Good Tuesday afternoon, ladies! We hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Here is our very first LPL recap video of the year captured and created by our very own Rich. Thank you so much for your hard work! It is awesome! And praise the Lord for the way He graced you all in Kansas City this weekend!

We held back 10 tickets for Siesta Scholarship Giveaways!

This is the first Living Proof Live of the year and the team could not be more excited to land in Kansas City to see what God is up to this weekend!  There is never any way for us to tell if an event is going to be sold out or not, so when it is, and we’ve already snatched 10 tickets, we know it’s a God thing. No doubt He is up to something in the minds and hearts of those attending this weekend!

Can you believe the last LPL was in November? It’s been a good four month sabbatical, so to refresh your memory, please remember that these 10 tickets are for those of you that really desire to attend this conference, but just flat cannot afford it at this time. Our desire is to bless you!

If that is you and you qualify, meaning, you didn’t just forget to buy your ticket in time but you really just cannot afford it, then the first 10 of you that call the Living Proof office will receive a Siesta Scholarship ticket! Just call 1-888-700-1999 and Kimberly will get you taken care of.

May I be as bold to say you might want to call pretty quick? I have a feeling these will fly out of Kimberly’s hands in no time.

We cannot wait to hear a report of how God showed up and showed off at the very first LPL of 2012. May He be lifted ever so high and His name alone be praised! Oh, and if you’re headed that way, don’t be shy, let us know!

And lastly, would you please join me in praying for Beth and the team as they make their way this very day to Kansas City and prepare to serve you in Jesus’ name? Your prayers do make a difference. Believe that, Sister! We love you!

Good Friday morning, Siestas! Give yourself a pat on the back; you made it to the end of the week! Isn’t that a great feeling? However, before we start chatting about our weekend plans, I know you’re dying to hear who our TEN winners are that will soon be receiving a Bible Atlas on their front door step.

Drum roll please…

In no particular order and thanks to random.org, our winners are:

Cristi Welch (March 21st 2012 @ 10:34 PM)
Sherry Askew (March 22nd 2012 @ 9:44 AM)
Lisa Hale (March 21st 2012 @ 10:35 PM)
Catherine Moore (March 22nd 2012 @ 8:19 AM)
Mindy Hocking (March 22nd 2012 @ 12:50 PM)
Paula Barney (March 22nd 2012 @ 5:59 AM)
Brandi Cox (March 21st 2012 @ 3:35 PM)
Kim Potter (March 21st 2012 @ 8:30 PM)
Lynne Gallagher (March 22nd 2012 @ 11:57 AM)
Anne Swanson (March 22nd 2012 @ 7:04 AM)

Congratulations, ladies! If you’d please email me at [email protected] with your mailing address, we’ll get your Bible Atlas to you ASAP. We are so excited for you! I have no doubt you’ll love it!

Now, onto the weekend! Anybody have any exciting, out of the ordinary plans?

You know how when you ask someone a question so that hopefully they’ll ask you the same thing in return because you have a pretty epic answer? (You know you’ve done it at least once in your life.) Anyway, I’m really politely asking your plans are so I can tell you what we have going on. So, instead of it being a one-way street, we can hear from each other! Because we here at LPM are quite the busy bees this weekend.

First and most important, our Siesta Mama is spending her last few days in Australia at the Colour Conference and will head home soon. She speaks one more time, which will be very, very early Saturday morning our time and then she and Amanda will hop on a plane to Houston! We miss them so much. Two weeks is a long time to be gone from anyone, so I can imagine how ready she is to see her people! Will you join us in praying them home? Traveling can be quite stressful at times so we’re praying for ease in everything. I have no doubt we’ll get to hear bits and pieces of her trip soon, once the jet lag takes a back seat.

Secondly, have any of you ladies heard of the new LifeWay Women’s conference called Abundance? If not, consider this your brochure. Abundance kicks off tonight, in Houston of all places, how fun is that? A good portion of the LPM staff are attending and they are pumped up; and rightfully so because they get to hear from a handful of gifted teachers and speakers such as; Lisa Harper, Angela Thomas, Jennifer Rothschild, Kelly Minter, Tammie Head and Jen Hatmaker. Not to mention worship with Travis Cottrell and CeCe Winans. If you’re a Houston girl and this is the first you’ve heard of this event and are looking for something to do this weekend, you’ll be pleased to know it is not too late! The event is being held at Champion Forest Baptist Church and I’ve been told you can still get a ticket online here and pick it up at will call, or you can purchase a ticket at the door. Please note that if you call LPM, we will direct you to LifeWay; we have no ticket information as we are not hosting this event, just simply attending. Seriously, ladies, this would be a really good, solid ladies night out. For more information about Abundance in Houston this weekend, click here.

If you’re wishing you could attend but are not anywhere close to Houston, let alone Texas, don’t fret, click here to see if Abundance is landing near you anytime soon! LifeWay has mixed up the speakers and worship leaders for each event, so no two events are the same. No doubt you’ll be blessed!

I would most definitely be attending if I didn’t already have previous plans, but a little over three months ago I committed to run a half-marathon and it just so happens to be this weekend. A half-marathon? Yes, I am slightly crazy. But I am embarking on this adventure with 20 other crazy folks from my church, Bayou City Fellowship, as we seek to bring awareness about As Our Own, a ministry in India rescuing girls out of human trafficking and loving them as their own, which is the only reason I’m even mentioning it.

If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you might be more familiar with this ministry, but if this is your first introduction to As Our Own, you can check out their website here. Anyway, we’ve been training and raising awareness and funds for the past three months and this weekend, we’ll get to put our training to the test and run for the freedom of these girls. Although it is slightly intimidating (and those of you who are avid runners are probably giggling right now), it is a complete honor to run for these girls and help bring some freedom and relief in Jesus’ name. Actually, as I’ve thought about it all week long as I’ve guzzled water, it has brought me much joy. Together, Team BCF is pairing up with Team Dallas as we run for sweet Parul. If you’re a runner and are interested in doing the same thing and getting a team together in your neck of the woods, there are still some races left that you can be a part of by clicking here and joining in the campaign called I Will Run. This ministry is dear to us for multiple reasons, all of which I wish I had the time and space to explain, but to get play a very small role in what As Our Own is doing is a complete joy! Come Monday morning I’m praying my joy will be overflowing and my legs pain-free. Grin.

As I think about the weekend ahead, I can’t help but smile and think about all the Lord is allowing us to be a part of, giving us a taste of what abundant life is all about. The enemy really has come to steal, kill and destroy, but Christ came so that we may have life, and not just have life, but to have it, and live it, abundantly. (John 10:10). So this weekend, as He allows us to serve, love and pour out in His name, I pray we’ll choose to do it with abundant joy in Australia, Houston and Dallas! After all, we have been given so, so much.

Happy Friday, y’all. May you live abundantly this weekend! We love you!

“God, Your faithful love is so valuable that people take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They are filled from the abundance of Your house; You let them drink from Your refreshing stream, for with You is life’s fountain. In Your light we will see light. Spread Your faithful love over those who know You, and Your righteousness over the upright in heart.” Psalm 36: 7 – 10

Update: The comments are now closed! I’ll see you tomorrow morning as we reveal our TEN winners. Have a great day, ladies!

Siestas!

Happy middle-of-the-week to each of you!

It is a beautiful day here in Houston! It’s almost perfect spring weather, which is a compete treat especially compared to the weather we’ve endured recently. It’s either been really hot and humid (shocker!), or really nasty thunderstorms. In fact, yesterday was 100% chance of rain all day and it did just that. The best part about the rainy days at LPM are our shoes; three of us chose to trade in our typical work shoes for rain boots yesterday and it was a cute sight, if I do say so myself. We were giddy. Y’all, it really is the small things. I hope wherever you are, despite your weather or circumstances, you’re able to find delight in something as small as rain boots, silly or small as they may seem.

Anyway, can you believe it’s already been a week since our last giveaway? All of the sudden I realized today was the day to reveal our next fun giveaway so my fingers went to typing. It snuck up on me!

Do y’all remember (and I bet you do because it happened to be a pretty popular post and you also happen to have a sharp memory), when our Siesta Mama asked you to share with each other something really random that you love? That particular day she was gushing over her Bible atlas and felt the urgent need to share with you the joy it brings her. I distinctly remember her telling me she was posting a fun, random blog that day so that I could be watching for comments, and watch for comments I did! Y’all didn’t just come through; y’all went above and beyond with over one thousand comments or something fun like that. We were really tickled! Needless to say, people are passionate about things they love.

To refresh your memory, here is a picture of the Bible atlas.

To make a really long story short (I know, I love words), B&H Publishing Group was really generous and sent us ten Holman Bible Atlases to give away on our blog, just like the one she gushed over! Y’all, how kind was that? So, today not just one, but ten of you will be receiving this amazing Bible atlas.

This is the box of atlases sitting in my office.

For a chance to win here is what you need to do:

1) Make sure your comment has your first and last name.
2) Please comment only one time to give everyone a fair chance.
3) For fun, and you don’t have to do this to win, but it would be really fun to hear, if you could give away one book to anybody, what would it be?
4) Lastly, your comment on this post automatically enters you into this contest. So if you are not interested in winning a Bible atlas, please hold your comments until after the winner is selected. This will help us as we randomly select our winners. Thank you so much!

That’s all ladies! We’ll keep comments open for 24 hours and close the giveaway at 4:00 EST Thursday afternoon.

Also, like I’ve stated before, Australia is 16 hours ahead of Houston time, so when Beth and Amanda wake up it’ll be time to start the second conference. I know for a fact Beth and the team would covet each of your prayers as they labor with joy to teach God’s Word and share His gospel with this next group of ladies. If you’ve been following them on twitter, it’s been obvious that God has blessed their time there. In fact, I saw that they got to feed kangaroos. How fun is that? I’m with you, though, I can’t wait to hear and read all about it upon their return. Let’s pray they end strong in Jesus name!

Alright, ladies, time to hear from you! Be sure to check back Friday morning as I reveal our winners!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

(Drum Roll Please!)

According to our random drawing, the lucky winner is…Gail Denlinger! (Comment posted on March 15, 2012 at 6:40 am.)

Gail, if you would please email me at [email protected] with your mailing address, we will get this Bible in your hands as soon as possible. Congratulations, Sister! Y’all check back next week for another fun giveaway. Have a wonderful weekend!

 

Update: Comments are now closed. Ladies, y’all are SO incredibly fun. And might I add serious about your Bibles and Bible translations. Praise the Lord! Check back tomorrow morning for the fun announcement of our lucky winner! And while I have your attention, our Siesta Mama actually gets up to speak at the conference for the first time in about 2 1/2 hours (It’s already Friday there). Your prayers would be so appreciated! See you in the morning!

Good Wednesday afternoon, Siestas!

By now you may have seen on twitter (if you’re a twitter user) that Beth and Amanda made it safely to Sydney! Jet lag is no joke there because in case you were wondering, Australia is 16 hours ahead of us. I kept joking that they were flying into the future. Whoa! You honestly would not waste a prayer on them as Beth and the team prepares to minister to the folks attending the Colour Conference. They are so pumped, but it doesn’t come without sacrifice and a lot of work. If you’ve not already been praying, start praying now because since they’re almost a day ahead of us, the conference begins sooner than later!

Anyway, we didn’t want the blog to suffer while our Siesta Mama was gone, so I’m here to do our first fun giveaway! (Yes, we’re doing another one next week. I know you’re pumped!)

I don’t know about you, but I love getting a new Bible.

In fact, just this past Sunday at church I was thinking it was time to put my old one aside and start searching for a new one. True story. I don’t know how much longer it will actually survive as it is literally falling apart (I don’t say that because I’m so spiritual, but more so to prove to you how old it is) and I don’t feel like digging out the duct tape to repair this one. (You know you’ve done it before, too!) Since I’m a creature of habit, I tend to stick with the same study Bible time after time, but I’m feeling kind of rogue and might venture out this time into the land of the unknown.

As much as I love getting a new Bible, there is a certain degree of separation that is hard to part from my old Bible. We’ve been through a lot. And I love looking back at all I’ve underlined and marked up. But I suppose a new season calls for a new Bible.

Anyway, I know you’re probably wondering why I’m going on and on about my Bible, and maybe I’ve convinced you that you need a new one to, to which I’ll say you’ve landed in the right place!

We have a really fun giveaway that I think you’ll like.

Recently our sweet Beth received a Life Essentials Study Bible (“The First Multi-Media Study Bible”) with her name engraved on the front. For those who are curious, the translation is the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB). Here’s the deal, if our Siesta Mama hadn’t just purchased a new Bible for herself just prior to receiving this one, she would have kept it for herself. It was such a kind gesture from the publisher, but she really wanted to gift it to one our Siestas!

Besides this being a study Bible, it has some other really neat tools that I’ve personally been playing with to make myself familiar with it the past few days.

With our technology changing and updating as quickly as newborn babies change outfits everyday, it’s no shock to me that this Bible has a new addition to it that can be used with your smart phone.

If you look at the front cover (pictured above), and inside the Bible (there’s a little peek below), you’ll see a bar code looking symbol. That nifty little symbol we refer to as a QR code. If you own a smart phone, you can download a free QR Reader app, and then all you do is use that application to scan the bar code to find out more information about that particular item. All throughout this Bible are hundreds of QR codes that take you to a website to find out more information about that particular scripture. How fun is that? You certainly don’t need a smart phone to win this Bible, but that’s just a little bonus for those of you that do own one.

So, who is interested? Listen, if it weren’t for you, Siestas, I would have already claimed it for myself.

Here’s how it will work:

1) Leave a comment with your first and last name. If you don’t leave both, you won’t be eligible for the drawing!

2) For fun, if you’re into this kind of thing, go ahead and tell us in brief your favorite Bible. Shout out to all the Precious Moment’s Bible owners out there! I’m pretty sure I still have that one stowed away somewhere safe. What joy!

Ready? Set? Sound off in the comments! We’ll leave the comments open until 3:30 on Thursday afternoon (CST) and then we’ll do a random drawing and post the winner at the top of this post later that day. That means you will have a little over 24 hours to enter, so be on the lookout to see if your name appears!

Although I don’t want to assume everyone is on spring break, I would imagine most of you are, so if that’s the case, we so hope you’re enjoying every minute of it. And if you don’t get that luxury, I’m praying the Lord delights you where you’re at and gives you an extra dose of rest.

We love y’all!

A week ago I took a flight from Houston to Nashville along with my friends Kelsey and Megan, both juniors in high school, to the LifeWay Girls Conference. Here are a few reasons I was excited for the trip:

1) It was my first visit to Nashville ever. Not sure why it took me so long to get there but after hearing so much about it, I loved it.

2) I got to spend the weekend with some super fun high school girls.

3) My job at LPM is two-fold. Although I do media, my other focus, and for sure more important, is young girls. I’ve been learning all things media lately, so the other half has taken a back seat. To be neck deep in girls ministry all weekend was not only good for my heart, but has my mind spinning in all things girls ministry. Which is a very good thing.

LPM and LifeWay have a good relationship already so to hear from their staff and other girl’s ministers was a total bonus. Why re-invent the wheel when we’re all reaching for the same goal?

LifeWay has hosted this conference for three years now and I am so thankful to LPM for sending me. By the way, LifeWay was a wonderful host. Each and every staff member and the way they loved on the guests was so inviting and loving. It came at just the perfect time as I’m praying through and seeking what young girls ministry looks like at LPM. Young girls are a different in respect to the issues they deal with, but we all need the same Jesus.

Girls, just like women, need authentic relationships, vulnerability, honesty and some good, solid Bible teaching. They can smell a fake a mile away. But at the same time, they’re so self-aware it’s hard to sometimes crack the shell, but certainly not impossible.

My favorite aspect about the conference was the breakout sessions. They had separate sessions you were able to choose from for the leaders and the girls. I attended one called “The Secret Addiction”, which dealt with the issues on girls and pornography, which is another post for another day, but it was very powerful. Another one that really spoke to me was about pressing in and pressing on in ministry, which was all about taking care of yourself and your relationships in ministry. Can you say relevant? How often do people in ministry pour themselves out to the point of exhaustion or worse, burn-out, but never attend to their own soul? I walked away very encouraged, built up and much wiser.

Not only did I benefit from the conference, but the girls did as well. I know for a fact they enjoyed the different breakouts they got to choose from.

I’m not saying I have answers, but I have ideas. I’m asking the Lord to press in and reveal what the next step is. Where do we start? I’m so ready. Have I mentioned before that I dearly love me some young girls? Oh, I do.

The conference ended Saturday evening, so before taking off Sunday morning, we had Saturday night to explore Nashville’s hot spots. After eating some authentic Tennessee BBQ, my friend Heather who lives in Nashville chauffeured us to visit the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. It was beautiful and we loved getting to walk around, explore and eat gelato.

It was an excellent weekend. It you’re a girl’s minister, high school girl, or have a high school girl, I’d say it’s worth sending her next year. Let’s get these girls immersed in some Bible study and life-giving, life-saving truths.

One thing I know is true; this generation of girls certainly has my heart and my attention.

Morning worship with Jamie Jamgochian.

My sweet friends Megan and Kelsey. This was Friday night at the main session!

Saturday afternoon during break-time with the girls. I think we were ready to take a nap at this point.

A little Tennessee BBQ. SO good, y’all.

You know you’re spent when you look in your backseat after a long weekend and see this in your backseat driving home from the airport. I love it!

Thank you to both LPM and LifeWay for investing in our weekend. I am so grateful.

To join us this morning for the livestream, simply click on this link.

Remember that the password will be taken down several minutes prior to airing so don’t let it bother you. It is only there so our staff can prepare for the webcast. We hope so much that you can join us! Don’t forget the facebook launch celebration for Kelly Minter’s series on Nehemiah immediately following. If you can’t make both, choose hers! Ours today is simply a devotional. Hers is a one-time only intro celebration to her new series. We love you!

Good afternoon, Siestas! Monday probably would have been a more appropriate day to write this post, but we went straight into Tuesday night Bible study, so I wanted to get through that before we spent one more post on SSMTC. So, please forgive me for any details I might be missing.

It was a wonderful weekend, was it not? I personally had the sweetest time receiving and giving so many hugs, and putting names with faces I see all the time on the blog. In fact, I think someone mentioned on Saturday that is was National Hug Day. How appropriate is that?

One thing some of you may not know is that this was my second SSMT Celebration. I attended the celebration in 2010 as a participant and Siesta. Isn’t that so fun? Getting to serve you ladies this time around was a complete joy and honor. I often referred back to the first SSMTC and took in where the Lord had brought me since then. Who knew? To be so honest, it was very surreal. He is so good and sweet.

We started out Friday evening STRONG! I got to the church early around 2:30 with Jenn, who happened to be in charge of the entire event, and some of you beat us there. It was so fun to see how excited y’all were. Jenn and I ended up getting ready in the bathroom at church before things got crazy, and I got so tickled when about five of you walked in on us as we were freshening up our make-up. Real life, folks, real life!

After getting things all set up and ready, we opened registration at 5:00 and that’s when most of you started flooding in. At the registration table we gave a lot of hugs, and also some cute tote bags, pens and a program. They were adorable!

At 7:00 sharp Travis and his team led us in some powerful worship. If he doesn’t do it for you, I’m not sure who would. They are such an anointed and gifted group that genuinely loves serving the Lord, and it shows. Not to mention the excitement in the room. During the second song I walked up to the balcony to get a quick picture and just stood there for a minute to take it all in. We are a real blog community that has come to life. Instead of reading and posting your sweet comments, I got to stand there for a minute and listen to y’all sing. It was a sweet moment. Again, probably just another one of my nostalgic moments that I’ve been having lately. Please forgive any sappiness.

Once worship was over Beth was up and not only did she have a WORD for us out of 2 John, she surprised us all by reciting the entire book to us by memory. Because of how animated and passionate she is, I think it’s safe to say we all felt like we were watching a portion out of a Broadway play, except she was speaking the living, breathing word of God. For the next three sessions, on into Saturday, Beth spelled out the word WALKING for us and had a point for each letter.

There is no doubt in my mind that each woman walked away with some truth in her heart and the courage to take back her ground the enemy has trampled on or stolen! Wow. I’ve been thinking about my ground all week.
When we wrapped up the Friday evening session, while Beth took pictures with the different regions represented, the rest of us enjoyed cookies and cocoa in the Fellowship Hall. I didn’t get to personally drink any of the hot cocoa, but I heard it was out of this world. I know for a fact the sugar cookie was, as I did enjoy one of those. Or maybe two. Grin.

We all cleared out Friday night, only to lay our heads quickly on our pillows to return bright and early Saturday morning. Travis and his team and Beth all did a phenomenal job.

Halfway through the morning it was time to say our scriptures to each other. During this time I walked around to snap a few pictures and it was really fun to see everyone in pairs all around the building reciting your scriptures out loud. What a powerful time!

Throughout the weekend, we gave the ladies who could recite all 24 verses an opportunity to do so with a partner and claim a gift we had for them, and do y’all know we counted 385 that signed off for reciting all 24 verses? That is amazing! I think our in house cheerleader, Evangeline, cheered each of them on individually very enthusiastically. It’s what we do best at LPM.

We even had one Siesta recite all of her scriptures in Greek to Melissa on Saturday. Incredible.

Once we’d all said our scriptures, and all the pressure you felt was gone, Beth sent us out on the letter G: Go out into the world WALKING in what you know. It was the perfect ending to a perfect weekend. Travis led us in some foot stomping worship and then when all was said and done, I heard most of you talking about going to get Tex-Mex. That was very wise of you to do.

Ladies, you were an absolutely blast and the sweetest, most gracious and warm group of ladies and not to mention fun and beautiful. To say y’all are easy to love would be an understatement. However, I don’t want to leave out those of you that couldn’t make it this weekend! Know that you were thought of, prayed for and MISSED! Your hard work didn’t go unnoticed by us one iota. We love each of you dearly and haven’t stopped talking about you since Saturday, which started out through text message the minute we all left HFBC Saturday afternoon. Thank you so much for making a trek to Houston to celebrate with us!

Although saying this doesn’t plaster a pretty pink bow on this post to wrap it up, I want to let y’all know that we will not be doing scripture memory this year on the blog. That has been the number one question we’ve received so I just wanted to make it clear. We do, however, encourage you to continue on doing your scripture memory and grab a few ladies to do it with you! Don’t let this blog keep you from memorizing scripture. But do be looking out for Siesta Summer Bible study and be sure to check back in 2013 for scripture memory.

If you wrote a recap post, feel free to share a link to that specific post in the comments section with your comment. I know other ladies would love to read about your experience.

We love you ladies dearly. And we mean it!

Travis and Angela Cottrell

Worship. Sorry for the quality, these were captured with my phone.

Ladies reciting scripture to each other all over HFBC.

Our youngest Siesta who recited all 24 verses as well. Each time she did one, she jumped up and down and clapped. It was precious.

Our scripture wall. Awesome!

Houston ladies! In case you haven’t heard, we wanted to let you know that we start Bible study tonight!

Beth has been studying and preparing for this very night as we plan to journey through the book of Deuteronomy together for the next six weeks.

We’ve been out of Tuesday night Bible study for quite some time now, so needless to say, we are so excited to get this semester started!

Are any of you planning on joining us?

Also, if you are a young woman who is 18 – 25 and are planning on coming, please let me (Lindsee) know by clicking on this website and filling out some information. We’ll be having a special, short meet-up after Bible study for you ladies and I’d love to meet you!

We so appreciate your prayers for Beth as she prepares and teaches, the staff as we desire to serve with excellence, and for every lady in attendance. We cannot wait to see you!

Click here to visit the Houston Connection page for more information.

[tminus t=”20-01-2012 19:00:00″ style=”carbonite”/] **Siesta Celebration is January 20-21, 2012**

Ladies! We’re only a few days away from welcoming you to the great (and large, mind you) city of Houston. To say we’re all pumped and scurrying around would be an understatement. We’re all so ready to see y’all!

A lot of you have been asking for details as far as schedule is concerned, and also some recommendations of some good restaurants to eat at, where you can shop and what in the world can you do in Houston for an entire weekend? Before our first SSMT, Amanda wrote a really informative post about all things Houston, so I’m going to rip a few things off of that post and add some more. At the end of this post, you might be tired of hearing all about Houston!

Don’t let the words “winter season” fool you. Houston tends to have a mind of its own. Those of you coming from snow will be pleasantly surprised to get a break from the bitter cold! It can be a little chilly inside the church, so you may want to layer up, or bring a light sweater. And if you’re stressed about packing, we encourage casual! Jeans are great!

Friday:
Partly Sunny
High – 75
Low – 58
Rain – 10%

Saturday:
Partly Sunny
High – 75
Low – 60
Rain – 10%

Sunday:
Cloudy
High – 76
Low – 64
Rain – 20%

So you can plan accordingly, here is the celebration schedule:

Friday:
5pm Check-In opens
6pm Doors open to Worship Center
7pm Celebration begins
10pm Evening concludes

Saturday:
8am Continental breakfast available
9am Celebration begins
12pm Celebration concludes…go eat lunch with new friends, shop & have fun!

Location is key, and Houston’s First Baptist Church, where we’ll have our celebration is located near a lot of great restaurants and endless entertainment. There are no official plans that have been made as far as meet-ups are concerned that I know about, but I have no doubt, especially if you’re traveling alone, that you can hook up with a group of Siestas who might have their weekend planned out.

If you are a smart phone owner (iPhone, Android, etc…) one thing that might be very helpful to you is an app called “Urbanspoon”. It is an app that lists all of the restaurants near you, customer reviews for that specific restaurant, and an address that you can paste in your GPS. It is a free app and we would strongly encourage you to use it! Just consider it your personal assistant for the weekend.

The Galleria, which is about four miles from the church (I know that sounds far, but it’s really close), can provide you with most anything you need, great food, great shopping and great people watching, if that’s your sort of thing. Around the Galleria you can find pretty much any type of food your heart desires.

Here are some restaurants that might be of interest to you:

The Chocolate Bar
1835 W. Alabama
Houston, TX 77098
713-520-8599
www.theoriginalchocolatebar.com

Dessert Gallery
1616 Post Oak Blvd
713.622.0007
www.dessertgallery.com

Cafe Express
6570 Woodway St.
Houston, TX 77057
713.935.9222
www.cafe-express.com

Collina’s Memorial
8800 Katy Fwy.
(Ste. 109)
Houston, TX 77024
713-365-9497
www.collinas.com

Pappasito’s
10409 Katy Fwy.
Houston, TX 77024
713-468-1913
www.pappasitos.com (click on the I-10 location)

Cyclone Anaya’s
5761 Woodway Drive
Houston, TX 77057
713-339-4552
http://www.cycloneanaya.com

Tiny Boxwood’s Cafe
3614 W Alabama St.
Houston, TX 77027
713-622-4224
www.thompsonhanson.com
(Click on cafe down at the bottom)

Benjy’s
2424 Dunstan
Houston, TX 77005
713-522-7602
www.benjys.com

Some of you have asked about a great spa, and one we would recommend, though it is pricey, would be The Trellis at the Houstonian. http://trellisspa.com/

One thing you can be sure to encounter is Houston traffic, especially on Friday afternoon and evening. Welcome!

Another thing to remember as you’re packing is your spirals full of your scriptures. It’s your ticket in!

And last but not least, if you’re on twitter, let’s get our hashtag party going. We’ll use: #SSMTC just for fun!

We hope this was of some help and assistance to you! Here is the link to FAQ page one more time should you have any more questions.

We are giddy with excitement and cannot wait to see your pretty faces in just three days! We love y’all!