Friday greetings, y’all!

On a whim I decided to jump on here and share a bit of the randomness in my head. It’s called five minute Friday. It’s not new. It’s not original. But it’s sometimes fun and a lot of other bloggers do it, so why not jump on the bandwagon this morning?

So, I’m setting my timer for five minutes, literally, and at the end of this post, I suppose we’ll all see where my finger tapping took me. Beware, none of it will have anything to do with each other. Okay? Okay.

Ready…set…type!

– I’m learning more and more that it’s always better to give more grace than you feel like giving. Whoa. That’s hard. But where would we be if the Lord only gave us grace dependent on how He was feeling that day? Oh no. We’d be a puddle.

– I’m also learning, probably the hard way, that sometimes it’s better to keep your mouth shut. If you have nothing kind to say, don’t say anything at all.

– I’ve had to administer drugs to myself in the form of NyQuil all week long. I can’t decide if the scratchy throat and stuffy head is due to allergies or sinuses, but either way, I’m ready for the junk to move along.

– Fall is sloooooowly creeping into Houston. And by slow I mean the high is 84 degrees today. What?

– I am currently wearing a t-shirt that says, “Y’all”. That’s all. I kind of love it. I recently got it from an antique shop called Junk Gypsy in Round Top, Texas and it makes me so happy. As Kinky Friedman once said, “Y’all is singular. All y’all is plural. All y’all’s is plural possessive.” And all the Texans said amen.

Yup, I just took a selfie. It’s five minute Friday, y’all. What more could you expect? Plus, I really wanted y’all to see the cuteness that is this t-shirt, you know, since I don’t typically wear t-shirts. Smile.

– When one’s throat is sore, chocolate milk for the win. (I don’t want to hear if it’s bad for me, I just want you to know that it feels good.)

– Yesterday we had some visitors at LPM. Jefferson Bethke and his wife Alyssa. If you’ve not heard of Jefferson, he recently (this week) released a book called Jesus > Religion and also, Jefferson is very gifted in the way he brings the Word to people. He brings it through a poetic stance that we sometimes label as spoken word. If you’re looking for something to do today, go look him up on YouTube. You will not be disappointed. They were so genuine, so easy, so fun and so clearly love Jesus. The kind of people you just see yourself being best friends with. (Side note: Beth and I both only knew Jefferson through Twitter. That is what is so fun about social networking, one day you’re Twitter friends, and the next day you’re real life friends. Or, like many of you have experienced, one day you’re blog friends and the next day you’re real life friends. So crazy, y’all.)

Beth, Alyssa, and Jefferson.

And then I hopped in the picture. So fun.

– Oh, I wanted to tell you all (y’all) thank you so much for your sweet words about my Grandpa. I read every last word. And thank you for sharing your struggles and losses, too. Your authenticity and vulnerability encouraged me. Life is hard. But how fun that we have this neat community to encourage each other and lift each other’s heads up? I’m so grateful.

– I was reading through an old journal very recently, (some old journals make me want to sob and some I want to shred and throw away, can you relate?) and anyway, I ran across this sentence I wrote and it was a fresh wind to my soul. While faith is the doorway, grace is where we stand, but hope is our fuel. 

– This I know, if we’re not being fueled by the hope of Jesus Christ, we’re looking to something else to keep our weary engines rolling, and sister, this I know, it will come up dry. Every time. The hope of Jesus Christ is our fuel. Hope in Him today. He’s got you. He’s carrying you.

Welp! My timer just went off. I’m going to cheat now and add one picture.

Your turn! But to keep the comments slightly bearable, let’s make it one minute Friday. I promise you, one minute will FLY by.

That was fun! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I love y’all so very much.

I know most of you can relate when I say there are times you look back on a year and see how God has been so faithful in the little things. For different reasons here and there, I’ll just go ahead and admit that 2013 has not been my favorite year. It has certainly had its rough patches and that’s okay. Not every year is a pep rally. Sometimes there are certain years that are amazing and you treasure those and keep doing life, then there are those that are just plain hard and still you keep doing life. The key is to keep moving forward with Jesus not matter what. Because one thing we can know is that each and every day is the day He has made, and we WILL rejoice and be glad in it, even if it involves tears, heartache, confusion and disappointment.

Two months ago you might remember that I blogged about my brief trip to Colorado to celebrate my Grandpa’s 86th birthday and my grandparent’s 60th wedding anniversary. Before that, my grandparents spent Memorial Day weekend in Houston with us and before that, I spent Christmas in Colorado with my entire family. Only the Lord could have ordained all of that time together because last week, we said goodbye to my sweet Grandpa. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer right around Labor Day, and three weeks later, on September 26th, he met Jesus. It was fast and furious, but knowing how incredibly sick and in pain he was, we’re all so grateful he’s no longer suffering.

I realized recently that not everyone gets to experience the blessing of grandparent’s like I have. Distance didn’t mean a thing to my grandparent’s. They were so faithful and never missed a beat or a birthday in our lives. Always involved, always healthy and thriving, which is what made the last month so hard. I’ve been quiet about all of it, but mainly because I can’t talk about it without a big lump in my throat or crocodile tears on my face.

We celebrated his life together last week in Colorado with hundreds of family and friends gathered and honored his long and very blessed life that ended with a 21-gun salute to his service in the military, and the flag presentation to my grandma, which is incredibly moving.

(Can I just pause and say a big THANK YOU to those of you that sacrifice your husbands, fathers, brothers, uncles, grandpas, mothers, sisters, wives, aunts and so on and so forth to the military? Thank you is lame, I know, but I mean it. It is no small feat, and no small sacrifice. We appreciate them more than we can say. I hope you know that and feel that today if you are in that situation.)

My Grandpa is so deeply missed by all of us, but now I can brag about what blessing he was to literally everyone that knew him. Every morning last week I woke up at my grandparent’s house expecting to be greeted by his huge grin, kiss on the cheek and a, “Good morning my Lindselpie! What do you want this morning?” and then he’d list off every breakfast option imaginable.

I don’t know if it’s possible, but I fell in love with my family all over again last week. We got to do so many things Grandpa loved to do, like work on the puzzle he had been working on during his last weeks, laugh at thousands (and I do mean thousands) of pictures, re-tell his old (and sometimes inappropriate) jokes, take a visit to the mountains to visit the old cabin he built and they used to live in and eat his favorite foods, among many other things.

Sad? Yes. Despairing? No. We know we will see him again one day. Hard? Absolutely. But blessed in the midst of it all? Without a doubt.

So, if the blog has seemed a bit quiet, you’re not imagining things. In the middle of tweeting, blogging, facebook, Instagram, snapchat, and all things social media, real life happens. To all of us. I’ve learned that when real life happens, sometimes nothing is the right thing to say, and other times when real life you happens, you just have nothing to say. If you’re in the thick of it right now, and if you feel like you’re barely keeping your head above water today, I pray you feel God’s nearness. I know many of you are in storms that are unbearable. For that, know that every tear that falls on your pillow (and we all know those pillow tears, don’t we?) I have a deep compassion for you. But when we know God is near and in control, it makes life a little more bearable. Amen?

But just like I was reminded last week, it’s much more exciting to live life as opposed to making up things to write or tweet about. Can I get an amen? And my Grandpa lived life to the fullest. I could go on and on about him, but I won’t, lest I bore each of you to death. Let’s live a little life this week, in the midst of chaos, blessing, sadness, and joyful occasions, let us express our hope in Jesus and live. Because where there is hope, there is life.

I thought about not sharing any pictures with you all, but that just felt wrong. So, I’ll share a few of my favorites pictures and memories from this last week that we got to smile over.

One thing I want you to notice is my Grandpa’s pocket protector in each picture. He OWNED that pocket protector and wore it literally my entire life. Can you say fashionista? Laughing.

I can honestly tell you that Grandpa never withheld one ounce of love. He loved so well.

I just thought this was fun. We were looking through some books and found this picture of Grandpa during the Korean war. “Nothing like an early morning shave with cold water out in the open.” (That is something I cannot relate to. Grin.)

This was just two months ago celebrating my grandparent’s 60th anniversary. Such a treasure right here in this picture.

Me and Grandpa and couple of years ago. Again, notice the pocket protector and pens. I hope it makes you smile as much as me. (Side note: He wrote EVERYTHING down, everyday. From sun-up to sun-down. That was fun to look back on.)

I am sure this sight is familiar to many of you. To you, I say thank you so, so much and I am so,so sorry. But what better way to honor our military troops and veterans? So moving. So incredibly special.

In his free time, my Grandpa worked on puzzles of all kinds. Jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzles and just plain old puzzles. This is the last one he was working on and this was as far as he got. We used to work on them with him, so you better believe we picked up where he left off and in all our might, tried to finish this one, but alas, did not. Too little time and WAY too hard. But it was a good memory to relive despite his absence.

We got one day last week to just be, so we headed up the mountain to visit my grandparents’ old cabin where they used to live. Right next to this lake where we used to fish all the time. (My Grandpa was the fisherman of fisherman.) Three of us may or may not have been wearing some of Grandpa’s old coats as we were not prepared for the cold weather. (Another side note: My Grandpa built every house he lived in, except the last two.)

The view right outside their cabin. A little Autumn snow had just fallen. It was chilly, crisp, breezy and beautiful.

I came home Sunday evening to this stunning sunset. We were driving out of the airport when my dad pulled over so I could get out of the car and take this pictures. It took my breath away. This was THE best welcome home banner ever. All I kept saying was, “Jesus loves me, this I know.”

After that sunset, we kept driving and then this happened. As if the first sight wasn’t enough. THIS? Unreal, y’all. And we watched plane after plane take off into that sunset. To say I was obsessed is a slight understatement. My dad didn’t pull over so I could take this, but apparently that didn’t matter. A moving car couldn’t even ruin this picture.

I don’t know about you, but it’s little things like that, a welcome home sunset, that remind me how faithful God is. That He sees. He cares. And He goes before you and me. I needed that. And maybe you do, too. He is so worthy of our faith and our trust.

And all the people said amen.

Hi ladies! For those of you waiting to see the recap from this weekend, here it is. Thanks so much, Rich!

Living Proof Live | Tulsa from LifeWay Women on Vimeo.

We hope you all have a blessed Monday!

Ladies, it’s a Thursday before a Living Proof Live around here, which typically means one thing: Siesta Scholarship Tickets! Of course, we hold it lightly because we don’t always have them, but more often than not, it is our deepest pleasure to be able to scholarship 20 of you to Tulsa this weekend. 

For those of you who are new to the blog, these are tickets set aside for those of you that would love to attend the conference, but just don’t have the financial means to do that right now. Let us bless you!

If this applies to you, or if you know of somebody and you live around that area, you can call us at 281-257-3344 or call toll free at 888.700.1999. Please ask for Kimberly and she will hook you up! If you happen to call during the lunch hour, or we miss you for some other reason, please leave a message and we’ll get back to you ASAP.

And by all means, please pray for the LPL team as they head that way today, and serve all weekend long!

Have a wonderful Thursday, y’all.

What’s Undone? from LPV on Vimeo.

Well, ladies! I drove to work this Monday morning sans eye-shadow and mascara. THAT’S how late I woke up. What a fantastic start to a new week. (I hope you can hear my sarcasm. Grin.)

Does anyone else have issues waking up to music? I always immediately hear my alarm, and insert said song right into my dream because it’s typically a song I love. This is both a good and bad problem. Good because it doesn’t make waking up so bad, but bad because I don’t want to get out of bed becasue I’m also one of those people that HAS to finish a song before I get out of the car or bed in the morning. Getting out of the car and getting out of bed in the morning are completely unrelated. Are you confused yet? And now I’m not really sure where this post is going.

Moving on…

Two things, however, made me giddy during my short commute.

1. My cup of coffee. (Priorities, folks. I may not be rocking mascara, but I was not about to sacrifice my little dose of caffeine.)

2. The crisp, Fall, coolish weather. And all the Houston peeps said amen. We had quite the rainstorm Friday night, and that storm blew in a lovely new season we like to call Fall. We probably won’t see physical signs of Fall until, oh, early January or February, but the slight change in weather is a nice baby step.

I know it seems like all that’s been going on around here is the simulcast, and while that has been TOP priority, and rightfully so, I thought it would be fun for a little shake up and do yet another iPhone dump. If you’re new around here, to put it nicely, that just means I dump a lot of random pictures from my iPhone on this here blog for y’all to either humor me or ignore me. I’m fine with either. Grin.

So, here goes nothin’!

The envy apple deserves a picture. Y’all. If you’re into apples, this seasonal apple will not do you wrong. Every time I introduce the envy apple (yes, I’m obsessed), I’m questioned as to whether or not it lives up to the Honeycrisp apple. Um, YES, to say the very least. In my (insignificant) opinion, it is ten times better.

This is my (four-year-old) friend Justus. He’s one of a kind. The other night I was at his house when he enthusiastically said to me, “Hey you! I’m gonna make you a waffle.” And then he delivered. Without any prompting. I’d like to think I made the others jealous, but well, it was just a classic, plain waffle. He then proceeded to make sure I finished said waffle. It made me so happy.

There were a couple of weeks I had major puppy fever, if puppy fever is such a thing. Listen, I’m not saying I’m over it, I’m just saying I’m not sure this is the perfect time to get a pup. So, to hold me over, this was the background of my phone for a couple of weeks. Thank you, Pinterest. I don’t know what kind of puppy this is, who it belongs to, or its name, but I know that it brought me so much joy to look at. I also like to imagine what it was thinking the very minute this picture was taken. Ohmygosh. So terribly adorable.

Also adorable? My sweet Ellie Paige (not actually mine, but my best friend’s, just to clarify.). Cutest lunch date ever. Not many words need to be said about this selfie, BUT, one thing I’ve thought about so much? Children and babies, not matter what you think, are always watching and mimicking you. I’m so taken with her.

One piece of advice: Are you the one in charge of getting your oil changed? Sunday mornings is where it’s at, y’all. That’s the beauty of evening church services. I was able to do the thing I loathe the most and to be honest, it wasn’t so bad this go around because I was literally the only getting my car serviced. Score!

It’s really cute when you show up to a concert wearing the same shirt as your friend. Different patterns, nonetheless. We’re so cool.

Just a fun, quick shot of the worship team at the Bossier City LPL I got to attend a few weekends ago! I know many of you were there as well.

Last weekend my church, Bayou City Fellowship, had their first women’s retreat! This right here is a mighty group of women. I’m so encouraged that I get to do life with so many of them. They’re the real deal and I love them so.

Right before we had our women’s retreat, we celebrated two years as a church! I can honestly tell you that I’ve never loved church more, and I’ve never been more challenged while simultaneously been built up and encouraged in church. I said this out loud in prayer time last week becasue it’s the truth, but I love Jesus more because of Bayou City Fellowship. I’m grateful to God for giving Curtis and Amanda (my pastor and his sweet wife) this vision and for the faith to carry it out. We are far from perfect, but we try our hardest to be about Jesus.

I was totally a girl that celebration Sunday and made our worship team take a picture. When you serve together, you become like family. That’s what this group is to me. We have much to learn and so many ways to grow, but that’s what I love most about them.

This is the part where I overwhelm you with sky pictures. But goodness, y’all. The sunsets and sunrises have been insane recenetly. Truly, it is the ONE reason I wasn’t ready for summer in Texas to end. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times: Texas sunsets for the win. Always.

Sunset.

Sunrise. (Side note: This sunrise happened to be the morning of our birthday celebration at BCF as I was driving to church. I felt it was appropriate. His Glory!)

Sunset. No filter. Sun stand still!

And this? Well, these are the storm clouds that carried in Fall. They made me equally as happy.

Prayer time has snuck up on me. Gotta run! I love y’all. Happy Monday.

As promised, here is the last installment of our simulcast follow-up posts this week. The commissioning you all did at the end of the conference that many of you have been asking for. Be so blessed!

My Dear Sister,
God has summoned you
To a growth-spurt of Grace
Know your Biblical facts
And stand squarely and securely
On the Name of Jesus alone
With your head tucked under grace
Get out of your cemetery
And quit trying to call
That old you from the dead
You are somebody new
In Christ you are highly favored
And wildly empowered
Forever loved
Completely made clean
Sin no longer has dominion over you
Trade all your anxieties
For the peace of Jesus Christ
You have been justified freely
By His death and resurrection
Listen hard, Girlfriend:
You are FORGIVEN.
Live like you know it.
You are called to the obedience of faith
So credit Jesus alone
And take Him at His Word
He credits that as righteousness.
Never forget that God’s grace abounds
So if you find yourself in short supply
Get your head back under that spout
And drink like you’re dying of thirst
When times are hard
And your strength melts to weakness
God’s grace will always be sufficient
It won’t be long
Till we see His face
And He will show Himself worthy
Of every ounce of pain and faith
Now to Him who is able
To keep your feet from falling
And to present you
Before the Presence of His glory
With overwhelming joy
Be glory and majesty
Dominion and authority
Both now and forever
Amen

Responsive Reading Final from LPV on Vimeo.

Hey, Dear Sisters!

Many of you who participated in the simulcast asked for the responsive reading we did at the very beginning of the last session. Here it is and I have left it in exactly the same form. I compiled these Scriptures to serve as a focused call to worship for a gathering of believers that would lead straight into songs of praise led by our worship team. My hope in posting it here as a response to your requests is that many of you will not just view it but, instead, will actually take part in it by allowing God’s Word to speak over you, then responding with words to Him comprised of Scripture as well. Where it calls for congregational response, you’d simply respond individually.

You are a joy for us to serve, Sisters. We are honored to bring you anything we possibly can that might be of benefit to you. Our deepest hope and commitment here at Living Proof is to encourage women to love Christ Jesus more and more through the study of His Word. Pray that for us as well!

I will post the commissioning we did at the very end of the simulcast on Friday. Dearest love to you all!