**UPDATE**
Congratulations to the winners of the birthday drawing! Your names are posted below. Watch your inbox for an email from Living Proof later today so that we can get you your gift!
BONUS: The wonderful people at AMG Publishers have extended a 50% discount to any of you who would like to order a Key Word Study Bible! Click here to get more information, or to order your Bible. AMG Publishers
Winners:
#523 – Carole Germain            #4348 – Karen Quinn
#2282 – Merissa G.                   #4399 – Anna Bunch
#2321 – Marilyn Riley               #4430 – Nancy Beeey
#2756 – Merissa Ury                 #4813 – Myrlene Darnell
#2876 – Beth Longar                 #5648 – Nan Smith
#3937 – Dani Turner                 #5798 – Rachel C.
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A few nights ago I walked my buck wild new puppy around my neighborhood, watched the sun sink deep down into the horizon, and then settled in back at home. I flipped on my favorite season of the West Wing and I ate an entire bag of tortilla chips and Âľ a jar of my favorite salsa for dinner. What is it they say again? The apple does not fall far from the tree. Or something like that?
You see when we were growing up Mom would throw us kids in the back of Brontosaurus the station wagon and haul us halfway across the city to her old favorite Tex-Mex joint. She ordered a pint of salsa and a gigantic grease-stained brown paper bag of tortilla chips for take-out and she would eat all of this and only this for her dinner. Her own dinner. I can’t remember what we kids even ate, or if she fed us at all. I’m only kidding about that last part.
My mom was born at high noon in a fierce thunderstorm, my grandfather said. Her presence still shifts the atmosphere. A few weeks ago Mom left for a week in the hill country for a time of writing and solitude. The second she got back home, I loaded up my stuff and headed out to spend a night with she and my Dad. You see, for me, going to hang out with my parents isn’t really like going to hang out with the parents. Far from duty, it’s one of my favorite things to do. We caught up on all the life stuff that night. And then in the morning we drank our coffee in our pajamas and by 8:30 a.m. at the latest we had already covered topics such as the theology in Ephesians, the New Testament canon, the Holy Spirit’s role in the interpretation of Scripture, and the Festal Letter of Athanasius.
I have to say, this woman utterly dazzles me. She is the sweetest in the land. She is gracious and sanguine and loving and kind, no doubt, but she is serious and intense and focused and courageous. She has opinions and perspective and boldness and wisdom from the ground like no other. For all her awesomeness she is not self-righteous or squeamish, and God knows I have pushed her limits.
Mom is deeply committed to our family and I’ve always known that full well but I’ve also seen that she’s preoccupied with something a whole lot bigger than us. Probably the most important thing I have learned from her is that being caught up in Jesus and what He is doing in the world is everything. It is the ultimate priority and a family committed to His work in the world will get the privilege of making sacrifices together.
Over the past few years in my own journey I found myself in an unknown place, a place where a heart could break deeper and wider and in more directions than I could have imagined possible. Mom has walked alongside me on this road further than any human could be expected to walk with another. She would have had good reasons to just sit out a while and catch her breath. But she never left my side. The road has been bumpy but also tedious and repetitive. When the landscape didn’t seem to change for a long, long time, she kept plodding along with me, carrying my burdens and helping me shoulder the grief that felt too much to bear.
Mom is tender and she is strong and she is not afraid to look pain and grief and loss dead in the eye. Even more, she is daring enough to hope against hope. To see in others, even me, the beginnings of life and growth and health and wholeness where others might only see brokenness and death. She has shined the light of Jesus on me more times than I can count.
She can fry a chicken and whip up mashed potatoes and gravy with the best of the Southern cooks. Her pleasures are simple: the reading of books, sitting on the front porch, walking her dogs in the woods, eating dinner with my Dad, playing games on the floor with her grandkids, and drinking tea with Amanda and me. But make no mistake she is wicked smart and complex and multifaceted. She is so much more than even the best caricature of her could ever hope to be.
I love her.
Yes, I love her. If one photo could capture the light and color she brings to my world, this is it:
It is my joy and honor to be her daughter and also to work for her at Living Proof. This blog giveaway is just one of many ways I celebrate her beautiful life today.  The first three gifts are from Living Proof and the last two gifts are personal gifts from me.
First and foremost, we are giving away eight Key Word Study Bibles. My mom gave me one of these Bibles many years ago. It was one of the first Bibles I ever really remember being excited about. It helped me become familiar with various Greek and Hebrew words before I ever took a Greek or Hebrew reading class. Every time I read it I was reminded that the Scriptures we hold in our hands in English are a translation. Remembering this often is a good thing and will take a person a long way in the study of the Bible, I think.
![IMG_2993[4]](https://blog.lproof.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/IMG_29934.jpg)
Second, we are giving away an assortment of several pounds of favorite Houston coffee beans. My mom is a serious coffee drinker, so this is just an obvious addition. This package will include but not be limited to one of my current favorites:
Third, we are giving away an arrangement of fresh flowers Mom loves. And, really, who wouldn’t like these?
Fourth, we are giving away a crossbody saddlebag. Mom and I both carry versions of this crossbody bag over and over again until one breaks and we have to buy another one.
Fifth and finally, we are giving away a small bottle of Flowerbomb. Mom wears lots of different perfumes, but she most often travels with this one.
So, if you’re interested in our giveaway please do pop on and say “Happy Birthday” and show Mom some love. Your comment becomes your entry into our random drawing. Comments will officially close 24 hours after the post is published, and please only one comment per person. The names of our winners will be posted at the top of this post at some point on Thursday.
I hope you all are happy and well.
And, Mom, I love you!
The best is yet to come,
Melissa
Happiest of Birthdays to you Beth!!! I have learned SO much from you and your teachings and have been truly blessed getting to “know” you through your books, devotionals and DVD teachings. Thank you so very much for using your gifts and helping others to see the light of Jesus! Happy, Happy Birthday!!!
Blessings to you and your lovely family!
Carol
Happy Birthday, Beth! What a blessing you have been to me as I have gone through several of your Bible studies. I pray that this will be a year where God blesses you more and more.
Happiest of birthday wishes to you Beth.
You will never know the many hours you have
kept me company through your books, DVDs, CDs,
and bible studies. And there is no way to measure
the influence on my spiritual growth. Thank you for
using your great gift of teaching to help me draw ever
closer to my Lord and Savior.
Happy Birthday, Beth! I am super excited because I am headed to Living Proof Live in Greenville, SC in July along with my two teen daughters, my mom and my sister to worship the Lord and hear a word! Thank you for your faithful commitment! Can’t wait! 🙂
Happy, Happy Birthday Beth!!
What a wonderful tribute from your daughter! Your love of Jesus and your exuberance for His Word is truly a gift from God, a reflection of how Jesus pours into you, and evidence of your faithfulness in pouring into your family and finally into so many of us who have listened and studied with you (not in person, but in our churches or in our homes.
Have a wonderful and blessed birthday!
Cindy
Birthday blessings to a woman who has blessed me through her passion for Jesus and his holy Word.
Dear Beth,
Happy Anniversary of your Birth! We are wishing you so many blessings that your life overflows abundantly, exceedingly, far more than it already does now. May your celebrations remind you of how deeply you are loved and how special God made you for just Him. You already know how blessed you are with sweet daughters, like Melissa, who cherish your relationship with them and love you so incredibly much. What a beautiful testimony Melissa gave of her adoration for you!
With great respect and fondness,
Anji Budzynski
Happy Birthday Beth! My world is a better place due to the day that God brought you into the world! You have taught me so many lessons! From you I have learned how to dive in deeply in all areas of my life! You have taught me to love with all my being and I am so grateful that you have also taught me to laugh out loud and embrace who God created me to be! You are such an intricate part of my life that my hubby has given you the pet name “Auntie Beth”. I love you dearly and pray for you often! Thank you for stepping into the call God has placed on your life. Your example has helped me to step into mine.
Beth Moore, I just love you and I love the way Jesus just pours from every fiber of your being. Happy Birthday, sweet girl!!
God blessed the world a little bit more when you arrived in it because He knew that in time He would bless so many people through you and your teaching. I know the Lord has moved in my life on several occasions by speaking a word to me by way of one of your Bible studies. I wish you immense joy on this day – joy in life, in family, in work, and most importantly in Jesus. Have a very very Happy Birthday, Siesta Mama Beth!!
<3
Lany
Happy Birthday Beth-
Thank you for being one of my closest friends without even knowing me! You have spoken to core of my strengths and weaknesses! You have cried with me and rejoiced with me through your obedience to The Lord and your ministry! You are this too soooo many! One of my favorite moments from one of your studies that I always go back to is…. When Saran through a a mountain in from of me that I have already conquered! I just tell it – MOVE! Thank you for inspiring and cheering for me to run my race! When I speak to women’s groups, I always fuel my spirit with your videos! Love you!
Happy Birthday Beth! Wishing you so much joy! Your studies have been such a gift to me.
happy birthday Beth… It looks like the best gift had been given… This beautiful tribute from your daughter… Thanks for pouring out your life and bearing the fruit of His Spirit so others can be nurished… Blessings and grace to you!!!!
Happy Birthday Mrs.Beth… Thanks for pouring out what God has poured into you!! I and countless others have been blessed!
Dear Beth, May God bless you with many happy moments today and in the days to come.You have been faithful in your service to our Lord and Savior! You have not squandered the gifts God has given you! Beth, my heart and many others have been touched by your studies. The story of Esther and her courage still returns to my mind after several years. I pray the Lord will continue to be with you as you serve Him every day of your life until He returns!
Happy Birthday to you, Beth!!
Words can never adequately express my appreciation for all I have learned from you through the many Bible studies you have written. My eyes and my heart have been opened to the Scriptures as never before. May your day be blessed in a very special way!
Maurine
Happy belated birthday, Beth! I hope you had a blessed and wonderful day.
Beth, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I want to say THANK YOU for being an obedient servant! God, through Your Bible studies,has and continues to CHANGE MY LIFE!!! I love you and consider you my friend and sister.
Sincerely,
Fawnda 🙂
Happy birthday to a wonderful and gifted lady. Thank you for being obedient to God’s call on your life. I have been richly blessed by your teaching.
Kelly L., Merritt Island, FL
Happy Happy Beth Day!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BETH!!!! You deserve it…..
You are so inspired and the Bible Study I just finished was totally awesome!!!
Thanks for making it so much fun!!!!
Brenda
HaPpY BiRtHdAy BeTh!! I thank God for your wisdom, your insight and your ability to share them with us. I am currently doing the David study(again) and gaining new wisdom for this season of life! Enjoy a wonderful day filled with God’s beautiful blessings!!
Well, I’m just so relieved to know it’s just Beth’s BIRTHDAY! I got deeper and deeper into Melissa’s post and thought, “golly, is she sick? Is she dying? Has some horrible thing befell our Beth?” Shew! Thank you, Lord, for our sweet Beth’s life! It’s a fascinating amazement that there can be one that you know not at all, and yet you know her with such a rich, full awareness…. but that’s simply because Your Spirit in her so communes with Your Spirit in us! The whole time I was reading Melissa’s tribute, I kept thinking,…. yeah, yeah, that’s Beth, she’s pegged her, that’s our Beth! Thank you, Lord, that You have given us your darling Beth to know, to be mentored by, to love! Her life in You, has made our lives all the more “in You”! We walk bolder and more confidently in You because of her walk in You. She excites and incites! She challenges! She wears You in a way that looks so amazingly beautiful that she makes us want more and more and more of You! Thank you, Lord! Thank You for her. Bless her with a gazzillion more years of influence in Your name! Bless her with peace of mind toward those in her inner circle so that she won’t be distracted from Your call, but can faithfully press on! Bless her with more JOY IN YOU than even she thought ever was possible!
PS….. the gifts you’re giving away are very sweet, but we ALL have gotten the real gift…. the gift of sharing life with Beth Moore! And she doesn’t come empty-handed….. she comes to us ALWAYS with arms and heart and mind FULL OF JESUS! We’re all winners!
Beth – Thank you for obeying the Lord all these years, and for impacting my life and the lives of countless other women.
I wish you a very happy birthday, sister!!
Happy Birthday Beth Moore, sister loved by God!
Hard to believe I can wish you
a personal note on her birthday!
Thank you for helping me draw closer to God.
Your studies are truly impacting me and the women who have studied alongside with over the years. I always say I look forward to the next one God willing!
May your day be filled with rich blessings!
Much Love,
Gaye Whalen
Happy Birthday Beth, and many more! May the Lord continue His good work through you. Your studies have brought me closer to God, and shown me that I am not alone in my trials. That I too have a calling, and what the evil one meant for harm, God is using for His own glory. May your special day be overflowing with blessings! God bless! <3 Laura
Dear Beth,
Birthday Blessings to you! Thank you for the gift that you are to me and to the church body as a whole. Jeremiah 1:5 NLT- “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations”
Thank you for answering the call of God for your life.
Simply” Thank You”!
Melissa You have honored your Mom in the most “Beautiful” way!
Love you both, Diana Scott
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BETH!!! I count you and your ministry among my greatest blessings! Love, Dawn
Happy Birthday to my soul siesta !!!! Thank you for all the time you spend so unselfishly serving others, like me, through your many books, Bible studies, and videos. Thank you for listening to the Holy Spirit, and giving to us your very personal stories and putting yourself out there to help all the broken souls….those like me who have been restored and redeemed by our precious Jesus. You are so encouraging and uplifting. It seems so often as if you are speaking straight into my heart, and I know you are following God’s will and He is wanting me to know those precious words He has given you. I am so grateful for you and all you do. Thank you ! Happy Birthday ! May you be richly blessed by our Heavenly Father.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to an AMAZING woman og God that has allowed Him To speak through her and let HIS words change so many lives. May he bless you ABUNDANTLY!
Happy birthday Beth! I love you immensely but I am also very angry at you! You see, I did your Daniel Bible study a few years ago and my life has been a mess sense. I prayed for the Lord to use me and He is doing just what I asked! Beth, you warned us that if there were prayers we really didn’t mean we should take them back. I should have listened. LOL Seriously, I love everything you do and everything you stand for. Thank you for all you do to minister to is in the body. You pour out more of yourself than I’m sure any of us will ever know. I know you have paid a high price to be used by the Lord, but it truly has been for our benefit. May the Lord bless you mightily in this life and even more so in the life to come.
Happy Birthday!
Thank you so much for all you do for us women. Your honesty that life isn’t rosy, marriages hit rough patches, Jesus loves us, and we can survive are so needed in this world, and by me. You are an inspiration that God can use me and spending time in His Word is a necessity for life. That you.
Happiest of birthdays to you Beth! Thank you for a life well lived for His kingdom!
Happy Birthday:
Beth give your mom a big Birthday hug from Florida. I envy those who still have their moms. My mom went to heaven 30 yrs. ago. I wish she were here today. My mom never got to know my girls. My girls were toddler’s when she died. Now Grandpa and I raise our grandchildren.
I do keep her memory alive, by fixing foods that she always made for us. My oldest daughter has to have my moms orange Jello salad. My youngest daughter loves a fruit cocktail salad. My mom was an avid car player.
My youngest grandson was playing cards with my moms sister. Out of the blue as he was dealing the cards, he says “this cards for you, this cards for me, and this card is for the kitty”..
My mom left us some wonder ful memories. Beth it sounds like you and your mom are making some beautiful memories also. So again a very Happy Birthday Beth
Happy Birthday Beth!!! May God bless you today and everyday, thank you for your gift to us in all your books and bible studies, YOU, my dear Beth are a blessing to do many! I am praying for you today that you may enjoy those sweet things in life you cherish so much!
Happy birthday, Beth!
Thank you for being real, Godly, cheerful, and encouraging. Your studies are both challenging and enjoyable. I love the way you have us flipping back-and-forth in the Bible searching the Scriptures for what God has to tell us. The girls in my family have enjoyed walking with you in our scripture memorization this year. Thank you for sharing your heart and your faith with so many of us.
Have a very blessed birthday!
What a beautiful tribute, Melissa. Thank you for sharing your mom with us. Happy Birthday, Beth. May it be a fabulous day of blessing and celebrating! Thank you for your obedience to your calling. My life is richer for it and my walk with the Lord is deeper and wider because of your work. There really aren’t adequate words to express my deep gratitude for what I have learned from your pen, so I pray He pours out blessing upon blessing on you and yours. Much love to you, beloved teacher.
Happy Birthday Beth,
I feel like I know you, since you occupy a port in of my day as I read and study His word through many of your studies. Currently I am finishing up Children of the Day! WOW… Every day the homework gets better.
So Happy Birthday girlfriend.
Lots of love and hugs,
Mary
HAppy Birthday Beth and thank you for being faithful and sharing your learnings with all of us.
Miss Beth,
The very happiest of birthdays and many blessings to you. When I was a new baby Christian it was your study(ies) that not only taught me who Christ is but how I can have a personal relationship with Him. My life will never be the same because of that. Thank you.
Happy Birthday to a woman who has had so much impact on my life. Thank you for giving your life to the Lord!! I wish I knew you better, that we were neighbors or sisters or that you were my mom. I hope you have an amazing day!! Love you and God bless!!
First to Melissa, what a beautiful tribute to your mom! Not knowing any details except one slight hint, I have been praying for you. I am so thankful the Lord is showing you that you can trust Him. But I’m especially thankful you were your mom’s daughter at such a time.
Now To Beth, Have the happiest birthday a sanguine woman who loves Jesus so much can have! And I wish I could watch from a distance. My personality could not handle close proximity to such a celebration. We, your Siestas, love you too!
Happy Birthday Miss Beth! Thank you for sharing your joys and sorrows, triumphs and struggles, but most of all, thank you for sharing how God has carried you through those times. Thank you for giving us the reality of who God is and who we are in Him! What a wonderful tribute your precious daughter has given you. A true blessing for any Mother.
Beth, I want to wish you birthday blessings! Truly you are a BFF to me because you have kindled a fire of delight in the Lord and His Word in me like no other. Thank you for so beautifully serving the Kingdom of God through your powerful ministry to women. I love you! and I’ll see you in Fargo in August 🙂
Happy Birthday Beth!
You are such a blessing to me!
I too just celebrated my birthday last week and I have to say, it was not one of my best memories. My mother with Alzheimer’s lives with my sweet husband and I so I can care for her as she lives out the “rest of her days”. She stills knows who I am and for that I am grateful, but this year she did not remember my birthday, and I am surprised at how much that broke my heart.
I have just finished leading a group of ladies through your “Children of the Day” study and we were all so blessed. We even sent you a picture of each of us holding our “temporarily residing abroad” sign.
Thank you for sharing your love for God and His word. Like you, I have this hunger to be in God’s word and just can’t seem to get enough. I can’t wait to see what God has for us through your writing and teaching.
Have some chips and salsa and enjoy your day!
Happy birthday!! I hope you have a wonderful day with family & friends!!
Happy Birthday Ms. Beth!! Thank you for sharing all your wisdom. Thank you for letting God use you in ways that you have touched so many lives. Thank you for being a vessel for whatever God wants to do through you! Thank you for being a model as attested to by Melissa of who we, as moms, should be aspiring to be! Happy Birthday!
Happy Happy Birthday!!!! 🙂
What a beautiful mother you are to Amanda and Melissa, and what a wonderful tribute to your love that is willing to go the depths and the distances for them! Your heart is so much like His, Beth.
I can think of no finer honor.
Your life has been and continues to be a rich source of teaching and leading me further into the heart and ways of God. I’ve been on board since A Heart like His, and your studies have consistently fed me over the decades. I’m currently enjoying The Names of God on oneplace. I’m hoping one of the ones we study will be El Shaddai.
So thank you so very much, Beth. I have always felt your studies are the right balance of heart and mind for me.
Have a most blessed and radically joyful Birthday!
With love and appreciation for you…and your refreshingly wacky sense of humor!
Your siesta and fellow lover of our God,
Karen
WIshes for happiness and God’s most bountiful blessings upon you Beth! Happy Birthday – your studies have inspired me to study God’s word and for that I am eternally grateful.
Love in Christ – Sue-Elise Flowers, KY