I think the Lord was in a very good mood when He created the West Coast. It is just ridiculously beautiful there. Sky? Blue. Ocean? Blue. Me going home? Blue. I have been there twice this year (Deeper Still – San Francisco in February) and this time I had to force myself to get on that plane back to Texas. Except that my hubby (aka Hubs) and son are in Texas and we’ve long since established that “Home is where the Hubs is.” That has been my anthem since the Lord first told me to be ready to go anywhere He calls. I was well into my engagement when a veteran minister’s wife broke the news to me that most ministers move around a fair amount throughout their lives. What? You mean, we won’t always be at this church? Bless my naive heart. That fact had honestly never crossed my mind. When it penetrated the stubborn layers of my heart, I determined that not only was Curt Jones worth it, but my Lord was worth it.

Why was I talking about California again? Oh yeah. Mom, Melissa and I spent Labor Day weekend playing in Santa Monica. We had the most fun! Our last girls-only weekend was 2.5 years ago and I’d say this one was overdue. I’m sure you can guess what we did. My mom sent a text to Melissa and me that said, “Sweeties, don’t forget to bring a larger suitcase with room to take stuff home.” Translation? We are going s-h-o-p-p-i-n-g! Woo hoo! We shopped, ate, walked a ton so that we wouldn’t feel bad about what we ate, and enjoyed being together so much. We were very close to the beach and got to visit the Santa Monica Pier and walk in the sand each day. I could kick myself, but we have absolutely no pictures. My sister and I both thought the other would bring the camera and neither of us did. So we’re very sorry that we have nothing to show for our trip other than some fabulous new clothes.

Less than one year from now, hopefully many of us will be making our way down to San Antonio for our own girls-only weekend. We can’t wait! I’ve read through your comments and I want to address some of the issues that were brought up.

1) I’m so very sorry if we were unclear, but the plan all along has been to incorporate the Siesta Fiesta into a larger, existing Living Proof Live event. Even though we will be within a large group, I don’t think you will leave without feeling that you’ve had some quality time with your siestas. A better explanation will come closer to the event.

2) There is unfortunately no way to know whether this Living Proof Live event will sell out. These things are kind of unpredictable. This will be a large venue and I think you have some breathing room, but please don’t wait longer than necessary to register. We want to see you there!

3) If you had trouble emailing your information to Beth, you can fax it to our office. The fax number is 281-859-3610. Here is the email address in case the link didn’t work for you before: [email protected]. For the sake of your protection and our organization, let’s email our info instead of leaving it in a comment.

4) Barring any family emergency, I will be there. I wouldn’t dare miss it! I can’t believe we have to wait eleven months!

LIVING PROOF LIVE – SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
August 22-23, 2008

Step One:
Check out the conference details.

Step Two:
Register for the event.

Step Three:
Email Beth and let her know you’re coming to San Antonio. Please include your mailing address (and why not go crazy and give us your phone number too) so that we will have several options for contacting you when we have further instructions.

Ladies, we absolutely cannot wait!

Buenos dias, hermanas! Click here to view the Siesta Fiesta announcement. Make sure your volume is up or you might miss a blessing. Choose the video titled “LPL Blog.” Ole’!

Here are some of the pictures from Angola that Janice shared with me last week. There were so many to choose from! I know you will be blessed by seeing the beautiful faces of the children that LIFE Outreach International has the privilege of serving through their Mission Feeding program. We have already talked a lot about this, but I wanted you to have the chance to see these pictures.

Some of the images are difficult to look at, such as the ones from the clinics. You’ll see very skinny infants who are actually toddlers. Malnourishment horribly stunts the children’s physical and mental growth. Janice explained to me that babies do okay until they are weaned. After that, it is very easy for them to go downhill quickly. It might take a while for an adult to die from malnutrition, but it can happen very quickly for a child. A bout with dysentery after being exposed to micro-organisms in their food or water can be very hard to recover from.

The good news is that something is being done to help some of these malnourished children. Lives are being saved. A difference is being made. Thank you, Lord.

Hey siestas! Check out LifeWay’s new Deeper Still Blog. Deeper Still is a weekend event featuring Bible teachers Kay Arthur, Priscilla Shirer, and Beth Moore. Click here for more information. Have a blessed Monday!

Thank you to everyone who has been lifting up this event and the 4,100 ladies who have come to meet with Jesus.

The LPL event team

Meet Rich Kalonick. He’s responsible for all these great event pictures and recap videos. Thanks, Rich!

Yesterday I got to have lunch with my friend Janice Meyer. Janice is the resident photographer (minister of photography, if you will) at Life Outreach International. She is the one who brought Matthew’s story to life for us through pictures. She had some picture CDs from the Angola trip to give me, which means I have more pictures to post for you very soon!

Beckham, my golden retriever, has been very sad lately because it’s too hot to do much playing outside. So I asked Janice to bring her golden retriever, Flannel, over to my house to play. Flannel is nine years old and very laid back. Very, very laid back. Beckham is three years old and behaves much like a three year old child. Not very laid back. There wasn’t much common ground for our two goldens, but Janice saved the day by bringing some chew treats for both of them.

Here they are “playing” so nicely while their mommies chatted away. Some might say it was the perfect playdate.

Meet Mr. Flannel. What a sweetie.

Here’s Beckham, who is wearing a cone-slash-clown-collar to keep him from scratching the hot spot on his face. The cone is obviously in rough shape.

This is some riveting material, isn’t it? Thanks to Janice’s pictures, we’ll have a more substantial post later this week.

If you want to post a picture and a story about your dog (or cat…goldfish…hermit crab…whatever) on your own blog, let us know in a comment!

I tried to capture Jackson dancing for y’all. He’s really groovin’ with his right side. He’s either enjoying a little “Jesus Paid it All” sung by Kristian Stanfill or “You Are My Joy” by David Crowder Band on Passion’s “Everything Glorious” CD. He’s heard both of those about a thousand times.

Here’s the Atlanta commissioning for all you Georgia Peaches.

My Dear Sister,
The Maker of Heaven and Earth
Has His hand on you.
Don’t trade what He has for you
For the comforts of this world.
Let the love of Christ compel you
And infuse you with courage.
God, even God, who created the heavens
Is the One who comforts you.
Whatever you do,
Don’t refuse it!
His grace will guard you from bitterness
And Christ will turn your pain
Into Holy Passion.
Pour your life lavishly into others.
Humble yourself and share your hardships
That others may also share your comfort.
Live till you die!
Then live like there’s no tomorrow!
For the King enthroned in Heaven
Is worthy of your all.
Now, go, Girl!
For the Father of Mercies
And the God of all comfort
Goes with you.
Bless be God
And bless be you!

The following is an excerpt from a phone conversation between my mom and me on Friday night.

B: Hey, sweet darlin’!

AJ: Hey, Mama! How’s it going in Atlanta?

B: Well, you know Sandi Patty is here and…

AJ, interrupting/yelling: WHAT?!?! Sandi Patty is there? I’m dying! Did you talk to her?

B: Yes, I got to hug her neck and…

AJ: Did you tell her we listened to “The Friendship Company” like every day?

B: No, but…

AJ, still yelling: Were you freaking out?

B: Yes, and she and Travis sang together.

AJ, astonished that she wasn’t there: WHAT?!?! Did they sing “Another Time, Another Place”? Because if so, I’ll just die!

B: No, honey, they sang…

AJ: Mother! Love in any language, straight from the heart, pulls us all together. Never apart! And once we learn to speak it, all the world will hear…love in any language, fluently spoken here!

I didn’t die, but it has taken me a few days to recover from not being in Atlanta to hear Sandi Patty and Travis sing together! 🙂