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!

-----

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.

Stepping Up...

It's hard to believe we're almost finished with our journey through the Psalms of Ascent. Our ladies will meet one last time at 6:30 Tuesday for hot soup and warm fellowship as we wrap this study up. I'm hoping to get another study going after the first of the year (suggestions? I'm leaning toward Beth Moore's new one - "Esther - It's Tough Being a Woman").
So, even though we're finishing this study, we still have hearts set on pilgrimage - our destination and our fellow pilgrims! With that in mind, I thought it might be fun if the bloggers among us kept in touch here, maybe posting each week something God is teaching us through His Word. (Kind of an accountability challenge!) It could also be a forum for sharing prayer requests. Let me know what you think. It will only work if we have PARTICIPATION! A one-way conversation is no fun - believe me, I should know!!!
By the way, this conversation would be open to anyone - not just those involved in our last study. So spread the word! I'm excited to see how this little experiment works out! Let's get it started. If you're reading this, click on the word "comments" just below this post and let me know what you think! Looking forward to hearing from you!

Loving deeply...

I'm just overwhelmed about our upcoming Bible study tomorrow. I just previewed the dvd and I'm sitting here weeping. (What is it with me this week?) Anyway, tomorrow's session is about being the best possible traveling partners on this pilgrimage together. We'll be looking at schemes of the enemy to oppose us as we journey. We have to be willing to forgive, to encourage, to love deeply, to fight for each other. This is so important. We need some unity, don't we? I was reading John this week (in the tractor!) and I was struck again by the way Jesus prayed in John 17 - for himself, for his disciples, then for us. The prayer he prayed for us can be summed up in a simple statement: Make them one.
Lord, make us one. Make it so. Amen.

Of tears and sneezes...

Mother alert: This mom cried all the way through the last couple of days of Bible study homework. Maybe it's just the season I'm in -- a newly-empty nest -- but picturing God's love in motherly terms really got to me! For the past 20 years, my identity has been more wrapped up in motherhood than any other identifier -- wife, daughter, editor...Christ follower? So in recent months I've been trying to allow Christ to help reshape my view of life and my role in it. But I couldn't suppress a nostalgic twinge when reading scriptures that compare God's love for us to that of a mother who gives birth, a nursing mother, a mother who comforts. Nursing my children was one of the great joys of my life - the feeling of overwhelming love and an elemental, nourishing physical connection. When the baby is hungry, everything else stops for a quiet moment of perfect stillness and loving care. God loves us like that! Here's the other thing: Mom's the only one who can fill that role. Likewise, God is the only one who can provide the nourishment we need to thrive and grow. What a beautiful thing! Has this week's study prompted any nostalgia in any of you? What are you learning from God's Word this week?

(Oh, and the 'sneezes' part of the title has to do with my STILL runny nose, which made the crying even messier! Dang allergies!)

Have a great weekend!

Happy? Really?

I've always been a cheerful person...to the point of being annoying at times. Even when I didn't feel particularly cheerful, it's been my practice to slap a big ol' smile across my face before greeting the world. Fake? Sure, sometimes. But my mama raised me to put on a happy face (preferably with a little blush and lipstick, thank you!) The older I get, the less interested I am in faking out the world with a cheerful demeanor.
I want real joy. Complete joy. Happiness, even.
And that's God's plan for all of us.

Psalm 128 says,

"How happy is everyone who fears the Lord,
who walks in His ways!"

As we studied this in Bible study this week, I loved the picture of a heart that operates even in the midst of suffering with "a keen sense of God's presence and a lively perception of His activity."
The result? "A life that operates overall at optimum earth-satisfaction, joy and purpose without the crushing burdens of self-glory and sin."
WOW. God's ways are right. They lead to joy.
And happiness.
No need to fake that smile. We are blessed.

---

Hope to see all the Bible study girls Tuesday for a wonderful session on the Feast of Tabernacles. So much meaning. It will radically change the way you view some of the scriptures that are probably very familiar to you. Exciting stuff! See you there, I hope!