I am thankful for...
...our kids, home from college for the holiday, piled up together in a warm, slightly messy house.
...Jesse - all things about him, but at this particular moment, his coffee. (I think I hear him stirring up pancakes, too - God bless him!)
...extended family headed in for a day of good food and extravagant laughter.
...deep friendship.
...an astounding, creative God who makes it all possible. The fact that He even bothers with me is amazing. The fact that He is relentless, stubborn and lavish in His love...that leaves me breathless!

...and I'm thankful for you!
What are you thankful for?
Have a blessed holiday season!

Greetings!!!

Hey! Just getting back from an amazing trip to the Pacific coast - can I just say, we serve an amazing Creator? I had to keep reminding myself that He just spoke it all into existence. Wow.

Anyway, catching up on laundry, emails and the blog world, I came across a recent post by Melissa Moore-Fitzpatrick (Beth's daughter) on the Living Proof blog (you can link to the blog at right). Within the post was a "homework" assignment she's given to a Bible study class she and Beth are teaching in Houston and I thought it was great. I think it would be fun for anyone interested to pick a passage and get after it! Share some of your insights with the rest of us, while you're at it! I've been hung up on John 17:20-26 lately, so that may be the passage I work on - or one about the vine and branches (John 15:1-8), since I just visited a vineyard :). Here's her tips:

• Choose any passage (about 5-9 verses) of interest, preferably a passage that you are not overly familiar with.
• Read the passage several times, at least twice out loud.
• What book of the Bible is your passage in? Who is the author? Who are the Recipients? What is the occasion and genre of the book?
• Compare your original Bible translation (whether it is NIV, NASB, etc.) to other translations- use at least three or four translations. Make note of the significant changes/differences in a chart or some other helpful way.
• If there is a word that sticks out to you in your original Bible translation, use a concordance to do a word study on that word. What is the Hebrew or Greek word that your English translation is rendering? Where else is it used?
• Are there any topics/places/concepts in your passage that are unfamiliar to you? Use a Bible Dictionary to look up unfamiliar concepts and to answer general questions.
• After you have done as much of the leg-work as you know how or have time to do, then consult one or two solid commentaries on your passage.
• Conclude with how these resources contributed to your understanding of the passage.

*sigh*

I always hate to see a Bible study end...but I loved the quote from Eugene Peterson's book, A Long Obedience In the Same Direction, and I think it applies to seasons of study like the one we just completed:

"They are not monuments, but footprints. A monument only says 'At least I got this far,' while a footprint says 'This is where I was when I moved again.'"

Let's keep moving! Again, I encourage all those reading these words to take a minute and share -- something God is teaching you, a prayer request, a Scripture reference. Join the conversation!

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Please pray for our new president...and pray that the church will rise and make God famous by the way we love our brothers and sisters. It's time to reach out. Let's do it.