You Brighten My Day

You Darling Things, I am chasing my tail right now and overwhelmed about a number of things. Feeling down over our sister from the Bossier City event that still hasn't surfaced and, as long as I keep it healthy, I think that's appropriate. My heart aches and breaks just like I know yours does. I've got a lot of concerns for hurting loved ones right now and someone dear to the ministry, a college student at that, has recently learned that her cancer has returned with gusto. Man, life is hard. But in the middle of it, God blesses us with His glorious Ever-Presence in our time of tribulation and, to top it off, He gives us one another and lets us brighten up some cloudy days. I got on the blog a few minutes ago and read your comments to Amanda's entry on critical moments. I got so tickled that I nearly called up the Grande Non-Fat Cappuccino I had right after lunch. You are so funny. Delightful. No kidding. A few minutes earlier, I wanted to stop what I was doing, lay my head down on my desk and cry HARD. As God would so lead, instead, I clicked open the blog, read what you had written, and laughed my head off. I could quote from 25 of them but how about little Sarah Jane noting that one of mom's friends had gained a few pounds and asking, "Mom, do you ever think your bottom will be that big?" Do you just LOVE younguns'? The little dickens are humbling, aren't they? I make it a point to surround myself with a whole mess of them.

Hey, you know what just occurred to me? I am teaching on parenting out of the Book of Proverbs in a few weeks on a Tuesday night. It would be fun to hear from some of you regarding ONE of the most hilarious or profound things your child has ever said or done. Remember to keep it brief so I can read all of them! Oh, this is going to be a blast!!!

I love you, Sistas. You brought some pure-dee Sonshine to a cloudy day.

Concerns for a missing sister

I cannot think of a good way to begin this post so I'll just jump right in. Last weekend one of the conference attendees in Shreveport disappeared during the last session. Beth was contacted within a few hours and, as you can imagine, was devastated. She has been in touch with those who are close to the situation every day. I have heard from many of you who are concerned that we might not know about the disappearance of this sister because we have not mentioned it publicly. Since it appeared early on that there was most likely no foul play involved, we desired to protect the dignity of this family as much as possible. I know many of you have already been in prayer for this sister. Please continue to ask God for the complete restoration of this family. This post is for information and intercession rather than discussion, so I am going to keep comments closed. Here is a link to the most recent Shreveport Times article I could find.

Here is Beth's response to a respectful request from one of the news networks for a press release:
"I am tremendously concerned about Mary Byrne Smith and her family. We have never had anything like this happen before at an event but, even if we had, I can't imagine we'd be any less moved. I care deeply about the women who attend the conferences, about their families and the challenges they may be facing. Mary and her family have been on my mind constantly since I learned about her disappearance. I have spoken to and prayed with her husband by phone and have been in touch daily with others close to the situation in order to be of any possible help. I would ask all who have learned of Mary's disappearance to join us in earnest prayer that God will restore her to her family and community."

The Critical Moment

There is a twinkle in time that the Moore girls like to call the critical moment. The critical moment occurs in the seconds between getting your hair exactly how you want it and then sealing it with hairspray. The Moore world stops spinning during the critical moment. Those present must not speak loudly, make requests, or get in the way while the process is happening. Those not present must not, Lord help them, interrupt the moment with a phone call. Melissa and I know that Mom is not Mom during the critical moment. But she will be right back...with great hair.

Since I largely stopped using hairspray (gasp!) a few years ago, I've ceased experiencing the critical moment. However, the Lord saw what was lacking in my life and provided a new critical moment. This takes place each morning during my son's bath time. I start running the water and then take him to the changing table to get him ready for his bath. Here's the critical moment: I rush with my naked (or nekked, if you prefer) baby to the bathtub and try to get him in there before the cool air on his bare skin causes the tinkle effect. But this morning I got the bath water too hot and missed the critical moment. Baby was on my left hip, my right hand was trying to mix the cold water in as fast as possible, and I felt the unfortunate sensation of my waist being sprinkled with tee. So I guess you could call that a tinkle in time.

Husbands Survey Complete

A huge thank you is in order to all the husbands who participated in last week's survey. We appreciate you so much! Also, thank you to the women who helped us spread the news. Our survey is now complete. I will be closing comments on the survey thread and removing the blog email address. Beth will give a report on the blog in about 3 weeks. Thank you again!

The night Jackson and I both wore bibs

In honor of our Louisiana sisters:

One night when I was in Houston a couple of weeks ago, I pulled up in my parents' driveway and beheld a wonderful smell. As I got out of the car the aroma of crawfish boil spices filled the air and cleared my sinuses. The neighbors across the street were having a party in their driveway. It was all I could do not to walk over there and crash the party. But I had just been to a wedding and I was wearing a new black dress and my dressy coat from Arden B. And Mom had gotten my hair just so. It was not the right time. I was dressed more for lobster at Pappa's steak house.

But last night was the night for crawfish at Pappadeaux. I dressed in a black t-shirt and pulled my hair back just so. I was ready - more ready than I'd ever been with a pack of diaper wipes waiting to be of service. Our friends Justin and Jennifer met us there. They are possibly the biggest crawfish lovers this side of Louisiana. I called them as soon as I left Houston and pleaded for them to feed me some mudbugs...and soon. My husband is allergic to shellfish, so I can't go to him for my crawfish needs.

We had a great time fellowshipping over the crawdaddies. I think it is less of a meal and more of an event, which is probably why I like it. They really are kind of nasty, or rude as my dad says, little creatures. But the seasoning makes it so good!







Jackson did not partake of the crawfish, but he did get to hold one briefly.


I raise my crawdad in honor of the Louisiana ladies!

Recap Video

Here's the LPL - Bossier City recap video on GodTube

Here it is on YouTube.

When I was watching it I looked over and saw Jackson "dancing." He really likes that song. Many thanks again to Rich. Enjoy!

Living Proof Live - Bossier City, LA

Good morning, ladies! I should have some pictures or a video slide show for you in the next couple of days. In the meantime, I thought I would give our Louisiana ladies a place to tell us about the weekend's conference. My mom said she fell in love with you instantly. She also told me that God was with you all from the first minute until the last. We are giving wild applause to Him for the twenty-five women who made professions of faith. God is so good! Have a blessed Monday, everyone.

Way to Go, Everybody!

You are the best! You Sistas came through and got your guys to respond to the survey and you guys jumped in and gave me some of the most insightful answers and thought provoking statements I could have imagined. I cannot express how grateful I am. I've only just begun to really pour over the surveys and I can already tell that God is going to teach me volumes. I'll still leave the survey open for responses until probably the first of the week but I wanted to go ahead and brag on all of you. I've often thought of taking surveys on the internet and your response has caused me to think it might really work. May God release a blessing in your own marriage because you've invested in others.

I'm off to minister to an arena full of wonderful sisters in Louisiana and hopefully to see the Lord Jesus reveal Himself. Please pray for a mighty outpouring of God's unmistakable Spirit and for His Son to sweep every person off her feet. Including me. Sistas, you are so dear to me! Stay in the Word and I'll touch base with you soon.

Calling All Husbands!

*Update* We have completed the survey. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Hey, Sisters! I need you to help me engage a number of husbands (yours, some of your friends') for a survey I'd like to take. Over the next two Tuesday nights in our Houston Bible study, I will be teaching out of the Book of Proverbs on marriage and being wives. Through the years I've gained much unsolicited insight from the husbands I've heard from along the way so this time I'm asking for very focused input as I prepare for these two nights of study. The men who complete the survey do not necessarily have to be Christians since God calls us to be faithful wives to our husbands whether or not they share our faith. The only qualification is that each participant is a husband willing to answer some questions honestly and respectfully. In order to answer one of the questions sincerely, if he needs to tell me something that falls into a more intimate category, all I ask is that it be worded decently.

This part is really important: THESE SURVEYS WILL NOT EVER BE PUBLISHED AND ANY PARTICIPANT IDENTIFICATION WILL BE KEPT STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL. I give you my word on that. Only Amanda and I will view the surveys. I will, however, share the overall results and the insights I gained and will no doubt share some of the quotes (anonymously, of course). I will also report on some things I learned here on the blog since I'm enlisting my Sistas to help me round up participants. (I'm grinning over how I already know it's going to drive you crazy not to see their answers. It would me, too!)

I wish this would go without saying but you never know who is out there: WOMEN, you are on the honor code NOT to fill out a survey. I don't want to hear what women would say if they were husbands. I'm laughing at my own self. Remember, this is for HUSBANDS ONLY.

Gentlemen, here are the 7 questions. Please answer honestly and succinctly so I can study each one. Thanks so much, guys! I have no doubt you will enrich these teachings profoundly.

1. How long have you been married?

2. Accepting that no marriage is perfect, would you say that, generally speaking, you are happily married?

3. Would your answer to the previous question surprise your wife?

4. What do you wish your wife knew about you but you are afraid to tell her?

5. What is the best part of having her as a wife?

6. What do you wish she'd do differently?

7. What ONE THING do you wish I'd share with wives from a husbands' point of view?

Deeper Still

Q&A with Priscilla Shirer, Kay Arthur, and Beth


Closing out in praise

On the other end of the leash...

...was a very bad dog named Beckham Jones. We'd had one fiasco after another just trying to get to the park, including him getting out of his collar while I was being a good neighbor (picking up his business from someone's yard). Then he took off after two squirrels and I went airborne before skiing behind him through some wet grass. When we finally got to the swing set, all the children in the park squealed in unison and came RUNNING over to visit with him. They were sitting all around him, which is why I didn't have many pictures of Beckham to choose from for the blog. Here you have it - the Vice President of the Bad Club. Beanie is the President Emeritus.

Super Granny

Specializing in nap management and creative dressing solutions. Additional services include hair styling, preoccupying Baby in the car, allowing Mom to eat her meal while it is still hot, changing atomic diapers, teaching Baby new tricks, and being the human swing. References available.

Pebbles for Granny.


Pebbles in the air.


Pebbles everywhere.

Rodeos and Babysitting Lil Partna

Hey, You Darlin' Things! So sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you! I got in from Israel just in time to love on Melissa for 48 hours then hop on a plane and head to San Francisco. Then I got back, loved on Melissa 24 short hours before she jumped on a plane and headed back to Chicago. THEN, I studied all day Monday and Tuesday and taught Bible study last night. WHEW!!!! Like most of yours, my life is crazy but not usually that crazy. This morning was the first morning I've felt vaguely normal and time-adjusted in two solid weeks. Anyway, enough of the boring excuses.

I don't know how long I'll get to write because I am babysitting Little Mister Jones. He's finishing up his afternoon nap while his mommy is on her way to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo to see Rascal Flatts with three buddies from our home church. (Keith and I get to have Amanda and Jackson all week because our dear Curt is ministering with a team from their church in Honduras.) Amanda looked so cute and youthful when she scurried out that door in her cowboy hat, jeans, and boots. If she'd only had a horse tied up to the rail on the porch, the scene would have been perfect. BUT, if she had to take wheels, at least it was a Suburban instead of some foreign model. That would be a sacrilege in a rodeo parking lot. The sight of Amanda heading to the rodeo pushed the rewind button on my brain to a time when she, a young adolescent, and her handsome, rugged Dad and Granddad did the 2-day trail ride on horse back. (At her insistence. Not theirs.) After riding themselves bow-legged, they made their coveted destination on downtown Main Street with all the other trail riders to take part in the big parade leading up to the most celebrated annual event in Houston. Such fun memories. Till his mommy gets home late tonight, Lil Partna will just be "riding little horsey down to town, whoops little horsey, don't fall down" on Gran-Bee's knees. (No, he hasn't started calling me anything yet. Believe me, you'll know when it happens.)

I haven't forgotten that you want to hear some things about the Israel trip and rightly you should! You put in some serious prayer! I just haven't had the moments of concentration I need to write it. I'll tell you one thing now if Lil Partna will let me. We had a few minutes off while we were in the Old City in Jerusalem and I asked the team if I could have a little while to pray at the Wall. Of course, I could only go to the women's side, well partitioned from the official side where numbers of Orthodox Jewish men prayed. Dressed in black coats, slacks, and hats with ringlets dangling in front of their ears, they rocked rhythmically and reverently, reciting their prayers. The sight is always very moving to me somehow. After preparing my heart for a few minutes, I stepped up between several other praying women and pressed my forehead against the cold stone. As I called out to God, I realized it had been exactly seven years since the last time I prayed at that Wailing Wall. In those few minutes, I recalled the searing pain that pierced my heart those years ago and how I cried out for healing. Fast forward seven years, I marveled over how God had heard my cries and restored my shattered soul. Life has never gotten easy - and much of the time it's dang hard - but I realized my heart had received restoration I really didn't think was possible. I thought I'd hurt just like that for the rest of my life. Other hurts will come. But Christ will also come...with healing in His wings. You don't have to go to Israel to find a Wailing Wall. Any place will do. Just cry out to Jesus.

I am now typing with one hand. Lil Partna's up. Got some grannying to do!


We felt it was right fittin' to take this photo in front of Pa's prize buck.

San Francisco

Recently I talked about one of those times when it's hard being Beth Moore's daughter. But 99.9% of the time it is a huge blessing. For example, I have literally been all over the world with my mom because of this ministry. Last weekend Jackson and I got to go with her to San Francisco for the Deeper Still conference. San Francisco is the most beautiful city I've ever laid eyes on. My spirit was in perpetual praise the entire 36 hours because everywhere I looked the glory of God was shouting out at me. From the blue sky to the green mountains, the beautiful architecture to the sparkling ocean, it was magnificent.

Jackson and I did not get to spend much time at the conference because let's face it, a twelve-month-old is not going to sit there while Priscilla Shirer, Kay Arthur, and his grandma bring it for an hour and a half or more. But from what I heard, they brought it and most importantly, the Lord brought Himself. My mom couldn't say enough about how much she loved getting to partner with Priscilla and Kay. They each taught on a different season in the life of David. Kay really bragged on the ladies at the end because they had been so willing to forgo doing the light thing and instead dive into some serious Bible study. The last session was a Q&A with the three speakers. Travis Cottrell pushed my little guy around in the stroller so I could listen. They got to lighten up quite a bit during that session. There was, of course, a lengthy discussion on lipstick. My favorite moment was when Kay said it was a sin. A sin not to wear lipstick.

San Francisco girls, we'd love to hear from you!


Golden Gate Bridge


Jackson and our friend Amy underneath the bridge


Jackson waving at the surfers


Some very sophisticated art


Lombard Street


At the Japanese Tea Garden

The Sacred Recipe

NANNY’S CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

Gently boil five large chicken breasts with the skin on until cooked. Season the water lightly with salt and pepper. A bay leaf added to the water gives an even better flavor. Turn off the heat, remove the chicken breasts to cool but leave the broth in the pan. Draw out a cup of broth (making sure you get plenty of the fat in it for tender dumplings). After the cup of broth cools to lukewarm, pour it in a large mixing bowl and add three large eggs to it. Salt and pepper the mixture and then begin adding flour to it until it starts to get manageable. The consistency of the dumplings dough should be like bread dough: tender but neither sticky nor dry.

Bring the broth back to a gentle rolling boil. Roll out handfuls of dough to about a fourth inch thickness. Cut in strips of an inch or so wide and three or four inches long. Drop in boiling broth and stir gently to keep them from sticking on the bottom.

When all the dumplings are in the broth and cooked (only takes a few minutes), add one can of cream of chicken soup and about 1/4 can of cream of celery soup. Much of your salt will come from the soups so please don’t over salt your broth. Add pepper to taste.

Remove skin from cooling chicken, cut into chunks and add to the broth and dumplings. Stir and cook only a few more minutes. Overcooking will disintegrate the dumplings!

Serve and enjoy.

Shalom!

Shalom, My Sistas!! To the great glory of our God and in answer to your profuse prayers, my man and I pulled up to the house a little after midnight last night after about 24 (virtually sleepless!) hours (total travel time) home. Melissa was standing at our front door, smiling ear to ear, throwing arms around us, and the dogs were jumping wildly and spinning around the yard. Keith fell in the bed immediately but I stayed up and threw clothes in the washer. Then, after a few hours of sleep, my eyes cracked open and I could tell the sun was up. Only a woman can fully understand this but I had to get up and be with my house and my yard. (And, of course, the Lord Jesus, who I'd also been with much of the way home.) It was a gorgeous morning and my birdfeeders needed filling. I know my bird-friends have wondered what on earth has happened to me. I should have left Melissa some instructions for bird feeding but I felt that she might go over the edge if I added it to the three typed (single spaced) pages on dog care. I am absolutely delirious (which in Moore terminology also means stinking hilarious) and I laughed so hard with Amanda on the phone this morning that I nearly threw my back out. I said, "My birds have missed me so much..." and she interrupted me with, "that they want to nest in your hair?" (Laughing again)

I have so much to tell you but I am jet lagged beyond intelligible words and, also, Melissa is sitting across from me, hasn't seen me, and isn't in the mood to share her mother's attention. God was SO WITH US and I know so much of that was in answer to your prayers. I've been all over Jerusalem in the past 5 days for Psalms of Ascent and in research for Esther. My throat is sore from practicing my Hebrew. Those gutturals are heck. Imagine them with my southern accent.

I love you, love you, love you, love you. And thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. And I am so in love with Jesus right now. If there was anything I'd ever want you to pray for me, that, my Darling Ones, is IT. I'll write you more soon but I wanted to let you know I'm home and deliriously sleepy and happy.

Almost Home

Y'all, the eagle has almost landed. They made it onto their connecting flight from Newark. Praise the Lord.

I'm about to do some laundry (fun!) and watch One Night With the King. It's a new movie about Esther. Maybe it can hold us over until the study comes out. I've heard it's great!

On the Way Home

My parents will be at the airport in a few hours and start the journey home. Yay! After a layover at Newark Airport they will arrive in Houston around 10:30 Tuesday night. My dad will be very happy to be back in Texas. He doesn't like to be gone from his roots very long. He actually called me today because "My Papa Was a Rolling Stone" was being played in the streets during the festival. That's one of our songs. I'm not sure why, other than that he used to sing it a lot when I was growing up. And also "You Can't Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd." He always has a strange song in his head. I don't really have a good grasp of what has been going on for the last two days, so we'll have to wait and hear it from Bethie. It's a good thing I'll be with her in person next week because I have to wade through tons of questions about Jackson before I ever extract one story from her! These things take time!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for praying. May God bless you and your precious families for interceding for my parents and the film crew. And for all of you who woke up to pray in the middle of the night, I really wish I could take you to Starbucks and get you a good caffeinated drink.

Give it Up for the Pregnant Lady

All this talk of chicken and dumplings is reminding me of a not-so-shining moment I had while pregnant. I say "This is my favorite thing my mom makes," about several different things, but this is the real deal. I mean it this time! It fills not only my stomach but also my love tank. (Any fans of The 5 Love Languages?)

So we were in the mountains for Thanksgiving '05. It was perfect weather for "C's and D's" and my parents were cooking up a storm. Mind you, I was like 7 months pregnant and had been smelling the aroma of the soup cooking for a long time before it was ready. I was anticipating having several bowls of it. You know, I only get it once or twice a year, so I have to make the most of my chance. Then my mom gets a phone call and says we have some guests coming over and they may be staying for dinner. What?!?! Her exact words were, "You can each have a mug full." That's not what I wanted to hear.

So I looked in the cabinet and found the biggest mug of all time. For you Sonic fans, it was the Route 44 of all mugs. It could probably hold 3 cups of soup. And I filled it to the brim. I had to walk very carefully to keep it from spilling over. I was that selfish. And the worst part was I didn't feel bad about it at all. I thought someone else, maybe a couple of someone elses, should give up their portion for the poor pregnant lady who spends all year looking forward to this one meal. I totally got caught on my way to the table. Everyone shouted in unison, "That's not a mug!" I should have just gone down to the basement and eaten it in secret. But that would have signaled that I had a problem. So mom made me pour a third of it back into the pot. And even then I had twice as much as everyone else. I promise I was not bitter at all.

We didn't end up having to share the soup. In the end, the pregnant lady got her fill. But she will never live that one down.

*Update: I do not have the recipe but I might be able to post it when I'm home with my parents next week.

Saying Goodbye to Winter

Did someone say chicken and dumplings? Don't make me have a craving for my favorite winter food! Well, spring is going to be here any minute. At least in Texas. My oak trees are already budding and we've had the AC on for the greater part of the last two weeks. Although now it's back to being cold again. Last week I decided to make my other favorite winter food one last time before winter is gone for good. If you don't have a recipe for Winter White Chili, this is a good one.

What do you like to make when it's cold? Feel free to post your recipes. Don't forget to save them in Word before you submit your comment!

Uncle Wayne's Winter White Chili
1 tablespoon of oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of cumin
3 chicken breasts, boned, skinned and cut into bite size pieces (already cooked)
2 cans of white beans (about 14 oz. each)
1 can of white corn (about 12 oz.)
1 can of cream corn (white, if possible, about 12 oz.)
1 can of chopped mild green chiles (4 oz.)
2 cups of chicken stock
1 tablespoon of died oregano
1 tablespoon of chili powder
1 can of redi-cut tomatoes (15 oz.)
3 or 4 tablespoons of mild salsa verde (or to taste)

Optional garnishes:
Sour cream, chopped cilantro, shredded cheddar (smoked cheddar’s great) or jack cheese, tortillas or tortilla chips

Cook onion, garlic, and cumin in hot oil in a dutch oven, uncovered over medium heat. When onion and garlic are tender, stir in chicken. Then add the whole list of other ingredients down through salsa verde, and stir to blend. Cover and cook over low heat until flavors blend, about 30 minutes. Put the garnishes on the table and let everybody dig in.

Day Three

Mom sounded great when I talked to her today. I think they are well adjusted to the time change and have caught up on their sleep. She said they are all much more energized. They officially finished Psalms of Ascent and will begin Esther in the morning (which is about 1 hour from right now). She said God has been doing all sorts of neat things and going out of His way to say, "I love y'all. Keep it up!" On day three they filmed out in the wilderness, which my mom said was a really cool experience. She imagined David on the run, Jesus being tempted, and all the things that pilgrims on the road to Jerusalem would have experienced there. They filmed on the Mount of Olives that evening and the Lord painted a fabulous sunset for them. My mom gets to jazzed about sunsets, so it was not wasted on her!

I'll go ahead and talk a little about the comments in this post. As some of you mentioned, definitely look for it to say, "Your comment has been saved and will be visible after blog owner approval." Let me know if you're seeing that and your comments still aren't showing up. I'm sorry y'all are having to enter the code multiple times. I know it's a pain. It would be so nice not to have to use that and comment moderation. But the alternative is very explicit spam (which we used to deal with on our guest book before we implemented the code) and other tackiness. But please don't be paranoid about me thinking your comment is tacky. What I meant was if you leave a comment that says something ugly about my mom I will have great joy deleting it into oblivion. Was that tacky? Y'all know how it is with family. If you do have something to say that a daughter might not want to read, you can send it through the LPM contact page. Thanks so much!

This is random, but we invited the whole Saturday service crowd to dinner at Fuddrucker's tonight. We were all crammed into a long table in the back room. There was a family we didn't know sitting right behind us. Then a guy who has been visiting our church for the last couple of months came to join us. Seeing that there were no seats left, he took the chair next to the dad behind us, turned it around and sat next to him. You should have seen the look on the dad's face! Curt said, "Dude, we don't know them. They're not with us." Bless his heart! Would you not have just died?

Some Blog Business

I need to do a little survey if that's okay. Please use this post to tell me if you have been leaving comments that never show up. I approve 99.9% of the comments, so if you're having trouble with it, it's got to be something else. Unless you said something tacky. And I'm sure you didn't.

Day Two

Ladies, the Lord is answering your prayers! Day two was a success. They were able to film 5 out of 7 sets of intros and outros for Psalms of Ascent. It was huge that they were able to knock so much out. It will give them some breathing room in case something unexpected happens later. It was also important because the Sabbath began at sundown. Pretty much everything shuts down until it's over. When I went to Israel with my mom ten years ago, I saw that the elevators in the hotel stopped on every floor so that you wouldn't have to press a button and do work on the Sabbath. So yeah, the Sabbath is serious business.

Day three will be spent outside of Jerusalem where they will be able to get more done. They will start filming for Esther at the start of the the Feast of Purim (sunset March 3 - nightfall March 5). I didn't realize it, but they planned the trip for this exact time so they could be in Israel during this feast.

Their guide is actually an important and very well-loved person in the Israeli army. Mom said being in his company makes people think they are diplomats, which is very amusing to me. Do diplomats carry twelve pink lipsticks in their purses?

One cool answer to prayer is that my very claustrophobic dad did well when he had to go with the crew into some kind of ancient tunnel. When I was a kid he took me to the Sonora Caverns in West Texas and, bless his heart, he had to leave halfway through. So this was no small feat! You would not have known to pray for that, but the Holy Spirit did!

Mom asked me to tell you that she loves you very much and she thanks you for your intercession. It has been several hours since we spoke and I can't remember the exact words she used, but I think they included sweet, darlin, precious, and beloved. Know that you are loved!

By the way, there are 2,000 of you praying for this trip. What an army! What does God have in store that He enlisted so many people to pray?

Day One

I was so excited to get to talk to my mom today. Those of you who have been to Israel know that the security setup at Ben Gurion Airport is rather challenging after a long flight. My parents hadn't slept and sadly looked upon the long line they were going to have to wait in to have their bags searched. Then they noticed someone who was there to escort some lucky person out of the line into a private security area. The escort was holding a sign and before long they realized it said "Keith and Beth Moore." Want He more praise? They were thrilled, to say the least.

The slept briefly and then headed out for a day of work. I think they did more preparation than actual filming. They ran into several Bible study sisters who were on pilgrimage in Jerusalem. That was probably a lot of fun. When I talked to her she was getting ready to get a good night's sleep. They should be waking up about 10 p.m. our time to get ready for a day of filming. She does not have a female assistant with her to make sure she has every piece of her wardrobe, hairdo equipment, and other necessary things, so please pray that God causes her to remember to bring everything she needs without packing the whole hotel room. Maybe the anointing for that will fall upon my dad.

I wish I had more details for you, but we spent a lot of the time talking about the fact that today was Jackson's first day at Mother's Day Out! He's in a class with children who are a little older than him, so we were eager to discuss how he would do with them. I mean, they sit in little chairs to eat their lunch and they take naps on the floor! My baby has never done those things! But his teachers said he did great and was happy the whole time. There was a little note in his bag telling me what all he had done today. (Even what time he'd had a dirty diaper. That is thorough, people!) I was ridiculously proud and happy reading that he'd had a great day. That's going in the baby book for sure!