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
Kim\Hickory, NC
Sorry I am late! But I trust in you, O Lord; I say you are my God. Psalm 31:14ESV
Sherry-Deer Park:
Psalm 51:13 “Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to You.” NIV
Barb Wisconsin “Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints, for those who fear Him have no lack” Psalm 34:9 ESV
Linda, Holts Summit,MO
Psalm 37:5-6 NIV
5 Commit your way to the Lord; Trust in Him and He will do this: 6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
Susan from Innisfil, ON
Psalm 86:12 (NASB)
“I will give thanks to You, O LORD my God, with all my heart, and will glorify Your name forever.”
Blair from Harrisburg, NC
This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength…”
Isaiah 30:15 NIV
Michele, Edmond, OK
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John 14:27 ESV
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3 (NIV)
Peggy, Indianapolis
Mark 12:30 NIV. “Love The Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength”.
Selina, Barbourville, KY.
But I determined this with myself, that I would not come again to you in heaviness, For if I make you sorry, who is He then that maketh me glad but the same which is made sorry by me?
II Corinthians 2:1-2 KJV
Kaylin from Searcy, AR
“(and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.” I Timothy 4:10 NIV
Sarah S., McKinney, TX
1 Cor. 13:4 (NIV)
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.”
Traci from Chandler Arizona
1 John 3:18 Dear children, lets not merely say we love each other; lets show the truth by our actions (NLT)
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9 NLT)
Celeste Hill, Laguna Niguel, CA
The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. (John 3:35 ESV)
Julie, Newton, IA
Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!” (Matthew 26:41 NLT)
Linda, Delray Beach FL
But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back,
I will not be pleased with him. Hebrews 10:38 (NIV)
Torrie, Siren WI (Sorry I’m late)
You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. (Psalm 16:11 NIV)
Amy G,- clovis ca
Rom 8:6 NLT
So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.
Amy in Central,La.
Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God. (1 Corinthians 4:5 NIV)
Cheryl, Le Chesnay France
He will not let you stumble; the One who watches over you will not slumber. Indeed, He who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. Psalm 121:3-4 NLT
Brittany from Norfolk, NE
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Hebrews 13:8 NIV
Natalie, Houston
I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. (Ephesians 1:17 HCSB)
Kari, charlottesville, va
“Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.” (Revelation 12:12 NIV)
Psalm 103:10-14 NAS
10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
13 Just as a father has compassion on his children,
So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him
14 For He Himself knows our frame;
He is mindful that we are but dust.
Beth, WI. “Fear no more, Daughter Zion. Look, your King is coming.” John 12:15 (HCSB)
Becky, Stromsburg, NE
Joshua 1:9
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Jill from Sterling Heights, MI
fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. ~Isaiah 41:10 ESV
Lori, Springfield, Mo. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Mt 28:19-20 (ESV)
Sarah from Brownwood
Psalm 29:11. NIV
The Lord gives strength to His people.
The Lord blesses His people with peace.
Debbie, Los Angeles
Romans 8:6 New Living Translation
The mind governed by the flesh is death,but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.
Danielle from Richmond, TX
Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the meausure you use, it will be measured to you.
Mathew 7:1-2 NIV
Mildred from Montserrat.
But you must return to your God; Maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always. Hosea 12:6 (NIV)
Robin, Tracy CA
Psalms 27:13 ESV
I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
Mindy in Franklin, TN
for those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off. (Psalms 37:22 ESV)
Teresa, Peoria, Il
Proverbs 4:20-23, NIV
My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man’s whole body. Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life.
Celeste, Thompson’s Station, TN:
Let us tightly without waivering to the hope we endure for God can be trusted to keep His promise.
Hebrews 10:23 (NLT)
Let us HOLD tightly . . . (sorry).
Valerie Seminole, Fl
“They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because He is Lord of lords and King of kings– and with Him will be His called, chosen and faithful followers.” NIV
Debra in Mobile, AL
“having been buried with him in baptism, and raise with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.” Colossians 2:13 (NIV84)
Tracy from Wichita falls;
She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. NIV
Jenna, Sandusky. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. Philippians 4:11 NIV.
Kathie Mullins, Chino Hills, CA
James 1:19-21 , (NIV)
19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
“Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.” Romans 8:18 NLT
Rhonda, Niles, MI, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7 NIV
Jennifer from Leesburg, GA:
“Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.”
Ephesians 4:29 NASB
Christa from AZ
Psalm 27:13-14 (amplified)
“What would have become of me had I not believed that I would see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living! Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.
Amanda from Platte City
“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” Philippians 1:27a (NIV)
Terrie Waltrip
Greenville, Kentucky
“Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 NIV
Kelly from Sherman, TX. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. Philippians 2:13 NLT