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.Ā 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.Ā 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
Rachel in Thousand Oaks, CA
“The LORD will fight for you while you kept silent.” Exodus 14:14 (New American Standard Bible)
Eva from Derby, KS
A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.
Proverbs 15:1 KJV
Olympia, WA
Ephesians 1:19a
…and how surpassingly great is his power working in us who trust him.
Complete Jewish Bible
Deanna – Safford, AZ
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”
Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV 84)
Stephanie V., Tulsa, ok.
*Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
(Ps 84:5, nkjv)
Philippians 1:27(a) NIV
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.
Tami
Columbus, Ohio
Michele in Hollister, CA
Proverbs 13:12 NLT
Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.
Kathy, Jay, Oklahoma
We live by faith and not by sight.
2 Corinthians 5:7 NIV84
Noreen
Calgary, AB
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”
Colossians 3:15 (NIV)
Dawn, Pottsville…The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Psalm 9:9. (NIV)
Kim, Euless, TX
So be content with who you are, and don’t put on airs. God’s strong hand is on you; he’ll promote you at the right time. Live carefree before God; he is most careful with you. (1 Peter 5:6, 7 MSG)
Psalm 113:3 NIV
3 From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets,
the name of the Lord is to be praised.
Susan, Carbondale, IL
Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. (Romans 12:10, 11 NIV)
Christine, Wichita, KS
“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” Phil. 2:13 (NLT)
Lisa Hillsboro Oregon
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT
pamela t., Fairmont, NC
Hebrews 12:3 (AMP)
Just think of him who endured from sinners such grievous opposition and bitter hostility against himself [reckon up and consider it all in comparison with your trials], so that you may not grow weary or exhausted, losing heart and relaxing and fainting in your minds.
Alison Peyton
Peers, Alberta, Canada
Lord God, help me to keep up my courage and have faith in You that things will happen just as You said.
Acts 27:25 NIV
Bev van Vuuren – South Africa – Romans 8:28 – 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.
Rachel ~ Nashville, TN
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.”
~Colossians 3:23 (NIV)
Connie, Hendersonville, TN For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 NIV
Albuquerque, NM
āTrust in the Lord with all of your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.ā
Proverbs 3:25 (ESV)
A friend loves at all times.
Proverbs 17:17
This is a short one, but yet so needed this week in my life.
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.
Psalm 130:5-6
Nicola in Calgary
O Israel hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is mercy and loving kindness and with Him is plenteous redemption. Psalm 130:7
Let You mercy and loving-kindness,oh LORD, be upon us in proportion to our waiting and hoping for You. Ps. 33:22 amp
Vickie in Louisville: You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11 NKJV
Colossians 2:6
As you received Christ Jesus The Lord, so continue to live in Him.
Judy, Taylors, SC
āNot by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,ā says the Lord Almighty. (Zechariah 4:6b NIV)
Donna, Huntersville, NC
“Whatever happens, as citizens of heaven live in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.”
Philippians 1:27a, TNIV
Karen Dallas TX
Be still before the Lord
and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fretāit leads only to evil.
Psalm 37:7-8 (NIV 1984)
Joanne, Tomball, TX
She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future. (Proverbs 31:25 NLT)
Linda Greene,NY
Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
Psalm 90:14 NIV
Debbie Torkelson, Annandale, VA
“But emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Phil 2:7-8, ESV
Allison – Huntsville, TX
James 2:22-3:1
New International Version (NIV)
22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, āAbraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,ā[a] and he was called Godās friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
Taming the Tongue
3 Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
Maren from Dallas, TX
“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” (Psalms 46:10 ESV)
Reeder, Auburn,AL
Proverbs 19:21 You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.
May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Eph 3:19 NIV
Lezli, Columbus, GA
“…so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ…” Philippians 1:10, NIV
Terry in Louisa, VA
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
Ephesians 4:29
Lisa
York, Pa
Whatever happens, conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.
Philippians 1:27
Daughter’s he said, your faith as made you well. Go in peace. Luke 8:48 NLT
Amy- Fort Polk
Remember, O Lord, Your compassion and unfailing love, which You have shown from long ages past. Psalm 25:6 NLT
Elaine- Jefferson, Ga
He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the kingās anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. (Hebrews 11:25-27 NIV)
Evansville, IN
“I will praise God’s name in song, and glorify him with thanksgiving.” Psalm 69:30 NIV
Mary Ann, Woodbury, MN
We love because He first loved us.
1John 4:19
Sacha
Midland, TX
Psalm 18:2 (ESV)
“The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”
Sandi, Lewiston, Idaho
Hosea 6:3 NIV
Let us acknowledge the Lord ; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.ā
Ruby, NC
The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe. Proverbs 18:10 (NIV)
Lynchburg, VA
Romans 12:12 (ESV)
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
Allison Tulsa, OK
O Israel, hope in the Lord ! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.
Psalms 130:7 ESV