Hey, Everybody!
I’m so happy to spend these next few minutes with you. I like to remind you in a writing season like this that I am thinking about you constantly even when it appears from your side of the screen as if we’re less in touch. As I study and write workday in and workday out, you are the first group that comes to my mind. Teacher’s pets if I’ve ever had any. I’m chatting to you constantly right now as I peck away at the keyboard. You just can’t hear me. I’m smiling thinking about how those tables may turn in a little over a year for any of you that end up doing the Bible study. You’ll be talking back to me as we discuss various passages in your homework but I won’t be able to hear you either. What a weird and beautiful dynamic.
I had the biggest blast getting to see a whole bunch of you Siestas at our Eugene, Oregon Living Proof Live. I was shocked when I walked in that room right after the event and David Lowe (our good friend who subs for Rich when he’s out) already had you split into two groups for our picture-taking. It would be hard to over-blow how much I loved being in Oregon for our event. God brought together one of the most wonderful, enthusiastic, Jesus-seeking, gonna-get-a-word-or-else groups ever. One of my top ten favorite groups in all fifteen LPL years. I could have cried when it was over.
(I just happened to remember that I have a few pictures on my iPhone of various shots from this trip so I’ll pitch a few in here for those of you like me who love visuals.)
(In the above picture, we took that State-famous “O” for Oregon and made it into a few divine adjectives for an “Omnipotent,” and “Overflowing,” “Overcoming” and “Out-breaking” God.)
Try to wrap your mind around the fact that God incited 7300 women by His Spirit to attend that event. That was nearly twice what we would have expected in that part of the United States for a gathering of this kind. Travis, the praise team, and I knew within about 2 minutes that Jesus was planning to be there whether we came or not. We felt completely incidental to the whole thing. He has something huge stirring in the Northwest. I can’t quit thinking about it. I got a DM from my good friend, Louie Giglio, last Friday saying that he and Chris Tomlin and their team had just been to that part of the country and were blown away by what God was doing. We left feeling the same astonishment.
I got to spend a little more time in the area than I usually do because I couldn’t get a flight out on Saturday night. That meant several walks in several different parks.
This scene was walking distance from the Holiday Express where we stayed in Eugene. Your blog mama is in there but it’s kind of like “Where’s Waldo?”
Most of our team went to Mount Pisgah Arboretum on Saturday afternoon and, honestly, it was like we were caught in the hobbits’ glen in Lord of the Rings. If Frodo Baggins had stepped out from behind a tree with his short legs and long hairy feet, the whole scene would have been complete. The trees looked just like the ones that talked in the trilogy and they groaned and creaked in the wind like old men trying to get out of a low chair. It was crazy. I didn’t even bother taking pictures with my iPhone because it would have been a travesty but our friend David got some great ones with his grown-up camera. This one doesn’t even give a hint of the gorgeousness that was surrounding us in that park but I think it is especially gorgeous because I love this group of women so much. These are some of the hardest working girls you’ll ever find on earth. They are part of the LifeWay women’s event team that actually puts on Living Proof Live events. (As well as Priscilla Shirer Live and many others.) They don’t often come to the platform but trust me when I tell you that no one would serve on that platform if not for these women doing all the front work, sight inspections, training, praying, and city coordinating. Then, once the weekend arrives, they are busy behind every scene, down every hall, and all over the arena. I am nuts about them. There are at least a dozen others who weren’t assigned to our Oregon event over the weekend. I wish you could see them, too. They are all stellar women.
I could have stayed a solid week in Oregon. Or, if all my people had been there, a month. But Bibby gets cranky for the grandbabies after too many days away. I saw them right before I left for Oregon and the day after I got back. Thank you, thank you, thank you to my beloved Amanda and Curtis, who always make room for the grandparents in their hyper-busy pastoring lives. I happen to be typing this post about five feet away from this picture right here. Now, I ask you, who could stand to be far from those two for very long?? My point exactly.
Oh, one more thing about the trip. On the rare occasions when much of the team gets to stay an extra night after the event, there is considerable foolishness. With God-fearing people, especially of mixed company, off-color humor is out so we have to go with just plain stupid and it works for me every time. This is Travis with his good friends Clay (who played the mandolin for us at this LPL! We loved him!) and Seth (who we always love and get to have on the team most of the time).
I bet Travis wore those glasses for 15 minutes in the drugstore. (Yep, that’s where all this stuff was.) Long enough to where I found myself talking to him normally as if he didn’t look like an idiot. Of course, it might be a tad hypocritical for me to say he looked like such a thing since…
Tragically, that’s not plastic you’re seeing there below the glasses. That’s my real nose. (I made myself laugh.)
Well, I could talk on and on but, the fact is, we have Scriptures to do today, Sisters! I love mine this time around. Remember how we talked about the importance of choosing one to memorize that really means something to us personally? This one’s really speaking to me right now. Lately I’ve been especially aware of the contrasts in the Christian public square between those who build up the Body of Christ and those who tear it down. If we’re going to be builders in a world tearing apart, we’re going to have to be deliberate. We’ll also have to accept the materials we’re working with. We’ll never have a flawless body of believers to edify. Not this side of our completed state. As my friend Carlos Whittaker says, we’re all crazier than we think we are. It’s a mess out there. Oh, for crying out loud, I’m a mess in here. But we do have a flawless Savior and we are indeed God’s chosen people, loved and planned for and accounted for in the Kingdom agenda. We’ve got to decide how we want to treat one another on this thorny journey. This verse says it well.
Beth, Houston. So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church. 1 Corinthians 14:12 ESV
There He says it: don’t just take a stab at it. Strive to excel in it.
Oh, Sisters, I love you so much. I truly do. I’ll talk to you soon!
Tags: Scripture Memory 2013
Lynn in Frankfurt, Germany
For nothing is impossible with God.
Luke 1:37 NIV
Tracey Knight ~ Arkadelphia AR
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 2 Cor 1:3-4 NIV
Linda, Bartelso, IL “Look, I Am the LORD the God of all flesh. Is anything to hard for Me.” Jeremiah 32;27
Tracy from Kentucky
For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. Romans 10:10 esv
Melissa, Columbus, OH
“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” Philippians 1:27a (NIV)
Vicki, Peoria
The Lord will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
Isaiah 58:11 NIV
Julie, Chesterland, OH
“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”
Hebrews 11:6 ESV
Linda R. Springfield, MO
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
Psalms 27:1 Living Bible
Michelle, Grandview, Psalms 119:15 HCSB
I will meditate on Your precepts and think about Your ways.
Laura T, Hudson, IL
Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.
Ecclesiastes 5:2 NIV
Lori in Pine Island, MN
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” Colossians 3:15. NIV
Sarah, Christina and Esther May; Wenatchee, WA “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.” James 3:9 NIV
Cheryl clevenger Kokomo ,Indiana
You thrill me Lord,with all you have done for me! I sing for you because of what you have done.
Psalm 92:4 NLT
Hannah, Chesterland, OH
“The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord , endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.”
Psalms 138:8 ESV
Johannah, Alexandria, LA
“The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.”
Proverbs 11:25 NLT
Marcia, Portland, OR
Proverbs 4:23 – Above all else guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. (NIV)
Sheri, Morrisville, MO
Not only this, but we also rejoice in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance, character, and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:3-5 NET
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go nd bear much fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, He may give you. John 15:16
Alyssa Mochen
Rio Rancho, MM
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Galatians 5:24 NLT
Dee, Zeeland, MI from NIV84
Mark 10:15 “I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church. 1 Corinthians 14:12 ESV
Natasha K
Kitchener, ON, Canada
1 John 4:16 (NIV)
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
Becca Frischhertz from Pearl River, LA
“In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.” Psalm 5:3 (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.”
~Philippians 4:8 (NIV)
Cindy, Uvalde, Texas
Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promise.
Hebrews 10:23 NLT
Kandi – Tallahassee, Florida
So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church.
1 Corinthians 14:12
So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church. 1 Corinthians 14:12 ESV
Blessings,
Jennifer in Canfield, OH
P.S. I like yours better than what I’d been assigned in a current EG study!!! (I’ll need to learn Luke 14:33, too.)
Barb from Wetumpka, AL
Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered back up again. But God does not just sweep life away; instead he devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from him.
2 Samuel 14:14b
NLT
Janet Jarmula Ronkonkoma, NY
“I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.” Psalm 34:4 NIV
Sandra, Rock Hill, SC
The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.
Psalm 29:11 NIV
Kim from Arab, Alabama
By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. Proverbs 24:3-4
Zoe L from Oklahoma City
Then shall the lame man leap like a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.
Isaiah 35:6 AMP
But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever. Psalm 52:8 (NIV)
Kristi, Lenoir City, TN
The King is enthralled by your beauty,honor Him for He is your Lord.
Psalm 45:11
Tiffany, Nampa, ID
Psalm 139:9 – NLT
If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, …
Stephanie, Abilene, TX
You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, LORD, do I seek.”
Psalm 27:8, ESV
Diana, East Peoria, IL
The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
both now and forever.
Psalm 121:8 NLT
Camille Taylor Starkville,MS
For we walk by faith, not by sight.
2 Corinthians 5:7
Lauren, Dedham, MA: “Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.” Psalm 25:8 (NIV)
Amanda- Daphne, AL And the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast. 1 Peter 5:10 NIV
Terry, East Peoria, IL
Trust in the Lord always,
for the Lord God is the eternal rock.
Isaiah 26:4 NLT
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.
Philippians 1:27 (NIV)
Jeanine, Toronto, Canada
“Do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.” Hebrews 10:35 NIV
Michele – Naperville, IL
“LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart.” – Psalm 15:1-2 NIV
Linda, Birmingham
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you, he will never leave you or forsake you.
Deuteronomy 31: 6 NIV
I Timothy 6:6 RSV “There is great gain in godliness with contentment.”
Do not fear for I have redeemed you. I have summoned you by name, you are mine.
Isaiah 43:1b NIV
Psalm 91:4 NIV
He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
Denise from Toledo
Math 4:4
People need more than bread for their life; they must feed on every word of God. NLT
P.S. Our dear friend Jodie that traveled with us to your Columbus, Oh event is in the final stages of having her book in print. Thank you for your word on getting that book finished. Two of us looked at her and said get that book done. I just praise you Lord.
Amanda, Knoxville Psalm 139:9-10 “If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there your hand will guide me; your right hand will lay hold of me.” NASB