***It’s Sunday evening and you just passed 500 comments on this post. YOU DID IT, GIRLS! Honestly, this is the most exhilarating thing I’ve ever seen. As you know, we’ve posted Scriptures many times, especially through our 2009 SSMT, but this is the first time we’ve had a theme like this. These verses will stand a woman to her feet and put a shout of praise on her tongue. Let’s remember this spot, Siestas, so we can return to it many times. As my grandmother used to say, “It’ll cure what ails ya.” Memorize the date of the post – 3/6/10 – and turn back to it any time you need Christ to fill your sweet soul with an extra measure of divine strength. Thank you so, so much for your participation here.
ORIGINAL POST:
I slept until 8:30 this morning! I can’t even remember the last time! I am so hyped up and happy I hardly know what to do! There ain’t no estimatin’ how different the world can look when we get a little sleep. Sometimes when we think we need a new man (I’m not thinking that right now, just using an example), a new job, a new set of kids, a new house, or a new friend, we may just need a nap. Maybe you can work one in today.
OK, Girls, I have a weekend assignment for you. I am so jazzed about our on-line journey through SLI and I am very happy with how it’s going. Please don’t misunderstand this to mean I’m not. I’m THRILLED with the honesty you guys are expressing and I hope you’ll keep it up. This is a safe place. But I agree with one of our sisters who said something like, “Let’s pour it out here but let’s get it dealt with and get out there and be strong.” All the moaning about how hard it is only makes it harder. Breaking Free will nearly kill you but then, if you stick with it, like many of us out here have, God will use it to turn around and heal you. We have to press through and not be so easily discouraged. Our attitudes will make or break us. Let me say just as quickly that so many of you have been tremendously encouraging in the journey even through the difficulty of what we’ve had to face. We just want to band together and reach out and pull some sisters up on their feet here.
Ladies, the devil knows that if we’re too scared to even face our insecurity, we’ll never get freed up from it. If we just put the book down because it’s too heavy, how are we supposed to get up? (No, you didn’t say you were putting it down and I’m so thankful for that. But I’m convinced it’s what the enemy’s trying to get some of us to do.) We can’t deal with what we won’t face. GIRLS, WE CAN DO THIS. Are you telling me it’s harder to face it and get over it than it is to deal with it day in and day out, letting it minimize us and make fools of us and mentor the next generation to be just like us? Not to me, it’s not. I’m a whole lot happier today than I was this time a year ago. Please, keep up the honesty and let’s work this thing out together but, if you are in Christ, stop giving yourself so little credit. YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES. We can do ALL THINGS through Christ who strengthens us. Let’s honor what He’s done for us by doing what it takes to accept it to the marrow of our bones. The question will ultimately be this: Do we believe what God’s Word says enough to act on it?
So, that brings us to our weekend assignment: (And this is not only for the ones going through SLI. All of us could use this.) Look up Scriptures that have to do with strength and power and victory and write some out in a comment to this post. Be sure to put the reference and the translation because your sisters will want to know where they can find many of them. Try to limit your comment to the actual Scripture so that we can read one after another and claim them for ourselves through the power of Christ in our inner man.
THEN, ladies, get on here and read some of them OUT LOUD. Restate them in first person between You and your God.
I’ll get us started with one I’m saying almost every morning right now. Isaiah 52:1 NIV says…
“Awake, awake, O Zion, clothe yourself with strength.”
I say it out loud and picture myself right then putting on the power and might of Christ like a coat. Sometimes I might even stretch my arms like I’m pulling them through sleeves. Go ahead and think I’m such a weirdo. It’s a well established fact but I have loved it and it’s working and, anyway, I think that kind of stuff makes God grin. I’ve used it in my journey to be physically restored after my surgery and through the pain of a badly herniated disk but it is just as pertinent to our present journey toward soul-deep security.
Your Siesta Mama loves you. This is how I would talk to my own daughters when they were growing up. They could well tell you that I only put up with “This is sooooooo haaaarrrrrddddd” so long. “It won’t be near as hard when you get your tail up and do it.”
Go for it, Girls! Get your tail up and do it. Let’s clothe ourselves with these:
4mercers 
2 Corinthians 4:8 "We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don't give up and quit."
I REALLY needed these verses today. Satan is attacking the very ground I had gained back from him. Thank you Lord for speaking to me today through these words.
The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace. Psalm 29:11 NIV
I haven't posted before but am reading SLI. This is AWESOME, what a powerful message to read all in one place!
"If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame…." Isaiah 58:9-11.
Matthew 19:26 KJV
But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible, but WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.
Molly
"Therefore, let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator." I Peter 4:19 NKJV
Sometimes the suffering we go through is something just like facing our strongholds and allowing God to heal them and set us free. That is definitely suffering according to God's will!
The thing I love most, however, is that no matter what kind of suffering that is "according to the will of God", I can commit to Him, and it will actually have a creative, not destructive effect in my life, Praise His glorious Name! He is called in this passage, not God most High (tho He is), not Mighty Warrior, (tho He is) not I Am that I Am, (tho He is) but Faithful Creator! He turns our every struggle into a creative thing in our lives, and in turn the lives of others as we testify to His greatness!
Oh Living, Mighty, Gracious, Creative Savior, give us hands to war and fingers to fight through the power of Your Spirit! Amen!
Psalms 121:1-2
I lift up my eyes to the hills- where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power.
Isaiah 40:29 NASB
"I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living."
Psalm 27:13 NKJ
…we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything–and I do mean everything connected with that old way of life has to go…Get rid of it! …take on an entirely new way of life–a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.
Ephisians 4:22-24 (MSG)
– For Anonymous who does not see her beauty when she looks in the mirror –
"He has made EVERYTHING (emphasis mine) beautiful in its time."
Ecclesiastes 3:11a (NIV)
"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment…Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, WHICH IS OF GREAT WORTH IN GOD'S SIGHT.(emphasis mine)For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful."
1Peter 3:3-5 (paraphrased) NIV
YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!
Kathy
Ephesians 1:19 The Message (MSG)
19 oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him – endless energy, boundless strength!
Denise
Albuquerque,NM
50's
Married
Updated New American Standard Zephaniah 3:17 "The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.
New King James Zephaniah 3:17 "The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." Siestas, let our Loving and Victorious Mighty God sing over your (our) souls.
Through God we will do valiantly and it is He who shall tread down our adversries.
Psalm 108:13 NAS
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty
Psalm 91:1 NIV
"He has made EVERYTHING beautiful in its time."
Ecclesiastes 3:11
Do not gloat over me, my enemy!
Though I have fallen, I will rise.
Though I sit in darkness,
the LORD will be my light.
Micah 7:8
"Ah Lord God! Behold, you created the heavens and the earth by Your power and by Your outstretched arm. Nothing is impossible for You." – Jer 32:17
…and, Psa 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God" (which infers that I am NOT God and therefore responsible for the obedience, not the results!)
Praise HIM!
James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
James 5:11-Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord-that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
James 5:15-And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
Romans 8:26-Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered…28-And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Sheree
West Columbia
27
married
"Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; he answers him from his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm."
Psalm 20:6-8 NIV
"The LORD Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Deuteronomy 31:8 NIV
In you, O Lord I put my trust;
Let me never be ashamed;
Deliver me in your righteousness.
Psalm 31:1NKJV
Read the whole Psalm its great.
Rosie of Tacoma
hey REBECCA who posted as anonymous… dear siesta, you hang in there and push through. you DO have Jesus to hold you together as truth may be taking apart old thinkings and ways! whatever He breaks down, He WILL build you back up! and don't feel bad for a SECOND about saying what happened to you here… don't let that hang on you as if it was your choice. that was someone else's sin. don't be sorry for speaking it; we're here to support each other and pray! lifting you up to the Father of healing and Life, katie
The LORD will give strenght to His people; the LORD will bless His people with peace.
Psalm 29 :11 NASB
The LORD is my strengh and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him.
Psalm 28:7 NASB
Beth, how His promises can transform my attitude half way through a verse from sulk to delight!! I am madly in love with Jesus…more and more each day.
First time ever…commenter 🙂
I RAISE MY EYES TOWARD THE MOUNTAINS~WHERE WILL MY HELP COME FROM? MY HELP COMES FROM THE LORD, THE MAKER OF HEAVEN AND EARTH!!! HE WILL NOT ALLOW YOUR FOOT TO SLIP,YOUR PROTECTOR WILL NOT SLUMBER. INDEED THE PROTECTOR OF ISRAEL DOES NOT SLUMBER OR SLEEP. THE LORD PROTECTS YOU, HE IS A SHELTER RIGHT BY YOUR SIDE.THE SUN WILL NOT STRIKE YOU BY DAY OR THE MOON BY NIGHT. THE LORD WILL PROTECT YOU FROM ALL HARM. HE WILL PROTECT YOUR LIFE!!! THE LORD WILL PROTECT YOUR COMING AND GOING BOTH NOW AND FOREVER. (ps 121) Sooooooo powerful to my soul as it is from memory after "doing" The Psalms of Ascent study!!! 🙂 Praise HIM!!!!!!!
"Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light."
Micah 7:8 NIV
On Strength:
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to is service.
1 Timothy 1:12
But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth.
(Or whatever insecurity you need to be delivered from) 2 TImothy 4:17
On Victory:
But you give us victory over our enemies, you put our adversaries to shame.
Psalm 44:7
With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies.
Psalm 60:12
(I know this one has been said, but I'm gonna say it again.) :o)
Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: "The Lord's right hand has done mighty things!" Psalm 118:15
And last but not least:
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory though our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57
AMEN!
Isaiah 41:10
Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, YES I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
NKVJ
Bridget, Phoenix AZ
"Now it is GOD who makes both us and you STAND FIRM IN CHRIST. He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come."
2 Corinthians 1:21-22
And then after God causes us to stand firm in Christ, He will reward us for doing so! He does the work, we just hang onto Him by the power of His Spirit, and we get rewarded. How cool is that?!
"Everyone who is victorious will eat of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it." Revelation 2:17 NLT
Thank You, Jesus!!!
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:57-58 NIV
Psalm 23
The Lord is my shephard. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He guides me in paths of righetousness for his name's sake. He restores my soul.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death – I will fear no evil. Your rod and your staff they comfort me.
2Timothy1:7-For God has not given us a spirit of fear (or insecurity!) but of power and of love and of a SOUND MIND.
1 Cor 5:7- Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast -AS YOU REALLY ARE!
(yeast = sin and dare I say, sin=insecurity??)
Thank you Abba!
He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strenth…those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength…they shall run and not be weary.
Isaiah 40:29-31
Is 33:21-22 — The Lord will be our Mighty One. He will be like a wide river of protection that no enemy can cross. For the Lord is our judge, our lawgiver, and our king. He will care for us and save us.
Is 49: 5 — And now the Lord speaks – He who formed me in my mother's womb to be His servant, who commissioned me to bring His people back to Him. The Lord has honored me, and my God has given me strength.
Dan 10:19 — "Don't be afraid," he said, "for you are deeply loved by God. Be at peace, take heart and be strong!"
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Mat 6:24 KJV
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yeah, I will help thee; yeah, I will uphold thee wit the right hand of my righteousness. Isaiah 41:10
Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. Psalm 139:10
"And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness"
Romans 6:18 NKJV
If that ain't victory, I don't know what is!!
Beth
Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
Psalm 27:14
NIV
Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
Psalm 27:14
NIV
Exodus 15:2a,6 (NIV)
The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation. … Your right hand, O Lord, was majestic in power. Your right hand, O Lord, shattered the enemy.
Psalm 28:7a (NIV)
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him and I am helped.
I John 5:3-4 (NIV)
This is love for God: to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.
Linda
Johnstown, PA
Thought of another one,
It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.
Psalm 18:32 (NIV)
Go ahead and prepare for the conflict, but victory comes from God.
Proverbs 21:31 (LB)
Missy
Tulare, CA
30's
In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me? Ps 56:4 NIV
Great PEACE have they who love your law and NOTHING can make them stumble. Ps 119:165 NIV
Fear of man will prove to be a snare but whoever trusts in the Lord will be kept safe. Prov 29:25 NIV
I suddenly realized today: that I have been allowing the LIES of the enemy to be my 'god' by focusing on & believing them. Why is it such a struggle to believe the TRUTH?
'Choice is God given.' (SLI pg 39) "No choice" is a lie!
So I REBUKE the enemy in the name of Jesus – over us ALL!!! He has NO power!!!
_____
Romans 13:14 NLT
Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.
______
It helps me to see it this way: A. Clothe yourself = repeat His Holy Words over & over (thank you Beth) reminding me of HIS presence, choosing to believe the TRUTH & drown out the lies; B. Evil desires = choosing to believe the lies of the enemy. I choose the TRUTH!!!
Psalm 3:8 (MSG)
Real help comes from God. Your blessing clothes your people!
Praise the Lord, He is worthy to be praised! Hallelujah!!!
John 16:33
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Is 40:31 NIV
I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Phil 4:13 NIV
Also, by the way, our church women's ministry had a "Loving Well" retreat this weekend. It was awesome! I was crying from laughing so hard one minute, to crying from gratefulness to God the next. Thank you for sharing Knoxville with all of us!
Loved by God,
Kathy W
PS. Also loved getting to tell this during the weekend: My daughter, Hailey, is a freshmand at Union University in Jackson, TN, and recently joined Englewood Baptist Church where TRAVIS is going to be their worship pastor! I can't wait to go visit her and get to see and worship with him!!
And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way; bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being STRENGTHENED with all POWER according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. (Whew! Paul was wordy!) Colossians 1:10 & 11
Love this! He's strengthend us and empowered us and Qualified us to inherit his beautiful kingdom! That's dignity and worth right there.
I love you, GOD–
you make me strong.
GOD is bedrock under my feet,
the CASTLE in which I live,
my rescuing knight.
My God—the high crag
where I run for dear life,
hiding behind the boulders,
safe in the granite hideout.
I sing to GOD, the Praise-Lofty,
and find myself safe and saved.
Psalm 18:1-3 Message
Deborah, Georgia
50s
Trusting God and married
Here you go Anonymous… a great verse for looking in the mirror with. Learned it from our siesta mama a few years ago!
Psalm 45:11
The king is enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord.
God said this once and for all;
how many times
Have I heard it repeated?
"Strength comes
Straight from God."
Psalms 62:11
Deborah
This verse I called my ANCHOR verse for a season of life — I suffered postpartum depression after my first child was born (and second for that matter) so severely that I was suicidal and hospitalized. While in the hospital … TOTALLY HUMILIATED and at a complete low I read these words and was filled with such awe in the Lord that my heart swelled with hope and I bawled.
"For you shall go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the LORD, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."
Isaiah 55:12-13 ESV
THE SOUND OF JOY AND SALVATION IS IN THE TENTS OF THE UPRIGHT: THE RIGHT HAND OF THE LORD DOES WORKS OF POWER.
Psalm 118:15 BBE
This is what the LORD says:
"Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls….
Jeremiah 6:16 NIV
Kendall
Simpsonville, SC
30's and Married 🙂