ephesians 2:4-5 NIV
Hannah, Miramar Beach FL, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” Revelation 4:11 (NIV)
Libby, Springfield, Missouri
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV
Sherry*Moore, OK, 5. May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, Romans 15:5 NIV
Becky, Fairfax, VA: When I look at Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, 4 what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You care for him? 5 Yet You have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You have given him dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet. Psalm 8:3-6 ESV
Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree,
and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the LORD’s renown,
for an everlasting sign,
which will not be destroyed.
Isaiah 55:13 NIV
Tanya, Whitewater, KS
If I [can] speak in the tongues of men and [even] of angels, but have not love (that reasoning, intentional, spiritual devotion such as is inspired by God’s love for and in us), I am only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
1 Corinthians 13:1, Amplified
Debbie Miller
Muskogee OK
Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together! Psalm 34:3 (ESV)
Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. (Colossians 4:2 NLT)
Kari
Charlottesville, VA
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 NIV)
Eva in Wichita, KS
so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3: 17 NIV
Eva Chancy from Derby, Kansas
Proverbs 22:6 KJV
Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.
Bonnie, Alexandria, LA
Ps. 41:8 NLT
“But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life.”
Susan, Knoxville.
O Lord, place a guard on my mouth! Protect the opening of my lips! Psalm 141:3 NET