This Is Long. You May Want To Grab Some Trail Mix Or Something.

Yesterday the little man and I hopped in the car and drove to Mississippi. Because I felt that I haven’t traveled enough lately.

But the husband has a super-busy workweek, and I figured that Alex and I could either sit around and stare at each other at home or sit around and stare at each other at Mama and Daddy’s house. Since there are always fresh vegetables here at Mama and Daddy’s in the summertime, it was clearly the better option.

And let me tell you: the vegetables have not disappointed. Mama had a pot of fresh squash on the stove when we got here – squash cooked in just a little bit of butter, salt and pepper – and I don’t know when I’ve eaten anything so delicious. Of course, the squash showed up on the heels of a weekend where the healthiest thing I ate was HOT SAUCE, so I was probably overdue for some real-live produce.

And speaking of the weekend.

Oh, internets.

It was so great. I fully expected – because I’d been to Deeper Still in Nashville back in the fall – that I was going to GET ME A WORD (and DID I EVER) but what I didn’t expect was how the relational side of Deeper Still Atlanta was just going to bless my socks off. It was so fun to meet some of the bloggers who were there, and it continues to amaze me how NOT WEIRD it is to talk in person with people I’ve met ON THE INTERNET.

Take sweet JMom at Lots of Scotts, for example. I’ve read her blog for almost two years, and she is always at the top of my real-life friends’ favorite blogs list. So when I saw her standing in front of our seats Saturday, I could not wait to hug her neck and squeal just a teensy bit. She is a doll.

I also got to meet Kim, who is SO BEAUTIFUL, MY WORD, and even though she’s been to my church several times and we’ve talked on the phone, I’ve never had the chance to see her in person. Such a treat to put a face with the name and the voice.

Melanie and I sat with Amanda and Janelle throughout the weekend, and I’m telling you: they are so precious that they make me want to go back to my 20s and try again. They are beautiful inside and out – warm, gracious, funny – and they are so genuinely sweet that I couldn’t even muster up the slightest hint of bitterness or envy about the fact that they don’t have any wrinkles yet.

Meanwhile this crevice on the left side of my forehead is getting so deep that I can pretty much use it to HOLD MY KEYS.

And I would be totally remiss if I failed to mention that Annie and her sweet mama BROUGHT US LUNCH on Saturday, which was unbelieveably thoughtful considering how the lines for food stretched all the way to Chattanooga and back. I don’t know when I’ve ever been so tickled to see some homemade chicken salad sandwiches and Baked Lays. So good.

I could go on and on. It seemed like every time we turned around, there was a blogging buddy to hug. I loved it.

And then there was Beth.

I mean, you wanna talk about a GodStop? Sweet mercy.

I’m not typically one to be at a loss for words (unless Christy Nockels is in the room, at which point all conversational bets are off), but when I met Beth Friday afternoon, I kept repeating the same two words over and over: “Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it.”

STOP. IT.

Because her Bible studies have PROFOUNDLY impacted my life in ways I will never be able to articulate. I mean, I can hardly think about Believing God without getting huge tears in my eyes. You want to talk about something that God used to break down some serious patterns of sin in my life and in my marriage? You want to talk about something that continues to encourage me, by God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, to break free of some strongholds?

You want to talk about something that helped me to see that every single thing in my life – EVEN THE BAD STUFF – happens because God allows it and because He, in His unfathomable wisdom, knows that I am better able to serve Him for His glory after I walk through those things?

COME ON, NOW.

Believing God was a turning point for me. It was when I stopped giving lip service to a God I thought I knew and got serious about really getting to know Him through the study of His Word. It transformed my relationship with Him. And it transformed the way I live, because I finally realized that it is only in total surrender to Him that I am free.

So you might say that Beth’s obedience to the calling God has on her life has resulted in some pretty big changes in my life – and Believing God was just the beginning of what has been the wildest, scariest, oh-my-lands-I-have-no-idea-where-He’s-leading-but-you’d-better-believe-I’ll-follow adventure I’ve ever known. It hasn’t been easy by any stretch of the imagination, but it has been WORTH IT. Every single step of the way. I imagine that there are thousands of people who would say exactly the same thing about the impact of Beth’s ministry.

So. All that being said.

Friday night right before the praise and worship music started Melanie and I realized that Beth, Kay Arthur and Priscilla Shirer were going to be sitting on the row in front of us (since we were sitting with Amanda, we were near the front; otherwise my crazy would’ve never been allowed that close to the stage), and once the reality of that started to sink in, we proceeded to elbow each other in the ribs for the next 30-45 minutes. I was probably the most nervous about the fact that poor Priscilla was going to be subjected to hearing me sing since I was sitting right behind her.

Remember: my singing voice is not intended for public consumption. I can only hope that my tenor-esque monotone wasn’t too much of a distraction.

At one point Beth turned around and told us that she was concerned about her hair, and after we assured her that it looked darlin’, just darlin’, we went on to share what was no doubt the strangest bit of encouragement she had ever received before stepping onto a platform: we told her that the hem on her pants was perfection.

But it was, y’all. It was PERFECTION. And personally I think we should affirm a good hem when we see one.

Not too long after that Kay Arthur stepped away from her seat for a few minutes, and she left her Bible behind. Now I’m a curious person by nature (as Charlene said one time on Designing Women, “I love knowledge. In fact I yearn for it.”), and I couldn’t help but think GOODNESS GRACIOUS I would love to open up Kay Arthur’s Bible and just see what her notes look like inside even though that would be WRONG, ALL WRONG, I MUST REMEMBER APPROPRIATE BOUNDARIES, LORD HELP ME REMEMBER APPROPRIATE BOUNDARIES.

And about that time, Beth turned around, looked at Melanie and me, put her own Bible in an empty seat, and slid Kay’s Bible in her lap. Then she opened it.

For that short little moment, it was like we shared one mind. One silly, mischievous mind.

Because in the midst of 19,000 women who were there to hear her teach, Beth was just another blogger who understood the value of a funny picture. And I loved that.

So yes, the weekend was wonderful for all sorts of reasons: there was praise and worship music that prepared our hearts to receive whatever message God had for us; there was serious teaching from Scripture (Melanie and I are doing recaps this week over at AllAccess); there was conviction falling afresh all over the place. All of those things blessed me straight down to my toes.

But on top of all of that, I was also blown away by the fact there were women at Deeper Still who have grown to love and support each other through this crazy little community we have here on the interweb, whether those women are married, single, working full-time, staying home with their kids, or, you know, teaching the Bible to thousands of women in a sold-out arena.

And you know what, internets? That’s a mighty cool thing indeed.

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”- Hebrews 10:23-25