Coming Soon to a Blog Near You

The blog and the blog readers have been going strong for a month and a half now. I'm so happy that my mom has been able to write so much and that you have participated in this with us. I was going through the comments and looking at some of your blogs when I came upon this lovely web wonder. Isn't it cool? I was immediately inspired to get a makeover for our LPM blog. We currently have a standard blogspot template. I think Bethie deserves a little upgrade for her hard work! So thank you, BooMama, for mentoring us in looking our bloggity-best. The ball is already rolling, but I'm not sure how long it will take to present you with the finished product. I hope it's not too long because I'm beyond excited!

My Man

Hey, you sweet things! It occurred to me that I've posted pictures of everyone in my family but my man. Here he is with his two best girls. Of course, he really has four best girls because you'll never meet a man crazier about his daughters but these are his day-to-day, live-in best girls. I am one blessed woman because that man loves me dang-near as much as he loves that birddog. They are inseparable. While I'm showing Keith off, allow me to say that he is one big handful but God picked that maverick just for me so that I would not be insufferably self-righteous (and go explain THAT tendency with a stinking past like mine). Keith is uncontrollable. Utterly untamable. And he is wonderful. My man. My miracle. To God's great glory, NO ONE on earth has had more impact on this ministry than Keith. He has zero tolerance for pretense, pride, and false piety. As he often says, "A Texan can smell a varmint a mile off." Because of Keith and the inconceivable patience and diligent work of my Christ, I no longer smell like much of a varmint. With Keith, it's real or no deal. He holds me to an excruciating standard of authenticity. How blessed could a woman be???





(Amanda writing now. My dad actually wrote the foreword for Get Out of that Pit. Melissa and I were so proud!)

An Unexpected Blast

Hey, Sisters! I hope you've had such a fun weekend (or maybe restful was more of what you needed) and that God's done something particularly sweet in your behalf. We've had such an unexpected blast. Amanda's husband, Curt, has been scheduled for some time to speak this weekend in St. Louis, so Amanda and Jackson decided to drive down from the Dallas area and spend the time he was away with us. When I told Melissa on Friday that her sister and nephew (and Golden Retriever, Beckham) were on their way, she hopped online to see if she could get a cheap airline ticket from Chicago and come, too. God provided one of the lowest fares we've ever gotten and for a flight within about 18 hours. We were so excited. Melissa's never come spontaneously like that because she always has too much school work to do. We couldn't believe she threw caution to the wind and did it. We've had the whole weekend together and eaten everything under the sun. (Amanda speaking now. I came having lost 3 of my 5 pounds but it looks like I will be working extra hard next week!) My den is gloriously strewn with all sorts of baby toys and you can't take a step without a dog under your feet. It's the next best thing to heaven. Earlier I noticed that I have a bruise on one knee from playing crawling-chase with Jackson. I bear the marks of a happy granny! Both girls will head out in the morning but, boy, has it ever been fun while it lasted. I hope God filled your life with some abundant relationships this weekend...and then we'll all go back to work on Monday and get some rest! I love you guys!

Wising Up in Houston

Hey, Dear Ones! Thank you so much for praying for the launching of our Houston Spring Bible study! God brought us a fabulous group of women and, even more vital than that, He brought us Himself. We sensed Him there from the time we arrived to pray over the empty sanctuary. God constantly reminds me when I'm so tempted to beg Him to show up that He is the initiator of all things faith. He is the One who invites us to Bible study. Not the other way around. Our part is to, in turn, invite Him to come in power and do whatever He pleases.

I love my Houston home girls like crazy and last night, to our great delight, God further blessed us with at least 500+ newbies. I asked those who'd never been to Bible study with us before to raise their hands and God took our breath away with their response. We were ecstatic. I've told our group before that if we don't have new women come and join us, we need to ask ourselves why our love for Christ and His Word is not more contagious. Our Tuesday night group is the neatest mixture of women. Extremely varied. Every denomination. Every kind of background. Young to old. Getting increasingly colorful which means so much to us. I love them so much, just as I'd have the joy of loving you all the more if I got to study with you face to face every week.

We are thrilled about the new series God is giving us. "Wising Up" is a topical lecture series on the Book of Proverbs. We hope to hear from God about all sorts of themes over the next eleven weeks like friendship, marriage, business, managing money, parenting, and the like. We launched last night with inspired words from Proverbs 4:7 - "Wisdom is supreme! Therefore get wisdom. Though it cost you all you have, get understanding." We established that we are not coming on Tuesday nights to study wisdom. We're coming to GET IT. And God's the Only One who is giving it. We have been asked a number of times if this will be taped and released publically and the answer we believe is yes. We are taping this series in house this time and it will be published through Living Proof Ministries because it doesn't have any written work with it like those we do with my buddies at LifeWay. LPM will prepare a study guide for it but this one will intentionally not have homework. (The next homework I'll write is for the study of Esther over the course of the next year.) I hope a convenient thing about the Proverbs series on wisdom will be that the audio tapes and DVD sessions will be released individually as well as in compilations of similar themes. I think the target time to begin releasing the earliest sessions is early summer but I'm not sure. Keep posted for updates there. My staff is in charge of that part of it. And, of course, every single bit of this is a ministry plan based on our best understanding thus far. Only God can bring it to pass and we only want Him to do that if the series glorifies and pleases Him.

You guys are so sweet for caring and praying about our local Bible study. We wish so much we could be under the same roof with you, worship before God's Throne with you, seek the heart of Christ as one, and serve you face to face. Oh, how blessed we'd be! But the relationship we have with you even at this long distance is delightful and tremendously satisfying. We are truly sisters. I'm just crazy about you. Jesus is everything, Beloved Ones. Let's follow hard after Him.

The Big Day!

I had to call my mom the minute I woke up this morning. Well, not quite that minute because I had a little one to tend to. But my first free minute (while I was pouring my tea and making toast from some rather stale bread). I knew she would answer with a smile on her face and with loads of energy because TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF BIBLE STUDY! And THIS IS WHAT WE DO! As a group, we are most fulfilled when we're serving a group of ladies on Tuesday nights who have trekked over to Houston's First Baptist Church to worship the Lord and learn His Word. LPM exists for this.

So if the Lord brings it to mind, please lift up Beth and our whole staff as we prepare for Bible study tonight. It is always a very exciting and busy day. Pray for Beth to have concentration, to hear from the Lord, to be filled with His power, and to teach in such a way that the body of Christ is built up. Please also remember Jennifer Hamm, our amazing Bible study coordinator. She will be a very busy girl today. Ask God to give her His energy, peace, wisdom, joy, insight, and endurance.
I hope to have a great report for you tomorrow!

Pretty Clever Staff

My staff's pretty funny, posting my second office, now aren't they??? IT'S TRUE! I ADMIT IT! I check to see if there are any ministry opportunities in the Starbucks near our office every single morning. Grin. And I might add, I never fail to be ministered unto. Never underestimate what God can do through a grande non-fat cappuccino. He leadeth me beside the Starbucks and my cup overflows.

Beth's Other Office

Raleigh Girls!

I heard from some of my "Raleigh Girls"! I am so excited! I so hoped you guys knew I would keep my word to you and not forget that I promised to see the study through on the Psalms of Ascent, as God so led, then dedicate it to you. I want you to know that I have never gotten over my time with you. If a dozen Living Proof Live events stick out in my mind when I am old and gray (scratch gray), that will undoubtedly be one of them. I tend to expect to sense the power of the Holy Spirit most intensely in more intimate surrounding (like the one I'll have in two weeks in Seattle. Pray to that glorious end!). God blew my mind in Raleigh. I could practically sense His Presence on top of our heads. I love Him so. All of you guys (not just my Raleigh girls) give me such joy and encouragement in Him. Let's keep cheering one another on in our race. Oh, to see Christ's beautiful face! Run like the wind for the Joy set before you!

Celebrating God's Faithfulness

Psalms of Ascent is finished! May God be praised! (See entry below.)

While I'm Waiting...

While I'm waiting on a scheduled call from my buddy, Louie Giglio, to do a post-Passion 07 podcast, I thought I'd drop you a line. Something very special happened today. Something my heart's really tender about. It's only happened to me 12 times in the last sixteen years so it's a big feeling every time. To God's stunning glory, I just finished writing a Bible study today. It's a six-week study on the Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120-134), the very specific things they meant to ancient Israelites and what they can mean to us. I cannot express how much I enjoyed the personal journey with God through all the research and writing. I have no idea how it will hit anyone else. I only know that I am marked.

God's Word continues to be my joy and delight and I know that He alone has fueled that fire. I'm actually not sure exactly when the study will be released. I think maybe next Christmas because LifeWay is going to release the updated and completely retaped version of A Woman's Heart: God's Dwelling Place first. (I think it comes out early this summer.) Whenever the study on the Psalms of Ascent is released, it will be dedicated to the women I call "the Raleigh Girls" who attended an event over a year ago in Raleigh, NC. That's where I first spoke on the subject matter and God used their excitement and feedback to stir a passion in me to formulate it into a six-week series. The sessions were all taped in the early Fall with a studio audience in Nashville and, as of today, the homework is complete. I want to say something as many times as it takes to as many people as will listen: God's grace is unfathomable. He has never chosen to redeem any life more covered in mud. As long as I live I will testify to His infinite mercies and to His Truth that sets the most hopeless captive free. He loves you so. You have not done too much or gone too far. Christ wooes you to a place of wholeness, one step at a time, and loves you with a heart that is one hundred per cent pure. He is like no one else you know.

Did Somebody Say Grandmother?

Did somebody say “grandmother”? Yep, I believe one of you opened a door a few days back that none of you may be able to shut. I’d like to point out that we’ve now had the official LPM blob this long and I haven’t yet indulged. But I’m about to. Today our darling Jackson turned eleven months old. We are on the countdown to his first birthday party. Nothing could have prepared me for the ecstatic joy and familial commotion this little guy has brought into our lives…AND the toys he’s brought into our closets. Every time I put something away, a button accidentally gets pushed on a toy and a silly song plays. We have a full size crib up in a bedroom and the same heirloom high chair for Jackson that his mommy occupied at her grandparents' house.

I knew I was going to be crazy about him. I just didn’t know he would move into my brain with the same force of Amanda and Melissa. I didn’t know I’d think about him as much as I think about them. I didn’t know I’d love him – yes, every single bit – as much as I have them. It is HUGE. And, no (not that you would ask but someone would), I don’t have to work him into my schedule and try to make time for him. He, like his mom and his Aunt Melissa, gets to play havoc with my schedule. (Case in point: the reason why I didn’t finish the Psalms of Ascent homework when I’d planned to is that I got to have Curt, Amanda, Jackson and Melissa for two weeks over the holidays and I wasn’t about to spend a moment of their time here writing. And God was glad.)

The morning they were leaving after we’d all been together for two weeks, I was trying to hide the tenderness in my heart at the thought of saying goodbye after getting a tad accustomed to seeing him every day. I so badly do not want to be obnoxious and emotionally manipulative with Amanda and Curt about their little guy. I want us all to have healthy relationships and appropriate boundaries and that means if I feel like crying over him, it needs to be after they leave and not before! A little while before we all went our separate directions, Amanda, Melissa, Jackson and I were in my bathroom where I was throwing on some mascara. Jackson crawled over to me, pulled up on my leg, and reached for me to pick him up. When (of course) I did, the little guy leaned forward, puckered his lips, and gave me a kiss right on the mouth! Totally without warning or solicitation! We didn’t even know he knew how to kiss like that. We all laughed and laughed. He and I had spent a lot of time together over those two weeks. I think he wanted to tell his granny that he loved her. Man, oh, man, does she love him, too.

Thanks to his sweet and generous parents, I get to see him every couple of weeks (and usually for a few days) and I talk to his mom about him at least twice a day. Curt and Amanda have invited both sets of Jackson’s grandparents to be intimate parts of his life. After all, it’s his heritage. Grandparents have been active parts of their grandchildren’s lives for generations on both sides of his family line. We are blessed beyond measure. Amanda keeps us up on every milestone and right now I get a report on something new almost every day. Jackson is learning so quickly that we can hardly keep up with him. While he was at my house over the holidays, he began squatting without holding onto anything and he’d look around at me to make sure I saw him. By the time Amanda got him home, he began free standing. Amanda told me that the first time he stood by himself for a whole minute, she was having a play-date with her buddies and their babies. He balanced himself on his plump little feet, looked around to make sure everyone was looking then clapped for himself. Before we know it, he’ll take a step. And his mommy will take a hundred. I’ve never had such a blast…and she’s never been so busy.

I love it when Grandma reads to me. She makes Goodnight Moon so exciting!


I've been very busy learning how to stand and play maracas.


I bury my face in my blanket when I'm exhausted from playing.


Me and Mommy


My bed head is new every morning.

The Wise Thing To Do

We're facing some icy conditions here in Texas at the moment. Extreme heat we can deal with, but ice is not our forte. Our spring semester of Bible study on the Book of Proverbs was to begin tomorrow, but we feel the wisest thing to do is to postpone it until next week. Beth will spend the week finishing the last four days of Psalms of Ascent. For our Houston girls, here's the email we sent out just in case it didn't get to you:

My Beloved Bible Study Sisters,

Because your lives and your safety are so valuable to us, we are convinced the only wise thing we can do with the weather forecast for Tuesday night is postpone the beginning of our January series one week. We will now launch our new series Wising Up, a topical study of the Book of Proverbs, on Tuesday evening, January 23rd. I was so looking forward to seeing you and studying God’s Word with you but I will have to wait one more week. The forecast shows a high probability of precipitation and a high temperature of only 32 degrees on Tuesday. Almost all of you reach the church via various freeway overpasses. I just can’t take the chance with your safety. Even if the weather lets up, the decision has to be irreversible because of all the personnel that must know in advance. Thank you for your understanding. I hope to see many of you on the 23rd! I’m really excited about this series! God’s Word is life and power, Sweet Sisters. Let’s keep our knees on the ground and our face in that Book. I’m crazy about you and so thankful to serve you.

In the everything Name of Jesus Christ,

Beth Moore

One last thing...Mom and I want so much for this blog to be a blessing and not become a source of frustration for those who are seeking specific answers to questions. We have a much better avenue through the Living Proof Web site's contact page. Thank you so much! Have a happy and blessed Monday!

That Dog'll Hunt

Good word, young lady! Now, that dog'll hunt! (Translation for those of you who don't speak Texanese: that lesson will teach!) You spoke to your own mama. As Amanda knows, I have a strained relationship with an extended family member that I want so much to get right. I want to feel loving toward this person. I could offer you several reasons and countless excuses why I haven't but none of them hold up before the command of Jesus to love even our enemies. I've been feeling discouraged about it because, like Amanda said, I believed the lie that it is too far gone. You might be intrigued to know this person doesn't even realize that I war with my soul to feel the right things toward him/her. It doesn't matter. God knows. And it's not too late.

Five Pounds

This week I uncovered a lie that Satan has been trying to feed me. The reason I want to share it is because I think it's a common one that he uses on women. It's simply that "You're too far-gone."

As you probably know by now, I had a baby last February. The Lord blessed me with the ability to lose the weight by last summer. I went to aerobics twice a week and did a lot of swinging, bouncing, and carrying my hefty little boy in my arms. I felt great. Then at the end of September my favorite step aerobics instructor left my gym and was replaced by someone else. I was really bummed and didn't want to go anymore. On top of that, Jackson began sitting up and crawling around that time and he didn't require as much swinging, bouncing, and carrying. I should also add that my husband and I are far from being healthy eaters. So by Christmas I had invited 5 pounds back into my life. It was not a welcome guest.

So I asked myself, "Do I fight for my figure or just accept that I'm going to be heavier now than before?" Well, I didn't want to accept it, but I felt so bad about it that I almost couldn't do anything. Except enjoy more french fries. I could sense the enemy trying to convince me that it was too late and I was too far-gone to get back in shape. Looking back now...are you kidding me? After 5 pounds? Yes, he was kidding me. And it was a cruel joke.

As soon as we got back home from our vacation, Curt and I bought some Lean Cuisine meals to resort to whenever we knew we weren't going to cook. McDonald's has always been our back up. We've only been home a week and I can already see a difference. (I know. We ate there a lot.) I went to my aerobics class twice this week and realized I didn't mind the new instructor that much. And I am not too far gone! And I can still do it! And it actually makes me feel really good - mentally and physically - to exercise! The flaming arrows are not sinking in anymore.

Ladies, Satan is such a liar. If he's telling you that you can't do something, that you're too far-gone, or that it's too late for you, please call him out on it. If we decide to stay in whatever shape or situation he wants us to remain in, will he let us be happy there? Absolutely not! He will shame us mercilessly.

What are your "five pounds"? Whether they are an addiction, a bad relationship, or 50 unwanted pounds, know that God has made us strong, smart, wise women with gumption and we do not have to take "You're too far-gone" from the father of lies. The Father of Victory and Power will equip us to get our lives back in order for His glory.

Your Comments

You guys are such a blast. Thanks for the fun shout-outs to that last entry. May Christ show up in a very unexpected and delightful way in your lives today. He is everything. YOU CAN TRUST HIM. Love you!

Interaction

I've got to tell you guys something. God has done an amazing thing through this ridiculous blob. (please see story below) He is blessing me with CONNECTION! You have no idea how huge this is. My biggest battle with the growth of the ministry in the last five years has been the isolation it caused. Many of the events grew too large to even make eye contact with numbers of people in the audience and I certainly could no longer hang around afterwards and hug people's necks like I used to. My prayer is that God is greatly glorified by more and more women seeking Him through His Word. I want His goals reached. Not mine. At the same time, I am a dyed-in-the-wool people person and the growth left a vacuum. My worst nightmare is to lose touch with real people with real lives and real stories and a VERY REAL GOD. They incite a Spirit-riot in me that I love and NEED. Many of the letters that come in our official correspondence here at the ministry are too long for me to get to handle and my precious, capable staff has to help me but I can handle these one-paragraph-long notes of yours. (Let's try to keep them fairly concise so I can keep up! Please!) I can also respond generally instead of writing each one back. These entries only take me a few minutes so I can still tend to what God has called me to do. Meanwhile, this little form of interaction back and forth has come as the most amazing, unexpected gift. Amanda, I cannot thank you enough for giving me the courage to do this by promising you'd do it with me so I wouldn't feel overwhelmed. I am so filled with joy, I could dance. Thanks, partner.

Sunny and Simulcasts

You guys are so wonderful. I could not believe how sweetly you responded to my worries about Sunny. Even those of you who weren't dog freaks! Now, that's true sisterhood! No doubt due to your prayers (I actually didn't have the guts to outright ask for them), that little dickens rallied a tad. (God probably responded most to the prayers of the sister who said she had never prayed for a dog before. You guys have no idea the kinds of things we're asked to pray about at LPM. And we do, grinning ear to ear at times.) Sunny smiled so much yesterday and today that she nearly looked like a cartoon character. Then, when I threw on my walking shoes this morning, she danced around to show me she wanted to go. The vet won't let us take her on our three mile walks anymore because of her arthritis so I took her on a pseudo-walk for only about five minutes. The weather was so beautiful in Houston today that I also stayed home to write from my back porch so you can imagine she was in dog-heaven. Beanie, our birddog, came home today with Keith after both of them had been at the hunting lease for a week. Our young girl always helps bring our old girl back to life. Honestly, Sisters, I wasn't just overreacting. Sunny has been so lethargic and out of character that I thought I was going to find her lifeless every time I looked for her. I think maybe she's back for a while. I'll keep you posted (if you can handle it.) Thanks for humoring me with my dog loves.

And about the simulcast in February, I am so thrilled to hear from some of you who are going to participate! I do not take lightly the opportunity to serve you. Amanda helped me decide on Green Acres Baptist in Tyler, Texas for the location. We had a list of big cities the publisher had given us to choose from with all these familiar big-name churches (many of which I love dearly). Amanda and I scrolled down the list where we found some of the smaller locations, and she said, "How can we resist Tyler, Texas?" And I said, "We can't." Anyway, let me tell you something, Sisters. Towns like Tyler, Conroe, Eagle Lake, Wharton, and Victoria supported this ministry with invitations for all manner of luncheon and banquet for a mighty long time when nobody else could stand to hear such a thick accent. It's only fitting that God would sustain a very soft spot in my heart for Texas towns and tug me back to my roots. This is where I started and I have little doubt this is where I'll finish out. No matter where you call home, however, I am looking so forward to serving any of you at the simulcast. Travis Cottrell, our dear friend and co-laborer in the Gospel, will lead the music so you will undoubtedly be blessed by him. That's enough for now! I am enjoying our blog relationship! (Which reminds me, one of our LPM staff members responded to something funny that happened the other day by saying, "Beth, you need to put that on our blob!" As serious as a heart attack. We died. Suffice it to say, this mode of communication is new to some of us.)

Simulcast

I'm so happy that my mom has outnumbered me in posts! She's really getting into blogging!

Here are some pictures from Passion '07. These are from Sarah K., who is a student at the University of Arkansas, a member of the yellow community group, and a lover of Jesus! Thanks, Sarah!

My Best Buddy

I am so worried right now. My beloved Sunny, the mixed-breed dog that showed up on my porch many years ago and became my shadow and my best friend, is not doing well. She is fifteen years old now, has failing hearing and some failing sight, and arthritis in her back legs. We've had her to the vet a number of times and we're doing all we can to make her comfortable and to extend her days. Of course, like all creatures, the course of her days is in her Creator's hands. I just know He loves this little furry servant He sent to us years ago when I was so lonely I didn't know what to do.

She has been indescribable company to me while my lively home has grown quieter and quieter with each sparrow that has flown from the nest. Sunny, whose coal black fur is now salt and pepper gray, is getting very old and I'll be honest with you. I can hardly stand the thought of not having her. (I can hardly see through my tears to write.) She is so attached to me right now that if I walk out the front door or even leave the room and she awakens from a nap and doesn't see me, she hops up and cries, looking around frantically. Many years ago, some of the neighbor boys used to make fun of her because she's such a mutt. They'd mock, "What kind of dog is she anyway?" And one of our kids would always answer, "A guard dog!" And that she is. She's been what Keith and I always call our "trusty dog." When I wake up, she's right on the floor next to my side of the bed. When I come home in the afternoon, she's waiting on the front porch. When I'm out of town, Keith has to pick her up and carry her in the house because she doesn't want to go in until I'm home.

I know that so many people have far worse pain and far more debilitating troubles. I prayed for a number of them in my prayer time a little while ago. But the prospect of losing a pet that has been such a fixture in the family for so long is still painful in its own right. This morning I let her out in the front yard to roam a bit like she likes and, refreshingly, I watched her prance around almost youthfully. As is her usual routine, she then headed down toward the end of the street to visit her dog friends. A funny thought occurred to me as I watched her make a bee-line their direction. Sunny is probably going to say all these same things to her dog buddies about me.

Sunny and Beth in 1998


Sunny being her most patient self as baby Jackson plays with her fur

Back to Work

Hey, my sweet sisters! I've just hit my desk after two and a half weeks away from the office. Our holidays were extended so Keith, Melissa, Amanda, Curt, Jackson, and I could participate in Passion '07, a huge, life changing event for college students that was held in Atlanta, Georgia. 23,000 college kids from every state in the U.S. and at least ten other nations hit the city on New Year's Day and sought God, worshipped their hearts out, and poured over Scripture from early morning until late at night until the afternoon of January 4th. The entire family was involved in one way or another. Curt, my favorite young preacher, has been a community leader at the event for several years and Amanda and Melissa help me in a number of ways. Among other things, this year they participated in a question and answer session I got to do with the college girls in several breakout sessions. They sifted through a large number of questions then asked them from the platform and helped me answer a few. It was a blast to work beside them in that capacity. Jackson provided non-stop entertainment to everyone he encountered. He flirted with everyone he saw and adored anyone who would let him chew on their cell phones. (Mainly me. His mother is picky about whose cell phone he is allowed to gnaw.) Keith was all over the place lending a hand wherever he was needed. I was so glad he was there. He's one of those who thinks an ounce of pretention is worth a pound of cow manure so he keeps everybody honest.

Louie and Shelley Giglio, founders of Choice Ministies as well as Passion Conferences, are personal friends of ours and we've been watching this movement swell into a tidal wave since our first participation in 1998. For those of us who have done the conferences together for years, we also enjoy a family reunion. We get to meet back up with friends like Chris Tomlin and his band members, all of whom we dearly love and I actively mother whenever I feel the need. We also look so forward to getting to see what God is doing in the UK based on Matt Redmon's annual update to us. We are crazy about Charlie Hall (as a person and not just a worship leader) and who wouldn't be nuts about David Crowder? (His parents are some of the most wonderful people you've ever met.) If you've never had the occasion to meet any of those worship leaders personally, you'd be so pleased to see their personal integrity and warmth and the blatant reality of their own pursuits of Christ. I can tell you one thing about Louie and Shelley. They don't think much of fakes or of personalities just looking for a platform. Big egos are big no-nos. You would approve of the humility practiced there by people who the world would welcome to be completely full of themselves. They are each the real thing. As my husband Keith says, Texans can smell a varmint from a mile away.

Dr. John Piper brought a message that I don't think I'll ever forget on not letting guilt destroy your God-given dream of engaging in what God is doing in your generation. (I think most of the sessions are available by podcast and some by webcast on the official Passion website.) I got to hear Francis Chan for the first time. He is a fabulous communicator who pastors a thriving church in California with multiple plants elsewhere. He called students to not just love the Word of God because of the human instrument delivering it but to love God's words because they are HIS. I could have "Amened!" myself off the balcony. What God did among the students, however, was the unparalleled highlight. They brought such sincere heart-worship to the throne of God and studied the Word tirelessly in multiple sessions. Their unashamed proclamations of Jesus Christ reverberated throughout Atlanta. They gave titanic offerings...to see Bibles translated for the very first time in the languages of two people groups...to see a number of world mission organizations thrive...to lend relief in some areas of tremendous need. They also committed to the hard work of intercession for various missions for the next year. Refreshingly, their sacrifices came as a response to opportunity and not pressure. Literally thousands surrendered to be available to God to go to any nation at any time upon His call. It was stunning. I won't usually write this profusely on the blog but my heart was so full because of all I've seen that I couldn't hold it in. With such dismal things on the world horizon, I saw the God of Hope in spectacular glory this week. As surely as Scripture has promised, depravity of man and persecution of Christians will increase as the day of Christ draws near but it also promised that glorious things will happen through the outpouring of His Spirit in the last days. I marveled over what might happen throughout the nations in the name of Christ over the next decade because 23,000 college students gathered in the State of Georgia this week. I wanted to share the experience with you in hopes that somehow you could get a little glimpse, too. You and I inhabit Planet Earth at a time when God is in the process of fulfilling monumental Bible prophecies. Lord, give us eyes to see! "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." Matthew 24:14. Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!