Her Real Name is Wanda

So today I'm in Houston, Texas, (I feel like I'm supposed to insert something like, "Hook 'em, Horns!" here but I have no idea what that means) for an amazing conference with my all-time favorite Bible teacher, one Beth Moore, and one of my all-time favorite people, one Lara Harris. Lara and I are avid readers of Beth's blog and took on the challenge she gave last January to memorize a new verse of Scripture every two weeks for the whole year. This weekend's celebration in Houston is the reward that Beth gave to everyone who made it through the year without giving up. Throughout the weekend, we have to recite our verses to our partner, we get to celebrate what God has done in our lives this last year, and we will be privileged to have God fill us up with His Word through our favorite teacher.

I am so psyched, you see, because Beth and I go waaaay back (O.K., so six years) when my mentor and I together read my first of her studies. Ever since then I've been hooked. Beth has walked with me through some of the best and worst days of my life. She has poured into me like so few others have. She has always had the right word from God at the right time in my life. She is wise, passionate, spirited, and gifted. She loves Jesus more than anything. She's a wife to Keith, a mother to Amanda and Melissa, and a grandmother to sweet Jackson and Little Annabeth. She has lost her own mother. She has been a victim of sexual abuse. She drives an SUV. She loves Mexican. She adores her dogs, Geli and Starr. And she just made her way through some pretty serious surgery.

Have I mentioned that I've never really met Beth Moore? Now mind you, the woman has been there as many of my tears have fallen upon the pages of her books, and I've been there to hear about many of her crazy antics and funny quirks, and I've even seen her live a couple times. But we've never actually met. (Let's hope this weekend changes that before the FBI adds me to their Most Wanted List for being a major stalker.) Seriously though, why do I know all these things about Beth Moore? Because she's real. And authentic. She shares her life openly; the good, the bad, and the ugly. She's honest about her shortcomings and her need for a Savior. She knows who she would be without Him. And she strives daily to know Him deeper so that she never has to know that place again.

I want to be the kind of person who is authentic. Who others feel like they know and are safe with right from the start. I want people to know that I love God's Word more than anything. That I adore that Richard Simmons. That I can't turn down a bag of peanut M&Ms. That I struggle with pride. That I eat when I'm not hungry. That I mess up. A lot. That I know who I am without Him. And that I desperately need Jesus to survive each day.

So, Auntie Beth, here I come! I'm bringing everything I've got this weekend to join you in worshipping the One who was the most authentic person to ever walk the planet. The All-Powerful One who took on human flesh. The One who spit in mud and made the blind see. The One who lifted the chin of a woman too ashamed to look up. The One who laughed and loved and raged and cried. The One who I hope to be accused of stalking one day.

Did I mention her real name is Wanda Beth? O.K., I might need an intervention.