I actually had to get a copy of a crime report for a friend of mine to mail to her insurance agent so she could be reimbursed for the thousands of dollars of camera equipment that was stolen out of the back of her car.

Wait, I'm going somewhere with this.

Anyway, as I meandered around the streets of downtown in what proved to many, MANY, failed attempts to locate the police station, I decided I needed some music to calm my nerves because the talk radio was just adding to my already high stress level. And do you know what I just happened to pull out?

My copy of Travis Cottrell's Ring the Bells Christmas CD.

And although I usually have a hard and fast rule (or maybe just a rule) about listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving, I made an exception. Because if the shopping centers can start hanging garland and red bows the second the clock strikes midnight on the day after Halloween, then I can sing me some carols. I'm so glad I did.

I spent the next thirty minutes doing my best to end up going the wrong way on a one way street, but I didn't even care because I was singing Christmas songs at the top of my voice.

It had been almost a year since I'd listened to Ring the Bells and in that time I'd forgotten that In the First Light makes me cry every time and that his version of Frosty the Snowman is delightful.

In other words, Ring the Bells is a must-have CD for your Christmas collection. Best of all, you can download it on iTunes right now for only $9.90 by clicking here.

And you can even start listening to it before Thanksgiving. I won't tell.

But here's the thing: once those people sit down (or stand up - I really have no idea whether sitting or standing will be the webcast preference, so let's just pretend we land somewhere in the middle and everyone is sitting on a tall stool, thank you), Paige and Pam are going to need some questions for them. Since that's sort of how an interview works and all.

So.

You know how we usually ask y'all for questions for the panel part of Deeper Still? Well, we're going to do the same thing today. We need your questions - whether serious or light-hearted - for the webcast. Your questions can be directed to a particular person (Dear Priscilla, How do you make your hair so pretty? Love, Me) or your question can be general (Dear People, What's your favorite way to eat corn? Love, Me). And please know that if your question is general, you can expect to hear it over and over again because whoever's doing the interviewing will WEAR IT OUT and ask every single person about their favorite way to eat corn.

That's what you call hard-hitting journalism, my friends.

Leave your questions in the comments - and thanks in advance!

Our dreams are big. Our hearts are filled with expectation.

Anyway, the LifeWay folks are going to be doing a really cool thing on Friday, November 13th. And that really cool thing is a day-long webcast that you can watch right here on AllAccess. You see that video of Pam and Paige over to the right? Well, next Friday it won't be there. But what WILL be there is the live feed from the Leadership Forum - from 8:30 in the AM until 9:30 in the PM.

Isn't that the neatest? You can sit on your couch in your pajamas and eat fried chicken and listen to Travis Cottrell and Priscilla Shirer and Kelly Minter and Mary Kassian and a whole host of other wonderful people. Paige and Pam will be doing interviews throughout the day, and Melanie and I might show up to perform an uplifting duet or maybe even a lyrical ballet routine to "On The Wings of Love."

We're still ironing out some of the details, not to mention our choreography. So really, there's not a bit of telling.

We'll be talking more about the live feed - and even asking for your input - over the next week. We're so excited that even if you're not with us in Nashville, you can still be with us in Nashville, and yes, that TOTALLY makes sense.

The interwebs are magic, you know.

Have a wonderful Wednesday, y'all.

1. Priscilla Shirer is taping her new Bible study on Jonah this week. I know she would appreciate your prayers.

2. Priscilla's new Going Beyond website has just launched and it is FABULOUS. Plus, it includes a blog and you know how we love us a new blog.

Y'all have a great day!

If you've ever heard Beth Moore teach, you've probably heard her say that Breaking Free is her life message. And this new version - which was filmed at Franklin Avenue Baptist in New Orleans and contains testimonies from women who have broken free of strongholds in their lives - promises to be absolutely awesome.

And do you know what I love? If this is a season of your life when you can't be a part of a group Bible study at your church or in your town (been there, had the crazy schedule, done that), you can actually watch the teaching sessions online. It's a deeee-lightful option if you really want to dig deep in the Word but don't have room for another outside-the-house commitment.

Sometimes technology makes me smile.

Have any of you done the first Breaking Free study? And are any of you planning to do this new one?

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.

We can't wait to see y'all there!

Devastate us with your presence falling down, Lord Jesus.

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.

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.

LifeWay Women:

LifeWay Women - http://twitter.com/lifewaywomen
Pam Case - http://twitter.com/pamcase
Paige Greene - http://twitter.com/paigegreen
Kris Seidenkranz - http://twitter.com/krisseidenkranz
Amy Cato - http://twitter.com/amycato
Betsy Langmade - http://twitter.com/betsylangmade
Chris Adams - http://twitter.com/chrisadams4
Darlene Moreland - http://twitter.com/darlenemoreland
Patricia Murphy - http://twitter.com/patriciajmurphy

LifeWay Authors:

Kay Arthur - http://twitter.com/kayarthur
Kelly Minter - http://twitter.com/kelly_minter
Priscilla Shirer - http://twitter.com/priscillashirer
Pat Layton - http://twitter.com/patricialayton
Vicki Courtney - http://twitter.com/vicki_courtney
Jennifer Rothschild - http://twitter.com/jennrothschild

LifeWay Worship Leaders:

Travis Cottrell - http://twitter.com/cottrelltravis
Anthony Evans - http://twitter.com/anthonyevansjr
Kevin Perry - http://twitter.com/kevperry
Alexis Cruz - http://twitter.com/alexiscruz

LifeWay No-Event-Would-Be-Complete-Without-Them:

Rich Kalonick - http://twitter.com/bobonickalonick
Nate Griffin - http://twitter.com/kanakanate
Stephen Proctor - http://twitter.com/worshipvj
LPL Historian - http://twitter.com/LPLphoto

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.

Hope y'all have a wonderful week!

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."

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

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.

Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!

LPL Memphis Video from Kris Seidenkranz on Vimeo.

A few notes:

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.

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.

'Course he isn't safe.

He's the King, I tell you.