My mom has been tucked away in her favorite mountain range for some concentrated time with her new b.f.f. Esther. She’s only had dial-up Internet there (gasp!) and for some reason she hasn’t been able to get to the blog. Oh, the horror! Thankfully, she’s on her way back to civilization today.

Our intention for this blog is not to promote products, but a couple of people have asked how they can access the lessons where Beth talked about the husbands survey. Beth used the results in two sessions of her Wising Up Bible study: “How Wisdom Looks on a Wife” and “Wisdom for a Woman’s Sexuality.” Wising Up consists of Parts One, Two, Three, and Four, each on separate DVDs. Each DVD contains three lessons. So for all of you who, like me, hate math, that’s twelve lessons total. (Right?) The set has been packaged in such a way that you can buy each DVD separately. Part Three is the one you’re looking for. It contains the following lessons: How Wisdom Looks on a Wife, Wisdom for a Woman’s Sexuality, and Wisdom for Moms.

I’m really excited about this series. I’m planning on using the twelve lessons this fall with my college girls. It does not have a workbook that goes with it, so I think it may interest some of our students who are in over their heads with school work and can’t commit to 45 minute lessons every day. Although I have been amazed by how willing they are to do the studies.

I’m also thinking about inviting some of my married girlfriends over on three separate nights to watch Part Three. Or we might get a little crazy and go stay in a fun hotel somewhere and have our own little retreat! We can watch the three videos in between games of Uno, shopping, and sleeping. That sounds heavenly to me!

If you’d like to get your hands on one or all of the DVDs, you can find them on our Living Proof web site in the online store. They’re located under “New Products.” This is what they look like:

I promise you won’t hear me talk about a product again for a while!

Last week I got a package in the mail from Diane, our lovely and wonderful resource manager at LPM. When I opened the package I was so excited to find Mandisa Hundley’s new book, Idol Eyes. Most of you probably know that Mandisa sang on the Living Proof Live praise team before she became a contestant on American Idol. I started reading the book on Saturday and Curt had to rip it out of my hands to get me to do anything else. I finally got to finish it last night. I loved it! Here’s why…

Every question I had, she answered. I’m not a big American Idol fan (although I was while she was on the show), but when I’ve watched it I’ve always wondered about the behind-the-scenes process. Now I feel so in the know!

Mandisa took the opportunity to be very transparent about her life and her walk with the Lord. I imagine it wasn’t easy to open up about her deepest struggles, disappointments, and traumas. However, she is going to be rewarded with some major plunder! (Breaking Free, anyone?)

The pages are peppered with Scripture and filled with things God was showing her throughout her journey. I was challenged, blessed, and built up reading so much truth. If I were not yet a believer and I picked up this book, I would come face-to-face with God’s love and care for me, with the fact that He undeniably answers prayers, and with the message of His salvation. She communicates her faith gently and thoroughly.

I got to marvel at the wonderful works God has done through our sister Mandisa. It was so exciting to see how God numbered her steps toward American Idol and how He’s using her now. It reminded me that God has a plan for me, too. And whatever that plan may be, the highs and lows are designed to bring Him praise and to develop His character in me.

Thanks, Mandisa! Please excuse me now, I have to go find my “Mandiva” t-shirt.

Hello Ladies!!! Well, I thought that I would post a brief but boisterous shout out since today marks one week since my first day of working in the real-adult world. I am working as a Research-Assistant for Living Proof. I feel all grown-up driving back and forth to work in my heels! It has been quite an adventure thus far and my Mom, I mean, my boss, already has me buried under a huge stack of books….I guess I won’t be giving up being a student after all. Highlights of this week have been: 1) Overhearing one of my co-workers say, “Of course we have tiaras, this is a Women’s Ministry for crying out loud”. I am not sure that this exact statement has ever been uttered before in the entire history of the human race…thank God I got the privilege of being there. 2) Getting to participate in Bible Study discussion with my co-workers at my first official Living Proof staff-prayer time. These women are more amazing and more fun than I could have imagined! 3) Meeting with Mom briefly every afternoon to discuss the next Bible study research project! So exciting…I can’t believe that studying Holy Writ is my actual “job”! I keep having to pinch myself every now and then! Well, I better get back to “work”…I have a meeting with my Boss-Mom (please take note that I did not say “my Bossy Mom”)! I hope you ladies are having a blessed day and will look forward to the next time I get to chat with you!

Blessings,
Melissa

*UPDATED*

Hi ladies!
I just need to do a little blog housekeeping today. Thanks for putting up with the boring stuff. We have new siestas joining us every day, so it helps to do this from time to time.

Let’s talk about comments for just a minute. In the wonderful world of the Internet, there are many options for communicating: blog comments, instant messages, emails, message boards, chat rooms, etc. Sometimes the choices are overwhelming! At LPM we are only using email and blog comments. Of course, we do regular mail, telephones, and faxes, but we’re just talking about the world wide web today.

We love hearing from you through the blog. Here’s a quick explanation of how to leave a comment. Click on “(number of) comments” underneath whichever post you want to respond to. Then it will give you a space to leave your comment. Type out whatever you want to say, then do the word verification. The word verification protects us from spam. Then you will click “choose an identity.” If you have a blogger/google account (which means you have your own blog or profile on blogspot), fill in your name and password. If you do not have a google/blogger account, choose “other” and fill in your name and your web site address if you have one (that’s optional). You can also choose “anonymous.” Then click “publish your comment.” You will see a line at the top that says something like “Your comment has been saved until owner approval.”

Here’s an important question. When should I send an email and when should I comment on the blog?

If you would like to…

-Ask a question about resources, Beth’s calendar, a specific conference, Beth’s favorite restaurant, something you heard through the grapevine, how the blog works, etc.
-Suggest something for a future blog entry
-Receive a personal response for any reason
-Share something (perhaps tragic or troubling) that we will want to respond to
-Share sensitive information about yourself or your family
-Share anything like music lyrics or poems with Beth
-Submit a comment that accidentally turned into a novella (I’m so guilty of this)

…please go to our contact page and send us an email. The contact page will allow you to choose an area of the ministry to send it to. “The LPM Blog” is one option among several. Basically, it will help us stay organized and serve you more efficiently if we can keep everything that needs a response out of the blog. For your convenience, there is a permanent link to the contact page on the sidebar of the blog underneath “Questions?”.

Sometimes I read a comment that I agonize over because I wonder if the writer will regret having shared so much. Then I either post it and wonder if I should have, or I don’t post it and then I feel bad because I will never be able to explain to that person why. So please read through your comment before you submit it and make sure you have not shared anything about yourself (or another person) that shouldn’t be posted online until the glorious return of our Lord. Because once it’s there, literally anyone with access to the Internet can read it at any time. We should all assume that the one person we wouldn’t want to read it will in fact read it.

Please also keep in mind that not everything you read on the Internet is true.

With that said, I want you all to know that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this blog. It is an absolute joy to be the blog gardener of sorts. I’m not sure why I just got that mental picture, but I kind of like it. Especially since I do not have my mom’s green thumb. If someone has written a handbook on how to manage a Christian ministry-based blog for women, please let me know. I will have us all read it together. Since I don’t know of one, we will just continue to learn together as we go. Not everything in life is black and white and that carries over into blog-land. I really appreciate how patient you all have been with me over the last seven months as I’ve tried to figure out how to handle everything from moderating comments to navigating the gray areas. Thank you so much!

I got a great suggestion from a blog sister to add a permanent link to this post so that it will be easy to find. You’ll see it in our links section for future reference.

Blessings,
Amanda

“The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” (Galatians 5:6b).

CAUTION: Read no further if you are offended by completely trivial girl stuff.

OK, so here’s what I got! As Melissa says, I dropped it like it was hot. (The money, I mean, and if that means anything bad, Melissa and I don’t know it does so forgive us.) The cutest cuffed jean capris EVER. (I got them at Banana Republic and I never would have spent as much as I did on them, but remember, I had a gift certificate and, by the way, I met one of our Bible study sisters who worked there and we had the best time together visiting through the dressing room door.) I also got a darling large billed straw hat for when I’m in my backyard in the sunshine messin’ with my birdfeeders and my flowers. (My sweet and very committed dermatologist says absolutely NO SUN on the face. At my age, I mind her.) A couple of little T’s for wearing under stuff that would otherwise be too low. (Modesty isn’t always easy with some of the cute summer stuff, Siestas, but it’s a must if we’re going to walk our talk.) THEN, I went to Steinmart (still with gift certificate) and got two new jackets and one pair of brown dress capris for speaking (I had told myself I wouldn’t spend my birthday money on work clothes but I couldn’t resist and, anyway, they’ll certainly be put good use.) And my favorite part was a brand new pair of chocolate brown patent leather open-toed heels. They are DELICIOUS!!!! And, dern it, then I went over my gift certificate balance and had to put some on my own card. To top it off, on the way home, I had to stop at Walgreens (thank goodness not for you know what) for a thing or two and I splurged on a jar of macadamia nuts and ate a third of them on the way home like I just didn’t care that they were about a million grams of fat. Nope. On your birthday, you get to not care. (And I don’t know about you, but it’s still my birthday as long as I’m still getting presents.) It was a great day and everyone involved (me) had such a good time! Seems like I’m forgetting something I got. If it’s of great significance, I’ll let you know. OH! I know one thing I wanted to say. A few of you asked for pictures of some of it. I’ve got to learn how to do that. AJ knows how but I don’t. Keith’s got a really great camera but I’m too scared to use it. I just need to get me one of those digital disposables. I’ll see if I can learn how soon.

NOW, for a couple of far more important things: Melissa is off to a terrific start at LPM. We are beside ourselves to have her. She and I are having a total blast comparing notes and she is researching so hard (and her office is really cute. She was an interior design major before God called her to Bible exegesis and, clearly, some of it stuck.) I have stacks of Esther commentaries that I’ve already begun studying one by one. (I read numbers of them before I ever write the first word. Won’t start writing still for several weeks at least.) I’ve assigned Melissa a couple of tough books of the far more academic variety on what we’re studying and she has specific instructions on what she’s to do with them. She’s already got pages of notes for me to give a look and consider. I already know that I’m going to be able to use several things she’s discovered and I’m so excited. Melissa is not afraid of hard work and I am so proud of her, just like I am of her big sister. Melissa is having a hard time being in Houston without AJ, though. She tells me almost everyday, “I want Amanda to move HOME! I want her to work at Living Proof with me HERE!” If and when God wills. Right now, my firstborn’s getting to work out of her own home and still be with my grandson!

Lastly, if you get a chance, be sure and read our Siesta’s excerpt from Tozer on meekness. It’s under the “Missed You a Ton” comments and it is INCREDIBLE. Look among the longer entries and you’ll easily find it. I’ve read that book more than once in past years but I didn’t recall those exact words. So rich! You guys make me want to love Jesus more. That’s the kind of folks I like nearby. And that’s what Siestas are for. I love you.

Good Grief! I have missed you Siestas a ton! Thank you so much, AJ, for keeping us so well connected. That’s why it’s a dang good thing she and I did this thing together. Make no mistake, she is the hub of this wheel. You know by now that we had a nasty bug overtake our household and Keith, Melissa, and I all three (in reverse order) were as sick as (not cute but gnarly) dogs. Thank goodness, it came toward the end of our time with Jackson so it didn’t impair his time with us nor our time with him. We had the week of our absolute lives. He is the most precious little guy in our world and at the cutest age we’ve experienced yet. He is the happiest, most demonstrative (gets it from his Paw Paw, I suppose) little thing you’ve ever seen and moves at brake-neck speed at all waking hours. We praise God and shake our heads in wonder that the little dude never got the stomach bug after being completely surrounded by it. We would have been heartsick to see him take it. It was the kind that makes you so sick you can’t hold up your head for a day but then it kinda has after effects for the next week. Keith was the last one to take it (on Father’s Day!) and he still doesn’t feel normal. In the midst of it, however, I had a fabulous birthday and I am so grateful for all the greetings and blessings from my beloved Siestas.

My LPM staff went so over the top for the celebration on Monday (closed the office all day) that I’d be embarrassed about it if I hadn’t had such a blast. They spoke every love language a set of girlfriends can speak and we laughed our heads off from start to finish. I got such darling gifts! A new purse, some new earrings, a necklace set, a cross wall hanging, a wooden birdhouse made like a daisy with PINK petals. SO CUTE! A nearly lifetime bag of birdseed, a darling dessert tray, a photo album for our mountain cabin, and, lo and behold, four of them went together on a FOUNTAIN FOR MY GARDEN/BACKYARD!!! And what great presentations! I was nearly buried alive in pink and purple gift bag tissue! I had to keep coming up for air. We usually have fun with (all of our) birthdays at LPM but this one was totally out of the ball park and I have lovingly chided them that we’re not going that out of control on this woman’s birthday again. I just want the same kind of celebrations we have for each of them. I love them so much.

The LPM Board of Directors also gave me a gift certificate (not outlandish, of course, but plenty enough to be a blast!) and I am just about to leave my house for a tad of a shopping spree. And, no, of course, I don’t really need anything. Few of us really do. These kinds of things are just pure grace. Pure-dee overflow. I’ll let you know later what I got. I love you like crazy! I haven’t forgotten about our event idea. It really may have been God because we are already dialoguing with LifeWay about it. We are looking at a few possibilities and I’ll let you know something soon. Yahoo-Jah!!

By the way, in case any of you Cleveland girls sign on, I could NOT have had a better time in God’s Word with you on Friday at WOF than I did. I am nuts about you. Of course, no doubt you think I’m nuts whether or not about you but I just want you to know that my nutty-ness is steered toward you right about now. You were a fabulous group of women and our God was so extravagant and faithful to meet with us. I have a strong feeling in my spirit that a number of women came to faith in Christ Jesus on Friday. I can’t wait to find out! I’ll let you know that, too, as soon as I get word. That trumps the report on my shopping spree by about ten trillion times but I won’t have the report as soon.

All this and Jesus, too!!! He is the joy of my life and what joy to rejoice in Him with all of you!

I took Jackson to get his hair cut on Tuesday. Twice. The first time was a disaster. A couple of minutes into the cut, I found out the hairdresser had never cut such a young child’s hair before. And my young child wouldn’t be still, no matter how tasty Mommy’s Dr. Pepper and soft pretzel sticks were. He ended up with half of a duck tail in the back. Remember those from the 80s? When we got home and I fully surveyed the damage, I made a second appointment with a lady in our neighborhood. She was a pro. He looks as cute as he should now. But so grown up!

Before

After

The birthday party on Monday was a huge success. The day began with breakfast in the office, where we watched a special birthday video that The Village (what we call our staff) spent months preparing for Beth. We are not going to put it on the blog because it is very long and, among other reasons, I am on it singing. And I do not sing.

A look of surprise, followed closely by tears.

We piled into two cars and drove to the Galleria. We had lunch there at Ruggles and prepared ourselves for a little friendly competition.

We divided into two teams – Alpha and Beta – for a scavenger hunt in the mall. Due to an unfortunate incident at the Nordstrom counter, my Beta fish were beaten by the Alpha dogs. In true LPM style, the prizes for both teams (gift cards) were equally great.

Alpha Team – Sabrina, Beth, Di, Melissa, Nancy, Linda, and Kimberly

Beta Team – Kimberly Mac, Evangeline, Julie, Sherry, Susan, and Amanda

We were too close to a Starbucks to pass it up. Here’s our fearless leader in action. I think she might be putting milk and sugar in my hot tea. It’s extra good when she does it.

We ended the day back at the office with presents and some marvelous cakes! They reminded me of Alice in Wonderland. We had chocolate, lemon, Italian creme, and wedding cake. Glory!

We’re back! We had the most fabulous time in Mexico. I will share some pictures in a few days when things calm down a bit.

Jackson had so much fun at camp! I just spoke to my mom and she was concerned that she left everyone hanging after Wednesday. Unfortunately, she came down with a stomach virus on Thursday. It hit Melissa on Saturday and my dad this morning. Not fun. The Jones family is praying not to get it but we are bracing ourselves.

Even though my mom was really bummed about Melissa being sick yesterday, I think she had a great birthday. We took her to La Madeleine for breakfast before Curtis, Jackson and I had to drive back home. While we were there, we ran into a group of women from a local church who were planning out Bible studies for the next year and a certain person’s study was on their list. That was a lot of fun. Then as we were leaving a woman stopped my mom to tell her how much she loved her hair and asked if she could take a picture of it. That was also really fun. Then she went shopping with our sweet friend Amy who is like a big sister to Melissa and me. Amy arranged for the Queen of Beth’s Ipod, CeCe Winans, to surprise Bethie with a phone call and sing happy birthday to her. Amy, that was brilliant! Last night Dad took the birthday girl out to a really nice dinner at their favorite steak restaurant. She said they had a really wonderful time.

Barring any sickness in my trio, I will fly down to Houston and back on Monday to be with my LPM sisters for the big birthday party. It’s also Melissa’s first official day of work! I will take my camera and hopefully get some fun pictures of the day.

Happy Father’s Day to my sweet daddy. I hope you get to feeling better! I’m so thankful to be your daughter and to have the influence of your wisdom, humor, perseverance, transparency, generosity, ability to discern why things are the way they are, loving lectures on not carrying false guilt, and your unconditional love for our mom and family. Thank you for showing me Jesus through your character. And thank you for loving my boy so much. You are a hero to me and I love you!
Love,
Manda

I’m so excited! I moderated! Amanda will be so proud! Believe me when I tell you that moderation has never been my strong suit. Keith and I always say there’s a reason why our last name is Moore. Maybe I’ve finally found a moderation I can actually do! I think I accidentally lost a few posts in my learning process but most of them made it! If yours didn’t, please forgive your well-meaning, much lacking Siesta.

Newest update: Today the executive director of Camp Bigs took every single camper she had (registration: one) on a field trip to a mall that has a preschool play-yard. We had the most fun! Most of the kids were older than Camper so he tried to act extra big in order to fit in. He ran as fast as his little legs would carry him and climbed as high as Camp Director would let him and talked in his own toddler-speak as loud as he could as if everyone could understand him. (I could use the granny gift of interpretation this week.) He was so darling, I could have eaten him for lunch but he and I both were too full of Sonic. He was so worn out when the Camp Bigs bus pulled out of the parking lot that I couldn’t keep him awake. Since Camper never takes a nap if he’s had the least wink in the car, his afternoon nap consisted of twelve minutes. It’s liable to be a long evening. Grin. Then again, that’s what grandparents are for.

It’s just about time for camp swim time so I better get going. (That means the temperature in Houston has dropped below 120 degrees in the shade.) Now I wish I’d had time to get a new spray-on tan yesterday. Last week’s is fading a bit but have no fear. Tomorrow’s a new day and a new tan. By this time, I bet Camper’s mommy is getting a real live one on the beach! Thanks for doing life with us, Siestas! I so enjoyed your comments. I love loving Jesus with you! More from Camp Bigs tomorrow!