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
Brenda – Hendersonville TN
Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths. Prov 3:5-6 (Amplified)
Freida, Chatham, LA “He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever;” Psalm 103:9 NIV
Tina from Ohio
(correction, I misspelled Galatians and neglected to list the version in the prior comment)
For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. Galatians 1:10 NKJV
Claire, Arab, AL
But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me. 2 Timothy 1:12, ESV
Jill
Plano, TX
Luke 12:15
New International Version (NIV)
Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
Tammy
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. ” (Psalm 91:1 NASB)
Glo in Houston says:
I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress,
my God; on Him I Lean and Rely, and in Him I trust.
Psalm 91:2 (TAB)
Misti, from Katy/Houston moving to Kingwood:
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”
John 15:12 NIV
Lamentations 3:24-25 (NASB)
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul.
Therefore I have hope in Him.
25 The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks him.
Nikki from McGregor, Texas. “Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.” Psalm 63:3, NIV.
Debbie,SimiValley, CA: And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice–the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Romans 12:1-2 NLT
Merrie, Orlando
“For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment.” Luke 1:37 (Amplified)
Julia from Flower Mound, TX
Proverbs 4:18
The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.
NIV
Fareen
Las Vegas, NV
But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; shows me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham, our father, justified by works when he offered up Isaac, his son, on the altar?
James 2:18-21 NASB
Connie of Eugene, OR says, ” For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; the flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.” James 1:11 NKJV
And thank you, God, for bringing Beth to Eugene. How blessed we all are!!
Stephanie, Irvine, CA
“For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for the present life and the life to come.” (1 Timothy 4:8, NIV)
Stacy Detroit, MI
” a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing” Ecclesiastes 3:5 (NIV)
Cayce from Greenville, SC-
“Therefore, having such a hope, we use great boldness.”
2 Corinthians 3:12 (HCSB)
Sherri Bennett, Huntington Beach, CA
“Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment,”
1 Timothy 6:6 ESV
Lindsey from Temecula, CA
“If you continue in your faith established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that hear and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.” n – Colossians 1:23 (NIV)
Lisa, Frisco Tx – Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud (1 Corinthians 13:4 NLT)
Dawne, Nampa, ID
If you need wisdom – if you want to know what God wants you to do – ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. People like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. They can’t make up their minds. They waver back and forth in everything they do. James 1:5-8 NLT
NIV
John 15:1
I am the true vine and my Father is the garden.
Redfield, AR
[2] My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,[3] knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
James 1:2-3 (NKJV)
Mary Lou, Young America, MN
Psalm 18:17-18 (NIV)
He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
From my foes, who were too strong for me.
They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
But the Lord was my support.
Casey, San Antonio, TX. ” ‘For I know the plans I have for you’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and future. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart.’ ” Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NIV)
Ashley, Durban South Africa
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 ESV
Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord, giving thanks to God through him, alleluia. Colossians 3:17 (NASB)
Elizabeth M, Cedar Hill TX “And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.–Romans 5:5 (NIV)
Linda from Birmingham, Alabama
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
Psalm 46:1 (NIV)
Stefanie, Moses Lake, WA
1 Corinthians 14:12 ESV
So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.
Michele ~ Kenosha, WI
(Then Job answered the LORD:)
I am unworthy – how can I reply to you?
I put my hand over my mouth.
Job 40:4 (and verse 3) NIV
Titus 2:3 NIV
Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good.
Jane, Cuba, Missouri
Angela A., Shelbyville, IN
Do not banish me from your presence,
And don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
And make me willing to obey you.
Then I will teach your ways to rebels,
And they will return to you. (Psalm 51:11-13, NLT)
Anna Gibbany, Harrison, AR
“Restore me to the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.”
Psalm 51:12 NLT
Colleen Duebber. Cincinnati, OH.
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
1 John 1:7-8 NIV
Psalm 148:13 (nrsv) Let them praise the name of the Lord,for His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the eatth and heaven.
Mariposa Sivage, Albuquerque New Mexico
Then they cried out to the Lord in thier trouble and he delivered them from thier distress. Psalms 107:8 NIV
Beverly, Pearland, TX
Colossians 3:12 TNIV
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
Ellen, Moneta VA
“Is not my word like fire,” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces? -Jeremiah 23:29 (NIV 1984)
Kim Eshelman Lewisburg, PA.
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
Morag, Bishop CA
“She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.”
Proverbs 31:25 NIV
DeeDee in Tallahassee – “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)
Jennifer, San Antonio “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and i will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 NIV
Dana, San Angelo, Texas
“Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble and he delivered them from their distress.” Psalms 107:8 (NIV).
Sarah, Colorado Springs, CO
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
John 15:12 NIV
Cathy R in Orofino, ID
Because of the tender mercy of our God by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace! Luke 1:78&79 NIV
Lisa Christopher, Olympia, WA
“The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous.” Psalm 19:9 (NIV)
Jean, Princeton, ME:
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence…
2Peter1:3 ESV
Angie W. from Liberty, Missouri: Oh, Lord GOD, you did indeed make heaven and earth by your mighty power and great strength. Nothing is too hard for you!
That would be Jeremiah 32:17 NET 🙂