Category / scripture

by Bethe

Tuesday Truth: Set Free

I’ve been slowly reading my way through Psalms this year, and this one jumped off the page at me. So many people think that living your life for Jesus is so restricting. You can’t do this, you can’t do that, you can’t think about this. That thing is wrong.

To those people, I want to put my hands on both of their shoulders, look them straight in the eye, and tell them that loving Jesus means to be set free. It means gaining hope. It means thriving in a way that only your creator could orchestrate. It means gaining comfort from a loving Father who knows intimately the sorrows we face.

When I am running in the path of Jesus’ commands, THAT is when I am most alive.

by Bethe

Thankful

I am thankful for cool breezes and open windows and the ability to sit and work on my back porch with a new album (Imagine Dragons) playing in the background.

I am thankful to have gotten to spend the morning with girlfriends, eating girly food and wearing sparkles and pointy heels. Sometimes it’s nice to feel glamorous, even if just for a Saturday morning wedding shower.

I am thankful for Mr. Right who took me on one of my favorite dates last night. We’ve found a hole-in-the-wall sushi place that we have made “our place,” and paired with a movie it provides for the perfect, no-stress Friday night date night. Avocado and cream cheese and shrimp tempura and snuggles from my man have a special place in my heart.

I am thankful for a good night’s sleep.

I am thankful that our sweet little nephew Jack is doing so well in the NICU. Feel free to say a prayer for him this morning.

I am thankful for new seasons, not only with weather but also with work. Mr. Right’s last day at the church was last Sunday and it has been exciting to see him spend this first week studying so hard for his real estate license. I am praying for refreshment and new opportunities for the both of us.

I am thankful for the way God has already blessed my little shop and given me the opportunity to stretch my creative muscles in a way that is really good for me. And I am thankful for friends and family who have been so encouraging during this process.

I am thankful for a God who is sweet, even in times of waiting, and resting, and hoping.

I. Am. Thankful.

by Bethe

My life verse

Most people know that I LOVE scripture, like LOVE it. What better way for a weak-hearted girl to be tough and bold and confident than to have scripture to rattle off during life’s most worrisome moments? And one of my very favorite scriptures in the whole entire world is Jeremiah 32:27 because it reminds me that NOTHING I encounter is too big for my God.
No trial will ever worry him.
No challenge will ever overpower him.
No sickness will ever be more than he can heal.
No unexpected crisis will ever catch him by surprise.
If you’d like a copy for yourself, visit my shop over at Etsy – Texas Lovely.

by Bethe

Stability


Y’all, I don’t like change. It stinks. I also don’t like it when I lose control. When life throws me things that I wasn’t expecting, when my little world that I’ve so carefully crafted gets turned upside down. It’s the pits, I tell you.

I bet you can relate.

Which is why I ADORE this verse. Like, I love it so much I might get it tattooed on my forehead. It’s that great. But since I’m too much of a whimp to get a tattoo, instead I made it into a poster, which I plan to proudly display in my bedroom next to the place where I have my morning Bible study.

Life may get crazy, y’all, but I am thankful that my God can provide me with the stability that nobody and nothing else can seem to offer.

To purchase this or other scripture art, check out my online store, Texas Lovely. Remember, I’m offering a buy-one-get-one-free until the end of August so you can keep one for yourself and bless someone else who might be in need of a little love.

by Bethe

Rejoice

I’ve been designing scripture posters for myself for years. I have a framed copy of all of the verses I need to make it through my workday with my sanity intact framed next to my computer, so that whatever challenges I might face during the day, I’ve got a scripture handy to quote over and over until I can regain my sanity. 
Yesterday during my morning Bible study I stumbled across this verse, and it just made me HAPPY. Don’t you love it when the Bible throws something like this at you, that you can just wrap your arms around and hug close to your chest and let out a huge sigh of relief and just… rest?
Life is nutty right now. Then again, it always seems that way, doesn’t it? Through a lot of unknowns right now, as Mr. Right and I take a big leap of faith and try a new adventure on for size, I want to remain THANKFUL for all of the ways God has provided for me in the past. He has shown up before and I am certain he will show up again.
Do you keep a list? If not, you should. I keep a running list of all the ways God has shown up, answered my prayers, knocked my socks off with blessings or snuck something in unexpectedly that could have only come from him. Seeing that list makes those giant leaps of faith, those urgent prayers during a crisis, those dark moments when nothing will do except for a MIRACLE, more manageable. Survivable.
So let’s rejoice together in ALL of the GOOD THINGS our Lord has given us and our households. 
PS–To get a copy of your very own Ombre Scripture Art, visit Texas Lovely online. Until the end of August I’m offering buy-one-get-one-free on this piece so that you can keep one for yourself and give one to a friend who might need a little reminder to rejoice.
by Bethe

In case you were wondering…

It took me 11 episodes of 30 Rock to piece my nephew Jack’s baby quilt on Saturday. That’s a new record! I’m bursting with excitement to show you and may not be able to wait until I’m able to get it in the hands of his sweet mama (my sister-in-law Michelle) before posting a sneak preview. I chose a design that I’ve had swimming around in my head for months, and I must say it turned out so cute I squealed, and then danced around while Mr. Right oohed and aaahed over it like a good husband of a quilter.  I may just make another one with some of the leftover fabric and stick it in my shop for a baby gift. You know, since I promised I’d never sell a quilt in there, and every good woman changes her mind.

I still have to quilt and bind it, but luckily I’m only on Season 2 Episode 12 of 30 Rock, so there’s plenty of time to finish it.

I got asked if I was pregnant on Friday. Again. Three times in one day. By one woman and two men. For the record, I’m not. And people should stop asking. And I am going to have to burn that shirt (along with this one and this one and this one), which I admit was a bit loose, but I bought it from the regular section of LOFT.
On Saturday I started tracking my calorie intake/outtake on the myfitnesspal app. I’m hoping the accountability of keeping a food journal will help me with item #2 on my list. I’m on Day 4, which practically makes me an expert. (Who’s taking bets that I’ve forgotten about this by Thursday?) PS–I’ve lost two pounds. It may have been water weight, but I’m celebrating nonetheless.
We watched the greatest movie this weekend – Capote. It’s rated R, but if you have a husband who will tell you when to close your eyes (an opening murder scene, and about two minutes toward the very end), it’s really more of a light PG-13. It’s now in my Top 10 list of favorite movies. (note to self – create list of my other top 9 favorite movies.)




Does anybody else LOVE LOVE Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition? Mr. Right and I want to adopt Chris Powell into our family.  We love positive people, and we hear he’s a fan of CrossFit like us. 



My favorite restaurant in all of DFW is closing in a few weeks. To be replaced with a TACO SHOP. As if Texas doesn’t have enough Mexican food restaurants already. I’m not sure who was more sad, Mr. Right and I when we found out on our date Friday night, or the manager who knows us because we go so much (and send all of our friends there). Rest in peace, Cowboy Chow in Roanoke. I will miss your watermelon tea and fry bread dipped in honey and black bean mash. 
My prayer right now is Psalm 107:7 – “He led them by a straight way…” Life seems to be swirling all around us lately, with our own plans turned upside down and many of our closest loved ones going through some pretty big trials. 
“When I said, ‘My foot is slipping, your love, O Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.’” Psalm 94:18-19

I am so glad you follow my little blog. Bless you!
by Bethe

New job

We are happy to announce that Mr. Right has taken a new job – in a few weeks he will start working as a real estate agent in Fort Worth.







It does not mean that we are quitting ministry. 
There are some crazy statistics out there about how many people who graduate from seminary are out of ministry within five years. I think it’s an unfair statistic. Because a lot of churches can’t afford to support their ministers full time. There are church plants that routinely use bivocational ministers – they work to support their family but their main mission is ministry. In fact, some people say that this is the future of church ministry.

This will be us for now. Mr. Right will have a “regular job” albeit a very flexible one so that he can support our family and still do ministry. We now consider ourselves bivocational.

The kind of ministry we like to do isn’t very clean. Mr. Right likes to work with internationals. The down and out. The poorest of the poor. The people that society tends to write off. You know, the kind who don’t have any money to support a minister. And there aren’t a ton of jobs out there for that.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t do it. We’re already voluntarily running an ESL ministry at our church, working with refugees from around the world. And Mr. Right volunteers with our Spanish-speaking ministry. And he is uniquely gifted at sharing Jesus with random people he meets in lines at grocery stores. The funny thing is, he’s never pushy, rarely brings it up – but people just see him and immediately open up and tell him their life stories. At the pharmacy. And the gym. Just about anywhere he goes.

So he will continue to do ministry. And he will continue to finish school. He’s scheduled to graduate with a Masters of Divinity (a 98-hour degree) in 2013.

It does not mean we will never again work at a church. 

It does not mean that we won’t someday end up living on the mission field, finding ourselves as the outsiders who need someone to teach us the language and the culture. 
But for right now, we’re going to do that for others, in the name of Jesus. We’ll just being doing it for free.

It does not mean we’re leaving our church.
In fact, we plan on staying for a very long time. Our church is our home, we love the people there, and we feel like we have great opportunities to minister there. It just means that instead of working through every service, Mr. Right will get to sit next to me, worship with me, maybe even ride together to church (something we have never done since we’ve gotten married). It means that we’re in a good position to find some new ministries to do together. As volunteers.


We need your prayers.
Change is exciting but also scary, especially for two people who are planners to a fault. We need prayers as Mr. Right changes careers and builds a new business. We really feel like this is what God wants, and we assure you that this is something that we have prayed over for quite some time. But navigating through change and finding new roles to serve in can be challenging. And I need your prayers because as always I battle against fear of the unknown – pray that God will continue to give me big faith and the wisdom to know how best to support Mr. Right through this transition.

We need your friendship.
We are thankful for friends who love us no matter what our jobs are, who trust us to follow the Lord’s leading for our family. Mr. Right will need your encouragement (and your referrals… wink, wink) as he starts a business from scratch.

We need rest.
If you go to church with us, you may not see us for a few weeks. Mr. Right hasn’t gotten to attend a single worship service in ten months. He needs to hide in the back of a sea of unknown faces and just worship. And so we have plans to visit the church where our brother-in-law leads worship. The church that Mr. Right’s parents helped plant. We may take an out of town trip that doesn’t involve us driving back at midnight Saturday night so Mr. Right can make it to work the next morning.

But we will be back, with batteries recharged and hearts excited for a new chapter.

by Bethe

Women’s Dinner

My sweet church hosted a women’s dinner for 600+ women this week.  Here’s the recap of this wonderful, chocolate and big-jewelry-filled evening:
1. The men of our church served the women. They dressed up, donned black aprons and acted as waiters, graciously serving their women so that we could feel doted on. Mr. Right volunteered, and I may be a bit biased, but I think he looked mighty handsome carrying that pitcher of ice tea.
2. Our church invited my ESL ladies to attend. For free. And so many of our members came by to welcome them and tell them how happy they were that they chose to join us. 
3. Some of our ESL students come from cultures where a man would NEVER serve a woman. So this dinner blew their mind. It was a great testimony, and they felt so very special. It’s nights like this, where they feel loved on, that softens their hearts to hear and accept the gospel.
4. Our church took up a collection to pay for textbooks for our English students for next semester. We almost cried when we found out – they had kept it as a surprise from us. Textbooks are very expensive and most of our students have very little money – so this is a huge deal.
Thanks to First Euless for investing in women. And thanks to the women who chose last night to invest in our English students. 
“And I pray that you… may have power… to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”  – Ephesians 3:18-19