A couple of weekends ago, Christi (LifeWay Women's designer, and a very amazing designer at that!) and I went to a women's event called Iron Sharpens Iron in Bloomfield, CT. Anyone from around that area? It's beautiful up there for sure. Crazy, but that weekend it was as cold in Nashville as it was in New England.
So, anyway, we gave away lots of LifeWay Women STUFF. Many of you ladies up there knew us but I say a bunch of you didn't know who we were. So it was a good experience and great to meet ya'll. Also, we were able to see one of our very own Bible study teachers, Shaunti Feldhahn, who I just love and who's coming out with something new in 2010 so stay tuned! We hung out a bit with Anthony Evans, Jr. who led us in some mighty worship! Anthony leads worship at our LifeWay Women Going Beyond events with his amazing, God-gifted Bible teaching sister, Priscilla Shirer. Check out 2010 events to worship with both Anthony and Priscilla at an event that will certainly change your walk with Jesus!
Now, I'm gonna end with this little video clip. The beginning shows what we do - the calm before the storm at a marketing table where we give out lots of stuff and talk to you about all the great Bible study resources LifeWay Women has to offer. Then you'll see a glimpse of Anthony leading worship.
PS: Don't miss the lady knitting during Praise and Worship. That's priceless!
Ya'll have a good weekend and be safe. As we dress up our kiddos, let's remind them of who's King and who's coming back for us!
When I was about four, I went to Oklahoma City on a family vacation. I don't remember much about the trip, of course, but I do have a picture of me sitting on the steps of the State Capitol and scowling.
Because do you know what four year-olds typically don't enjoy? GUIDED TOURS.
When I was twelve I went back to OKC because my daddy was attending a convention there. I remember that we stayed in a beautiful old hotel downtown, and I remember that my mama let me order orange juice every morning from room service.
So there you have it. The extent of my OKC memories.
But something tells me that in about five weeks - when Deeper Still rolls into Oklahoma for the first time - I'm going to make all sorts of new OKC memories - memories that involve neither sulking nor orange juice. In fact, since I've been to a couple of Deeper Still events before, I feel mighty confident that the new memories will be jam-packed with wonderful worship, rock-solid teaching and loads of laughter. Big fun indeed.
So, bloggy friends, if you're planning to attend Deeper Still OKC, will you let us know in the comments? Maybe we can plan a time to get together and exchange some hugs. Or some chocolate. Whatever it takes.
This morning I sat here and worked on my Bible study lesson because I let myself fall woefully behind. My group meets tomorrow morning and due to my OCD tendencies, I can't stand to go with unfinished homework.
But as I sat and looked up different scripture, my heart just felt like it needed a reminder of God's love for me. Does He really see me? And so I stopped what I was doing and said outloud, "God, I need to know how much you love me."
Immediately a verse that I memorized earlier this year came to mind:
"God's love is meteoric, His loyalty astronomic, His purpose titanic, His verdicts oceanic. Yet in His largeness nothing gets lost; not a man, not a mouse, slips through the cracks. How exquisite your love, O God." Psalm 36:5-7a (The Message)
And I thought I'd share it with you in case, like me, you needed the reminder today.
Over the last few months more and more of our LifeWay buddies have jumped on the Twitter bandwagon. A few of them reserve their updates for family and friends, but many of them are tweeting for all eyes to see in the great, wide-open interweb prairie.
Strangest figurative language ever, by the way. I have no way where that whole "prairie" metaphor came from. But I'm rolling with it.
Anyway, I thought I'd break down the Twitter friends into categories, mainly because I'm a smidge obsessive and I LOVE ME SOME LISTS, AMEN.
Okay. Two things: 1) I have now typed the words "twitter.com" more times than I have typed my own name. EVER. 2) I know I've unintentionally left out somebody - I KNOW I HAVE - so feel free to add additons or corrections in the comments. Or to reprimand me via email. Whatever it takes.
Maybe it's because it's a beautiful day or maybe it's because I just powered through six chapters of Leviticus or maybe it's because I know I have a fun weekend ahead of me filled with friends and family, but my heart is so full today.
Even though those six chapters of Leviticus about killed me. Have you read Leviticus lately? It's not for the faint of heart or the weak of stomach. There's a lot of burning of the fat and talk of other stuff that you don't really want to read while you're trying to enjoy a breakfast of yogurt and granola.
Anyway, my Bible study group is doing Anointed, Transformed and Redeemed this fall and this morning I've been thinking about something Beth Moore shared in her section of the study. It's a verse from 2 Samuel 7: 18 where King David says, "Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family that you have brought me this far?"
That's how I feel this morning. It's not like life is perfect and I could get bogged down in a million little things that aren't exactly the way I wish they were, but more than anything I just feel thankful. Who am I that he has brought me this far?
I spoke to a group of high school kids this week and preparing for it caused me to reflect on where I was in high school and how much I managed to screw up the better part of my late teens and early twenties as I lived in total rebellion to everything I knew to be true. And when I think about how God has redeemed all of my sin, it's hard to feel anything but completely and totally grateful for his overwhelming love and mercy.
He is so good.
Psalm 103: 10-12 "He does not treat us as our sins deserve, or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."
Last night we learned a new song in choir practice. I'm an alto, so we almost always sing harmony, and usually that's a bunch of fun. Altos are a pretty lively bunch, you know.
But last night's new song? It was really, really difficult, so our worship pastor asked us to go through all the parts individually before we tried singing the song together. When the sopranos sang their part, it sounded okay - but nothing special. Same for the guys. And when the altos sang our part a few minutes later, it sounded a little awful, honestly. It was just weird. There were lots of big jumps, lots of strange, dissonant notes - and after about the third time we'd worked through our part, the girl sitting next to me laughed and said, "We sound like a bunch of bullfrogs."
She was exactly right.
But do you know what? After about ten minutes of each section of the choir working on their individual parts, the neatest thing happened.
We sang all those separate parts together.
And y'all, I got goosebumps all the way down to my toes. All of the bizarre-sounding notes were transformed. The whole song was absolutely beautiful. Shockingly so. And I thought, "Oh. That is the body of Christ right there." Nothing special at all when we're doing our own thing - but when we work together for something - or Someone - bigger than ourselves? The indescribable happens.
Even in a bunch of bullfrogs.
"Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be." - 1 Corinthians 12:14-18
Do y'all ever get a song stuck in your head for days on end? Please tell me that you do. Because I have had a song playing on NEVER ENDING REPEAT in my mind for the last week, and I'm starting to think that it's going to be my internal theme song FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE, WHETHER I WANT IT TO BE OR NOT.
So I've decided - based on absolutely no scientific proof, mind you - that if I share the song with other people, maybe I can "give away" a little of its hold on me. And yes, I recognize that my theory makes no sense whatsoever, but if you'd been singing a song in your head for the last seven days, you'd also probably be looking for a pause button in whatever form you could find it.
And here's the kicker: I LOVE THIS SONG. In fact, I think that one reason it's gotten stuck in my brain is because I've listened to it so much over the last month or so. We actually sang it in church this past Sunday, and OH MY is it ever a great song for corporate worship. So powerful.
I just maybe sorta kinda need a little teensy break from it for four or maybe even sixteen seconds.
And here's my favorite verse, just in case you're wondering:
By faith this mountain shall be moved
And the power of the Gospel shall prevail
For we know in Christ all things are possible
For all who call upon His name.
That's a good word, y'all.
And I know it's a good word because I've been hearing it in my head for SEVEN DAYS IN A ROW, NOT THAT I'M COUNTING.
Over the course of LPL Memphis, I compiled a little video footage. I like to believe that what it lacks in quality (which is A LOT) it makes up for in quantity.
1. I know it's blurry. I don't know if it's the equipment as much as it is operator error.
2. Please don't miss Sophie saying "Argyle, argyle" during the part where Travis has on a sporty argyle vest.
3. You may notice it's in black and white. That's because I thought it might look more artsy. I don't know if it actually worked but I couldn't figure out how to change it back.
4. All the various styles of speed walking make me happy. You have the fast walk, you have the flat out run and you have the run/walk/skip combo.
5. There is no five but it seemed wrong to stop at four.
For the last week or so my little boy and I have been reading The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. A few nights ago we snuggled up to read another chapter, and within a few minutes we got to the part where the children arrive at the Beavers' house.
Mr. Beaver explains to the children that Aslan the lion is going to meet them the next day, and Lucy - who's a little frightened by what may lie ahead - asks Mr. Beaver if Aslan is "safe."
Mr. Beaver's response just kills me:
"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver..."Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you."
When I was growing up I thought that most of the Christians I knew led pretty charmed lives. And while I didn't think that faith offered an exemption from life's problems, I very much believed that the Christian life was a safe one. I mean, what could be so difficult about going to church, reading your Bible, saying your prayers and making the occasional casserole for Family Night Supper? From my very immature perspective, it all looked so, well, easy.
That incorrect belief that the Christian life was supposed to be easy was part of the reason why I pretty much disengaged from my faith in my early 20s. I still knew how to play the game, of course - and I could still say all the right things - but I had no idea how to reconcile my personal pit-o-sin with my deeply flawed assumption that life with Jesus was supposed to be carefree. We could spend the next year breaking down all of the gaps in my theology, but the bottom line is that somewhere along the way I missed the memo that while the leap into faith might sometimes feel pretty simple, the whole concept of faithfulness is hard. Oh sweet mercy. Is it ever.
The difficulty of faithfulness comes to mind when I hear the lyrics from "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing": "Prone to wander / Lord I feel it / Prone to leave the God I love." THAT IS NO JOKE, PEOPLE. And when I walked away from the Lord in my early 20s, I thought to a certain degree that it was His fault. Clearly there was some deficiency on His part. Some inconsistency in His character. Some obvious lack of power on His end of things. Because after all, IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE EASY.
When I was about 27 I finally reached a point where I realized that if left to my own devices and my own stinkin' sinful heart, I was going to make a complete mess of my life. As Beth Moore has said before, I wasn't just going to stay in my pit - I was going to hang up some curtains and buy some new furniture for it. If something didn't change, I was going to be living down there indefinitely.
And do you know what?
The last thirteen years of walking with the Lord have been absolutely wild. God has led me into and through some unexpected situations - some of them filled with fun and wonder, some of them filled with difficulty and pain. I have been humbled over and over again. I feel like I've been on an adventure with God, and together we've been to places - literally and figuratively - that I would have never dreamed of when I was that wide-eyed little girl sitting in the church where I grew up. He has shown me over and over again that when Paul sat down and wrote Ephesians 3:20, he knew exactly what he was talking about.
More than anything else, I've learned that my joy has absolutely nothing to do with my comfort, my happiness or my circumstances. God often calls us to uncomfortable places that feel anything but safe so that we're not tempted for one second to think that we can do what He's asking us to do in our own strength, in our own power or according to our own plan. His ways are just flat-out higher. His ways are so much better.
And my very limited notion of what feels "safe" really isn't His concern.
So as I read Lucy's words in C.S. Lewis' book the other night, I felt tears well up in my eyes as I stammered my way through Mr. Beaver's reply. Because I can tell you without hesitation that I know firsthand how true his words are.
For about the last twenty-four hours I've been trying to write this post. I don't know why it's been so hard, but I think it has something to do with the fact that there was just so much pure goodness in Beth's message at Living Proof Live Memphis that I can't seem to narrow down my focus.
I keep writing something about how the part that spoke to me the most was the part about how God teems with compassion, but then I decide that the part I liked the most was the thing about God being scandalously forgiving.
But wait! Maybe the best part was being reminded that Jesus loves me this I know and that God abounds in love for me.
It's just a lot to process.
One thing keeps coming to my mind though and I'm almost afraid to write about it because I feel certain that I can't do it justice because if there's a book in the Bible that intimidates me, it's the book of Revelation. I've read it several times and usually end up just deciding that I trust that God's going to work it all out in the end and that's good enough for me.
But on Saturday afternoon, Beth really got into Revelation, specifically Revelation 5. She referenced Ezekiel 1 and talked about how God always remains seated on His throne. He is always on His throne. And in front of His throne is a glass sea, a sea where He hurls our iniquities. He hurls them. He doesn't just toss them lightly; He hurls them.
There are flashes of lightning, rumbles of thunder and indescribable creatures that sit at the feet of God and cry "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come" while the twenty-four elders cast their crowns and say, "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being." (Revelation 4)
Even writing those words makes tears come to my eyes because I realize it's just a glimpse, a hard to comprehend glimpse, at the power and majesty of God. You just know there is no way that John was able to do justice to all he saw and experienced. We serve a God that never gets off His throne, a God so pure and holy and radiant that man cannot look upon His face and live.
Yet He's a God that loves us abundantly, who is filled with compassion for us and, as Beth said, is scandalously forgiving. He doesn't have to be any of those things. He doesn't need us to achieve His purposes, yet He uses us anyway because He loves us. Is it just me or does that blow your mind when you really think about it?
Anyway, Beth read the following passage from Revelation 5:
"Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?" But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, 'Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.'"
She talked about how there was a moment when John wept and wept because it didn't appear that there was anyone worthy to open the scroll. There was a moment in time, even in the midst of all that glory, that he was filled with unbearable sadness. But then, all of a sudden, the One who is worthy appeared looking like a lamb that had been slain and reached out to take the scroll.
The Lion of the tribe of Judah, Jesus Christ, is worthy.
Beth compared those moments that John had to wait, those moments when he grieved that no one was worthy, to the times in our lives when God allows a season of lonely, a lack, a gap between what we want and what we have, so that we will know there is only ONE who is worthy. There is only ONE who will never leave us, never forsake us, and never let us down.
It made me think of all the times in my life that were so painful at the time, yet God used them to draw me back to Him, to remind me that He alone is worthy. He alone can fill the gap. And He does over and over again.
Honestly, I'd like to tie this up in some perfect way, but all I can say is that it humbles me to my core.
Day two of the video shoot for Scouting the Divine was a success. Check out this video to hear from director Brad Jones (Haven Productions) and Margaret Feinberg about our experience filming in a Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee, field.
What do you get when you combine Living Proof Live, Corky's BBQ, around 35 AllAccess readers / Twitter friends / blogging buddies - not to mention Pam, Paige & Kris from LifeWay Women?
A WHOLE HEAPIN' BUNCH OF FUN, THAT'S WHAT.
Oh my word, y'all. It was just a delight.
Even better? It was Pam's 50th birthday, so we got to eat cake!
And even better than that? When Melanie picked up the cake from the bakery, it said, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PUM!"
IT MADE ME SO HAPPY.
So thanks, girls, for meeting us for lunch and being so stinkin' fun and making us smile and pretty much being the perfect way to end an incredible Saturday morning. Y'all are the best.
And my mother-in-law wants y'all to know that you are all DARLIN', JUST DARLIN', and she thinks every single one of you is perfectly beautiful, and if she hopes that if she doesn't get to see you again until heaven that she'll be wearing a really cute white jacket when y'all run into each other.
Before this weekend I'd never had the chance to be at the doors of a Living Proof Event the moment they open.
I am telling you it is a sight to behold. There are some women who are passionate about claiming themselves some prime seating real estate and Rich captured it perfectly.
I just woke up from a big ole Sunday afternoon nap, so I'm pretty sure that I won't be going to sleep tonight until approximately 4 in the morning. But three nights in a row of lots of late-night talking and very little sleeping will take a toll on a girl.
On the drive home today I had a chance to really think about and process some of what we studied this past weekend at Living Proof Live in Memphis. I always leave events impacted and changed, but as a friend of mine said yesterday, there was something about this one - and I'm still figuring out exactly what it was - that felt very much like a wrecking ball. Maybe it's because I just celebrated the big 4-0; maybe it's because of some personal junk that I'm working through right now. But regardless: WRECKING BALL.
Yesterday in Memphis Beth mentioned something she's been struggling with this year, and she said that for the first time in her life, God has entrusted her with that particular challenge. Her choice of words made a huge impression on me as we sat in the arena, but as I made my way down highway 78 this morning, they really settled into my heart and started to take root.
Entrusted.
There have been certainly been times in my life when I have walked through a difficult season and thought about how God must have allowed a particular trial for my benefit and for His glory. But I don't think I've ever looked at a trial as something that God has entrusted to me, as something that He has put into my care.
And I'll tell you what: when I was driving down the highway today and started to think about hardships from that particular perspective, it took all of about two minutes before I felt the tears welling up in my eyes.
Because that illness? That grief? That thing you feel like you can't tell a soul? That relationship that breaks your heart? That physical difficulty? That shame from a long time ago? That whatever-it-is that's weighing heavy on you right now?
He hasn't just allowed it. He has entrusted us with it. We are responsible for what we do with it. There is purpose in that thing.
And I don't know about you, but that has rocked my world all day long.
"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." - 2 Corinthians 4:17-18
This is the first of what will no doubt be an embarrassing amount of posts about Living Proof Live in Memphis, but Melanie and I just wanted to check in and tell you that we are sort of annoyingly excited about getting to see so many blog friends tonight.
All morning long we have been talking! Very loudly! And enthusiastically! With multiple exclamation points!!!
Anyway, we're about to head to lunch and then down to the arena, and we'll have all sorts of bloggy goodness throughout the weekend.
And as a brief prayer request: if you wouldn't mind, please lift our hair up before the Lord. It's pouring down rain here - with about 243% humidity - and there are about 12,000 women who are going to have a VERY difficult time achieving their hair goals this weekend apart from a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit.
I'm sure you understand our concern.
Also - I just accidentally typed "Holdy Spirit." And yes. With my FrizzEase Moisture Barrier Firm-Hold hair spray doused liberally upon my head, you may rest assured that the Holdy Spirit will be also be at work today.
Two weeks ago Travis Cottrell shared this at our annual City Coordinator volunteer training and I asked him to send it to me so we could put it on the blog. It is AWESOME. We especially love number four. This is proof that our worship leader can write more than songs:
You know you are at a Living Proof Live if:
1. ...there are flower arrangements in the urinals.
2. ...much like measuring the terror threat levels in airports, u can measure the bump it levels in women's hair.
3. ...every local Starbucks calls in reinforcement.
4. ...at the end of the event, you could likely end up commissioning the person you knocked over claiming your seat.
5. ...you can buy nachos AND a bible journal in one purchase.
6. ...the parking situation will make u need to rededicate by the time the service starts.
7. ...there are more Capri pants than people in a small country.
8. ...the teacher and worship leader need an interpreter in states above Kentucky or west of Texas.
9. ...you turn in a book of the bible you forgot existed.
10. ...no matter how you came, you know you're not leaving the same.
We hope to see you at the Memphis LIving Proof Live event! If you can't come pray for us and follow us on twitter at #Lproof!
I believe I may have mentioned, after attending the Going Beyond event with Priscilla Shirer last June, that I became a fan of her worship leader, Anthony Evans. In fact, I know I mentioned it because I took a picture of Anthony for the Allaccess blog while I blurted out, "I promise I'm not a stalker!" which is a phrase that tends to make people nervous.
In hindsight it would have been more appropriate to mention that I blog for LifeWay on the Allaccess blog. Too late now.
Anyway, the point is that Anthony Evans has a brand new Christmas album that was just released on iTunes yesterday and it is SO GOOD. It's called What Christmas Means and you can download it by clicking over to iTunes or buy a copy through his website.
Then you can sit around your house and listen to beautiful Christmas music in October while drinking hot chocolate. Except I'll have to drink iced tea because it's still 94 degrees in South Texas. Not that I'm bitter.
While we're on the subject of the Evans family, don't miss the chance to hear Priscilla Shirer live this Thursday and Friday. Click over to Living With Joy for more details!
Oh, and one last thing! Only two more days until LPL Memphis! My bags are packed (not really, because I procrastinate) and I can't wait to see y'all.
This week, we are filming video for the Scouting the Divine: Searching for God in Wine, Wool, and Wild Honey leader kit by Margaret Feinberg, which will release from LifeWay Women and Threads in January 2010. We want to give you a sneak peek of the first day of shooting at a rural Tennessee farm. Sheep were the main feature of this Bible study video, but we spent the day with lamas, bulls, dogs, chickens, and a few roosters.
Links: Margaret Feinberg Threads LifeWay Women
Can y'all believe it? It's finally the week of Living Proof Live in Memphis! And I don't know about you, but I am READY. I am craving some time with friends, not to mention some concentrated time in worship and in the Word. Can't wait.
I absolutely loved your suggestions for how to prepare my mother-in-law for her first LPL event, and I mentioned some of them to her on the phone a couple of days ago. She is still so excited - still referring to the weekend in Memphis as "the trip of a lifetime" - but last night something occurred to me that I hadn't thought of before.
Martha has been a member of the same church - the church where I grew up, in fact - her whole life. And while there is a contemporary worship service there, Martha goes to the more traditional service. I love that service because it's where I learned all the old hymns that mean so much to me now, but last night I wondered if Martha doesn't have a little "worship shock" in store - since, as y'all know, worship with at an LPL event can get a little, um, lively.
Oh, I adore lively.
However, I recognize that lively can be a smidge overwhelming if you're not used to a contemporary worship style. I mean, I know that after my first experience with contemporary worship back in the 90s, I went home, sat down next to my husband, looked at him and said, "Well. They had a guitar AND drums. And PEOPLE RAISED THEIR HANDS."
I know that God is the one who bridges the gaps in our worship preferences, and I trust that He will do just that this weekend. Plus, I think Travis and his team do an absolutely phenomenal job of creating an environment (through the power of the Holy Spirit, of course) where people from all denominational backgrounds are comfortable. But still. I just wonder how Martha will respond to, you know, something like this:
Have y'all ever been in a similar situation? Where you know you're going to spend the first five or ten minutes of worship looking out of the corner of your eye to see how the person sitting beside you is responding?
And have you maybe felt just a teensy tiny bit anxious about it? Even though you can't imagine that the person sitting next to you won't be completely blessed by what she hears?
I just got back from my church this morning where I'm participating in a womens' Bible study. In the past I've always done a Bible study with a group of my friends, but our schedules are all so different these days and it just wasn't going to work out for us to all meet together.
But I'm excited about meeting with a new group of women because I love studying God's word with different people and hearing their thoughts and insights. Plus, they serve food at the meetings. So, total score.
Anyway, I loved our meeting this morning. We're doing "Anointed, Transformed and Redeemed" which is the study from Deeper Still Nashville '07. It rocked my world today.
And it made me curious to know what other studies y'all are doing right now. What are you studying and do you love it? What are you learning? Inquiring minds want to know.
Melanie
Melanie
Sophie
Sophie
Pam
Pam
Paige
Paige
Kris
Kris