The You Brighten My Day post was wildly popular. We already had 308 comments when I turned them off! They were all incredibly entertaining. Thank you so much for participating! They had me “laughing at the days to come.” (See Prov. 31:25b). Mom and I sent several emails back and forth saying, “Did you see this one?”

Some were convicting.

When my almost 30-year-old daughter was around 5 years old, I was driving home with her sitting next to me. By mistake, I beeped the horn. She turned and looked at me and I said, “I did that by mistake”. She answered back, “I know that…because you didn’t say jerk afterwords”! How powerful our words can be to our little ones! Out of the mouth of my babe spoke God’s truth!

Some made me laugh so hard I literally cried.

My daughter loves to sing…and loudly! The problem is that she doesn’t always get the words right. I recall one particular Sunday morning during praise and worship time we were singing “He is Exalted”. Sarah was 3 at the time, so everyone in front of us was listening to her, as most people do when young children are not afraid to “perform”. She was listening closely for the right time to come in, and when that time came she belted out “He is a Sausage, the King is a Sausage…” Oh yeah, I wanted to crawl right under the pew! We all had a good laugh that morning!

My daughter, who was five at the time, came storming out of her room one morning while I was watching you on Life Today. She announced, “Beth Moore woke me up.” I looked at her, a little taken back because the TV wasn’t that loud and I don’t know how she heard it in her bedroom. I asked her how Beth Moore woke her up. She said, “I know that voice, mommy. I can see her hair in my sleep. I know Beth Moore.” OK, after I finally stopped laughing I asked her, “Do you want to sit down and watch her with me.” She replied, “Yes, I like her.”
(“I can see her hair in my sleep”? That has to be the funniest thing I’ve ever heard.)

My boys are as big as me now, but when my youngest was about 4, we were at a beach on Lake Michigan for the day. The facilities were quite stinky and dirty, so when our son said he had to “tinkle”, we informed him to “just go in the water”. He looked at us, shocked and said “really?”. We assured him that the fish go there and at this beach he could too. You can imagine us hiding our faces as he walked into the water, about knee deep, pulled his trunks all the way down and sprayed the incoming waves!

Others had me crying in a different way.

My oldest son is autistic. He is 12 years old and is for the most part non verbal. Although he loves to have the bible read to him and LOVES to watch Bible man movies. I had a tough day (ministry issues and dealing with chronic Lyme’s disease). I had my head down on my desk and was crying quietly. I prayed and said, ” Lord, please speak to me today. Give me some hope.” My son (with autism), within minutes came over and tapped me on the shoulder. I looked up at him and he sat down right in front of me (eye to eye – if you know much about autism, eye contact is nearly miraculous).

My son did not speak to me. But he sat there, looked at my weepy eyes and sang “Jesus loves me” from start to finish. I have never had such a spiritual, tangible moment with my Lord like that.

He sent my child, that could not speak, to sing and remind me, “Jesus does love me…THIS I KNOW!” I can not even think of that story without crying. He may not know the alphabet, or how to write his own name, and he may be in diapers at 12 years old, BUT my son knows the most important of all things – “Jesus loves me…” And he ministered to his mommy that day with those words.

At this point, you may need to wipe your eyes to see them, but while we’re back on the subject of children I’ll share a couple of pictures.

This is Jenny W.’s daughter deep in the Word.

And this is my boy in his Easter outfit.

I know I just wrote last night but I can’t help myself. Why? Because I got me a fresh word from God. There I was on my walk this morning with Beanie who was racing squirrels and nearly pulling my left shoulder out of socket. Praise was blaring from my headphones and I mostly had my right arm straight up in the air. I thought about something really cool God did in the last 24 hours and I had to give Him a “Yahoo!” Maybe you don’t get the term because you don’t live in Texas. Or maybe you’ve never said it right and for that reason, it has never been fulfilling. Here’s how you have to say it so you can practice: you NEVER say the first syllable with a “Yah” as in “Paw.” Never. You say it with a short “a” as in “Gag.” Then, you hold it out for a long time: “Yaaaaahhhhhhhhh”! Only then can you add a comparatively short: “hoo”! And you kind of fall off the note a bit on the “hoo.” Start high and loud. End low and quick.

So, anyway, I wondered if God enjoyed “yahoo!” Maybe not as much, I thought, since it’s just a celebratory word without identifying who you’re giving praise to. An intelligent person might reason that “Yah” in the first half of it is Hebrew for Lord but I don’t know that the Texans who were home, home on the range where the deer and the antelope play had brushed up on their etymology. Furthermore, the way we came to butcher it (along with the deer and the antelope) with a short “a” might not give Him the praise He’s due. Hence, my new word. All at once it came right over me. Almost like a moment of inspiration. “Yahoo-Jah!” Yes, indeed! Just try it! Feels right, doesn’t it? A Texas “Hallelujah!” We’re a hospitable State, happy to share, so go right ahead and take it up with us if you have a mind to. I expect it to spread.

So, that’s what happened to me this morning. I’ve said it a lot of times since then. In fact, my lips are kind of mouthing it right now.

I’m so happy.

Pardon the double negatives but is there nothing the Lord can’t do? Nothing He’s not good at? No office He can’t take over? I’ve been concerned and on red-prayer-alert about one of the darling young women in my life, one of my little “mentees,” who has really been challenged by God to trust Him in the area of finances. Like many of you, she is single and overwhelmed at times by shouldering so many responsibilities alone. Under the tyranny of the urgent, she hasn’t been able to even think about going to the dentist for several years. Then came the inevitable tooth ache. The dentist took a good look and diagnosed her with a whopping seven cavities and a flooring dollar estimate. She was nearly sick. Knowing all she’d been up against lately, so was I. And she wasn’t about to let me offer an instant solution and pay for it. We did what any two worried women would do on Saturday at the mall: we got a strong swig of Starbucks, looked for a new Easter dress, talked ourselves silly, and reaffirmed our trust in the One who has never proved unfaithful. I do mean NEVER.

I got an email from her today. She saw another dentist this morning who charges a bit less and, lo and behold, now she only has two cavities. Who would have believed God could also do dentistry? WHO KNEW?? I told my friend today that this gives a whole new meaning to the filling of the Spirit.

Open your mouth and speak it, Sista: “Ah, Sovereign Lord, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You.” (Jeremiah 32:17) You gotta love Him. He has a way of showing up where you just don’t expect Him.

PS. Amanda and I had a fit over your children’s stories! You’ve given me tons of stuff to use and not just for next week’s lesson. For years to come! We still have lots to read but you’ll be hearing a response from us about them soon! I love you, Sistas. You are DEAR to me and I’m not just talking trash.

You Darling Things, I am chasing my tail right now and overwhelmed about a number of things. Feeling down over our sister from the Bossier City event that still hasn’t surfaced and, as long as I keep it healthy, I think that’s appropriate. My heart aches and breaks just like I know yours does. I’ve got a lot of concerns for hurting loved ones right now and someone dear to the ministry, a college student at that, has recently learned that her cancer has returned with gusto. Man, life is hard. But in the middle of it, God blesses us with His glorious Ever-Presence in our time of tribulation and, to top it off, He gives us one another and lets us brighten up some cloudy days. I got on the blog a few minutes ago and read your comments to Amanda’s entry on critical moments. I got so tickled that I nearly called up the Grande Non-Fat Cappuccino I had right after lunch. You are so funny. Delightful. No kidding. A few minutes earlier, I wanted to stop what I was doing, lay my head down on my desk and cry HARD. As God would so lead, instead, I clicked open the blog, read what you had written, and laughed my head off. I could quote from 25 of them but how about little Sarah Jane noting that one of mom’s friends had gained a few pounds and asking, “Mom, do you ever think your bottom will be that big?” Do you just LOVE younguns’? The little dickens are humbling, aren’t they? I make it a point to surround myself with a whole mess of them.

Hey, you know what just occurred to me? I am teaching on parenting out of the Book of Proverbs in a few weeks on a Tuesday night. It would be fun to hear from some of you regarding ONE of the most hilarious or profound things your child has ever said or done. Remember to keep it brief so I can read all of them! Oh, this is going to be a blast!!!

I love you, Sistas. You brought some pure-dee Sonshine to a cloudy day.

I cannot think of a good way to begin this post so I’ll just jump right in. Last weekend one of the conference attendees in Shreveport disappeared during the last session. Beth was contacted within a few hours and, as you can imagine, was devastated. She has been in touch with those who are close to the situation every day. I have heard from many of you who are concerned that we might not know about the disappearance of this sister because we have not mentioned it publicly. Since it appeared early on that there was most likely no foul play involved, we desired to protect the dignity of this family as much as possible. I know many of you have already been in prayer for this sister. Please continue to ask God for the complete restoration of this family. This post is for information and intercession rather than discussion, so I am going to keep comments closed. Here is a link to the most recent Shreveport Times article I could find.

Here is Beth’s response to a respectful request from one of the news networks for a press release:
“I am tremendously concerned about Mary Byrne Smith and her family. We have never had anything like this happen before at an event but, even if we had, I can’t imagine we’d be any less moved. I care deeply about the women who attend the conferences, about their families and the challenges they may be facing. Mary and her family have been on my mind constantly since I learned about her disappearance. I have spoken to and prayed with her husband by phone and have been in touch daily with others close to the situation in order to be of any possible help. I would ask all who have learned of Mary’s disappearance to join us in earnest prayer that God will restore her to her family and community.”

There is a twinkle in time that the Moore girls like to call the critical moment. The critical moment occurs in the seconds between getting your hair exactly how you want it and then sealing it with hairspray. The Moore world stops spinning during the critical moment. Those present must not speak loudly, make requests, or get in the way while the process is happening. Those not present must not, Lord help them, interrupt the moment with a phone call. Melissa and I know that Mom is not Mom during the critical moment. But she will be right back…with great hair.

Since I largely stopped using hairspray (gasp!) a few years ago, I’ve ceased experiencing the critical moment. However, the Lord saw what was lacking in my life and provided a new critical moment. This takes place each morning during my son’s bath time. I start running the water and then take him to the changing table to get him ready for his bath. Here’s the critical moment: I rush with my naked (or nekked, if you prefer) baby to the bathtub and try to get him in there before the cool air on his bare skin causes the tinkle effect. But this morning I got the bath water too hot and missed the critical moment. Baby was on my left hip, my right hand was trying to mix the cold water in as fast as possible, and I felt the unfortunate sensation of my waist being sprinkled with tee. So I guess you could call that a tinkle in time.

A huge thank you is in order to all the husbands who participated in last week’s survey. We appreciate you so much! Also, thank you to the women who helped us spread the news. Our survey is now complete. I will be closing comments on the survey thread and removing the blog email address. Beth will give a report on the blog in about 3 weeks. Thank you again!

In honor of our Louisiana sisters:

One night when I was in Houston a couple of weeks ago, I pulled up in my parents’ driveway and beheld a wonderful smell. As I got out of the car the aroma of crawfish boil spices filled the air and cleared my sinuses. The neighbors across the street were having a party in their driveway. It was all I could do not to walk over there and crash the party. But I had just been to a wedding and I was wearing a new black dress and my dressy coat from Arden B. And Mom had gotten my hair just so. It was not the right time. I was dressed more for lobster at Pappa’s steak house.

But last night was the night for crawfish at Pappadeaux. I dressed in a black t-shirt and pulled my hair back just so. I was ready – more ready than I’d ever been with a pack of diaper wipes waiting to be of service. Our friends Justin and Jennifer met us there. They are possibly the biggest crawfish lovers this side of Louisiana. I called them as soon as I left Houston and pleaded for them to feed me some mudbugs…and soon. My husband is allergic to shellfish, so I can’t go to him for my crawfish needs.

We had a great time fellowshipping over the crawdaddies. I think it is less of a meal and more of an event, which is probably why I like it. They really are kind of nasty, or rude as my dad says, little creatures. But the seasoning makes it so good!

Jackson did not partake of the crawfish, but he did get to hold one briefly.

I raise my crawdad in honor of the Louisiana ladies!

Here’s the LPL – Bossier City recap video on GodTube

Here it is on YouTube.

When I was watching it I looked over and saw Jackson “dancing.” He really likes that song. Many thanks again to Rich. Enjoy!

Good morning, ladies! I should have some pictures or a video slide show for you in the next couple of days. In the meantime, I thought I would give our Louisiana ladies a place to tell us about the weekend’s conference. My mom said she fell in love with you instantly. She also told me that God was with you all from the first minute until the last. We are giving wild applause to Him for the twenty-five women who made professions of faith. God is so good! Have a blessed Monday, everyone.