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
Leviticus 26:11-12
I will place my residence among you, and I will not reject you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people . (NIV)
But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
Psalm 86:15 NIV
Brooke, Princeton, ME:
Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know You, and your righteousness to the upright of heart! Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
Psalm 36:10-11 ESV
Debbie, from Cape Coral
1 Peter 4:7 NIV
The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self controlled so that you can pray.
Cathi, Morristown TN
We pray that you’ll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us. (Colossians 1:10-12 MSG)
Kellye, Las Vegas. Lord, my every desire is known to you;my sighing is not hidden from you. Psalm 38:9 (HCSB)
Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23, NIV
Kelly P. , Concord, NC
Joy, Altadena, CA
Don’t keep striving for what you should eat and what you should drink, and don’t be anxious. For the Gentile world eagerly seeks all these things and your Father knows that you need them. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be provided for you. Don’t be afraid little flock because your Father delights to give you the kingdom.
Luke 12: 29-32 HCSB
Jordin, Albuquerque
“It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.”
2 Samuel 22:33, NIV
Erin- Denison, TX
“God’s love is meteoric, his loyalty astronomic, His purpose titanic, his verdicts oceanic. Yet in his largeness nothing gets lost; Not a man, not a mouse, slips through the cracks.”
Psalm 36:5-6 (MSG)
Ginger, Phoenix, Arizona
“My fram was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth…” (Psalm 139:15, NIV1984)
Vicksburg, MS
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.”
Luke 12:15
NIV
Tonia Booker from Meridian, ID
(NASB)
Deut. 6:23
He brought us out from there in order to bring us in
Sandi from Morristown, Tennessee
Ephesians 3:20 MSG
God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.
Jeanette Dahm. Tualatin. Eccles.3:1. There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven.
{~ Alesha ~} Charlotte, NC
“She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.
When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness.
She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness.”
{{ Proverbs 31:25-27 NLT }}
Kelly from Denver…
Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
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 hope and a future.
Susan, Locust Grove VA
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
Christine, Stephens City “Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls. Proverbs 25:28 NKJV
Mandy from Mt. Vernon, Texas
“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.”
Titus 3:4-5 (NIV 1984)
Cherise, WY: “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayers and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made to know to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:4-8 (NKJV)
Kristie Lovely
Queen City, TX
“If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,” Psalm 139:9 NKJV
Annette, Richmond, TX John 15:5 ESV
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.
Karoletha from Longview TX
For God did not send His Son Jesus into the world to condemn the world,but that the world through Him might be saved.
John 3:17. NIV
Rhonda J., Normal, IL
“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”
Psalm 91:1 NASB
Margaret, The Villages, FL
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
Colossians 4:2 NIV
Janice Kelly
Bridge City, TX
5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 KJV
Shannon, Tyler, Tx
for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. Romans 10:10, NASB
Connie Capps
Pine Level, NC
But He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for MY Power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that that Christ’s power may rest on me.
2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV
Lindsey from Dubach, LA…”Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” -1 Cor. 6:19-20 (NIV)
“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.”
John 15:9-12 NLT
Laura, Southaven, MS
And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. Isaiah 32:17 ESV
Hebrews 11:1. NKJ
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Kelly Collett, Buckhannon, WV
Psalm 118:25 ESV
Save us, we pray, O Lord!
O Lord, we, pray, give us success!
Michelle
Greenville, TX
“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So honor God with your body.
1 Cor. 6:19-20 NLT
Debbie, Alice, TX ~
Remember your leaders who have spoken God’s word to you. As you carefully observe the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith. Hebrews 13:7 NIV
Isaiah 43:18-19a (NIV)
“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Jan Horne – Bossier City, LA
Isaiah 30:21 NIV
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
Chrissy
San Tan Valley, Arizona
“After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”
1 Peter 5:10 ESV
Holly, Ramona, CA; “Those who regard vain idols forsake their faithfulness.” Jonah 2:8 (NASB)
Janell~Frisco, TX~ You reveal the path of life to me;
in Your presence is abundant joy;
in Your right hand are eternal pleasures. Psalm 16:11 HCSB
Michelle, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
“I can do all things through Christ which strenghteneth me.”
Philippians 4:13 KJV
Julie, Texarkana- And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised. (Hebrews 6:15 NIV)
Dori , Meridian, ID
Deuteronomy 3:22
You must not fear them,
For The Lord your God Himself
Fights for you.
NKJV
Fort Worth, TX:
“He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber.” Psalm 121:3 NLT
Karen, Reading PA
John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. John 3:27 NKJV
Jordan, Columbia, MO. “Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, ‘Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.'” Mark 9:35 NIV
Psalm 139:1-2 (NIV)
1 O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
“A heart at peace gives lives to the body, but envy rots the bones.” Prov. 14:30 NIV.
Carla, Pierre, SD
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Ephesians 6:18 NIV