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
Nancilea, The Woodlands, TX
And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
(Mark 4:39 ESV)
McKenzie Ellis
Portsmouth, OH.
“Teach me, Lord, the way of your decrees, that I may follow it to the end. Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law and obey it with all my heart.”
Psalm 119:34-35 NIV
Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:1
Tammy
Cincinnati, Ohio
Sara, College Station, TX:
Stay alert, stand firm in the faith, show courage, be strong. Everything you do should be done in love. (1 Corinthians 16:13-14 NET)
8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Matthew 7/8
Landry, Georgetown, Texas
Isaiah 26:4 NIV 84
Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord is the Rock eternal.
from Indiana, ” So it is with you. Since you are eager for the gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church.” 1 Cor 14:12 NIV
Candace from Narvon, PA
What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All must be done for the strengthening of the churhc.I Corinthians 14:26 NIV
Ramona Gellick,
Medina, Ohio
Psalm 19:14(NIV)
May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight,Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Amanda Benson, Eagle Butte, SD
Luke 12:28-31, NIV
“And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.”
Betty from Austin, Texas
He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. NIV Psalm 25:9
1 Cor. 13:9, “For we know in part and we prophesy in part,…” ESV Sandy Tate, Denver, CO
Gina Tompkins, Tulsa OK Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:5-8 NIV
Debra
Dallas, GA
Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer.
Romans 12:12 (NET)
Talia, Houma LA
I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I set your rules before me. Psalms 119:30
Habakkuk 3:17-18
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
17Â Though the fig tree does not bud
and there is no fruit on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
18Â yet I will triumph in Yahweh;
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!
Syneva; Topeka, Kansas
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Kathi Sitek-Detroit
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. There is no greater love then a man who lays down his life for his friends.
John15:12,13
But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 4:29 NKJV
Hebrews 12:1 NIV
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders, and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Melanie, Arkansas
“Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.” Luke 6:36 NKJV
I have a word for you, Beth. I know you will love it.
Man’s T – Terrible
I – Idea of
M – Managing
E – Eternity
I had a great adventure in Eugene. Thanks for coming to see us.
Katera, Kentwood,LA
Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going, and how can we know the way?”
Jesus said to him, “I am the Way, the Truth,and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:5&6 NKJ
Kimberly, Watha, Psalm 143:5-8 NKJV
5Â I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I muse on the work of Your hands. 6Â I spread out my hands to You; My soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Selah 7Â Answer me speedily, O Lord; My spirit fails! Do not hide Your face from me, Lest I be like those who go down into the pit. 8Â Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, For in You do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You.
phil 4:5-6
Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to GOd.
Lauren Mendoza, Cypress CA
What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand. John 13:7//ESV
Linda from Wake Forest, N.C.
Proverbs 3: 5-6 (NIV)
” Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.”
Romans 5:8 (NIV)
But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Brad and Gwen Eungard
Adam, Eleanor, Amelia, and Owen
Schweinfurt, Germany
k.joy from Lancaster, PA
The Son reflects God’s own glory, and everything about him represents God exactly. He sustains the universe by the mighty power of his command. After he died to cleanse us of the stain of sin, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God of heaven.
Hebrews 1:3 NLT
Delores, Columbia, TN
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children
walk in truth. 3 John 4.
Sue from Norwood, MA
“For God did not give us a spirt of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.”
2 Tim 1:7 NRSV
Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time. Casting all your cares on Him because He cares for you.
1 Peter 5:6-7 NKJV
Isaish 26:4 ESV
Trust in the Lord forever,
for the Lord God is an ever lasting rock.
Kim, Cincinnati,
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
Col. 3:12 NIV
Amber ~ Clarksville, TN
And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. Colossians 3:17 NLT
Rowena, Gulfport, MS
He gives power to the faint and weary, and to him who has no might He increases strength. Isaiah 40:29
Peggy Gandy, Waynesboro, Ms
You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
Isaiah 26:3 NKJV
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare, and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” – Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV)
Lisa, Nederland,TX
You will keep in perfect peace him
whose mind is steadfast, because he
trusts in you.
Isaiah 26:3, NIV
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV
Molly, Gainesville, Georgia
“The Lord is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His deeds. The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.”
Psalm 145:17-18 NASB
Angie, Chillicothe, MO; “Seek to excel in building up the church.” I Corinthians 14:12, HCSB.
Shaminder
Toronto, ON
Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way;say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come with vengeance; with divine retribution He will come to save you.
Isaiah 35:3-4
Debbie Miller, Muskogee OK
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.They will soar high on wings like eagles.They will run and not grow weary.They will walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31 NLT
Becky, Morganton, NC
“He is your praise and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen.”
Deuteronomy 10:21 (New American Standard Bible)
Mary from Houston
Psalm 77:3 I remembered you, O God, and I groaned; I mused, and my spirit grew faint. NIV
Kelly, The Hills, Tx.
When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul. Psalm 94:19 NIV
Lisa W, Houston, TX
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV
Sandra, Swainsboro, GA
I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.
Jeremiah 31:25 NIV
Sharon, Barrington
“…the joy of the Lord is my strength.” Neh. 8:10 (NIV)
Sorry I’m late… but my husband is HOME from Afghanistan!!! 🙂
Laura
San Antonio, TX
James 2:14-17 NASB
What use it it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.