In Any Event | A Q&A With Our Lifeway Women Live Simulcast Speakers

This monthly feature will give you the inside scoop on our events from backstage passes to interviews with our speakers, here’s what happens In Any Event.

We have some pretty big news.

After months of social distancing, it’s going to be time to gather the women from your church, small group, or community for the first-ever Lifeway Women Live Simulcast—an online experience that will deepen personal relationships with Jesus and nurture bonds with the women at your side.

Or if you feel more comfortable at home, you can log in to watch straight from your living room.

Join us for powerful teaching from authors like Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer, Jen Wilkin, Jackie Hill Perry, Kelly Minter, Jennifer Rothschild, Angie Smith, and Kristi McLelland.

Want to get to know them a little better first? Here’s a fun Q&A with the women we’ll be studying with this summer:

What’s something you’re loving right now?

Experimenting with which of my favorite plants will grow where in our new backyard.

You can have three people you’ve always wanted to meet (living or dead) as dinner party guests. Who would you invite and what food would you serve?

John Muir (my favorite naturalist), R.C. Sproul (my favorite theologian), and Dorothy Dunnett (my favorite author of historical fiction). I would be so nervous I’d need to make a reliable standby meal, so I’d go with filet of beef tenderloin with gorgonzola sauce. Fingers crossed no one’s vegan or allergic to dairy.

Which book of the Bible have you read the most times? What keeps you coming back to that message?

Genesis. Every time I read it, my appreciation for the rest of the Bible story deepens. Genesis makes me worship because its vision of God and its message of redemption are so perfectly crafted. In the magnificent symphony of the Bible, it is the opening theme that we hear repeated in variation throughout the rest of the piece.

What’s the next destination on your travel bucket list?

A driving trip to Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Yosemite.

What’s something you’re loving right now?

The whole time I researched and wrote Chasing Vines, I wished to plant some vines of my own and continue to be filled with wonder over the True Vine by taking what I’d learned from the page and putting it in the dirt. Recently Keith and I, along with a dear organic-farmer friend, dug up a small bit of land on the part of our property with the most promise and prepared it with trellises and ordered 15 vines for it. We carefully chose varieties that have proved to be heartier in our hot, wet part of the world. I counted the days until our order would arrive and, when it did, Keith and the farmer dug the holes and I did the planting myself.

This tiny little vineyard has represented such hope to me. It represents sowing into something that will require faith and patience and waiting and watching and pruning before I’ll ever have the first grapes. It will take three solid years before there is anything to show for it. Goodness, it may take that long or even longer to see God bring forth a harvest from this very difficult season in our world and in our churches and ministries. But won’t He do it?? Can He be anything else but faithful?? Has He not said that, if we will sow to the Spirit, we will reap from the Spirit?? What I’m loving right now is that God is still working and inviting us to join Him.

You can have three people you’ve always wanted to meet (living or dead) as dinner party guests. Who would you invite and what food would you serve?

Dolly Parton! Denzel Washington! Oh, man, I feel under terrible pressure to name the final one. I’d like it to be Catherine of Siena because reading about her fascinates me but I’m not sure she actually ate nor am I sure she’d mesh well with my other guests. I think I may have to stick with the present and say Amy Grant. I’m a country cook so I would probably fix chicken and dumplings with homemade bread and good salted butter and bake a buttermilk pie for dessert.

Which book of the Bible have you read the most times? What keeps you coming back to that message?

Probably the Gospel of Luke because I love his narrative flair and his attention to detail and how beautifully he depicts Christ’s love and mercy for outcasts. As a female reader, I also can’t help but be moved and deeply encouraged by the inclusion of women in multiple scenes and Christ’s gracious regard for them.

What’s the next destination on your travel bucket list?

I have two daughters who are my very best friends.  I just want to go wherever the two of them are going.

What’s something you’re loving right now?

Right now I’m loving my garden. The stages of gardening, from preparing the beds, to planting, to tending, to harvesting, are great activities for me. I love being outside and working with my hands. It’s therapeutic for me as someone who needs to move and breathe fresh air, especially after some long days of writing and study.

You can have three people you’ve always wanted to meet (living or dead) as dinner party guests. Who would you invite and what food would you serve?

If we’re going for celebrities, I think John Krasinski and Emily Blunt would be fabulous dinner guests. And Sandra Bullock. She would be a fun one. On the non-celebrity side, Eugene Peterson, Dallas Willard, and Fleming Rutledge would be super interesting to me. And I would absolutely serve my Bolognese sauce over rigatoni. I would have my brother make a loaf of bread, and I’d serve it with olive oil and herbs from my garden for dipping.

Which book of the Bible have you read the most times? What keeps you coming back to that message?

I’m not sure there’s one book I’ve read more than all the others. But if I had to guess I would say Genesis. It’s so foundational to the rest of Scripture and gives us footing for everything that comes after it. We really learn about God’s nature, His love for humanity, His purpose for us, His unfailing covenant, the grace He displays, along with the promises He keeps when it all goes wrong because of our rebellion. So much of Christ in the New Testament shines brighter when you read Genesis.

What’s the next destination on your travel bucket list?

I’d love to get back to Italy again sometime soon. I’ve never been to the Amalfi coast or Rome. I also would love to stay at a working farm in the Italian countryside. But this is bucket list stuff—nothing I have planned at the moment.

What’s something you’re loving right now?

Coffee. Well, I love it at all times but especially right now.

You can have three people you’ve always wanted to meet (living or dead) as dinner party guests. Who would you invite and what food would you serve?

Martin Luther King, Jr., Apostle Paul, and Toni Morrison. I’d serve roasted salmon and veggies. Salmon doesn’t rock the boat too much.

Which book of the Bible have you read the most times? What keeps you coming back to that message?

Besides Jude (insert chuckle), probably Romans. I think it’s such a thorough treatment of the human condition, God’s righteous wrath against it, and the multiple implications of Christ’s redemptive work in the world and the church. It’s a brilliant book. Both piercing and hopeful.

What’s the next destination on your travel bucket list?

As soon as we can travel, me and the husband are headed to Hawaii. Ticket prices are nice and cheap now days. Lol.

What’s something you’re loving right now?

Amy’s Organic Margherita Pizza! It’s a frozen pizza that tastes as good as a pizzeria—at least I think so! And, if I follow the pizza with some Reese’s Dark Chocolate Thins, well, then I am one happy girl!

You can have three people you’ve always wanted to meet (living or dead) as dinner party guests. Who would you invite and what food would you serve?

Hands down, C.S. Lewis is first on my guest list! But I would have trouble choosing two more because I wouldn’t want to share him! Ha! If I must share, then I would invite my two sons, Clayton and Connor. I admire their intellects, insights, and kindness, and I figure they would ask really good questions. And I would learn as much from their questions as C.S. Lewis’s answers. And, you guessed it, I would serve Amy’s Organic Margherita Pizza and dark chocolate Reese’s! Who wants to cook and clean when there’s so much good conversation to have?!

Which book of the Bible have you read the most times? What keeps you coming back to that message?

Probably the Book of Psalms because it says what I think and expresses how I feel better than I can. I love to study and learn, but Psalms lets me relax in God’s presence like no other book of the Bible.

What’s something you’re loving right now?

I’m loving the slow pace quarantine has mandated. My sons’ sporting events and practices are cancelled, and all of my and Jerry’s work and ministry obligations are postponed. This has given us uninterrupted time for simple pleasures like walks, board games, and lazy breakfasts together. Usually, at least one of us is missing from family activities. It’s hard to get everyone’s schedule aligned. So, I’m grateful.

You can have three people you’ve always wanted to meet (living or dead) as dinner party guests. Who would you invite and what food would you serve?

Coretta Scott King, Viola Davis, and Meryl Streep. I’d serve a home cooked soul-food meal! Fried chicken, homemade cornbread, sweet potatoes, cabbage, green beans, and my husband’s homemade peach cobbler.

Which book of the Bible have you read the most times? What keeps you coming back to that message?

Haggai. The message, redemption, and rebuilding inspires and encourages me. I also value the assurance that God’s promises can be realized most fully in a latter portion of life. This means that no matter how unsuccessful or fulfilling my past has been, the best is always yet to come!

What’s the next destination on your travel bucket list?

Bali!

What’s something you’re loving right now?

Spending time with my family. It’s been incredible to see the way our relationships have changed during the last few weeks. I’ll never forget the way God used this season for us. Also I would say Nutella is another thing I have loved, which has proven to be a legitimate roadblock to my Lenten hopes and prayers. Alas, grace reigns.

You can have three people you’ve always wanted to meet (living or dead) as dinner party guests. Who would you invite and what food would you serve?

Good one! I think the right answers are Jesus, C.S. Lewis, and Billy Graham. Actually I don’t disagree. I’d also throw in Lester Holt, Keith Morrison, and Andrea Canning. If those names are unfamiliar to you, I would encourage you to join me in my love for Dateline. I have never missed an episode, and two of them follow me on Instagram, which may show up on my tombstone. Although Lester does not. I will stay the course. I would cook all of them “slightly burnt” brussels sprouts, which I am famous for. The background story is really inspiring and involves me slightly burning brussels sprouts and realizing that it was my signature (and only) culinary offering to the world.

Which book of the Bible have you read the most times? What keeps you coming back to that message?

Genesis. I’m fascinated by the details and the storylines that are so important to understanding the New Testament.

What’s the next destination on your travel bucket list?

Israel. I KILLED THAT ONE, DIDN’T I????????? Actually, I hate flying, so it’s a hard question to answer, but I would say Cabo. All the cool people go to Cabo. And on my way back home I’ll stop over in Israel.

What’s something you’re loving right now?

I’m loving extra long walks with my dog, Chester, and a cup of coffee where time doesn’t matter. I can walk with him as long as I want to.

You can have three people you’ve always wanted to meet (living or dead) as dinner party guests. Who would you invite and what food would you serve?

Winston Churchill, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Dr. Kenneth Bailey. I would serve whatever I could find to cater because I don’t cook, so I’d throw a true cajun crawfish boil with them that would last 6 hours!

Which book of the Bible have you read the most times? What keeps you coming back to that message?

I read the Bible from beginning to end. If I had to name one, I would probably say the Psalms—they give us language to give back to God in every situation.

What’s the next destination on your travel bucket list?

Germany. I am a huge World War II and Holocaust student.

What’s something you’re loving right now?

Rule Breaker Birthday Cake Cookies. They’re made out of garbanzo beans and that sounds gross, but I discovered them when I started trying to eat healthier when my thyroid went bad. Now I’m hooked!

You can have three people you’ve always wanted to meet (living or dead) as dinner party guests. Who would you invite and what food would you serve?

Jesus in the flesh when he lived on earth would be number one. But, if He’s excluded, then I think I’d invite Francis Chan and his wife (can that count as one person?), Beth Moore, and Mary (Jesus’ mom). I’m not a good cook, so I’d pick up Mexican. 🙂

Which book of the Bible have you read the most times? What keeps you coming back to that message?

Romans. It reminds me of the hope I have in Christ and sets my mind on eternity like no other book!

What’s the next destination on your travel bucket list?

Hmm. I’m kind of a homebody. If I had to pick…maybe Alaska?

Who are you excited to study with this summer? Click here to learn more about Lifeway Women Live Simulcast and register to join us!