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
Julie S. from Menomonee Falls, WI
But now, thus says the L ord , your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!”
Isaiah 43:1 NASB
May 1 NLT. Isaiah 1:17
Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.
Aubree, San Antonio, TX.
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
Hebrews 10:24 ESV
Lauren from Demopolis, AL: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6,7 ESV
Marcia A. – Huntsville, AL
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
Proverbs 4:23 NIV
Audrey from Fayetteville, AR
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7 NIV
linda, colorado springs.
but forget all that—
it is nothing compared to what i am going to do.
isaiah 43:18 (nlt)
Lisa Walden from Grand Prairie, Tx
Ephesians 6:11 (NIV)
Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
Wendy S from Plano, TX.
We also pray that you will be strengthened with all His glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father.
Col 1:11, NLT
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
Romans 12:9 (NIV)
Shelley from San Angelo
For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
Colossians 3:3 NAS
Paddy Plattsburgh NY
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
1 John 4:16 NIV
Heather, Louisville
15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
Psalm 139:15-16 NIV
Ontario, OH
How precious is your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings.
Psalm 36:7 NLT
Mansfield, OH
For the Lord has called you back from your grief—as though you were a young wife abandoned by her husband,”says your God. “For a brief moment I abandoned you,but with great compassion I will take you back.
Isaiah 54:6-7 NLT
Heather from Hayden,AL: Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. Psalm 1:5 KJV
Laurie from Edmond Psalm 121:3-4 NAS He will not allow your foot to slip, Your Protector will not slumber. Indeed, the Protector of Israel does not slumber or sleep.
Ruth – Madison, GA
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
1st John 4:16-18
Brandi, Fort Worth, TX
Philippians 1:27 NASB
Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
Caty from Stockbridge, GA – For by him were all things created, that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: ~Colossians 1:16, KJV
Dawn in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin 🙂
James 2:2-4 ESV
“For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man wearing shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, ‘You sit here in a good place,’ while you say to the poor man, ‘You stand over there,’ or ‘Sit down at my feet,’ have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?”
Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 1 Cor. 7:5 NKJV
Hilary from Langley, Canada:
O Lord, you have searched me and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
You perceive my thoughts from afar.
Psalm 139:1-2 (NIV)
Natalie – Houston, TX
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Matthew 5:9 (NAB)
New Mexico,
Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. Matthew 7:24 NIV
Kimberly, Fresno, CA
“All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful
toward those who keep the demands of His covenant.”
Psalm 25:10 (NIV)
We love because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19 ESV
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Hebrews 11:6 NIV
In Peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord make me dwell in safety.
-Psalm4:8
Cindy, Graceville, FL
Luke 11:28 KJV
But he said, “Ye rather blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.”
Candy Seale, La Grange, Texas
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light
Matthew 11:30 KJV
Sherri, Marietta, Georgia. “The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace” Exodus 14:14 NKJ
Patty, Shelton, WA
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9
Tina Hulbert, Knoxville: But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. (Psalm 86:15 NIV)
Rachel – Texas
Lamentations 3:23
They are new every morning; Great is your faithfulness. NKJV
Yolanda, Lumberton. But now, this is what the Lord says- he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Isreal: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. Isaiah 43:1 NIV
Hartley, Iowa
Isaiah 46:4
Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am He, I am He who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you. NIV
Kim, Salem, Oregon
Psalm 31:14-15a NIV
But I trust in You, O Lord; I say, “You are my God”. My times are in Your hand.
Sarah, Greensboro, NC
“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.”
Psalm 139: 23 (NIV)
Judy, Oswego, NY
Psalm 46:10a NIV ‘Be still and know that I am God’
Pslam 118:24 ESV ‘This is the day that the Lord has made’ let us rejoice and be glad in it.’
Joanne — Bremerton, WA
But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hand Psalm 31:14,15a ESV
1 Timothy 6:17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. ESV
Shannon, Warner Robins, GA
“Dear children, you belong to God. So you have won the victory over these people, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
1 John 4:4 (GOD’S WORD)
Cyndy, Huntingdon, PA He will not always accuse nor will He harbor His anger forever Psalm 103:9 NIV
Helen Wall
Crystal City, Manitoba, Canada
1 John 1:9 (ESV)
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
christina, Plano~
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.
Ephesians 4:14, NIV1984
The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you. 2 Samuel 7:11 (NIV)
Bobbie
Danville, Ky
As the deer pants for the water brooks so pants my
soul for You, O God.
Psalm 42:1
NKJV
Shirleen, Greenville, SC
Proverbs 31: 25-26(NKJV)
Strength and honor are her clothing;
She shall rejoice in time to come.
She opens her mouth with wisdom,
And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
Sharon from Arlington, TX
“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.” Ephesians 4:14 (NIV)