Hey Sisters! To say that you are on my mind right about now is an understatement. I’m posting this on Thursday, February 11th but I’m writing it at 10:00 PM on Wednesday from the backseat of a rented Ford four-door “Edge.” My trusty (hard working) assistant, Michelle, is sitting right across from me and Todd and Maggie from Tyndale House are up front. We have had a break-neck day in Birmingham, Alabama at three different bookstores where I had an indescribable blast with women just like you. And, in fact, a number of them actually were you. What a great way to begin to picture roughly 6000 of you! All ages. All shapes and personalities. And every color of hair a woman can buy. I do dearly love a group of happy girls. Just in case you are under the impression that women who love God can’t have fun, stick around a while. We’d be delighted to help change your mind.

We are on a three-hour drive to Nashville and, by the time you read this, we will have checked into a hotel around midnight. We will get up on Thursday morning and head out to several bookstores and see many more of you face-to-face. An unspeakable privilege.

I am ecstatic that you guys have joined us for this journey! You are our particularly welcome guests if this is the first time you’ve participated on this blog. There’s just nothing like doing something healthy TOGETHER. When we go solo, the temptation to set a goal aside when it gets confrontational or challenging can be almost too much to resist. The accountability and community you can experience in a group with a common objective like this can make the difference between really doing the thing or wishing you had.

So, what’s our goal? As a matter of fact, a cameraman from a local television station asked me that very question today. I’ll tell you what I told him: the goal is for an insecure woman to open the book and a secure woman to close it. Nothing less than that. Humanly speaking, fat chance. But, if somewhere in these pages, we hear God speaking instead? Ah, then, for those willing to believe what He says, fat chances lose their weight and real changes takes their place. We’re not just looking to read a book here, Sisters. We’re looking to discover the kind of soul-deep security that stands fast in the floodwaters of this image-saturated society. It is time for a change.

OK, let’s quit talking about it and start doing it! Here are your assignments for Week One:
1. Write a journal-type entry on the inside cover of your book describing this present season of your life and why you’ve chosen to read a book like this. If you already have a relationship with God, write it in the form of a prayer. I do this almost every time I begin a book that I think could have a considerable impact on my life. When I finish the book, I always go back and read it and it ends up meaning so much to me. Listen, Sister, if you expect little, that’s probably what you’ll get. But if you expect something big from God when you start a journey and you posture yourself to receive from Him, even when frail human beings are thrown in the mix, you’ll end up with something huge. Something life altering.

2. Read the Introduction, Chapter One, and Chapter Two. Our first question is based on Chapter One: When was the last time you came face-to-face with our gender’s massive struggle with insecurity? Describe the setting.

3. This question is based on Chapter Two: what part of the definition or description of insecurity resonated most with you and why?

To stay on schedule, you will have until next Thursday morning, February 18th, to answer this week’s questions so don’t feel that you need to rush. You have plenty of time. You will write your responses in a single comment to THIS POST. You’ll see other posts about other subjects follow this one over the course of the week. You’ll still return back to this entry to make your comments regarding Week One. This will be true each subsequent week.

Each time you enter into the discussion, please include the same general information as your initial sign-up: first name, city, age-decade, and whether or not you are single or married. You’ll find that our answers will be even more insightful as we set them next to our basic biographical information. Try to keep your responses succinct so that we can read as many as possible. Since there could be hundreds of comments – or even several thousand – you might consider reading the ones surrounding the same general time frame as your entry.

For all the rule keepers, no, you don’t have to respond every week or to every question. Grin. When you have something to say, say it! Don’t feel like it needs to sound profound. Don’t try to over-analyze unless that’s how you normally process information. Just share what’s on your heart and how God is dealing with you.

No matter your background, you are so welcome to take part in this journey with us. All we ask is that you treat your fellow sojourners with respect. I am honored to serve you here. My prayer and deepest hope is that you will encounter the One who came that you might have life and have it to the FULL.

Thank you for coming!

Lord, be magnified.

In His lavish love,
Beth

OK, Sisters! Let’s hear it! Who wants to participate? IT’S TIME FOR ROLL CALL.

Here’s what you do:
*Enter ONE COMMENT PER PERSON so that we can tell from the number of comments exactly how many are participating. If you’re overseeing a small group through our blog discussion, please ask each participant to sign up separately. It will only take a few moments and will make the list so much more fun and far easier to read. If you invited a friend to participate but she doesn’t know how to post a comment yet, sign up for her then take her through AJ’s tutorial (see previous post) so she can learn to do it on her own from this point forward. Remember that we moderate all comments here so please don’t sign up twice unless you still don’t see yours posted the next day.

*In your comment, give your…
First Name
City, State (or Nation! We have so many Canadian Siestas, you know!)
Age decade (20’s, 30’s, 40’s, etc.)
Single or Married

If this happens to be the first time you’ve ever participated in this community, let us know! You are so welcome here. You are also under no pressure. This is strictly to enrich your sweet life, not to add one more interminable thing to your schedule. In the weeks to come, add a comment when you want. Otherwise, just enjoy perusing the insights and discussions of others as often as you like.

Today is roll call for our book discussion then this coming Thursday, February 11th, I’ll give your first reading assignment and post your first week’s questions. You’ll have all week to post your answers through a comment so don’t panic if you ordered a book and it hasn’t come yet. It won’t be hard to catch up. Again, if you don’t feel like you have anything to add that week, no big deal! The more we limit our answers to the questions that particularly resonate with us, the richer our commentary will be.

You guys are such a blast. I can’t wait to take this journey with you. You were such a huge inspiration that it’s fitting. To those of you who are joining us for the first time in order to participate in a “book club” experience, we are thrilled you are here. Jump in!

I’m crazy about you. Let’s dump a bad friend, Girls.

Good morning, my dear Siestas! Checking in to say hello before this day shoots off like a rocket. I just finished my quiet time and this is normally when I’d go out to our garage to my universal gym and work out. Until my back injury heals, you can imagine that’s off limits. I am slowing doing better though. I can even go for walks now and do certain floor exercises for it. Thank you so much for praying about it. It has been such a long (almost a year!) and painful ordeal. Honestly, my surgery (from a physical standpoint) was a cake walk compared to this but I am seeing light at the end of the tunnel and believing that another surgery will not have to be the answer.

I have to tell you the sweetest thing God has done for me and so much of it has been through you. Between the SSMT celebration at the end of January and (thus far) four book signings on the book tour, I have come face-to-face and short-story to short-story with more women than I’ve gotten to personally encounter in the last two years put together. We have hugged, laughed, said stuff like “You have got to be kidding me!” and “I know we’d be BFFs” and “Those are some danged good highlights you’ve got there, Sister” (me to them) ten thousand times and, when God would let that line dwindle down, some of us got to step to the side completely one on one and really talk. This is what I love. It’s also what I get the least of in this season of ministry.

Don’t get me wrong. I am constantly involved with women and have a steady dose of face-to-face encounters through the ministry and here in Houston but not very often when I’m out and about. I came home perhaps as exhausted as I have ever been (this book tour came a tad early in my post-op recovery) but my soul is full to the brim. For reasons known only to a God of immeasurably grace, I am called to serve women, just like many of you. Perhaps what I love best is that they come in all sorts of ages, just like all those young girls who saved a seat for me at church yesterday then hugged me to happy pieces when I got there (late). Like eighth grade Courtney who I’ve known all her life and who is now taller than Miss Beth but growing up so beautifully and gracefully I can hardly stand it. And like much younger Abigail who drew me a picture during the worship service and presented it to me at the end and asked me if we could ever have lunch. I am blessed beyond measure. Could honestly bawl about it.

Oh, the joys of girl world.

And the hard work! I could use your prayers this week. Bible study preparation today then teaching tomorrow night. Way before dawn Wednesday morning, Michelle (affectionately also known as “Hawk”) and I will jump on a plane to Birmingham for signings in three bookstores there (I can’t wait to meet you B-ham girls!), then late that night we will drive to Nashville and I will have the joy of also getting my arms around some darling necks in that home-away-from-home. So many good friends in that area. So, you won’t waste a prayer on Michelle and me this week! I don’t dread it though. I know that God will not only sustain and empower us. He will send us home with heads and hearts full of stories. Real, live face-to-face encounters. She and I have talked a hundred miles an hour about so many women we’ve met in the last week. So many Siestas! We were so glad to have Georgia Jan at the second bookstore signing in Atlanta so that she could amuse us by causing copious trouble. We do dearly love our Siestas.

OK, I better get to my day. Have already tarried way too long. I’ll leave you with this:

My devotional time this morning was spent on the subject matter of anger. I thought to myself how life offers one opportunity after another to get hopping mad about something…or, more often, toward someone and what kind of price we pay. What kinds of words we say. Proverbs 16:32 (NET) says, “Better to be slow to anger than to be a mighty warrior, and one who controls his temper is better than one who captures a city.” Let’s quit blaming our hormones and our husbands and our workplaces and just bring our anger problems before God. Let’s tell Him what we’re mad about, repent for our reaction to it, ask Him to tend to us, heal us, free us. And, if the situation or relationship continues to be irresistibly, understandably infuriating, may He teach us how to refrain from sin in our anger until we can be loosed from it altogether.

For those of us who don’t have one of those monumental, overwhelming reasons to be angry and we’re just temperamental, irritable, and summarily lacking in self-control, sometimes it’s just the matter of making a choice. As my grandmother used to say, we can get glad in the same clothes we got mad in.

Or, then again, we could just change clothes and see if that would help. One way or the other, it’s time to get over it.

I love you, Siestas.

I’m having one of those mornings. Annabeth is determined not to take a nap for the second day in a row. I forgot that the pest control man was coming this morning and when he arrived, we were all in our pajamas and the house was a mess. We still have all the party decorations up and it must have looked like a freak show. Jackson and I both woke up feeling very strong-willed. Earlier I told him to go play with his trains and he looked at me and yelled “FINE!” Is there a space in the baby book for that?

Thankfully, today is no reflection on how wonderful Annabeth’s birthday was!

As I was driving to the church for Bible study on Tuesday afternoon, I passed my OB’s office and realized that at that exact moment a year ago, I was getting the news that I was in the early stages of labor and that my baby would be coming soon. That was such a great moment to relive. I had been so happily shocked.

I came home from Bible study pretty late and began getting the house set up for Annabeth’s party. Right after midnight I went up to her room and plucked the sleeping princess out of her crib. We spent the next few minutes snuggling in her soft pink rocking chair as I whispered my happy birthday wishes. She slept right through it.

The next morning, Curtis, Jackson and I went into Annabeth’s room together to get her up for the day. Jackson ran in and yelled, “It’s your birfday, Annabeff! It’s your birfday!” He was so excited for her. We sang and clapped and she loved it.

Then we took some quick pictures with the Big Pink Bear. I was still half asleep and didn’t notice that her shirt was wonky. My bad.

I told her to give the bear a kiss.

Twelve months later, she gets out of the chair herself. It’s boggles my mind how much they change in a year!

The rest of the morning was spent getting ready for her little party. All of Annabeth’s LPM aunties were coming over at noon to celebrate with us. In hindsight, I should have cooked the night before, but I was too tired after Bible study. Mom and Nancy came over early to help. I would not have been ready on time if they hadn’t come! In the midst of the pre-party choas, Nancy asked me what time Annabeth was born. I answered 11:38 and looked at my watch. Unbelievably, it was 11:38 right at that moment! We all stopped and I got to give Annabeth some kisses and take it in.

“The Village,” as we like to call ourselves, arrived at noon and the fun began. We had enchiladas and a great salad that my mom made. I served sparkling blackberry and sparkling pomegranate Izze’s because they went with my color scheme. Then we had birthday cake and frozen cappuccino punch and opened presents. I’ll let the pictures fill in the rest of the details.

Memaw brought a present for the big brother, too. So thoughtful!

Annabeth with Auntie Nancy. This was before she rejected her bow.

Memaw, me, Mom, and Annabeth – four generations of “Moore” girls.

Mom making her salad.

Very little evidence exists that I know how to use my oven, but here you go.

Auntie Kimberly McMahon/KMac helping me with the punch.

My grandma let me borrow her beautiful punch bowl and that gave me so much joy.

I imagined this looking cuter. The water bottles ruined it.

Auntie Kimberly Meyer showing the candy bracelet napkin rings.

Curtis and I simultaneously spilled our red drinks all over the table cloth. I nearly died but it just beaded up instead of soaking in! We just wiped it away! Is that not crazy?

My handsome man.

Kristy, KMac, Jenn, and Michelle.

Linda, Sabrina, Susan, Memaw, Nancy, and Kimberly

Annabeth with Auntie Sabrina

Second only to the guest of honor – the cake!

Bring it on, people!

Contrary to how this looks, she could not reach the candle.

Annabeth loves to throw her head back.

Warming up to it.

Meanwhile, Jackson was downing a piece.

Mom and Nancy did such a good job slicing it. The first few pieces were as big as our heads, but at least they were generous.

I put a photo book of Annabeth’s first year in my office for everyone to see. Curtis gave it to me for Christmas.

Icing’s pretty good, y’all!

Making very good progress on the smash cake.

The invitation specifically said, “No gifts please,” but do you think anyone listened? I told them they were lucky they didn’t have to sit on the time out step. Annabeth was blessed with some adorable spring outfits from her aunties and a few little toys, which we will definitely enjoy.

She was very interested in what she was getting.

Annabeth wanted to share some cake with KMac.

Auntie Michelle, Mom, Nancy, and AB.

Playing with some new toys after the party was over.

These are the beautiful roses that Aunt Melissa and Uncle Colin sent. Her dress was actually their Christmas present to her. We missed them but they were with us in presents if not presence!

These things were so fun! I would have left them up for days but they started falling down that night.

I’m not sure we’ll ever be able to eat all of these.

The perfect use for a silver bowl, don’t you think?

These little pennants came with the banners I had made.

The banners say, “Happy Birthday Annabeth.” I love them and plan on hanging them up every year.

This was right before the birthday nap. She had a hard time falling asleep after all that sugar.

The night before her first birthday I finally got the nursery like I wanted it. So here are some pictures.

Happy birthday, sweet Annabeth! The last twelve months have been amazing. I love you so much!

Frozen Cappuccino Punch
(Thank you Annalee!)

1/2 C sugar
1/4 C instant coffee granules
1 C boiling water
8 C milk
1 qt vanilla ice cream, softened
1 qt chocolate ice cream, softened

In a small bowl, combine the sugar and coffee. Stir in boiling water until dissolved. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Just before serving, pour coffee mixture into a 1 gallon punch bowl. Stir in milk. Add scoops of ice cream. Stir until melted.

I love February. I love walking into just about any store and seeing pink and red decorations. I love all the balloons and glittery, red heart stickers. I love seeing Valentine’s candy and racks of Hallmark cards. I love all the festive melamine plates at Target. These things make me smile, but perhaps not for the obvious reason. All of these things mean February and, for me, February means babies! In this month is buried a treasure chest of my most precious memories and emotions, namely anticipation, desperation, excitement, fear, pain, longings fulfilled, relief, insecurity, overwhelming love, exhaustion, and joy.

Both of my children will celebrate their birthdays this month. Annabeth turns one THIS WEDNESDAY. *Tear* And Jackson will turn four on the 17th. He can hardly wait. I told him this morning that it’s his birthday month and I totally confused him. He keeps asking me if his birthday is here yet and wondering where his presents are!

Jackson has changed so much over the last few months. I’m loving the stage we’re in and I think age four is going to be a blast. Age two was a huge struggle. Age three was better but still pretty challenging. As we approach age four I’m enjoying motherhood more than ever.

There were many times in the last two years that I wondered why on earth I ever thought I had what it takes to be a mom. I loved my kids but felt totally inadequate for the job. I could cry thinking about it. Those difficult times when I felt like I did nothing but discipline Jackson all day long are starting to pay off. Those times aren’t fun for anyone. No one has kids because they want to boss them around all day long, do they? But I kept hearing that consistency bears fruit. In this moment we’re getting to enjoy some of that fruit. I’m not trying to give parenting advice, but I do want to encourage moms who are feeling like I did. This sounds so trite and it didn’t help much when people said this to me either, but hang in there and know that it gets better!

I got on here to talk about February and I obviously got a little off course!

Tell me, Siestas, what is your favorite month and why?

I’m making my friend Sunni’s wonderful enchiladas for Annabeth’s birthday party. I thought you might like to have the recipe.

Sunni’s Cheesy Enchiladas

Ingredients:
(I always half this recipe)
24 flour tortillas
2 lbs. ground beef
2 lbs. Velveeta, cubed
2 cans Rotel tomatoes
4 (8-oz.) cartons sour cream
¼ cup butter
2 med. onions, chopped
1 dash garlic salt
Salt & pepper to taste

Brown meat with one chopped onion. Add garlic salt and salt and pepper. Drain. Coat large sauce pan with non-stick spray. Add sour cream and tomatoes, mix well. Add butter and heat on medium heat. Add Velveeta, stirring constantly. Add the remaining chopped onion. Turn heat to low and simmer for about 5 min. The cheese/butter should be melted by this point. Add a portion of the sauce to meat. Spoon meat mixture into tortillas. Lay in casserole dish, seam down. Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas. Cover and bake for 15 min. at 350 degrees.

*I like to save a little bit of the cheese sauce to have with tortilla chips. Yum!
-AJ

Week One

Week Two

Week Three

Week Four

Week Five

Week Six

Week Seven

Week Eight

Conclusion

Hey, Siestas!
Several of you asked this week about the upcoming schedule for our Siesta So Long Insecurity discussion group. All of a sudden I realized that it was just days away and I’d better hop on it! I’ve had the shelf date continually in my mind but my priority attentions to it have been shoved behind the SMT Celebration and the launch of Tuesday night Bible study. My blond brain can only sufficiently handle one thing at a time and it’s finally time for this to be the one thing.

For those of you who aren’t up to speed on the subject, this blog community was my biggest resource and, hands down, my most valuable one for the new book, So Long Insecurity. I thought it would be so appropriate and insightful (and fun) to go through it together when it comes out. Well, it’s coming out on Tuesday so we better get this big ball rolling! I’ll put the information in the form of an FAQ for those of you who find that kind of layout most helpful. So here goes:

What’s the plan?
To go through the book together here on the blog over the course of nine weeks. It will conclude the week prior to the SLI simulcast (on April 24th) and I’m anticipating God using our discussions here to add insight into the messages I’ll share that day. He’s used you so many times in this ministry.

How will it work?
Every week I’ll give you a reading assignment (roughly two chapters a week) along with one or two questions based on that material. Those who want to respond will do so through posting comments.

Who should participate?
Anyone with two X chromosomes! Everybody’s welcome! Some of the things we do together on this blog – like summer Bible study and Scripture memory – are over the heads or outside the interests of many of our female coworkers, neighbors, siblings, or friends. Not this time. This subject matter was purposely written to be relevant for any woman trying to survive this culture with a little dignity. My prayer is that, in the pursuit of dignity, they will discover real Security. (Proverbs 3:26 NLT) I give you my word it is not a trap. It is what I believe from the marrow of my bones to be the Truth. If you’re unsure you want to risk asking someone outside the Christian community to join us, grab hold of the book quickly, read it for yourself and see if you think a few of your friends might be open to going through it. No pressure. It’s entirely up to you. God alone has the power to draw people to His Son.

When will we start?
So Long Insecurity hits the stands this coming Tuesday, February 2nd. I will give everyone who wants to participate one week to get your hands on a copy (bookstores, Amazon, etc.). Then, on Tuesday, February 9th, I’ll do a “roll call” (First name and city) to see who’s going to participate. That’s always a ton of fun. In an outreach setting like this one, it will be a blast to see brand new names. On Thursday, February 11th, we’ll start our reading assignments and our first week’s discussion questions. Each Thursday for the next nine weeks I’ll pitch another set of assignments and questions on the blog until we reach the conclusion. (For those who are afraid that one week might not be long enough to get a copy of the book in your hands, keep in mind that, even if you get yours late into the second week, the reading goes quickly enough to put you right on schedule.)

What if I don’t want to take nine whole weeks to read the book?
I just knew somebody was going to ask that question. I’m laughing but I’d be the same way. You can read the book as fast as you’d like then look back on it chapter by chapter as we slow down and do it together as a group.

But what if I don’t want to participate?
Then don’t! I’ll love you so much anyway and meet with you plenty of other times on the blog.

WOW. This is about to be a reality. I just have one last thing to say, Siestas. If you hate it, you helped me write it. SHARE MY PAIN!

I love you.

*Update*
You can sign up for the SLI DG on the roll call post.*

Hey, Darling Things! How are you? I have been in a whirlwind of activity for the last ten days and, since I’m still not quite my back to my normal abnormal, everything on the periphery has had to bow to the urgent. Out of respect to you wonderful Siestas who were not here with us in Houston last weekend, I will refrain from saying as much as I’d like. AJ penned such a fabulous recap so I’ll leave my comments at this: I’ve never had a better time with a group in 25 years of speaking. I’m not even kidding. I wish I had the opportunity to interact like that all the time. I will never forget it. My gratitude to God overflows.

I really had an epiphany about our whole blog community while 507 of us were together last weekend at the SMT celebration. I marveled at the love and laughter between Siestas from all over the country – 42 States! – and Canada who’d come to know each other simply on the basis of expression of heart. I watched (and participated) while so many had their pictures taken together like they’d been friends all their lives and most of them hadn’t been face-to-face until that very weekend. They hadn’t been drawn together by a single outward characteristic. Not similar jobs, finances, age groups, appearances, or stations in life. They’d been drawn by one another’s hearts in Christ and on the Internet of all things. Seeing it in action was nothing less than astonishing. I am honored to be a part of this community. You have won my respect in so many ways over the last several years. I reflect back on the days when Amanda began talking to me about starting an LPM blog and me thinking that I needed something else to do like I needed a hole in the head. I had no idea what this little town would come to mean to me. You are a big priority in my ministry life.

OK, as my friend Amy says, if we’re going to serve up that much cheese, somebody grab the salsa and let’s at least make queso.

My man is in the mood to talk so I’m not going to be able to carry on. I’ll wrap it up by saying that God gave us the neatest group for Bible study last night. I asked them to raise their hands if they were attending for the first time and we were blown away by the numbers. I bet well over a third were brand new. I could not believe it. I hope so much they stick it out. I love the story of David. God used it in countless ways years ago to give hope and dignity back to this former pit-dweller. I find myself once again in a great place for a brand new heart. A heart a whole lot more like His.

I love you, Siestas! Let me know how you’re doing! And don’t be too long winded because I really do try to read as many of them as I can. If most of us see a super long one, we usually end up having to skim it just for time’s sake. No telling what we’re missing. Give me a shout when you get a chance. Blessings to you!

We start A Heart Like His tonight! Are any of our Houston Siestas attending?

Your prayers for a smooth and God-honoring semester of Bible study are appreciated.

Please visit the Houston Connection page on our web site for more information.

Hello, ladies! I hope everyone made it home safely and happily from the Siesta SMT Celebration. For those of you who were unable to join us, please know that we missed you and thought of you a million times. I don’t know when or where, but I feel certain there will be a “next time.”

Yesterday would have been a great day for me to write a recap of the event, with it being so fresh on my mind and heart, but I was so tired I could barely string two sentences together. Did anyone else feel like that? Thanks for your patience as I spent the last 48 hours recuperating and tending to my family. I know Mom would be on here right now except that we start our new semester of Bible study tomorrow (yippee!) and she’s got her sweet little head in her books today. So here is my feeble attempt to recap a weekend that was too wonderful for words. Please forgive my lack of pictures. I will work on those tomorrow.

Dressed in my black and green SSMTC t-shirt, I set out from the house on Friday afternoon and headed to The Omni. Hillsong United was playing loudly in the car and it was one of those times when I probably embarrassed myself in front of other drivers but didn’t care. My heart was so full! I got to the hotel and drove to the back to find the “free” parking garage, which I knew about thanks to a comment I read from one of you. As soon as I got out of my car I saw a group of Siestas who were leaving to have dinner at Pappasito’s. It was such a fun encounter – the first of many! I made my way into the lobby to check in to my room and there were Siestas and pink feathers everywhere. My first thought was, “They came! They really came!” What a wonderful sight! I got to see Tiffany, Adrienne/Fuzzytop, and Melana/Moose Mama as well as many other beautiful ladies in pink boas. (That was such a great idea, y’all.)

I dropped everything off in my room and looked out the window to see some of our Siestas (I think) hanging out by the pool. They weren’t actually swimming, but I was so glad they got to enjoy the beautiful warm day. Next I went up to 1123 to check out the hospitality room the hotel had given us. It was so pretty! I felt like I was in a palace. I got to visit with some more sweet Siestas and then it was time to head to the church.

It was not long before our ladies started to arrive. In fact, I think some of y’all beat me there. I was stationed at one of the name tag tables, which is where I met Kelly Jo from Kentucky and my bloggy friend Charity who brought me a box of tea from the UK. We had never met face-to-face but I felt like I knew her. I’m sure you can relate. Melanie/Big Mama was there (in a very cute jacket) bearing cookies from her favorite bakery in San Antonio. Siesta Tiffany brought the Moore girls two boxes of cookies from JD’s Chippery – our favorite place in Dallas. Are you kidding me? Could we be any more blessed? My friend Marla Taviano came in from Ohio and it was such a gift to have her there. She made her own boa out of fun scraps of pink fabric. It was so adorable!

Wow, this is already so long and the conference hasn’t even started. Sorry!

Soon it was time to begin. Mom came in and Melissa and I went on stage to help her welcome everyone. I immediately got a hundred massive butterflies in my stomach when I got up there and saw all 507 ladies. It was very exciting to see everyone though! We shared some fun statistics about who was there and where they came from (even Alaska and Hawaii!) and then it was time for worship. Travis Cottrell led us with a Houston-based praise team (which included our own LPM sister, Kimberly McMahon/KMac, and our Tuesday night worship leader, Lisa Pierre) and the iPod band. They were awesome. We were on the front row and could hear everyone in the room singing so loudly. It seemed like the group didn’t even need a warm-up – we were at a “10” from the start. During worship it struck me that in Siestaville, Jesus is truly the first and deepest bond that we all share. Our love for Him is the Reason for all of this.

(Please allow me to interject that I just heard from a Siesta who discovered on Saturday morning that her 4-year-old son had unpacked all of her unmentionables to “play a trick on mommy.” That deserves both an “LOL” and a “bless her heart!”)

Beth brought a great message from Psalm 119. She had her own little trick planned in which she tried to tell us that we’d be memorizing all 176 verses in 17 hours. I just looked for my notes to share some of the points I wrote down, but I can’t find them anywhere! Oh no! Y’all will have to help me out.

After the session, we all had Siesta Mama’s Texas sheet cake and mingled in the church foyer. Can you believe she was able to bake that much cake and teach the conference? Neither can I! We have Chefs Paul and Katherine to thank for our yummy dessert. Lots of fun pictures and hugs later, it was time to say goodnight.

Melanie/Big Mama and I took Marla to have a traditional Texas Aggie dinner at none other than Freebird’s. Melanie is about the size of my pinky and she attempted to eat a monster size burrito. The monster won out in the end. I’m not sure if Marla was a fan of the Freebird, but she was a good sport about it. We finally headed back to the hotel and then Marla and I went to the hospitality room to hang out. It was after 11 at that point and there were only two Siestas up there. I was so sad to have missed the party! But more ladies trickled in and we pulled up chairs in a circle. That was a neat time. Two ladies were having a little issue with their room, and all of a sudden one of the Omni workers walked through the door and called out their names. He said, “You are now the Mistresses of the suite.” Then he swung open a door and revealed their beautiful new room that adjoined the hospitality suite. Everyone was squealing and laughing because it was just so cool to see God loving on them.

By this time I think we were all about to drop. Marla and I went back to the room and crashed. I slept until about 3:40, at which point I woke up never to drift back into blessed dreamland. It was a combination of being too excited and the room being too quiet. Oh, the irony of being unable to sleep in a quiet room! The good news is I was pretty much ready by 6 a.m.

We made it back to the church and grabbed some food. I think some of our ladies got to try breakfast tacos for the first time. (One of my faves!) After prayer time with the team, it was time to begin. Morning worship was tremendous and Travis had us ready to receive our word from the Lord. Mom brought the second half of her message and the Lord was moving in our hearts. She got really hyper toward the end and Melissa and I couldn’t stop laughing in amazement. She’d told us (and demonstrated) that she got so excited while listening to a Chris Tomlin song on her walk that she stopped, did a knee lift and played the air guitar. In the middle of the neighborhood. Oh my word, my parents are going to have to move now!

After Mom finished teaching, we broke up into pairs and said our memory verses to one another. Everyone spread out throughout the church and courtyard, which was a sight to see. Mom and I said our verses to each other while Melissa went out and took some pictures of our girls doing their thing.

Thirty minutes later we met back up in the fellowship hall where the event took place. It just happened to be in the room where Mom’s Sunday school class used to be, which was really special for her. We gave away some door prizes like $25 gift certificates to our LPM store, some Wising Up DVD’s, and a few So Long Insecurity books. We also had the ladies vote for their favorite blog name or screen name. Spicy Magnolia/Meghan came in second place and Lopsidedhalo/Brittney came in first! They came on stage to explain why they chose those names and then we gave them copies of SLI. They were both so adorable!

We did a little question and answer session with the time we had left. It was kind of like the one at the Siesta Fiesta in 2008, but shorter. Those are fun to do with Mom and Melissa but later on I always wonder if I said something dumb. That’s why writing is so much better! I can always go back and edit this post but once you speak something outloud, that’s it. That freaks me out a little bit.

Travis and the team closed us out with worship and I think we would have stayed there all day if we could have. Melissa, Mom and I hated for it to be over, so we decided to go out in the foyer and see everyone off. We got to hug a lot of necks, take some pictures, and say “See you next time!” It was bittersweet!

I want to end by telling you what WONDERFUL, AMAZING, GODLY, BEAUTIFUL, HILARIOUS, SMART, WARM, LOVING, GRACE-FILLED women you all are. We love you ladies so very much. I’m not just talking about the ones we got to meet, but also you sitting on the other side of the screen who didn’t get to come this time. You ladies are jewels and we love getting to journey with you. Thanks for everything you add to our lives and for how you enrich this ministry.

And thank you for coming to the Siesta Scripture Memory Team Celebration! We had a blast!

Okay, I’m going to try something new. If you would like to share your own SSMTC recap and/or pictures from your blog, you can link to it here. Copy and paste the link that goes directly to the specific post you have written (not just to your blog in general). If this goes well we might be able to use it for future events, which could be fun! If you just want to leave a comment, you can still do that. Just look below the McLinky and you’ll see where to do it.

Siesta Scripture Memory Team Celebration Recaps