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
That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”
1 Corinthians 2:9 (NLT)
Jane from Geneseo, Illinois
Romans 5:1-2
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have gained access by faith
into this grace in which we now stand.
And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
(NIV)
Lisa from Waycross, Ga.
Donna from Albany, Ga
Psalm 63:3-5 (NIV)
“Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live and in your name I will lift up my hands. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.”
Dianne Jones, Fairfield, CA – “Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” Luke 1:45 (NIV)
Connie from Carterville, IL
“Not only that, but we rejoice in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope
Romans 5:3-4 ESV
Dallas, TX
“But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.”
Romans 8:10 NIV
Debbie, Rochester, MN Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near. James 5:7-8 NLT
Kim K., Columbus, Oh
Do not remember the former things,
Nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
Isaiah 43:18-19a NKJV
Ann, Centerville. They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world .”
John 4:42. NIV
This verse is really special to me. This month marks the 1 year anniversary of my grandson’s death. I know where he is and where I am going, but oh, the pain of this separation… sometimes it takes my breath away. This was a verse he had copied during church services when he was 7.
“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;” Psalm 24:1 NIV 1984
Alesa Lambert, Malvern, Arkansas
Michelle K., Warner Robins, GA
“Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.” Psalm 100:4 NASB
Lisa Campo, Blue Bell, PA
Genesis 2:7-8 NAB
The LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being. Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and he placed there the man whom He had formed.
Barbara
Celebration, FL
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12, NIV
Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.
Psalms 84: 5,7 NIV
Cathy, Richmond, VA
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.
1 Peter 1:3-4a
Danette, Melber-KY
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
Lisa From Leesburg
“Make your attitude that of Christ Jesus.” ~ Philippians 2:5 HCSB
Nell, Gallatin-Phillipians 4:6-7 NIV
6)Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation-by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (7)And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Chantel, Watson, LA – 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
Peggy from Homer, IL
Proverbs 8:34 NIV Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.
Denise,Davis, IL., “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.”-Matthew 10:39-NASB
Dawn, Chesterfield, SC- “Do not be conformed to this world,[a] but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2 (ESV)
Eph. 3:20 “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,” KJV. -teresa,Akron
Jenny, Houston -Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him standing firm in the faith because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. (1 Peter 5:8-9)
Sue M in Grand Rapids, MI
The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness, and he will be the stability of your times…
Isaiah 33: 5-6a ESV
Leslie
Wisner, La.
“Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.”
Romans 12:9-10 NLT
Cindy
Chandler, OK
We love because He first loved us.
1 John 4:19 NIV
Rachel D., Meridian: “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” Hebrews 12:11(NASB)
Finally, brothers,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.
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – out it into practice and the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:8-9
Kristin, Panama City, FL
“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” Hebrews 1:3 NIV
He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. Daniel 2:21 NIV
Prov. 14:30 (ESV)
A tranquil heart is life to the body, but jealousy is rottenness to the bones.
Bonnie Wallace, Charleston SC
“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)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Philippians 4:6
Charlotte
Mesquite, Texas
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thess 5:16-18
Buffi from Mission, TX
I have I greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
3 John 1:4 NIV
Carla, Corryton, Tn.
1John 2:28 NIV
“And now my dear children, continue in Him, so that when He appears we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming.”
Julie in Carlsbad, CA
“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire.'”
Hebrews 12: 28-29 (NIV)
Jennifer Erie, CO
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9 NIV
Megan JOY Burdzy – Calgary Alberta, Canada – “Come and see what God has done, the amazing things he has done for people.” -Psalm 66:5 (NCV)
Jen B., Gaithersburg, “Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living.” Psalm 27:13 NLT
Sarah Ensor, Bracknell, UK
“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.And he is the radiance of his glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of his power.”
Hebrews 1:1-3a NAS
Central, LA
1thessalonians 5:24
Faithful is He that calleth you who also will do it.
Niv
Susan, Durango “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22,23 NIV
Suzy Myers
Bay Springs, MS
“Now godliness with contentment is great gain.”
1 Timothy 6:6 NKJV
Linda, Longview:
The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.
Proverbs 11:3 ESV
Shelly, Rochester, MN
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.” Isaiah 30:21 NIV
“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong,and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” Psalm 27:13-14 (ESV)
Zephaniah 3:17
The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you with His love; He will exault you with loud singing. ESV
Modesto ,CA.
Habakkuk 3:2
LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD. Renew them in our day, in our time make them know; in wrath remember mercy.