Hey, Sweet Things!
You guys are so much fun. Thanks for getting excited with us about the app. I’m just thinking about how this whole technology thing was in the mind of God centuries ago when He inscribed His words on the sacred page through the pens of men. Too much to wrap our minds around, isn’t it? He is the One who knows “the end from the beginning,” and “from ancient times, what is still to come.” He says, “My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.” (Isaiah 46:10)
At the moment I’m typing up this post, we have a whopping 9250 entries under Verse 1. Never in my wildest imagination did I picture this. I was pretty blown away by our strong and steady couple of thousand in 2009. Keep in mind that the 9250 is not an exact reflection of participants because there are some replies under comments, like, “I’m copying yours!” and “I’ve never even heard that verse!” I’m not going put a restriction on that because community in Christ is what makes Siestaville work. We do know, however, that way over 8000 are participating because that many women ordered spirals or downloaded the artwork. Others who are participating grabbed their own spirals the easier way from the store. I also want you to picture the many preadolescent girls we have on our team. Don’t you remember loving stickers and pens and school supplies when you were that age? I should have known they’d take to the spirals. Just close your eyes and imagine them reciting some of the verses dearest to your heart. Many of us have lived long enough to know by life experience what they are reciting by faith. It’s such a precious thought to me. They will find Jesus faithful just as we have. Yep, we have junior Siestas but we also have plenty of senior Siestas which delights me just as much. Our joy in standing shoulder-to-shoulder with this mighty band of women is indescribable. I wonder how many football fields we would stretch across. Whew. For just a split second I saw us all in my bright red college drill team uniforms. Scratch that thought.
OK, before I call for your second verses, many of you asked for the exact date of the SSMT celebration next January. I double-checked the weekend with Sabrina and it’s January 20-21, 2012 from Friday evening until Saturday noon. Of course, we’ll get you the proper information starting early next Fall but, if you think you might want to come, put it down on your calendar, start saving your expense money, and plan to memorize your darling little head off. The event itself is our gift to you and your ticket in is your well-used spiral (of either kind).
Are you ready for SSMT Verse 2? I’m giving you a heads-up that I plan to target a lot of James verses this year so, while I’m still going to tell you mine each time, I’ll also suggest a good alternative for those of you who could use an additional idea. Remember! Limit your comments to Name, City, Verse, and Translation. Here’s mine:
Beth, Houston. “My brothers and sisters, do not show prejudice if you possess faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.” James 2:1 The NET Bible
Here’s an alternative I really love and memorized a couple of years ago. My dear coworker, Diane, is memorizing it right now so it’s washing back over my mind:
Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders You have done. The things You planned for us no one can recount to You; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.” Psalm 40:5 NIV
And that, O Lord, is the gospel truth.
OK, Sisters! Bring on Verse 2!
I pray that Christ is so pleased. I feel in my soul that He is.
Have a great weekend!
Christy, Rome, GA – “Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.” John 6:35-36, NIV
Candi, South Lyon,
“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5 NIV
Debbie, Rochester, MN Blessed are those whose strength is in You, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with blessings. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion. Psalm 84:5-7 NIV
Darbi — Gainesville
2 Peter 1:5-7 — NIV
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.
Thou wilt make known to me the path of life; In Thy presence is fulness of joy; In Thy right hand there are pleasures forever. Psalm 16:11/NAS
Tammy
Mechanicsville, VA
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
Jo from Wadsworth, Ohio says:
Oh, the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgements and His paths past finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been His counselor? Who has ever given to God that He should repay? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things! To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
Romans 11:33-36 NIV
Lara, Aubrey, TX: As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. Genesis 50:20 NASB
Becky, New Kensington, PA: Psalm 91:11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways
For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until Christ returns. Philippians 1:10 NLT
Show me your ways,O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
Psalm 25:4,5
NIV
Susan
Elizabethtown,PA
Ruth, Bloxom, VA- “I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge, and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.” Psalm 91:2
Ashley, West Monroe. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:20-21. NIV
Holly from Alpharetta, GA
Forget about what’s happened;
don’t keep going over old history.
Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new.
It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it?
There it is! I’m making a road through the desert,
rivers in the badlands.
Isaiah 43: 18-19 (The Message)
Jessica
DeWitt, IA
When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”
“Yes, Lord,” they replied.
Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you.”
Matthew 9:28,29 (NIV)
Marilyn, Albuquerque
O Lord, our Lord,how majestic is your name in all the earth.You have set your glory above the heavens. From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise.
Ps.8:1-2 NIV
Cindy, Fort Worth, TX
Colossians 3:2
Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. NAS
Amy, Macon, GA
Acts 3:19-20 NRSV
“Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah appointed for you, that is, Jesus.”
Brittany
Plano, TX
“The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent.”
Exodus 14:14 (NASB)
Jerri, Princeton TX–
Psalm 51:12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me. (NIV)
Alexa, Leland-
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Psalm 51:10 NIV
Pamela, Hamilton, OH
John 16:33
These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world, ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. (KJV)
Karla, Maumee OH “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” Acts 20:24 NIV
Deborah, Cortland, NY
“You are God’s children whom he loves, so try to be like him.”
Ephesians 5:1
Julie, Hartford, MI. You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word. Psalm 119:14 NIV
Mandy, Rockwall, TX “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NIV)
Karen, Michigan
1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
Kinney, Oxford, MS “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remians in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing with out Me.” John 15:5 HCSB
Jamie, Windsor, CA What does scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Romans 4:3 NIV
Kristin, Indian Trail, NC: “The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” Zephaniah 3:17 (ESV)
Kim: Richmond,TX “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 NASB
Charlie
Mississippi
Ephesians 1:13-14 (NIV)
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession – to the praise of his glory.
Robin, Athens, TX – “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NASB)
Nancilea, The Woodlands, TX For Madalyn: (Hallelujah!)
“[Because of] the unchangeable character of his purpose….we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul.”
Hebrews 6:17b-19a
Christine, Wichita, KS
“Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live.”
Isaiah 55:2-3a (NIV)
“I know that my Redeemer lives and that in the end He will stand upon the earth.” Job 19:25 NIV
Jessica
Birmingham, AL
This is what the LORD says—
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the LORD your God,
who teaches you what is best for you,
who directs you in the way you should go”
Isaiah 48:17, NIV
Erin-Northville MI Ecclesiastes 7:14 “On a good day, enjoy yourself. On a bad day, examine your conscience. God arranges for both kinds of days so that we won’t take anything for granted.” The Message
Beth in Prairieville. Psalm 77:14 NIV
You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. psalm 77:14.
My Mama needs a healing miracle tonight.
Praying for her miracle Beth!
Cameron,MO
Come and see what God has done,
how awesome His works
in man’s behalf!
Psalm 66:5 NIV
But those who wait on the LORD
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31
Bekah, Lewisville, TX, If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. John 8:31-32
Galilee, Alice, TX
“Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. Romans 8:18, NLT
Beth, Kalamazoo. “The true children of God are those who let God’s Spirit lead them. Romans 8:14 NCV
1 Peter 3:9 (NIV)
Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
Jackie, Los Angeles, CA
“He will shield you with his wings.
He will shelter you with his feathers.
His faithful promises are your armor and protection.”
Psalm 91:4 NLT
Abby, Alice, TX
“Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.” Romans 8:18, NLT
Erin from Owensboro, KY.
“For I know the plans I have for you declares the LORD. Plans to prosper you, and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
Donna, McCook, NE: Lamentations 3: 22-23 The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.
NLT
Charissa; West Chester, OH; 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 NIV – We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed