She Speaks ... Proverbs 31:25
Amazing Awesome Awestruck Austin Spring Break!!!
So why am I crying?
Just delivered my mono-sick college boy to his home under the Supermoon,
brought Britt back to Jester Dorm at the March-Madness winning University of Texas.
Total privilege to be Britt's Mama & "Minister of the Word" like Dr. Luke says in Luke 1:2,
"Minister" - it's a medical term meaning serving under a physician, The Great Physician!
Britt is my caboose and my freighted soul has folded my apron once again this week.
Why is this so hard to say goodbye this time?
Loved every spring break second of serving Britt who is oh-so-sick since November, and
Loved serving 99 college students my daughter Brooke brought down from UTA for a missions trip
to serve our city's children and homeless and underserved.
Helped cook 60 pounds of chicken and 110 pounds of beef and 10 pounds of brownies and 15 pounds of peach cobbler and ...
the loquacious calories and 99 liminal lives I loved have moved on.
What stirs so heavy my weighted wonderful looming lunar life?
~I long to finish well~
God has orchestrated a transition for us. It is so God!
We're between jobs, between insurance, between a place to live,
between friends, between churches, NO LONGER in between cancer...
"Detaching me from Dependence on anything that brings me joy other than Him," 66 Love Letters
Bob lost his church job and we cannot wait to find another ministry to serve!
But we wait on God, Psalm 27:13-14, not on any man.
And I ask myself, is there anything I want more than the Love of my Christ?
For the past three decades in a row, I've had a myriad of children tugging at my skirt and heart.
The moon is rising in my heart, raising four and many more to know Him and live alive!
Speaking and writing, though sporadic, overwhelmed me with such joy
while mothering and ministering and I'd love to go back to speaking again.
I loved every esoteric exigent ineffable chapter we just closed
and it's bothering me that's there are no re-runs.
O God, help me face this new opportunity to love my husband,
love my world with fearless courage (Phil 1:9 Moffat).
So what is the Beautiful God I so adore stirring inside of me?
This I know...
It's not what happens to us along the way
but what happens inside of us that matters for Eternity.
And it's a Beautiful God that is so stirring up Hope and Confidence in all the messes I've made.
C.S. Lewis once said: "No man knows how bad he is until he has tried very hard to be good."
I'm seeing more of the sin that resides in me, Rom 7:18, that I never ever dared dream was there,
and at the same time, seeing oh-so-much-more hope within that I never dreamed I could live in!
And I worship! And it's my fears that cause me to worship The Messiah of My Dreams.
And I want! To walk alongside others and offer hope and courage and dreams.
And I wonder! Do I really hate my sin more than my suffering?
So, that's why I'm entering this opportunity to win a Cecil Murphy Scholarship to attend the She Speaks Conference this summer. Renee Swope is the kind conduit of composing this Psalm 45:1 kind of offer: http://www.reneeswope.blogspot.com/
She Speaks, click http://shespeaksconference.com/, is a once-in-a-lifetime learning opportunity for writers, speakers, and ministry leaders.
Editors and industry professionals are close-up and personally available with advice and direction. If God is stirring words and wit and wisdom in your heart, this conference is the place to be in July. We all only have this moment, this life to leave a legacy, make a mark, reach out with redemptive rhetoric. If you've held tightly any thoughts of writing and speaking and ministering in leadership, then check out Lysa TerKeurst's blog http://lysaterkeurst.com/ and meet an amazing woman who is a "minister of the Word" (Luke 1:2).
Titus 1:1 says that we are all servants of the Word of God for the faith of His People and the Knowledge of the Truth that leads to changed lives! Mine and yours! I so want to finish well!
So what are these tears for?
When is the Last Time the ordained moon didn't rise? Psalm 8:3
When is the Last Time He refused to be good to you and to me? Jeremiah 33:20
My God is about to do something new. Isaiah 43:19
Would you pray that I find Him in these present sufferings. Romans 8:18
I so miss my kids under the dine of every shining moon!
15 comments:
Oh, how I am praying you win one of the scholarships,for you do have the gift to write and I bet you speak up a storm. He has gifted you and so many more can be blessed IF the word gets out about you. You have blessed my socks off with this post. Oh, how I see Him written all over you and in every word that you write. Change is hard and the older we get sometimes it's that much harder, He will see you "through" it....that is the operative word...through. You have come through the fire and I smell NO smoke on you, your clothes or your hair! He carried you through and He will keep carrying you through. He truly did supernaturally bring us together and I've never been the same since that first time I read a post of yours. May He meet you fully each day this coming week.
Jumping in to say to you Mary Lou that I am praying for you every day as you await some medical tests. Loved your Psalm 28:7 quote! You so honor Him! Never have seen your face but God's voice speaks loud through you. Meeting you through blogging has been one of the reasons that keeps me blogging. Love you so! Your blogging buddy forever! Bev
Goodness girl, I have watched you before and after your battle continuously glorify the Lord with your actions and words. You have blessed my heart by your direct down to earth style in your writing...and I love the passion that flows from your heart. I know you have a desire to finish strong...and if attending this conference is part of His will for your life...then I am going to go ahead and thank Him that this scholarship has your name on it.
We have already seen Him do incredible things in your life as you have leaned on Him...this would just be another sweet blessing.
I pray His will for your bold heart and life....I know that those women will be abundantly blessed by the contact with your life. :)
Love ya girl
Because of you my friend (not in-between friends...friends for life), I am better. I love better. I live better...and more than that, I love His Word and Jesus Himself more. Thank you, my friend. Thank you for your faithfulness in the midst of raging waters, your eyes are trained on The Christ.
Your words, Bev, are a gift to so many. Yes, I agree with Mary Lou and Holly--Women need to know about you and the amazing Lord who shines so sweetly through you. You bring Him so much glory.
The in-betweens and waitings are so filled with God, aren't they!
Thank the Lord that He is the One Thing that is an Always.
Love you so, Annette
Oh Bev! I just had to come by again and say THANK YOU!!! For "One Thousand Gifts!" You are so precious to me. Praying God continues to use you. Women need to hear what God has poured into you!!!
HOnored to call you Siesta!
Hugs and love,
steph.
I would love to see you win the "She Speaks" scholarship. I have been encouraged over the past 2 years every time I read one of your posts...Bev, God has given you the gift or writing and He has trusted you with a beautiful story to tell... You inspire me to love Jesus more.
Blessings,
Kim
Hi Bev! Even though it seems as if I only know you through your words, just like how the Word of God reveals God to us, I really feel like I get to know YOU. Thank you for being so honest and genuine and real. So transparent with grace, truth and love! I hope you can get the scholarship, sister in Christ!! :)
Hi, Bev!
I just wanted to stop by to encourage you to keep listening to the Holy Spirit. Your life Glorifies God and I admire your faithfulness no matter what comes your way. When I think about you I think about the song, "Bring The Rain" by MercyMe. You inspire me and I hope and pray it's God's Plan A for you to get the scholarship!
You teach me SO much every day and I'm honored to be your sister in Christ.
I love your passion and I love you!
Angie
Well, you just reduced me to a puddle of memorable tears Ang.
The Memory: As I was walking out of my apartment to my very first radiation treatment, a brand spanking new song for me "Bring The Rain" came on the radio.
"Bring me anything that brings You glory.
When this life brings me pain
If that's what it takes to praise You,
Jesus, bring the rain." MercyMe
It was as though God Himself spoke and ushered me through the 18-inch-thick door into that radiation room. No Idea how I would make it cause of my past and He so showed up! He is bigger than our pain!
Thanks Ang for sharing this...love you to pieces!
I absolutely LOVED hearing you at the women's retreat a few years back. You were/are so open and real. I immediately related to you and immediately wanted to be your friend! I hope you can speak at more events. I think you have so much to offer!!
So thankful for you and your friendship and love/zeal for God! Muah!!
I love how open you are to the Lord and how much you share what He's doing in your life. I'm praying that this conference opportunity becomes a reality for you this summer! Love you.
Beautiful Bev,
You continue to bless me since the very first blog I read when you were first diagnosed with cancer. Getting to know you on String of Pearls has blessed and encouraged me more than I have words to express. You are definitely a gifted writer. God has gifted you with such a love for His people and a deep knowledge of God's Goodness and Faithfulness in the Good Times as well as the most difficult Hard Times anyone can imagine. You have been so transparent I have been more than blessed and encouraged in my own Christian Walk.
Psalms 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. I pray this verse for you as I know even in the hard times you have and are delighting yourself in HIM. I am believing that God will allow you to Finish Well whatever that looks like. Personally, I pray you are awarded the scholarship since that is a desire from your heart. Most of all I know you desire God to receive the Glory and Honor in the Life He has given you to Live.
As I continue my list of 1000 Gifts I count getting to know you as Mama Pearl a tremendous Gift from God to me. Thank You.
This is a Song I must Sing. Sylvia
Bev, I am praying you get the scholarship. You are an amazing woman of God, a female John the Baptist, preparing the Way of the Lord.
I think it would be great if you could compile all your posts from the last two years of Pearl Strings into a book. It is amazing to follow your progress as you work through challenges, disapointment and JOY. God has sent you to us as a great blessing, an encourager and teacher.
The first 1000 of my thanks are for you.
Jan, aka JHpaintergirl
Beverly,
I wish that I lived in Austin, because I would be your everyday best friend. You have encouraged me so much this past year. My husband was involved in a lawsuit that caused us to lose every penny and put us in a great amount of debt. At the same time, while it was an honor, my dad lived with us as he went for chemo treatment for bladder cancer. It was difficult to watch. I also suffer from depression. I have been encouraged from your writings about how God is so good even in times of suffering. He is good. It is evident that he is not only your saviour, but your Lord. Yes I would love to be your best friend if I lived in Austin.
I'll be praying that your receive that scholarship and that your son will heal quickly.
In Him,
Dana
Post a Comment