We're still working on the details of our little AllAccess get-together at Living Proof Live in Memphis (I'm hoping to email y'all all the details by Monday at the latest), but in the meantime I wanted to share some very exciting LPL Memphis-related news.
However, I should probably add the disclaimer that if you've never read my personal blog, the next paragraph probably won't make any sense to you at all. So just feel free to stare blankly into space when you read it. Or, if you're like me, you can squeal and clap your hands and pretend like you understand. That's how I react to about 60% of my life, by the way.
Anyway. The news is that I'm going to have a very special travel companion with me in Memphis (besides Melanie, of course). And that very special travel companion is none other than Martha / Mother / "Martie." My mother-in-law.
I KNOW.
Martha has never been to any sort of LifeWay event. She's only seen one video of Beth Moore teaching, but when she saw it she thought Beth was "darlin'! just darlin'! and SMART AS A WHIP!" Martha is beyond excited about going to Memphis - she keeps referring to it as "the trip of a lifetime" - but I also know that she has absolutely no idea what to expect.
And I say this because last night she asked me what sort of jacket I was planning to wear Friday night, and when I said, "I don't know if I'll wear a jacket," she said, "Well, don't you think it'll be a little cold when we're sitting outside?"
"Sitting outside?"
"Well, aren't we going to be in something like a football stadium?"
And at that point I realized that she thought that LPL was something akin to a Billy Graham crusade in the 70s.
I explained to her that we would in fact be indoors, and she said, "Well I didn't know! I didn't know! I know there are a lot of people and I just assumed, I mean I just assumed that we'd be outside! But I'm so glad we'll be inside! That will be perfectly wonderful!"
And now I'm thinking that I probably need to do a better job of getting Martha up-to-speed on what she can expect next weekend.
So. I know lots of you are veterans of LifeWay women's events, and I'm sure you have all sorts of wisdom to offer. What do you think are the top three things Martha needs to know before she gets to LPL? What would you tell someone who has never been to a LifeWay event before? What information do I need to make sure to share with her on our drive from Birmingham to Memphis?
So obviously I still haven't finished talking about Deeper Still Orlando. Part of the reason is that I'm still processing the whole thing. It's just so hard to convey how powerful it is and I find myself telling people "You just had to be there".
Which, seriously, is there a more annoying statement on Earth?
But the great thing about hearing three different teachers share three different messages is there is something for everyone. After it was over I talked to some friends who were there and the things they got out of it were totally different than some of the things I got from it, yet we were listening to the same thing. That's totally God at work.
On Saturday morning, Priscilla Shirer spoke from Ephesians 3:20.
"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!"
Priscilla took this verse and basically dissected it. As she said, it's ultimately the foundation of our faith. Either we believe that God can do more than we ask or imagine or we don't and what we ask of God or expect from God stems from what we believe.
She referred to it as His ability to go beyond our beyond. And since then, I can't tell you how many times I've stopped to ask myself if I believe that God can go beyond my beyond. To be honest, the answer isn't always yes.
I get frustrated, I feel tired, I think a situation feels hopeless, but then I remind myself that we serve the Creator of All Things. The I Am. He knows me better than I know myself and knows what beyond my beyond looks like while I'm busy looking at problems through my limited vision and understanding.
When I was a little girl, I thought pastors had the easiest job in the world. I thought that they read the Bible all day, talked to people, visited the hospitals, spoke in church once or twice a week and ate most of their meals with the best cooks in the church. Plus, since I grew up Methodist, our pastor got to live in the church parsonage. He didn't even have to buy a house.
Oh, foolish youth.
Now that I'm older and have some, you know, SENSE, I recognize that shepherding a church is an enormous calling - and an enormous responsibility. There's nothing easy about it. So when I look around and see people I love and respect serving their churches as pastors - and serving with JOY, at that - I'm just a little bit blown away. Their faithfulness and perseverance is inspiring.
For the last few weeks our pastor has been teaching on the book of James (just a light, breezy text, you know), and every single week I've wanted to walk up to him after the service and say, "THANK YOU - I LOVE YOUR STINKIN' HEART." But I haven't. So yesterday, when I read Beth Moore's blog post called "Dear Pastor," I thought Oh, that is brilliant.
Wouldn't it be cool if we all followed Beth's lead and took five minutes today to write down five things we appreciate about our pastors? You can do that in Beth's comments, in these comments, in a blog post of your own or in a private note to your pastor.
Be an encourager today!
"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. " - 1 Thessalonians 5:11-13
It's hard to believe that it was just a week ago that I was on a plane to Orlando. This past week has been filled with all of the normal ups and downs of life, including a washing machine with a variety of issues that required a few visits from the repairman.
In the midst of all of it, I just keep remembering something Kay Arthur said last Friday, "Rest is uniting the word of God with faith for that particular situation."
Rest is knowing it's in His hands.
Rest is knowing I don't have to come up with the solution.
Thank you all for participating in the Interrupted Giveaway promotion by posting about the Bible study in your social space, whether it be your blog, Facebook page, or Twitter feed. We randomly chose the winner from all of the posts. Darla Baerg should be receiving her free Interrupted Leader Kit by Jen Hatmaker in the mail any day now. Follow her on Twitter at @DarlaBaerg!
If you haven't already, I hope you'll check out this video about Jen Hatmaker's story (the inspiration for Interrupted) and visit http://www.threadsmedia.com/interrupted
For the last few days my little boy has been working on a memory verse from Romans. Earlier this week we were on the way to soccer practice, and I asked him if he'd learned his verse yet.
"Not yet, Mama," he answered. "I mean, I know a little bit."
"Well, what do you know?"
"I know that it's Romans 15:13. And I know it's about hope. And that's about it."
While we were sitting at a stop light I grabbed my Bible, looked up the verse and read it out loud: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
Alex was quiet for a few seconds, and then he said, "You know what, Mama? That last part is the best."
"What part?"
"Overflowing with hope from the Holy Spirit, Mama. It's the best part!"
And you know what? It really is.
"Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!" - Romans 15:13, The Message
It's just a little over two weeks until Living Proof Live in Memphis (CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?), and for a whole host of reasons, I cannot WAIT.
(Is it bad that one of those reasons is that I love Corky's barbecue with everything in me?)
(Because if loving their barbecue nachos is wrong, I don't want to be right.)
Anyway, Melanie and I have been emailing back and forth with some of the LifeWay girls, and we all thought it would be very big fun indeed if we could have a little get-together with the AllAccess readers who are at LPL Memphis. Real-life fellowship is a mighty fine thing, you know. However, before we can plan said get-together, we need to find out who all is going to be in Memphis.
So.
(I bet you can guess what I'm about to ask you to do.)
(Y'all are nothing if not savvy.)
If you would leave a comment and let us know that you're going to be in Memphis, we're going to send you a top secret email about the whys and wheres and how-tos of our little get-together.
Except that it isn't very top secret at all.
But still. We would love - LOVE - to see you there!
p.s. - Seriously. It won't be the same without you.
p.p.s. - We're not kidding about that p.s. business.
While I was in Orlando this weekend, I decided to make a little video of some of the highlights. As you will see, I didn't let a little thing like skill or ability hold me back from my dream.
1. I love how delighted the whole Praise Team looks while Angela Cruz hits notes that shouldn't be humanly possible.
2. I think Travis actually hit a note that made the audio on my high-quality camera malfunction.
3. Angela Cottrell's top? PRECIOUS.
4. Note to self: Find out what kind of vitamins Kay Arthur takes because seriously? That's a lot of energy for 75 years old.
5. I'm so glad to know that even Beth Moore has a lisp when being recorded with my camera. It validates me.
6. Too bad there aren't more talented people on this whole team. HAVE MERCY.
7. Just to clarify, Kay went on to describe how the internet can be a source of temptation for our husbands, but the initial look on Beth and Priscilla's faces is PRICELESS.
Y'all have a great Monday. I'll be home just going through the 84 pages of notes I took and trying to digest all the wisdom.
I worked as a pharmaceutical sales rep for over ten years of my life. I like to refer to it as the decade of dollars and desperation.
About five times a year there would be some meeting I'd have to attend that would require all sorts of painful things like role-playing various sales scenarios or eating dinner with people I didn't know, but the thing I dreaded most was the trip itself. The hassle of early morning flights, mediocre airport-variety Starbucks, and sitting in a metal tube for two or three hours while it flew through the air.
But the funny thing is that since I started blogging for LifeWay and attending four to five conferences a year, the travel doesn't bother me. I mean, sure, I'm still not a fan of getting up at an hour that roosters would deem early, but I'm excited about my destination.
Anyway, that's what I'm thinking about this morning as I'm waiting to board my flight to Orlando. Yes, it's early. Yes, the Starbucks is average. But I'm happy to take the trip because I know what's waiting for me on the other side.
I think there's a lesson in there somewhere.
I'll be checking in with Deeper Still reports throughout the weekend!
Priscilla Shirer is working on a new book about the interruptions that God puts in our lives and she needs your help.
If you have a story you'd like to share about a circumstance that interrupted your life and how you responded, you can email it to openaccess@goingbeyond.com.
Apparently I've been thinking about Deeper Still a lot this week, because last night I dreamed that Melanie and I were both going to Orlando (in real life she's going, but I'm not). Anyway, we had to navigate some sort of obstacle course involving large bales of hay in order to get to the arena, and afterwards we helped Beth staple some hand-outs that she was putting together for her portion of the teaching.
Interesting tidbit: in my dream there were thousands of hand-outs, and Beth had all of them stacked neatly on a rolling cart.
Another interesting tidbit: in my dream Beth was also wearing a nametag that said, "Hi. My Name Is BETH." And she was introducing herself to all the girls who were there for Deeper Still and saying she hoped they would stick around for her part of the event.
Something tells me that stapling hand-outs and wearing a nametag and asking people to stick around aren't really REAL-LIFE issues that Beth faces.
Anyway, the combination of my crazy dream and thinking so much about Deeper Still reminded me of this video from last year's DS Atlanta. We've posted it here before, but it never gets old. Because oh, it is a treasure.
You're welcome. And have a wonderful Thursday, y'all!
Thanks Trav for this profound offering! We can't wait to worship the KING!
Deeper Still is almost here
So glad, I might just shed a tear
No time to blog, but this I'll say:
Can hardly wait 'till this Friday.
Kay, Priscilla, Bethie too
Will bring a Word for me, for you
It will be strong, it will be good
We'll laugh, we'll cry,
And both we should.
But what will be the greatest thing
This very weekend soon will bring?
The presence of the King of Kings:
Redeemer, Savior, Everything.
His word will pierce, His face will shine.
His mercy will restore, refine.
We'll have such fun, but this please know:
The King of Love will steal the show.
I just got this information from Kris, and I thought y'all would be oh-so-delighted to start your Monday off with a giveaway.
Interrupted: An Adventure in Relearning the Essentials of Faith, by Jen Hatmaker, is a new short-term Bible study from Threads. Check out the Threads site for more information about the study. The leader kit (a $69.95 value) includes a member book, a DVD with documentary video clips to jump start discussion in your small group, and a CD-ROM with leader helps, music, audio files and more!
Winning is so easy. All you need to do is post on your blog, Facebook, or Twitter feed about the Interrupted giveaway, linking your readers back to this post on the All Access blog. Then, come back to this page and post a comment with a link to your social network post. We will randomly choose one winner from those who posted to receive the leader kit.
Yesterday I received an email from Betsy Langmade who is the event coordinator for Deeper Still Orlando. She sent us a list of some interesting facts about the approximately 11,000 attendees for the upcoming Deeper Still. I asked her if I could share them with y'all because I am a lover of trivia and found it fascinating.
Here is an excerpt from her email:
"WHERE ARE THEY ALL COMING FROM??
30+ States
3 Canadian Provinces
2 Foreign Countries - Rio De Janeiro, Brazil and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Funniest City on the registration list? Sopchoppy, Florida :)
HOW MANY DENOMINATIONS WILL BE UNITED IN THE AMWAY ARENA??
At least 20 including Baptist, United Methodist, Community, Vineyard, Covenant, Calvary (Chapel), Church of Christ, Presbyterian, Assemblies of God, Episcopal, Church of God, Methodist, Lutheran, Mennonite, Church of the Nazarene, World Outreach, Foursquare, Missionary Baptist, Alliance, Seventh Day Adventist, Catholic. It's going to an amazing time of Worship!
Interesting church names - wouldn't you guys like to go to a church called Fishhook Fellowship - not joking, I loved the one named Church on the Rock!
DO WE HAVE ANY LARGE GROUPS COMING???
Of course, we do. Because that's what women do, right? "
It's exactly what women do and I can't wait to see each and every one of these women worshiping together next Friday night. If you can make it to Orlando, it will be the place to be.
And don't forget to leave your question for Priscilla, Beth and Kay in the comments on yesterday's post!
Its true! Deeper Still ORLANDO (or Deeper World...like Disney World) as we call it, is next weekend, September 18-19, 2009! I don't know about you but our team is ready to get ourselves down to Florida.
Here are two things you can do to help us prepare if you are attending and one fun question:
1. Send us your panel questions for Kay, Beth and Priscilla! Its a fun and sweet time when we get to hear words of wisdom and words of well, cosmetics, from these three gals! So whatcha got? Send us your questions back on the comments of this post.
2. We just want a roll call shout out!! If you are attending, tell us where you are traveling in from and who's with you?
3. Just for fun, who is also planning to hit Disney or MGM with your girls as part of Deeper Still/World!? I don't know how you'd have energy for both but I know some of you are just that crazy and will drink enough Starbucks to be able to endure all of that fun!
I can tell you, Deeper World will be enough excitement for me and my team.
Whatcha got? Can't WAIT to be with you!! And if you hadn't planned to come! Change your mind. :0)
I know I've mentioned it before, but I sort of have a thing about music.
And when I say, "I have a thing about music," what I mean is that I pretty much like for music to be playing ALL THE TIME.
My little boy has inherited my chronic music listening disorder, and every single morning he turns on the iPod dock before he sits down for breakfast. He loves to listen to Veggie Tales worship songs and sometimes even a little "Mr. Travis," because "Veggie Tales are my favorite, Mama, but I like Mr. Travis' songs almost as much."
That's high praise, Cottrell. Mighty high praise indeed.
Anyway, this morning I was thinking about what worship songs are "in the rotation" at our house right now, and since I'm a fan of oversharing, I thought I'd make a handy list-o-favorites right here on the internet.
Here are my current top five:
1) "To The King" - Mr. Travis, aka Travis Cottrell
2) "A Mighty Fortress" - Christy Nockels
3) "Standing On The Promises" - Selah
4) "How Great" - Mac Powell, Shane Everett & some other talented people
5) "God And Man At Table Are Sat Down" - I'm so embarrassed to tell you that I don't know the name of the singer, but the song is on the "Beloved Disciple" CD.
Okay. There's my list. What songs are you loving right now?
If you are going to be anywhere near Broken Arrow, Oklahoma this coming weekend and are the mother of a daughter, then you do not want to miss Vicki Courtney's You and Your Girl event.
She will be at First Baptist Church in Broken Arrow on Saturday, September 12th.
I had the opportunity to attend a You and Your Girl conference back in March of this year and it was a great experience. Vicki shares so much practical wisdom about mothering a daughter and she does it with a real perspective of the world we live in and a good dose of humor.
And if you have no idea where Broken Arrow, OK is, then check out this link to see where else you might be able to attend You and Your Girl in 2009-2010. You don't want to miss it.
For more information about the event and about Vicki, check out her personal blog called Virtue Alert.
Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare. - Psalm 40:5
This past weekend I ran across a TV show about people who hoard things. I'm not talking about people who save all their kids' schoolwork and have a couple of overcrowded closets as a result. I'm talking about people who cannot walk through their homes without navigating a never-ending pile of junk. People who put their mental and physical health in jeopardy by holding on to a bunch of worthless garbage that they couldn't possibly need.
One of the women featured on the episode I watched was a compulsive grocery shopper. And because she'd lived through several seasons of near-poverty, she couldn't bear to throw away food. The condition of her kitchen was almost unimaginable; every possible surface was covered with boxes and cans and pots and pans and open containers of food. She functioned pretty well in the midst of all the clutter; in fact, she was perfectly at home in her mess. She rifled through a refrigerator that was crammed with rotten produce and spoiled meat, and not one time did she show even a glimmer of recognition that this is not okay. This is bad for me. This is no way to live. To her, it was all perfectly normal.
There was a crew on hand to help her clean up and clean out her house, and at one point they asked her what she wanted to do about a pumpkin that had been sitting on her living room floor for months. The pumpkin resembled a decomposed orange mass more than anything else, and the woman gave her permission for the workers to dispose of it. But as one of the men scooped up that moldy orange blob so that he could put it in a trash bag, the woman walked over to him and said, "Hold on just a second. Just a second. I think...I might want...just a few of these seeds."
At that point she stuck her hand into the middle of something that was way worse than garbage, and it was like she could not help herself from wanting to save part of it. As I watched her I sat straight up and said - just like she could hear me - "Stop it. STOP IT. YOU DON'T NEED THAT STUFF. WHY ARE YOU HOLDING ON TO ALL THAT JUNK?"
And y'all, in the middle of that moment, I heard the Holy Spirit loud and clear: Think about all the stuff you hold on to in your heart. Think about all that junk you carry around just like it's normal. You don't need it.
I've thought about that a whole bunch over the last couple of days. I don't hoard stuff in my house like the woman on the TV show; I throw out papers and magazines and pretty much any clutter that makes its way into my path.
But emotionally? That's a different story. There are a couple of things I hold on to as if my life depended on it. And even though I know that the Lord can take care of the junk, that He can "scoop it up," so to speak, and carry it away for me, I'm like the woman with the pumpkin. I say, "Oh, that's fine - you can take it - but let me just hold on to a teensy little bit. Let me hold on to those seeds."
I have LOVED reading everyone's thoughts on the simulcast. I love that we have a God who is big enough to surpass all our expectations and dreams.
Just a reminder that today is the day of the webcast and you won't want to miss it. It begins at noon central time and you can go to this page for all the information you need to join in.
Melanie
Melanie
Sophie
Sophie
Pam
Pam
Paige
Paige
Kris
Kris