Beth Moore's Blog, page 38

Living Proof Live – Springfield Recap

Hey Friends! And happy Monday to y’all! The Springfield LPL recap just dropped in my inbox, so that means it’s time to share it with all of you. Thanks so much, Rich! We hope each of you experienced God this weekend in a new way, and if so, please feel free to share it with us!

Living Proof Live | Springfield from LifeWay Women on Vimeo.

Punctuate it with Hallelujahs!

Earlier this week our fearless leader (some might refer to her as Siesta Mama), declared this week to be the week of rejoicing. Regardless of if we wanted to or not, we would “rejoice in the Lord always and again I say, rejoice!” (Anybody catch that tune with me? Grin.) I thought it was so appropriate because Sunday morning happened to be an all around joyful morning at church, for no particular reason, so I was kind of already in rejoicing mode, you know, if “rejoicing mode” is a thing.

Fast forward to this morning. Although I do love the peacefulness and calmness the mornings bring, I am not by nature a morning person. I tend to fall heavier on the “night owl” side of that pendulum. This morning, however, was one of those rare mornings that I popped right out of bed with a joy on me that can only come from God. I might even consider it a Friday morning miracle.

I would assume a big reason for my joyful spirit this morning was an overflow of last night, when I was able to attend a Night of Worship with All Sons & Daughters. I mentioned earlier this year that their CD was one of my favorite things, and to this day, it still is. In fact, I’ll bet it never grows old to me. I am but one that is so grateful for the way they use their gifts to lead people in worship, and for their simple pastoral hearts. So genuine, so anointed and so authentic. Many of their songs acknowledge how broken and in need of Christ we are, but then turn it to how good, holy, and perfect Jesus Christ is and the redemption He alone brings.  If you’re looking for some new worship music, their CD is a must-have!

Right before we all sang “All the Poor and Powerless” which they wrote but you also might recognize off of Travis Cottrell’s live CD as well, they read Psalm 22 out of the Message.

I can honestly tell you that as many times as I’ve read and heard that Psalm, I don’t thing I’ve ever heard it out of this translation, and if I had, I certainly haven’t paid attention. It struck me with fresh eyes and fresh faith. I’m pasting it here in hopes that it pierces your heart, too.

As we enter into the weekend, let us rejoice and punctuate the weekend with Hallelujahs! What if we did that long before we got to church Sunday morning? Instead of depending on our worship leader to get us pumped up, we can depend on the Holy Spirit, His word and the rejoicing and Hallelujahs we’ve been exclaiming all weekend. Even if we never get it together, we worship Him! He alone is worthy. Amen? Amen.

22-24 “Here’s the story I’ll tell my friends when they come to worship,

and punctuate it with Hallelujahs:

Shout Hallelujah, you God-worshipers;

give glory, you sons of Jacob;

adore him, you daughters of Israel.

He has never let you down,

never looked the other way

when you were being kicked around.

He has never wandered off to do his own thing;

he has been right there, listening.

25-26 Here in this great gathering for worship

I have discovered this praise-life.

And I’ll do what I promised right here

in front of the God-worshipers.

Down-and-outers sit at God’s table

and eat their fill.

Everyone on the hunt for God

is here, praising him.

“Live it up, from head to toe.

Don’t ever quit!”

27-28 From the four corners of the earth

people are coming to their senses,

are running back to God.

Long-lost families

are falling on their faces before him.

God has taken charge;

from now on he has the last word.

29 All the power-mongers are before him

—worshiping!

All the poor and powerless, too

—worshiping!

Along with those who never got it together

—worshiping!

30-31 Our children and their children

will get in on this

As the word is passed along

from parent to child.

Babies not yet conceived

will hear the good news—

that God does what he says.”

Psalm 22:22-31 (The Message)

LPL Siesta Scholarship Tickets – Springfield, IL

Good Thursday morning, friends!

Can you believe this season of LPL is coming to a close soon and very soon? We only have one more conference left after this weekend. Kind of crazy to think about since I feel like we JUST kicked this year off. Anyway, like ususal, we are blessed to be able to give away 20 tickets this weekend thanks to our Siesta Scholarship Fund. These tickets are for those of you who are near our LPL location and have the urge to attend the conference, but cannot fork over that kind of money at this time. We’d love to 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.

Thank you in advance for your prayers for this upcoming weekend! Prayer is the work, friends. They literally could not do anything of eternal significance without your intercession on their behalf.

Lastly, for those of you ladies who got to attend the MOPS convention last weekend, I heard that a few of you got to have your group picture taken! So fun. Unfortunately, we only have a side shot because the main one on our dear Beth’s phone disappeard. It’s a mystery, but this is better than nothing, right? So here is your picture girls!

We love y’all!

Ten Truths for the Teenage Girl – Because It Matters Who You’re Becoming

This past Saturday a sweet woman and a friend I’ve known for some time invited me to a birthday tea she hosted for her 13-year-old girl. Before the celebration, she asked a few ladies to write down a few things to encourage her girl as she is stepping boldly into her teenage years. As I sat and stared a blank document all last week, these ten things came to mind that I wanted to share with her. But as I read them aloud to her Saturday afternoon and handed her the letter for good, I  had the desire and got the blessing to share these ten things with other teenage girls if they had ten minutes to put down some homework, and read a little blog. So, here we are. Of course, this list is just scratching the surface of things we need to be teaching those younger than us, but we have to start somewhere, right? The only thing that is coming between us is a computer screen, but imagine us sitting across a quaint little table from one another sipping on some hot tea. 

Dear _________________,

Life is learned as you live it, but as my mind started spinning, my fingers slowly started typing the things that I wish someone would have told me at 13 years young. And although I’m sure someone did tell me these things, I probably didn’t listen because I probably thought I already knew everything. Grin. So I’m praying that even if these words seems useless or boring to you today, that you would keep them tucked away and read them when life seems confusing or hard.

For years I’ve loved the word becoming. It’s one of those words that I’ve latched onto for different reasons and at times have even desired to start a ministry called “Becoming Ministries”. Don’t tell me you don’t think things like that, too. And if you don’t, well, just humor me. I really latched onto that word in college because I remember thinking that that season would either make me or break me. That who I chose to become in college would influence the rest of my life.

That is true, but what I realize now is that it starts long before college.

The choices you make affect who you are becoming long before you ever get to college.

You are always becoming. You never arrive. That is, until you meet Jesus face to face. Until then, it’s one long (or short the way you look at it) journey of becoming more like Jesus Christ. Because each circumstance and situation we find ourselves planted in is another opportunity to respond like Jesus would.

Hence my love for the word, becoming.

So, as you are becoming a young woman devoted to the Lord, here are a few things I’ve learned on my own journey of becoming who God has called me to be, for such a time as this:

1) God is the author of your story, not you.

That is so much easier said than lived out, but it is the Gospel truth. He has a plan and a purpose for you that is greater than you could dream up or imagine. If you think your dreams are big, imagine how big His dreams must be for you! If He is the author, He knows the beginning, the middle and the end. Nothing is too complex for Him, no detail is left unnoticed, and His timing is perfect. Sometimes life can be complicated, hard and confusing, but that’s why we have to remember that we have the God of the universe in charge of our story.

2) You are beautiful.

I want you to hear that with fresh ears. God made you unique. He made you, you. And He made you in His image. Since you bear His image, I am praying that as people see you, they would see His face shining upon you. Beauty really is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. (Proverbs 31:30)

Side Note: Yes, it’s okay to like cute clothes, just don’t let that be your measure of beauty. (I mean, let’s be honest, some girls like to shop. Hand raised!)

3) Know the Word.

And know what it says about you. If I’ve learned one thing, I’ve learned that if I can’t always believe what I think about myself, and I can’t always believe what people are saying about me or what the internet says about me,  I can believe what the Lord says about me. I can rest in the truth of His word and the promises He gives.

4) Life Consists of Seasons.

Just like the four seasons come and go, so will different seasons of life come and go. Don’t despair! “This too shall pass.” is true in both sweet and bitter seasons of life. While you don’t need to wish any of it away, remember to savor the sweet seasons, take the joy when it comes and stay faithful during the bitter seasons. Worship in the good times and bad. Jesus will be faithful over and over and over again. It’s in the valleys that God develops your character.

5) Be Humble.

At church my pastor always tells us to “go low”. Going low means being humble, staying humble, becoming a servant instead of searching for the spotlight. Serve, serve, serve. Invest, invest, invest in people. Never get too comfortable in your routine that you can’t go out of your way to help somebody else. Work quietly with your hands and your Father in Heaven will reward your faithfulness. Be faithful in the small things. You’ll never be too good to do something “meaningless”.

6) Be bold.

In a world of social networking, we can hide behind our computer, our phones, or our iPads. Be bold. Learn how to communicate face to face. It’s a life skill that’s becoming extinct, especially to our teenagers. Refrain from posting things online that you wouldn’t say to someone in person. Passive-aggressiveness (posting something for all to see when you only mean it for one to see) is not attractive.

7) True Love Waits.

I don’t mean that in the way you hear it in church all the time. Staying pure until marriage is a gift, by all means, yes, pursue purity. It’s much harder than you think in the sex-saturated world we live in, but whether you believe it or not, it’s possible. What I mean is, wait for a man that will pursue you, not confuse you. Wait for a man that will protect your purity, not use it. You are responsible for how you present yourself; so present yourself in a way that’s worth protecting. Sex doesn’t equal love, so wait for a man that loves and respects you enough to practice restraint towards you instead of giving into temptation before marriage. Building a relationship and romance takes time, something we’ve lost the art of in a world with technology at our fingertips, so don’t feel pressure to rush things. Remember, before you are someone’s wife, you are first their Sister in Christ, so don’t settle for less than being treated like a Sister. Your future husband will admire and value you. But also remember, there is forgiveness in Christ. You are not your past; your future spouse is not his past. The Lord redeems and renews. Praise God! But be patient in the waiting. (That’s coming from a girl whose story is still being written. It’s not easy at all. Not one ounce is easy. But Jesus is good and He is better.)

8) Pursue Your Calling.

You may not know what the Lord is calling you to do today, and that’s okay. But pursuing your calling is a bold and courageous thing. Run after the things that make your heart swell. Ask questions, ask for wisdom. Be friends with those younger than you, older than you and in the same season as you. Do things you love to do. Make a plan, but keep in mind that you can make all the plans in the world, but the Lord is the one who directs each of our steps.

9) Your Words Matter.

Speak kind words to, in front of, and behind your friend’s backs. And make sure your words and your actions line up with each other. Be honest. Be loving. Be kind. Be generous. A lady named Maya Angelou once said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Make people feel loved with your words and actions. In a world of email and text messaging, don’t loose the wonder of snail mail.

10) Laugh.

You are never too old or too young to simply stop and have fun on this journey of life. Laugh until your stomach hurts. Laugh with your friends. Laugh with your family. Enjoy life Savor it. Journal about it. Talk about your experiences. Visit places you think are interesting. When all is said and done, you don’t want anyone to remember you as a Negative Nelly. Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom and joy! So own that joy, live it out and share it with those around you.

You are dearly loved, my Sister in Christ. This I know, the Lord has a plan for your life that no eye has seen, no ear has heard and no mind can comprehend or imagine. Believe it. Believe that Jesus is better.

“No one has ever seen,
 no one has ever heard,
 no one has ever imagined 
what God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9

“3 So trust in the Lord and do good.

Live on your land and be dependable.

4 Enjoy serving the Lord, and he will give you whatever you ask for.

5 Depend on the Lord. Trust in him, and he will help you.

6 He will make it as clear as day that you are right.

Everyone will see that you are being fair.

7 Trust in the Lord and wait quietly for his help.

Don’t be angry when people make evil plans and succeed.

8 Don’t become so angry and upset that you, too, want to do evil.

9 The wicked will be destroyed,

but those who call to the Lord for help will get the land he promised.

10 In a short time there will be no more evil people.

You can look for them all you want, but they will be gone.

11 Humble people will get the land God promised, and they will enjoy peace.”

Psalm 37: 3-11

Name the Name

Toward the end of my prayer time this morning, the Holy Spirit spoke 4 words to me with such clarity and fire that I can’t keep them shut in my bones. They are not new but they cannot get old. They are the 4 most well-known words in our Christian vocabulary but they never wear out. These 4 words possess an authority that can speak worlds into orbit, make floors of seas, and send devils off cliffs.

THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.

Let these 4 words resound in your mind, leap from your mouth, and strengthen your step this day. His is the Name that shakes the earth beneath His feet with authority, salvation, affection, and anointing. His is the Name that snaps the chains. His is the one Name that cannot be etched in gravestone. This Name reverberates with everlasting life and extraordinary unction.

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation…He is before all things and in Him all things hold together…He is the head of the Body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent.”

Preeminent.

In everything.

He is THE beginning. And our new beginning. Our defeat ends with the full conviction of the incomparable Name of Jesus in our bones. Our lack is filled. Our souls are thrilled. Our knees are bowed. Our chins are raised.

We put no confidence in our flesh. We unleash every ounce of confidence we possess toward one game-changing, life-rearranging Name: The Lord Jesus Christ.

THE. There is no other.

LORD. Everything must submit.

JESUS. Yahweh is Salvation.

CHRIST. Messiah, the Anointed One.

Those who want to participate have a 3-part assignment:

1. Write out any ONE verse in the Bible that uses the name of Jesus. His name appears in most of your formal translations around 1000 times so you are wide open. Hunt His Name down. Grab your Bible concordance or get on a website like Bible Gateway and do a word search. You are welcome to use any translation. Choose one verse, write it out in your comment along with where it is found and which translation you used.

 

2. If you have the full conviction and earnest desire to do so, write the italicized sentence below in the second part of your comment and complete the exercise with your own specifics. This is not an exercise in magic words. This is a profession of faith in a matchless Name. We have a Savior. There is no god like our God. No other Rock I know. He cannot be defeated. His power cannot be depleted. Call out His Name over every single thing that is trying to exalt itself in your imagination over the knowledge of Christ. At His Name, let’s BOW.

I submit myself and the following challenges in my life to the unconquerable authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, confessing His powerful Name, and acknowledging His absolute preeminence in all these things:

 

3. Keep confessing the power of His Name and of His Person in the coming days and every time you get that old angst, deliberately swap it for thanks. He who calls you is faithful. He will surely do it. 1 Thessalonians 5:24

 

 

Siesta Scripture Memory Team 2013: Verse 20!

My Dear Sisters, just as I was writing this post to you, a family urgency arose and I’m not going to be able to finish it. I’ve erased it and, in its place, put the segment of Scripture that I shared today in staff time before I got news of a serious family need. By faith, I choose to believe that this was what our gracious God wanted you to have today. It is a beautiful segment from Isaiah 41 that spoke very richly to us in staff and I pray will minister to you. (Vv.8-16) In it God is addressing Israel but, as you will see, many of the truths He speaks over them in this chapter concerning His heart toward them and His promise to help are echoed in the New Testament to believers under Christ’s new covenant.  If you have a more formal translation like the ESV, consider reading it first then below you’ll find the portion in Eugene Peterson’s translation, The Message. Its vivid language jumped out at me and really tended to my soul. My staff and I printed it out and circled parts of it that the Holy Spirit brought to life in our own hearts and minds and amid our own circumstances. We also wrote notes in the margins and reminders of other coinciding verses and then, in our closing prayer, we let the passages guide our intercessions. You might consider doing the same thing. The two simple words “don’t panic” leapt off the page at me. So did this: “I, God, want to reassure you.” Thank You, thank You, Lord.

Here it is and you’ll find my SSMT entry at the end of the post.

Isaiah 41:8-16 The Message

8–10       “But you, Israel, are my servant.

You’re Jacob, my first choice,

descendants of my good friend Abraham.

I pulled you in from all over the world,

called you in from every dark corner of the earth,

Telling you, ‘You’re my servant, serving on my side.

I’ve picked you. I haven’t dropped you.’

Don’t panic. I’m with you.

There’s no need to fear for I’m your God.

I’ll give you strength. I’ll help you.

I’ll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you.

11–13       “Count on it: Everyone who had it in for you

will end up out in the cold—

real losers.

Those who worked against you

will end up empty-handed—

nothing to show for their lives.

When you go out looking for your old adversaries

you won’t find them—

Not a trace of your old enemies,

not even a memory.

That’s right. Because I, your GOD,

have a firm grip on you and I’m not letting go.

I’m telling you, ‘Don’t panic.

I’m right here to help you.’

14–16       “Do you feel like a lowly worm, Jacob?

Don’t be afraid.

Feel like a fragile insect, Israel?

I’ll help you.

I, GOD, want to reassure you.

The God who buys you back, The Holy of Israel.

I’m transforming you from worm to harrow,

from insect to iron.

As a sharp-toothed harrow you’ll smooth out the mountains,

turn those tough old hills into loamy soil.

You’ll open the rough ground to the weather,

to the blasts of sun and wind and rain.

But you’ll be confident and exuberant,

expansive in The Holy of Israel!

Peterson, E. H. (2005). The Message: the Bible in contemporary language (Is 41:8–16). Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress.

 

For my SSMT selection, this is the portion I have next in my memory work out of the Book of Colossians:

Beth, Houston. For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ. Colossians 2:1-2

I love you guys so much. Let’s press on with eyes of faith, Sisters. He who calls us is faithful!

Five Minute Friday

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.

Celebrating A Life Well Lived

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.

Siesta Scripture Memory Team 2014 Celebration Registration is here!

Ladies! Can you say wordiest title ever? But it’s finally time to register for our SSMT celebration!

We’ve been getting a ton of questions revolving around the celebration, and rightfully so. Y’all are excited, and so are we!

To officially register for the event, click HERE!

Also, for those of you who want to get all your ducks in a row as far as travel, lodging, what airport to fly into, contact information, requirements for coming and so on, you will also find the FAQ page in that link.

We are so excited, y’all and cannot wait to celebrate this victory with you!

Now…ready…set…register!

Siesta Scripture Memory Team 2013: Verse 19!

Hey, my beloved sisters!

Though I won’t publish this post until Tuesday, the first day of October, I am writing to you on Sunday. I have the house all to myself today – not even a dog in sight – and I am sitting on my back porch as a generous rain soaks the ground, polishing the wide leaves of sweet gums on its way down. Our trees this far south are still plump and green and, right this minute, I don’t mind because the leaves have such a sheen on them in the rain that they look like vinyl. The temperatures will drop one slow degree at a time over the next month but we usually don’t have what people call “Autumn” here until as late as November. And it’s almost unrecognizable even then. Suddenly you just look up and the trees don’t have leaves and it hits you that you probably missed Fall on your way to work that morning when you ran into Starbucks for a dry cappuccino.

 

An Arkansas girl by heritage, I am on the hunt for Red October by mid September but I can’t think of a time since I’ve lived on the Gulf Coast that I’ve ever found it. Well, except when I close my eyes and look. And it is beautiful there. I do love Houston though, despite how season-challenged it is. Good people. Many, many who earnestly love Jesus and crave the sense of His presence and serve Him with both life and heart. Its diversity kicks up a rich climate for faith and a prime place to meet people very different from you who seek Jesus feverishly. It’s not as easy to keep your stereotypes tidy here.

 

In the early years of speaking, God purposed that I’d accrue copious hours of experience serving at various churches, women’s breakfasts and luncheons right here in our city limits and still get home to greet my children after their school day. I often pulled out of the driveway when they hopped on the school bus and squealed my tires back on the concrete just minutes before they pulled up at 3:15. My kids loved riding the school bus and, as it turns out (I write this with a smile), it was a grace to me.  On paper, our lives shouldn’t have worked but somehow it worked (apply the term loosely) in practice. That’s the beautiful oddity of the will of God. What should easily work doesn’t work when He’s not in it and what should never work does work when He is. It’s crazy to think about in retrospect. He has been so faithful, just as He will be to you as you try to balance it all and seek His mercy through the insanity.

 

I wish I could somehow add the soundtrack of what I’m presently hearing to this post. I wish you could listen to the comfort of the rainfall, especially if you are feeling chaotic or anxious right now or frantic about how something’s going to work out. The water is falling steadily, not a soft shower or a downpour. Constant and consoling, almost like one of those sleep-settings on your iPad. And I wish you could hear 4 male hummingbirds competing over the feeder that is hanging about 8 feet from where I’m sitting. It mesmerizes me to watch them and I think you might like it, too, once you adjusted to the pace out here in these woods.

 

Sometimes we really do just need everything and everybody else to shut up for a minute and let us listen to the sound of God being God around us. These moments are brief for all of us. Just five days ago I was fit to be tied over something. I do mean fit to be tied and, over the weekend, greatly concerned about a situation even while I served. But I am going to sit here for the next few minutes and pour myself a cup of coffee while God pours these woods a cup of rain.

 

Well, I guess you can tell that I’m in a musing mood so perhaps I should wrap this post up before I work my way over to subjects like world peace and dark nights of the soul and existential crises and the beauty of aging and the delights of youth.  Honestly, I can feel a poem trying to write itself in my head. This post must end with perfect timing before, indeed, my words start rhyming. Run for your life. It’s almost too late.

 

Here’s my Scripture for this October 1st!

 

Beth Moore, O God, You cause abundant showers to fall on Your chosen people. When they are tired, You sustain them, for You live among them. Psalm 68:9-10a The NET Bible

 

Amen, You do, gracious, merciful God.

 

I love you, Sisters. You are a joy to me. The next post will be registration for our SSMT celebration so we can get an idea how many to prepare for. Wooohoooo! It’s almost time to kick up our heels!