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
Betsy, Lincoln Park
“I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Psalm 91:2 NIV
Psa 37:4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. kjv
Jody in Huntsville, AL
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.”
But as for me, the nearness of God is my good. I have made the Lord God my refuge; That I may tell of all Your works.
Psalm 73:28 (NASB)
Carol Peavy
Jena, LA
Nona; Poplar Bluff, MO. “Pray continually.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NIV)
Shiffra, Vicksburg MI
“Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.” Psalm 9:10 NIV
Sharon. Glennville, GA
Jeremiah 31:3 NIV
“I have loved you with an everlaating love;
I have drawn you with loving-kindness.”
Jan
Bemus Point, NY
Psalm 138:8 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me.
LORD, Your love is eternal; do not abandon the work of Your hands.
Cindy – Houston
‘Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right. Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the cause of the widow.’
Isaiah 1:16-17 NIV
Patty, Marysville, OH.
Deuteronomy 32:4 (NIV) He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just.
A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.
Vanessa, Rio Rancho NM
“…Blessed be you glorious name, and mat it be exalted above all blessing and praise” Nehiemiah 9:5b NIV
Betty M
Voltaire ND
PS 92:2 NKJV “To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning and Your faithfulnes every night.”
Bonnie, Alexandria, LA
1 Cor. 2:9 NKJV
“But as it is written, Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man, The things which God has prepared for those who love him.”
Janet, Tulsa
“Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up” (Hosea 6:1, ESV)
Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. 2Cor 4:16 HCSB
Hannah, Perry, MI
“Seize life! Eat bread with gusto,
Drink wine with a robust heart.
Oh yes—God takes pleasure in your pleasure!
Dress festively every morning.
Don’t skimp on colors and scarves.
Relish life with the spouse you love
Each and every day of your precarious life.
Each day is God’s gift. It’s all you get in exchange
For the hard work of staying alive.
Make the most of each one!”
Ecclesiastes 9:7-9, The Message
Guard your heart above all else, for it determines
the course of your life. Proverbs 4:23 NLT
Susan,Fairhope,AL- Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Philippians 2:3 (NIV)
Dawn, Clinton PA:
There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. Prov. 16:25, ESV
Susie Johnson, Bloomington IN
For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. (Isaiah 41:13 NIV)
jackie platte city, MO
Psalm 139:11-12 NIV
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
Suzanne Bailey, Harrisville, RI
He has showed you, O man, what is good. What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8 NIV
Janet, Vine Grove, KY
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
Col 4:2, NIV
Karen J. from Westminster, MD
Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Matthew 6:33 NIV
“If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” Matthew 21:22 TNIV
Jan, Littleton CO. When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 (NIV)
Bonnie B. from Florence, Colorado 🙂
“Remember not the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways,
according to Your Love Remember Me,
For You are Good O LORD.”
Psalms 25:7 NIV
Lindsay from Boston, MA: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:23, NIV
Dawn, Raleigh, NC, Exodus 15:11 NLT “Who is like you among the gods, O Lord-glorious in holiness, awesome in splendor, performing great wonders?”
Kristi, 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.” I Corinthians 6:19-20, NLT
Elaine ~ Powder Springs ~ If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.
Psalm 139:9-10 ESV
Cheryl, Coffeyville, KS
“But you are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.” Psalm 3:3 NIV84
Debbie Nicholson
Gulfport, MS
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5 NIV
Shelley, from Shiloh, IL: “Whom have I in heaven but You? And I have no delight or desire on earth besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the Rock and firm Strength of my heart and my Portion forever.” Psalm 73:25-26 Amplified
Dawn, Mt. Olive, NC
James 4:10-NIV
“Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up.”
Whitney from Cape Girardeau, MO
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Psalm 19:14, NIV
Lisa Curtis
Jackson, MO
And he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 NASB
“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1 ESV
James 2:10-14 NIV. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you l have become a lawbreaker. Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment! What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?
Ashley Sullens
Kings Mountain, NC
Psalm 27:6 (NASB)
And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me, and I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of Joy; I will sing, yes I will sing praises to the Lord.
Tshaka; Fort Knox; What shall I return to the Lord for all His goodness to me? Psalm 116:12 NIV
Beth, Mansfield TX
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. (3 John 1:4 NIV)
Jennifer, Cypress, TX
James 3:18 ESV “And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”
Carole, Imperial, CA: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Mark 12:30 NIV
Susan, Fort Worth, TX
Colossians 3:15 NIV
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
Jenny, Elida, OH “But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower.” James 1:10 (NIV)
Alta, Sharpsville, In
Yes Lord walking in the way of your truth, we wait eagerly for you, for You, for Your name and Your renown are the desire of our souls. — Isaiah 26:8 NIV
Grace, Elida, OH “Belssed are the peace makers, for they will be called children of God.” Matthew 5:9 (NIV)
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14 (NIV)
Missy,Andersonville, NKJV Psalm 1: 5-6
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.