Hey, Darling Things! I am sitting at a Cafe Express in Houston on yet another gorgeous Spring day while Melissa (home for Spring Break) is meeting with a Wordpress moderator so she (and we) can develop some proficiency on this format. It’s more complicated behind the scenes than you might think.  She wanted me to be part of the tutoring session but I told her that I needed to do this post. Then she suggested that I come along but sit at a different table while we do two different things. I tried planting myself only three tables over but I’m interminably nosey (does it go with size of nose??)  and kept listening to what they were saying. I prefer to do that with total strangers, especially couples that appear to be on first dates, but not many people are at Cafe Express this morning for breakfast and no one appears to be dating. Does anyone really date anymore anyway? A subject for another day.

I am happy to be here just the same whether or not the people watching is paltry. The coffee choices are enough to keep me intrigued. You don’t just get coffee here. You get choices like these in big huge cannisters:

“Equatorial Coffee” – “hints of buttery toast (who knew? no need to even eat breakfast with it??), cocoa nib (i love me some cocoa nib! i just didn’t know it! what is a nib exactly? like a little niblet?), almond, bold fruit, sweet (no one ever tells me I’m sweet. fun on occasion. never “you’re so sweet.” i don’t know why.), bright and clean.”

And

“Costa Rican Coffee” – “balanced (that’s me), clean (in Christ), classic (wannabe), winey (only when I don’t get my way. a lot of southern baptists don’t believe in being other kinds of whiny)with berry notes (berry notes? as in music notes? or as in sticknotes?), rich in body (is there no way we can get away from this?).”

 So, as you can see, I’m dealing with a few distractions. And have had a bit too much Costa Rican. I think I’m allergic to berry notes. Melissa and I had an awkward moment when we pulled up in the parking lot and started stacking up our stuff to come into the restaurant. I have a paperback copy of SLI that I use to prepare our weekly discussions. All the sudden I flashed it at her and said, “I can’t take this in there.” How lame would that be? She said, “Tear off the cover.” So I did. Ripped that thing right off.

It’s time for us to finish up! I am so grateful for your partnership through this journey. You were such a big part of the inspiration to write it (not because you’re insecure or anything… but because I knew I’d have a little company if I went public). When it came out, reading it together seemed only fitting. Thank you for your willingness to enter in. As for the rest of you, I can only imagine that you will be relieved to have this hog off the blog and I equally thank you for your patience.

Let me say quickly before we get to the final set of instructions, I loved reading about your life passions last week! One of my favorite sets of comments from this journey! (And, separate from SLI, your testimonies of receiving Christ impacted my whole Easter weekend. Superb. I felt that God delighted in it and that, Sweet Thing, is my favorite feeling.)

This week’s assignment? Finish this baby up! Please read Chapters 17 and 18 and answer the following questions:

1. Based on Chapter 17, on a scale of 1 to 10 (one-almost none, ten-over the top), how big a part has fear played in your life?  After responding with your approximation, please share what, if anything, in the chapter resonated with you.

2. Reflect over the journey as a whole. What (again, if anything) lasting and of God will you take away from it?  

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Ladies. You are a great joy to me. May the God of peace sanctify us through and through – spirit, soul, and body – until we are wholly overtaken by Him. (1 Thess. 5:23) This alone will be the essence of wholeness.

I love you.

Ladies, we are hoping to move to the new blog site tonight. I’m sorry that this heads up is coming so late in the day! When we move, you’ll want to subscribe to the new feed so that you’ll continue to get the blog updates (that is if you’re using a feed reader). I’m sure that it will take a little while for the new blog to feel like home, but I’m confident that the new platform will allow us to serve you more effectively. Thanks so much for your prayers and patience as we have worked on this projects with several starts and stops.

OK. You guys were hilarious yesterday. Honestly, I had to write a number of your quirks down so I’d remember on particularly bizarre occasions that I’m not alone in my psychoses. I have a number of other quirks that I either forgot to share or felt best to keep in the family vault. In the words of the Psalmist David (my particular obsession right now), I could have gotten much more undignified than that.

I am still amused and mystified by one of the earliest ones from a Siesta that shared, “I don’t have a middle name – just an initial ‘M’.” With my wild imagination and hopeless romanticism, as a child I probably would have made up a story about my mother having named me after her own mother who was a famous movie star with a name starting with the letter “M,” who’d had to keep the pregnancy a secret and release her for adoption or else she would have broken her MGM contract but called for her on her very death bed, confessed the truth, professed her love, and gave her jewels…OR she might have named me after a secret agent (no, a double agent is better!) with a name beginning with “M” who she discovered after efforts of trained operatives failed when she accidentally intercepted a Sears catalog with a clandestine envelope tucked carefully into the bathrobe section when she knew she must book an immediate flight to Paris to perform a citizen’s arrest with a sharpened letter-opener only to throw her hand over her mouth in astonishment for there before her stood her mirror image, the twin sister she never knew she had but, alas, she was sworn to secrecy…

Uh hum. Sorry. I forgot you were there.

What are we doing here? Oh, yes! Week Seven of So Long Insecurity! Your discussions were so great last week! I’m hoping these next two chapters will also offer us a few good items to talk about. Your assignment this week is to read CHAPTERS 12 and 13 and answer the following questions. (You will NOT want to miss Chapter 12. It’s what the guys on the survey had to say about women’s insecurities. Don’t wait too long in the week to read Chapter 13 either. It’s a little lengthier.)

1. Based on Chapter 12, name one “I already knew that” moment and one “that’s new to me” moment, if either applies.

2. Based on Chapter 13, how does a weak will play into our insecurity?

I am looking so forward to your answers! Let’s recommit to our journey together even if you’ve already read the whole book. Jump in here and discuss it with us and let’s see several hundred more comments this time. In the spirit of 2 Corinthians 8:11, “Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it.” Translation? Let’s finish strong!

You are a delight to serve. I may mess around with you but make no mistake. I take this role very seriously. May Christ Jesus, our One and Only Deliverer, reveal Himself afresh to you this week with resurrection power and relentless affection. He is so worthy. And, He, Beloved, is our security.

Hi, Siestas! I think I’ve got a fun one! I saw this idea in one of those complimentary airline magazines and showed it to Michelle (who was sitting right next to me) with great enthusiasm and said, “I’m going to do this with the Siestas!” to which she dryly said, “Great, Ma’am.” (I adore her. To say that she has whiplash after going from Washington D.C. to Living Proof Ministries is the understatement of the year. She really doesn’t want to talk a lot about mascara and would not be caught stone-cold-dead in a pair of Capri pants. And never in her entire life has she had to keep a small bottle of anointing oil in her brief case…just in case her boss calls for it. She has also never before had a boss request a photo-shopped picture of herself on a Spiderman costume. A post for another time.)

I’m sorry. I have a little ADD this morning. Back to my idea. It’s not very original but I think it will be a blast. As we’re getting to know one another here in Siestaville, let’s hit the fast forward button. What are 10 things – right off the top of your head – that we would only know about you if we knew you really well? 10 random things ranging anywhere on your personal map that make you a tad distinctive? Or just plain weird? Think quickly. Don’t go for deep. Go for quirky. Don’t try to put them in any kind of order and don’t make them long. Just start typing. I’ll go first to give you the idea.

1. I have an addiction to Ziploc bags.
2. I hate wet socks worse than almost anything.
3. I was the only baby out of 5 born to my mother with no anesthesia. She never forgot it.
4. I wore braces for 12 years. I still often sleep in a retainer.
5. I am a read-aholic. I read over others’ shoulders. I walk the aisle on airplanes to see what others are reading. I read what’s laying on people’s desks during meetings while they think I’m listening.
6. I love Black music.
7. I need slices of cakes and pies to be cut neatly with a sharp knife and not gouged out with a fork. (Nearly just got a shiver at the thought.)
8. My children call me “Doodle.” I no longer remember why. Sometimes just “The Doods.”
9. I am a very slow driver.
10. I’m a go-girl. I love the rush of taking off in an airplane. I smile almost every time.

OK, Siestas! What about you? What are 10 quirky things we might not know?

*UPDATE* All the tickets have been spoken for. Thanks, ladies!

Hey ladies! We are giving away 10 tickets to the Living Proof Live event this weekend in Tucson, Arizona. If you were hoping to attend the event but couldn’t swing the ticket price, we would love to treat you to a complimentary one. Please call Kimberly Meyer at our Living Proof office at 1-888-700-1999. I will try to update the blog as soon as I hear that the tickets are gone.

Houston Siestas, we look forward to seeing you tonight for session 7 of A Heart Like His! Have a great Tuesday, everyone.

Ladies, I have some very cool news. My two favorite authors are joining up for a “Heart of Texas” book tour on Friday and Saturday. Would you like to guess who they are?

One is our very own Siesta Mama, who will be signing copies of So Long Insecurity. Woo hoo!

The other author is…

…Drum roll please…

Francine Rivers!

Eeeeek! Can you believe it?!?!

I screamed like a little girl when I heard the news.

Mrs. Rivers will be signing copies of Her Mother’s Hope, which just released this week.

Here are the details in case you’re interested in coming to one of the book signings.

Friday, March 19

11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Barnes & Noble
1430 Lake Plaza Place
Southlake, TX 76092
817-442-0207
*You’ll need to get a free ticket from the store to get in line.

3:30 PM – 5:30 PM
Barnes & Noble
7700 West Northwest Highway
Dallas, Texas 75225
214-739-1124
*You’ll need to get a free ticket from the store to get in line.

Saturday, March 20

10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Barnes & Noble
12850 Memorial Drive
Houston, Texas 77024
713-465-5616
*You won’t need a ticket, but the B&N employee I spoke to recommended getting there when the store opens at 9 AM.

2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Barnes & Noble
The Woodlands Mall
1201 Lake Woodlands Drive, #3008
The Woodlands, Texas 77381
281-465-8744
*You can either get a wristband at the store in advance or call them and have one reserved in your name. (You can pick it up tomorrow or in the store on Saturday.) The wristbands will have a group number that will indicate when you get in line.

Melissa and I will be at one of the book signings in Houston. (Probably the early one.) We hope to get to meet some of you!

And finally, what’s your favorite Francine Rivers book? Mine’s the Mark of the Lion series. I wish I could read it all over again for the first time.

Hey Everybody! I am so proud of you guys! Your discussions have been tremendous. I am especially happy that so many of you have jumped in with us late and gone back to the very beginning, signed in, and added your answers to the previous weeks of our book discussion. Way to go! As we moderate, we give the same attention to the comments on the older posts as the ones that are up-to-date. I promise you that community and active discussion will make your journey far more meaningful and hold you infinitely more accountable.

Ok, we’re about to get to a part of the book that I found highly interesting in research. The next several chapters involve the insights from the men’s survey and I bet a few of their comments will pop your eyes open, too. In the mix of what we have ahead, we’re going to be focusing on men-related insecurities then soon after that (in coming chapters) we’ll focus specifically on women-related insecurities. Each of us has a tendency to be less secure around one gender than the other and, according to the survey of over 900 of you, we’re almost evenly divided between the two. I pray we’re going to gain insight into some gender-related insecurities and stumble upon some much needed freedom. I really want you to read the portions about the men even if you don’t have a mate or a specific man in your life. If we have resistant, resentful hearts toward men, we can’t just avoid them altogether. They comprise the other half of our population so it really is imperative in our pursuit of wholeness that we get a grip.

Your assignment for this week is to read CHAPTERS 10 AND 11 and answer the following question:
1. Based on Chapter 10, in all truthfulness, has your historical tendency been to view men (generally speaking) as gods? Or devils?

2. Based on Chapter 10 and your own day-to-day observances, what differences do you see between men’s insecurities and women’s?

3. On p.208 in Chapter 11, I suggest that women who struggle with insecurity tend to be particularly taken with 2 divine attributes: omnipotence and omniscience. Did either of these resonate with you? If so, how?

We are liable to have some LIVELY conversation this week! I can’t wait to see it happen! Just one little thing I want to throw out there: some of you may have some pretty big hang-ups with men because you have a background of abuse like I do. If it plays heavily into one of your answers, by all means, share what pertains but I’ve learned along the way that it’s best to stop short of graphic descriptions. Most people have a hard time knowing what to do with those kinds of mental images. I’ve told every graphic detail in counseling situations but, publically, I try to stay general. It’s just too much for most listeners and readers. They have compassion but they just don’t have the answers. We know Who does.

Go for it, Girls! I’m so honored to take this journey with you.

Hey, you Darling Siestas! Just a really quick post this morning. I bet a ton of you are on Spring Break this week. What are you guys doing for it?

The Houston schools are all out this week and we were supposed to have a week off from Bible study but remember that Tuesday night when I told you the whole city shut down over 17 flakes? Well, tonight’s our make-up week so that we can end on schedule. That’s fine with me though. I trust that God is going to bring us a neat group tonight even if it’s a small group.

CJ and AJ and the kids are at a high school camp right now in East Texas where he’s teaching and she’s…well…trying to entertain two small children during the day and trying to get them both to sleep at night in the same small room as their parents. The first night was pretty challenging because Annabeth is old enough to stand up in the pack-n-play and scream bloody murder for her mommy – three feet away from her – to come rescue her. And, about the time she gets quiet, Jackson is big enough to blurt out with things like, “Did Annabeff finally go to sleep?” and rouse her up again. He’s a party animal like his Bibby and LOVES all of them sleeping in the same room.

But, the Jones are troopers and, after all, the week is filled with so many fun things. Amanda is with one of her very best buddies from the Dallas-Fort Worth area where they served for several years. I was so happy for the Jones to move back to Houston but so sad to see AJ leave some of the best friends she’d ever made. For moms, I don’t know if there’s any replacing the friends you had when you all started your families. Several of those friends are still in my life and we talk about those days all the time. I will hear many good Janelle and Ella stories when the Jones get home. Janelle is one of Amanda’s BFFs and her darling Ella was born within the same few days as Jackson and in the same hospital so she is really special to us. She also made us want a little girl the second time around in the worst way.

Melissa is working like a mad woman on her thesis and her other classes this semester so she can be finished with this second Masters in May. I don’t even have to tell you that she’s chasing her tail. She’s coming in town this weekend for a wedding and I have to work over part of it but I’ll still enjoy her like crazy when we get to be together.

Good grief! I’ve got to get off of here. My handout for tonight is not finished. I just wanted to say good morning to you guys and see who was doing something out of the ordinary for Spring Break. Finances are tight this year so many of our Siestas are probably trying to get pretty creative on Stay-cations. Give each other some great ideas!

PS. For those of you who followed the comments to the last post, did you see that the young mom who collapsed into the coma has awakened and talked some? Praise You, Lord! Raise her up a living, breathing, walking, talking MIRACLE!