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
Jodi
Hartford, WI
Psalm 20:5 NIV
We will shout for JOY when YOU are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May The Lord grant all your requests
Nicole T.
Blue Springs, MO
2 Timothy 4:17 (NLT)
17 But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength so that I might preach the Good News in its entirety for all the Gentiles to hear. And he rescued me from certain death.
Lindsey, Tucson, Arizona
“For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ” -2 Corinthians 10:4-5 ESV
Stephanie from Richardson, TX
“But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.
I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill.”
Psalm 3:3-4 ESV
Natalie Christopher, Olympia, WA
Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Ephesians 5:19-21 NIV84
“But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved”
Hebrews 10:39 NIV
Kelly West Richland,
For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you. (Isaiah 54:10 ESV)
Amy from Frisco, Texas
Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.
Proverbs 11:2 NLT
Michelle Ashburn, VA
I look up to the mountain – does my help come from there? My help comes from The Lord, who made heaven and earth!
Psalm 121:1-2 NLT
Shannon from Surrey, BC Canada
(April 15th and May 1st…)
So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
1 Peter 1:6-7 (NLT)
Gerrie, Roeland Park, Ks
For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7 NIV)
Karen Sue, Austin, TX
“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.
Galatians 2:20 NAS
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. (Proverbs 4:23 NIV)
Hannah, Fort Worth, Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. Psalm 61:5-6 NIV
MIchele, Ca Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage. Yes, trust in the Lord. PS 27:14 NASB
Tawni, Sweet Home, OR
In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:16 HCSB
W.Richland
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
Proverbs 13:12 NIV
Megan, Grants Pass
But as for me, I trust in Thee, O Lord, I say “Thou art my God.” My times are in Thy hands.
Psalm 31:14-15a (NASB)
Emily, Loveland, CO – For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. Ps. 84:11 (NKJV)
Deb, Loveland, CO – And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You! Psalm 9:10 (NKJV)
Sara Koumrian, Downey CA
Colossians 1:10 NKJV
“That you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing HIm, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”
Christie – Graham, WA
“and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,”
Philippians 3:9 NASB
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31 NKJV)
Leah, Houston, TX
Romans 1:27
In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. (NIV)
Janet, West Linn, OR
(In Eugene OR this weekend, thank you Miss Beth =) )
“But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hands;”
Psalms 31:14-15a NIV
Michelle Cinti OH
Psalm 27: 4 NIVOne thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.
Emily, Shreveport, LA
“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” (Deuteronomy 31:8 NIV)
Jenn H., Medford, OR
But as for me, I trust in Thee, O Lord, I say, “Thou art my God.” May times are in Thy hand…
Psalm 31:14-15a
Debbie
Olathe, KS
“If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.” Psalm 139:9-10 (NIV 1984)
Patti McConville Salem Oregon
But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hands;
Psalm 31:14-15a NIV
Jane, Bakersfield, CA
“An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.”
Proverbs 12:25 NIV
My small group and I will be memorizing this verse:
1 John 4:10
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (NIV).
Maryjo, Chandler,AZ
Finally, brothers (and siestas), 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
Philippians 4:8 NIV
Kristin, Carlsbad, CA “To the roots of the mountain I sank down. The earth beneath barred me in forever. But you brought my life up from the pit, O Lord my God.”
Jonah 2:6 (NIV)
San Diego
Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.
2 Corinthians 2:14 (NKJV)
Ashleigh D. Lewistown, MT “But when you ask you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.” James 1:6 (NIV)
Lori, Concordia,KS
The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.
Isaiah 50:4 NIV
Tracy, Tangent, OREGON! (It was awesome!)
Proverbs 17:17 NKJV: A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
Ashley Skinta, Frisco, TX
“Jesus said, ‘My purpose is to give life in all its fullness.'”
John 10:10 NLT
I am undone in praise to GOD for your opinion on what HE is doing with the NW.
I am from Oregon. I am moving back.
I have felt a desire to go back, and in certain parts, my believing friends said, ‘oh we don’t like that town, its too new age.’ And even though i get not-going-to-the-other-side-of-the-lake by myself mentality, I kind of felt like I didn’t want to give up on it either.
To hear that GOD is stirring up the NW makes me shout, “I WANT TO BE PART OF THAT”
YAY GOD
Houston, TX
Colossians 2: 2-3 NIV
” My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
Manteca, CA
For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.
2 Chronicles 16:9a NIV
The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in obedience to him.
Deuteronomy 28:9 NIV
Beth S. Coon Rapids, MN
Kathy, Lake Jackson, Texas
The LORD is my portion; I have promised to keep Your words.
Psalm 119:57 HCSB
Allie, South Pasadena CA
“And can any of you, by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a things as that, why do you worry about the rest? ”
Luke 12:25-26 NRSV
Marilyn -Seattle
Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2 NIV)
Amie, Honolulu, HI
“Take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the Lord charged you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Joshua 22:5 KJV
Sharon, Riverside,Ca.
This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, “We will not walk in it.” Jeremiah 6:16 NIV
Elizabeth Blakeley. Escalon, CA. “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” -Hebrews 10:23 (NIV)
Donna from Angleton, TX
O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me.
Psalm 30:2 ESV