Me and Beth

I don't want to brag or anything, but you know Beth Moore, that lady Bible teacher - well we go way back. She is a woman of deep theology, with witty sayings like, "....in Texas we believe the higher the hair, the closer to God." The first time I heard about Beth Moore was years ago at a Women of Faith conference. No she wasn't there. I was stuck in a line for-ev-er next to a very hyper woman that really really loved Beth Moore Bible studies. She went on and on - she had done this study, and she had done that study. Her enthusiasm verged on like, somebody should call Beth Moore - we may have a stalker here.
(Rabbit trail - the last time I had felt like that was when a friend who sold Tupperware took me with her to a management meeting. Geesh the things I've had to go through after being lured by donuts and coffee! Picture the environment - podium at the front, facing rows of seats - typical lecture environment, yet a hush fell over the room not unlike the environment at church. There were testimonies, chanting, a lot of standing up and sitting down. These women were way too excited over the plastic things and their capability to belch air. Freaky.)
The woman's rambling took me back to that meeting - I was waiting for the plastic bowl to be put on my head and for somebody to spin me around. She rambled on and on (bless her heart!) about Beth Moore Bible studies, almost to the point of causing an aversion in me. I can be that way. I was none to happy to say goodbye to the overly zealous woman in need of some lithium when our turn came, and never thought of her again until the first opportunity came to participate in a Sunday School class where they were doing a Beth Moore study A Woman's Heart, God's Dwelling Place. Guess what? I didn't take it. But I saw something happen in the ladies that I knew that were taking it - they were getting really excited about God's word. Not long after, I swallowed my pride and signed up for the Breaking Free study - and suddenly I understood the crazy lady in line. God is using Beth Moore in a mighty way to help grow women's hearts for His kingdom. I have taken a bunch of her Bible studies and am currently doing the one called David: A Heart Like His. It is awesome.
So if you have never participated in a Bible study by the delightful Mrs. Moore, I suggest you do so posthaste! Come on over here, I'll put the plastic bowl on your head and spin you around. And for those of you who don't already know it, Living Proof Ministries has a blog now! Beth and her daughter, Amanda write to inspire and encourage women - and let me tell you that apple didn't fall far from the tree! Don't miss Beth's PMS post, or Amanda's Do Over post! They're so real, and so over the top for the Lord.

Pit Dweller Extraordinaire

This post is for the "Bloggity Book Club". We have just finished reading Get Out of that Pit by Beth Moore. I don't think that any of the principles in the book were earthshakingly new for me, but they were grounded in so much truth. That's what kind of teacher Beth Moore is - one that saturates you with God's word. Boy don't I love her for it.
I would have to agree with Boomama that I had a bit of an aversion to the word "pit" at first. Satan will use absolutely anything to keep us from seeking and finding the truth. I HATE him for it. I promise I do, even though I allow him to lead me to a pit repeatedly - like a realtor showing you through your new abode with all its amenities, "it'll feel so good here....you can set up a permanent home for yourself and your family.....this neighborhood suits you better........the lack of light allows for a certain amount of *ahem* privacy...." Certainly if we saw it so clearly this way, we would completely reject "the pit" - but as it is, we often go there much unbeknownst to ourselves until we come up out of the top as if we were scuba diving and lost our air tank several hundreds of feet down, gasping for breath.
One of the things this book helped me do was it helped me recognize the lure and symptoms of a pit. I have fallen into many - and dove head first into others. However, I loved it that in her usual "Beth" style, is she gives you real tools, almost like a step-ladder to help you out of the pit. Praying God's Word was another book she wrote that was extremely beneficial in my life, and she used the same principles in this book - giving an entire set of deliverance scriptures to pray through.
I also love the message that our pit cannot keep us captive. A pit is different from a jail cell in this - we can still look up to the One who is able to lift us out.
One of the most significant things I read, that gave me a lift out of the pit I am drawn to over and over again was in Chapter 8: Make Up Your Mind. The last two lines of the first full paragraph on pg 176 spoke directly to my heart: "Nobody has a right to keep you in a pit or to shame you for bailing. Not even your mama." I am going to be extremely candid - my mother is one of the absolute biggest "pitfalls" in my spiritual walk. I love her and am jealous for the portion of her heart that should belong to me - but found that the catapult I made out of the pit, and my absolute refusal in any way to even come near it to gaze in has caused a rift in our relationship. I was tempted to say "forever" or "permanent", but I do believe as Betsie ten Boom told her sister, Corrie, that they must tell others, "there is no pit so deep that God is not deeper still". God and God alone can save her from the blackness that surrounds her - just as He has rescued me. But it is a continuous pain, a heartache that tempts me to come near to the pit I once inhabited. With tears in my eyes as I am sharing from my heart. For far too long, I made my dwelling in the pit. I could not save myself from the generations of sin, bitterness and strife. I was helpless. The day I cried out for help, I met One who was able to save completely. I know that the principles our dear author shares in this book are true, because I have lived them.

Pit Dweller No More!

I am a frequent visitor at the blog of one, Boomama. One day while innocently visiting there, I read an announcement that she was going to be starting a "Bloggity Book Club". My first instinct was to RUN. I love to read books, and I love book discussions, but I don't have time, money, energy for another one right now, or so I thought. At the same time this announcement goes out, I hear that HSB is also starting up a Literary Club. And, (shameless plug) some friends and I are starting an Inklings book club reading C.S. Lewis and other Christian authors on a yahoo group. (See the sidebar to join us!)

At any rate, I digress.

I skimmed the post about the book club at Boomama's, learned that they were going to be discussing Beth Moore's new book Get Out of That Pit, and decided, nah. Okay, my first and most shallow reason for abstaining is that the book, being newly released would be in hardback only. I absolutely loathe hardback books, and especially ones that come with dust covers, even if cutie-patootie Beth Moore is on it. But, a week or so later, I was in Sam's club and saw "the book". It was only $12 which is very reasonable for a new hardback book, and when I picked it up, it just felt right. (not too heavy, nice paper) I know it's a weird way to examine a book – but reading is not just in the brain, it is kinesthetic and aesthetic for me as well. If the book feels weird, I just can't do it. I am certain there is medicine for this, however, since it is only this one little thing, I think I'll just allow myself to ruminate in this one itty bitty little quirky behavior. (Those of you that know me ITF "in the flesh" can keep your comments to yourselves!) Long story short - I bought the book.

All kidding aside, I just finished it, and while I'll reserve the majority of my comments for the discussion that I intend to participate in fully, I will share something that God spoke almost audibly, as if the words lifted off the pages and became sound – because I've been hurting in this specific way for a little over a week. On pg 176 was a statement that spoke right to my wounded spirit:

Nobody gets the right to keep you in a pit or to shame you for bailing. Not even your mama.

In context, Beth was explaining how some people (specifically family) get mad when you leave the pit of family dysfunction and seek to live life in the freedom that comes from Jesus Christ. I know what she means – boy, do I know.

He Knows the Way That I Take

After a time of really struggling with my quiet time routine, I recently jumped back into one of Beth Moore's studies - A Womans Heart-God's Dwelling Place. This morning the study was focused on Gold, Silver and Precious Stones. In it there was a verse - Job 23:10 that says But He knows the way I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold. I pondered this for a moment, and thought about the "way that I take". Sometimes I take the way of pride, jealousy, selfish ambition. At times, I have my feet on a path I know better than to be going down. If He knows the way I take, I wonder why He doesn't just abandon me here? But He never does. He is always on the right path, calling my name.
As I am writing this I am reminded of something that happened almost two years ago now. It was early March during the first signs of spring, my slightly insane friend Lizbeth and I decided to take our kids hiking - up and over our little peak of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I knew the trail - or so I thought because I had hiked it once in the opposite direction! Long story short, we started off in the morning, stopped and had a picnic lunch with our five children, and continued on through the afternoon. What we hadn't realized is that the direction we headed was predominately uphill. My friend's 4 year old daughter was tiring, and we began to take turns carrying her. We also followed some arrows that appeared to lead out of the trail and back to civilization. Lizbeth hiked ahead as I sat with the children because we were tiring of carrying her little one - and I realized my cell phone battery was almost dead, and it was fast approaching dark in the shadow of the trees, so reluctantly I called my husband, and a couple of friends. One of our friends just so happened to live at the top of the mountain, and we called her to cancel plans that Lizbeth had with her for that evening, because she obviously was NOT going to make it - and unbeknownst to us, she sent her husband out to look for us. (He was a very expereinced hiker, who was very familiar with that section of the Appalachain trail.) As dark closed in, we bundled the children between us and huddled underneath an emergency blanket, and sang songs to the Lord for what seemed like hours. Finally we saw a flashlight in the woods. It was our friend's husband.
That is how God loves us - and even when the way that I take is the wrong way - He doesn't only stand calling my name - He comes to find me - in the dark when I am unable to find my own way home. And even though He always knows where I am, I know if I can lift my voice to praise Him, He hears my need for Him to find me all the more!
......He knows the way that I take....