Hey, my beloved sisters!
Though I won’t publish this post until Tuesday, the first day of October, I am writing to you on Sunday. I have the house all to myself today – not even a dog in sight – and I am sitting on my back porch as a generous rain soaks the ground, polishing the wide leaves of sweet gums on its way down. Our trees this far south are still plump and green and, right this minute, I don’t mind because the leaves have such a sheen on them in the rain that they look like vinyl. The temperatures will drop one slow degree at a time over the next month but we usually don’t have what people call “Autumn” here until as late as November. And it’s almost unrecognizable even then. Suddenly you just look up and the trees don’t have leaves and it hits you that you probably missed Fall on your way to work that morning when you ran into Starbucks for a dry cappuccino.
An Arkansas girl by heritage, I am on the hunt for Red October by mid September but I can’t think of a time since I’ve lived on the Gulf Coast that I’ve ever found it. Well, except when I close my eyes and look. And it is beautiful there. I do love Houston though, despite how season-challenged it is. Good people. Many, many who earnestly love Jesus and crave the sense of His presence and serve Him with both life and heart. Its diversity kicks up a rich climate for faith and a prime place to meet people very different from you who seek Jesus feverishly. It’s not as easy to keep your stereotypes tidy here.
In the early years of speaking, God purposed that I’d accrue copious hours of experience serving at various churches, women’s breakfasts and luncheons right here in our city limits and still get home to greet my children after their school day. I often pulled out of the driveway when they hopped on the school bus and squealed my tires back on the concrete just minutes before they pulled up at 3:15. My kids loved riding the school bus and, as it turns out (I write this with a smile), it was a grace to me. On paper, our lives shouldn’t have worked but somehow it worked (apply the term loosely) in practice. That’s the beautiful oddity of the will of God. What should easily work doesn’t work when He’s not in it and what should never work does work when He is. It’s crazy to think about in retrospect. He has been so faithful, just as He will be to you as you try to balance it all and seek His mercy through the insanity.
I wish I could somehow add the soundtrack of what I’m presently hearing to this post. I wish you could listen to the comfort of the rainfall, especially if you are feeling chaotic or anxious right now or frantic about how something’s going to work out. The water is falling steadily, not a soft shower or a downpour. Constant and consoling, almost like one of those sleep-settings on your iPad. And I wish you could hear 4 male hummingbirds competing over the feeder that is hanging about 8 feet from where I’m sitting. It mesmerizes me to watch them and I think you might like it, too, once you adjusted to the pace out here in these woods.
Sometimes we really do just need everything and everybody else to shut up for a minute and let us listen to the sound of God being God around us. These moments are brief for all of us. Just five days ago I was fit to be tied over something. I do mean fit to be tied and, over the weekend, greatly concerned about a situation even while I served. But I am going to sit here for the next few minutes and pour myself a cup of coffee while God pours these woods a cup of rain.
Well, I guess you can tell that I’m in a musing mood so perhaps I should wrap this post up before I work my way over to subjects like world peace and dark nights of the soul and existential crises and the beauty of aging and the delights of youth. Honestly, I can feel a poem trying to write itself in my head. This post must end with perfect timing before, indeed, my words start rhyming. Run for your life. It’s almost too late.
Here’s my Scripture for this October 1st!
Beth Moore, O God, You cause abundant showers to fall on Your chosen people. When they are tired, You sustain them, for You live among them. Psalm 68:9-10a The NET Bible
Amen, You do, gracious, merciful God.
I love you, Sisters. You are a joy to me. The next post will be registration for our SSMT celebration so we can get an idea how many to prepare for. Wooohoooo! It’s almost time to kick up our heels!
Tags: Scripture Memory 2013
Carol from Kansas City:
Psalm 55:22
Amplified Bible (AMP)
22 Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you; He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail).
Gretchen, Gahanna, Ohio–May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may over flow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13 NIV
Margo, Burlington ON
“Ah Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.” Jer. 32:17 NIV
Philippians 2:15 – 16a “that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life,”
I had a scripture picked out then read Beth’s and changed my mind. “O God, you cause abundant showers to fall on your chosen people. When they are tired you sustain them, for you live among them.” Psalm 68:9-10 NET Bible
Rachel, Mt. Carmel, PA
Psalm 77:13-14, NIV – “Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.”
Melissa Emma, Scarborough, ME: “If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done.” Ecclesiastes 11:4 NLT
Janice, Harrison, AR
” I am the Vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”. John 15:5 ESV
Kathy from Chandler, OK – For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. – Galations 5:17 NASB
Kristi Carroll, White Pigeon, MI – Matthew 6:34 – “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Amy from Everett, WA
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
Isaiah 2:3 (ESV)
Colossians 3:14-15 (NLT)
Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27
Laura, Minneapolis, MN.
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.”
Ephesians 1:7, ESV
Leah
Kansas City, MO
“Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?
Exodus 15:11(ESV)
T. Nutt, Mansfield, TX.
“I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.” Psalm 77:12 NIV
Beth R
Liberty Lake, WA
James 1:19 NIV
My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.
Victoria – Salt Lake City, UT – Romans 8:18 (ESV)
” For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
Jessica from Sioux Falls, SD
Isaiah 46:4 NIV
Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
Pat C, S Burlington,VT
Put to death,therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed which is idolatry. Col 3:5, NIV
Linda W. from Tomball, TX
“He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it.”
I Thessalonians 5:24 (ESV)
Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they existed and were created.
Revelation 4:11
ESV
Nicole from Iowa
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:34 NIV)
Joyce
Sparta, NJ
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)
Bobbie Puckett Ft. Worth Texas
May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you. Psalm 33:22 NIV
Sharon from Van, TX
He protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.
Psalm 34:20 NIV
Laura, Houston:
John 10:27 NIV “My sheep listen to my voice I know them and they follow me.”
Barb Kentwood MI, “If you abide in Me, and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” John 15:7 NKJV
Michelle, Houston, “Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal” Isaiah 26:4
Cindy Cannon, Otterville, IL
Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.
Jeremiah 32:17 (NIV)
Veronica- Atlanta, Georgia How beautiful are the feet of those who bring news of good things Rom 10:15 (nasb)
Jeannette, Land O Lakes, FL
Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
Is 58:6 NIV
Martha Clearwater, FL
“Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the alter?”
James 2: 21 NIV
Sara, Laurens, SC. Proverbs 21:5 The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty. NIV.
Melissa from Flemington, NJ. Isaiah 61:10, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.” KJV.
“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give yhou rest.” Matthew 11:28 NIV
Nicole///Dallas///Proverbs 12:20, NLT
“Deceit fills hearts that are plotting evil; joy fills hearts that are planning peace!”
Cindy Rabe
Houston, TX
The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. – Exodus 14:14 NIV
Jaton from Longview, TX
But as it is written: “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.”
I Corinthians 2:9 KJV
Patti from Tampa, FL
He made the earth by His power; He founded the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.
Jeremiah 51:15 (NIV)
Connie Windham
Trout, LA
Romans 12:1-2 NASB
Therefore I urge you brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Regina, Salado, TX
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
1 Peter 5:7,8 (NIV)
Melissa, Walla Walla, WA “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.” -Ephesians 5:15-16 NASB
Tanya , Raleigh, NC
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. (Psalm 32:8 ESV)
Valerie, Ontario, OH
The LORD, Himself will fight for you. Just stay calm. Exodus 14:14. NLT . (while you keep silent) in the NASB.
Woodstock, Ga.
When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul. Psalm 94:19 (NRSV)
Lyndsey, NC
Psalm 57:2 (NASB)
“I will cry to God Most High, to God who accomplishes all things for me.”
Tami Kc, MO
Romans 8:15 NLT
So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”
Heather, from Frisco, TX:
The Lord strengthens and protects me;
I trust in him with all my heart.
I am rescued and my heart is full of joy;
I will sing to him in gratitude.
Psalm 28:7, NET
Sandy Bowers, Bryan, Ohio
My soul waits for the Lord; He is my help and my shield.
Psalm 33:20 (ESV)
(I sort of personalized this….it actually uses “Our” instead of “My”.)