**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 ¾ 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
Happy Birthday. I’ve enjoyed your enthusiasm and perspective in studying God’s word.
Happy Birthday! May you receive love, joy and blessings on your special day!
Happy Birthday sweet Beth! I so enjoy your broadcasts and lessons. Thank you for being faithful to our God in serving Him well! Blessings!!
Happy Birthday, Beth!! I have SO enjoyed so many of your studies! Thank you for sharing so much of yourself and the love of Jesus with so many people…. May God bring His best always! Judging by Melissa’s blog, you are truly one in a million…to your family and to the world. Happy Birthday!!
Happy Birthday!! Your studies are amazing. Thank you for following His will for your life!!
Happy Birthday Beth! Your life and studies have had a huge influence on mymlife.
Happy Birthday Beth! Hope you are having a fabulous day!
Really enjoyed this past weekend at the Tampa Bay event…it was just what I needed.
Happy Blessed Birthday, Beth! I have thanked our God for you on multiple occasions as I have gone through several of your studies. I have learned a lot through you, and look forward to all the wonderful new things you have to share about Jesus with us.
Happy Birthday Beth!! Oh my goodness!! I have laughed with you, cried with you and learned so much from you!! The VERY first bible study I ever lead was To Live Is Christ. I was hooked!! I get every reference you make being a fellow Texas girl!! Love you and praying your year is FULL of Him!!!
Beth wishing you a wonderful blessed birthday with you family and friends.
Happy Birthday Beth! Let me just say may you be blessed with many more! Your spirit and love for the Lord is amazing, so you are such an inspiration to me but others as well! You have opened your heart with your teachings and I believe you are lead to do so! May you have an amazing birthday! Hugs and many blessings to you!
Happy birthday, Beth. Thank you for loving Jesus and shining the light on Him in such a way that I have seen Him and fallen in love with Him too.
Happy Birthday Beth! Thanks for all you do for women!!
Happiest of birthdays to a woman who has had more influence on my life than most (and we’ve never met). You are a gift to us all!!
Happy Birthday Beth Moore! I am thankful for your wisdom and diligence to listen to the Holy Spirit and share with so many of us the Word! You help me to apply it to my life in such a way that even when the Word disciplines me; I welcome the guidance.
God Bless you.
Happy Birthday, Beth! Hope you have a lovely day of celebration and joy.
Happy Birthday Beth! You share a birthday with my oldest daughter!
Happy birthday Beth!!! I love your studies & talks. You have inspired me to encourage military spouses in their walk with Jesus by writing my first book & starting my first military bible study. Thank you for sharing your passion of knowing God’s amazing Word.
Happy Birthday mama Beth! We are thankful you were born. Your Bible studies have changed the way we look at the word of God and my husband and I pray out loud after almost all of them, “Jesus, help us love your word like Beth.” Thank you for your faithful obedience. We are blessed to be alive at the same time you are. (We love you too Melissa!)
Happy Birthday Beth! Thank you for being such an inspiration to me!
Happiest of birthdays to you! Thanks for your years of ministry, Beth.
Happy birthday Beth. You are the best!
Happy Birthday from Maine, Beth!
Dearest Beth, I am 73 and you have spoken to me for years thru your studies and simulcasts. The joy has spread to all ages and walks of life with whom I have witnessed your love for family, God’s children and the Good Lord himself. Happy Birthday and may you have a long life walking in His light.
Oh my goodness, what a beautiful post! Happy Birthday, Beth!
I am glad that you were born! happy birthday to you. brenda
Happy Birthday, Beth! Thank you for letting Jesus use you….you will never know what it has meant to my life.
Happy birthday Beth! Thank you for your enouragement. You introduced me to what true Bible study should be when a friend at church invited me to the Daniel study. Needless to say I sat there slack-jawed, and loved it.
Thank you for the past weekend at Living Proof Live Tampa. Reframed was my favorite reverb. I plan on taking an empty wood frame and hanging it on my mirror. Not sure what verse I want on it yet.
May God bless yu everyday this year and give you some refreshing rest for being such a strong warrior for His kingdom.
Happy Birthday! So thankful for you and your ministry!
Happy Birthday Beth! Our Women’s Bible Study Group is just finishing up your study “A Woman’s Heart”. You are so wise and an inspiration to all of us. You amaze me…I don’t know how you can talk for an hour and stay on track. You are so articulate, organized, and easy to follow, but seem not to follow a script. I certainly hope your day is wonderful, full of joy and family…and most of all, relaxation, as you seem to be a Type A personality!
Wishing you a very Blessed and Happy Birthday, Beth! Your are such an inspiration to all of us! God Bless You!
Happy Birthday, Beth!!!
Just want to take a minute today and thank you for your faithfulness and perseverance with the Lord. I have benefited richly from your Bible studies over the past dozen plus years.
Not only have you given me much to chew on in my own relationship with the Lord, but it’s been a blast to do your studies with my girl friends!
God bless you, Beth! Have a spectacular year!!!
Happy Birthday Beth!! Through many storms, your words have confirmed the love of God and who we are in Christ…So blessed by your teaching! Thank you for setting a standard by not being afraid to share the truth and using your own life as an example that helps us all to be real.
Happy birthday !!
Happy birthday, beautiful lady! Thank you for being a wonderful teacher and inspiration in my life. Your memory verse challenge for the year has been one of the best things. Especially at the age of 78, the scriptures are so precious. May God bless and keep you and your family.
Beth, Happy Birthday to you! I know you will be celebrated well! Thank you for all the sacrifices you have made and continue to make to share the Word with women. The Lord has used you so very much in my life and I am so very grateful. Thank you just isn’t enough…. I love you.
Happy happy birthday Dear Beth- your passion for God inspires me! God bless you dear sister!
Happy Birthday, Beth! I am so grateful for your ministry. Thank you for helping me find such joy in God’s word.
Melissa,
You make me cry! Your love for your mom is so sweet!
Beth,
Just thinking of you makes me cry! You are such a blessing to me and so many others!
Thanks for loving Jesus and His Word like you do! It is so contagious! Thanks for living free for us to see and for the sacrifices you continually make on our behalf to do what you do!
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear Beth,
Happy Birthday to you!!
AND MANY MORE!!
SO Much Love is Sent YOUR Way!
Leslie Crawley
Happy Birthday to you Beth!!! You have changed many lives here on this earth by your kindness, love, God-fearing ways and spunkiness!!! And I’m grateful for you 🙂
Happy Birthday Beth!!! I pray your birthday will be full with an overflowing aboundance of joy! May our Lord bless you on your special day!! You bring so much joy to others in all that you do! I pray you slip your shoes off and feel the grass beneath your feet, sip on a glass of sweet tea, bask in the presence of our Father and enjoy time with family! You bless so many with your God given talents!! ((hugs)) to you girlfriend!!!!
Happy birthday Beth! You are a light to the world 🙂
Happy birthday, Beth! What an inspiration you are to many!
God bless your day & yr!
Best wishes for a super Happy Birthday! Pray it is filled with The Lord, family and friends!
Happy birthday to a beautiful woman with a beautiful spirit.
Happy Birthday Beth. What a beautiful tribute!!! Hope my daughter can write such words about me some day. I love hearing how well you have walked together.
Happy Birthday BethMay the Lord bless you with many more
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Beth! We’ve had your book studies at our church many times over the past years. When the ladies are considering what they want to study next, they always choose one of your studies. We are anxiously awaiting the next one!
Any Mom who loves the Lord – it doesn’t get much better!
Another sprinkling of blessings, Beth!
Wishing you a special day on your birthday. May God continue to bless you as you faithfully bless others!! Especially me!