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
Kristin, Archbold, OH
James 1:5 (ESV)
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
Amy from Midlothian Va
But you are a shield around me, O Lord; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head. Psalm 3:3 NIV
“who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth,” I Peter 2:22 NASV
Liz, Nashua, NH
Matthew 5: 44-45, NIV
“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
Lois, Schriever, LA
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John16:33NIV
Isaiah 43:18-19 (NLT)
18 “But forget all that—
it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.
Becky Mansfield, Ohio
And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another helper, that He may abide with you forever.
John 14:16 NKJV
Brenda, Winnipeg, Canada
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
Mary Jane, Troy KS
“The Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord blesses His people with peace.” Psalm 29:11 NIV
Nehemiah 4:14
The Message (MSG)
“After looking things over I stood up and spoke to the nobles, officials, and everyone else: “Don’t be afraid of them. Put your minds on the Master, great and awesome, and then fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”
Ruth, Austin, Texas
No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.
1 John 3:9
Emily from Glenn Heights, TX
“I raise my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1-2 HCSB
Danielle S.
Garden City, KS
Colossians 3:13 (NIV)
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Joyce, Wahpeton ND
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger or sword?
Romans 8:35 ESV
Scarlett, Round Rock, TX
“Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the highest heavens. You have done such wonderful things. Who can compare with you, O God?” (Psalms 71:19, NLT)
Ann, Cataula, GA
He who forms the mountains,
creates the wind,
and reveals his thoughts to man,
He who turns dawn to darkness,
and treads the high places of the earth–
the LORD God Almighty is his name.
Amos 4:13, NIV
Kay, Little Rock, AR
“Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; he is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.”
Ps. 144: 1-2, ESV
Michelle, Colorado Springs
John 14:26
New International Version (NIV)
“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”
Surely you desire truth in the inner parts, you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
Psalm 51:6 NIV
Stacy from McDonough, GA
“Keep falsehood and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Proverbs 30:8 NIV
Let not your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. John 14:1 ESV
Jennie from Long Creek, Oregon. “Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, ‘My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God’? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom.” ~Isaiah 40: 27-28 NIV~
in Arizona
Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.
Psalm 24:8 NKJV
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let Your GLORY be over the earth.
Ps. 57:11 NIV
The Lord has told you what is good,
and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8 NLT
From Littlestown, PA- Philippians 2:And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Marcia Bouchie
Windermere, FL
“May he grant your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans.” Psalm 20:4 (NLT)
KariAnn from Houston, TX
“May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord my Rock and my Redeemer.”
Psalm 19:14 (NIV)
Suzy, Grove City, Ohio
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
1 Corinthians 6: 19-20
Tammy from Fort Myers, FL: “Maintain your competence and discretion. My son, don’t lose sight of them. They will be life for you and adornment for your neck.” Proverbs 3:21-22 HCSB
Dana, Shawnee, KS
James 5:16 NASB
Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
Proverbs 17:17 (ESV)
“A friend loves at all times and a brother a brother is born for adversity.”
Psalm 89:15 (NIV)
Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord.
Ruth, Providence
Moreover, the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun and the light of the sun will be seven-fold, as the light of seven days in the day when the LORD binds up the hurt of His people and heals the wounds inflicted by His blow.
Isaiah 30:26 RSV
MiCal, College Station, TX
…I worship Yahweh, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land.”
Jonah 1:9b (HCSB)
He restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for His name sake.
Psalm 23:3
Teresa, Tyler TX
And we are instructed to turn from godless living, and sinful pleasure. We should live in this evil world with self control, right conduct and devotion to God, while we look forward to that wonderful event when the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ will be revealed.
2 Titus 2:12-13
Dianne, Atlanta, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.” Matthew 5:38-42 ESV
Terry from Indianapolis
You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may confirm His covenant that He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
Deuteronomy 8:18 ESV
Greta, Greenville
So when the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him until a more opportune time. Luke 4:13, NET
Catherine/Mill Creek WA
I will teach you wisdom’s ways and lead you in straight paths. When you walk, you won’t be held bacck; when you run, you won’t stumble. Take hold of my instructions; don’t let them go. Guard them, for they are the key to life. Proverbs 4:11-13 NLT
Caryn from Grand Prairie, Tx
“The Lord will fight for you. You only need to be still.” Exodus 14:14(NIV84)
Joni from Clarinda, IA
He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Romans 8:32 NASB
Jennifer from Wilmington, DE
Phil 3:19-20 NIV – Their destiny is DESTRUCTION, their god is their STOMACH, and their glory is in their SHAME. Their mind is set on EARTHLY things. But our citizenship is in HEAVEN.
Tuscaloosa,AL
Ephesians 4:3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. NIV
Elisca, Alexandria, LA
bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. Colossians 3:13(NKJV)
Karen, Hartselle, AL
11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.
1 Corinthians 13:11 (ESV)
Tyler, Tx
Numbers 6:24-26 (NIV)
The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.
Laura Berg, Carlsbad, CA
“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.”
Ephesians 1:17
Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom, prisoners suffering in iron chains.
Psalm 107:10 (NIV)
Stephanie
Pawleys Island, SC