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!
Jarin~ Houston, TX
James 4:7-8:
“So let God work His will in you. Yell a loud no to the devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and He’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field.” The Message
Kathryn, Scranton, Pa: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV)
Jeni, Southampton, UK
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs that it may benefit those who listen.
~Ephesians 4:29 NIV
Jennifer – White, GA
“I will guide you. I will turn darkness into light before you and make the rough places smooth.”
Isaiah 42:16 NASB
Christine, Longview “Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” Proverbs 16:24 (NIV)
Susan
Corinth, TX
“Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of GOD? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
Galatians 1:10 (NIV)
Trechell from Spring, TX
Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
Isaiah 43:19 KJV
Psalm 90:17 “Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; And do confirm for us the work of our hands; Yes, confirm the work of our hands.”
Melanie,Omaha
If you confess with your mouth,”Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9 NIV
Sarah, Hamilton Ontario
“I have loved you with an everlasting love. I have drawn you with loving kindness. I will build you up again.” Jeremiah 31:3,4 NIV
Sharon,LP,MI.
I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet upon a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. Psalm 40: 1-2 NIV
Erica, Lexington, KY
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. 1 Cor. 6:19-20, NIV
Maria~Lithia, FL
The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.
Nahum 1:7 NIV
Philippians 1:6 (NIV)
“I am confident that He who created a good work in me will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ.”
I thank my God upon every remembrance of you. Philippians 1:3 KJV. Beth, Bakersfield, CA
Lacey, Keller TX, Ps 28:7 (NIV) The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.
Rebecca, Highland Village, TX
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts. And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.”
Psalm 139:23-24, NAS
Kaitlyn Cowell
Garner, NC
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Be joyful always.
Pray all the time.
Thank God no matter what happens.
This is the way God wants those who love Jesus to live.
For this reason______ I bow my knees before the Father Eph 3:14 NASB
Rachel
La Mesa, CA
Paula Francis, Las Vegas, NV “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is admirable – is anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” Philippians 4:8 TNIV
Tammy-Lexington, NC
Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience. Hebrews 4:11 NIV
Katrina – Wilmington, NC
“Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for Him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. Stop you anger! Turn from your rage!” Psalm 37:7-8a NLT
Joan-Florida
I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
Psalm 40:1 KJV
Heather in Indiana
Hebrews 12:2 NLT
We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward. Now he is seated in the place of highest honor beside God’s throne in heaven.
i know this is for verses, but I just have to share that my 7 year old daughter, Kaitlyn, wants to do this with me, so I have ordered her spiral and she already has her verses for Jan 1 & 15!!! God is soooo sweet, Oh how I love Him!!!
Jami, Shelby, NC
Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to (give grace to) those who hear them” (Eph 4:29)
Daphne ~ Winnipeg, MB
Karis
Niverville, MB, Canada
Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.
Ephesians 4:2,3 NLT
Isaiah 58:11 NIV
The LORD will guide you always;
He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
MarySue
Auburndale, FL
John 21:17b
“Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.”
Jessica
Woodstock, Vermont
Nesha- Mechanicsville, VA
‘For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.’
Colossians 1:13 NIV
Mariposa Sivage, Albuquerque New Mexico
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Phillipians 4:6-7 NIV
Mary
Pierre, SD
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 NIV
Melissa, Perry, GA
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
Ephesians 6:10-11 NIV
Shannon, Memphis, TN. Keep me from deceitful ways; be gracious to me and teach me your law. I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I have set my heart on your laws. I hold fast to your statutes, LORD; do not let me be put to shame. I run in the path of your commands, for you have broadened my understanding. Psalm 119: 29-32. NIV.
“You crown the year with Your goodness, Your paths drip with abundance.”
Psalm 65:11
Heather~Sonora
Proverbs 21:23 ESV
Whoever keeps his mouth and tongue keeps himself out of trouble.
Betsy Shawnee, KS
Kari, Midland, TX Psalm 25:4-5 (NIV)
4 Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; 5 guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
Casey, Ooltewah, TN “Christ has liberated us into freedom. Therefore stand firm and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1 HCSB
Charity, Durham, NC
Show me your ways, 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)
Wendy-Rome, GA
Do not withhold your mercy from me, O Lord; may your love and your truth always protect me.
Psalm 40:11- NIV
James 1:26-27 NIV
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Jana, Quitaque, TX
I Corinthians 13:2 The Message
If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his
mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I
have faith that says to a mountain,”Jump”, and it jumps,
but I don’t love, I’m nothing.
Melissa~Edmond, OK
3 John 1:5
“Dear friend, when you extend hospitality to Christian brothers and sisters, even when they are strangers, you make the faith visible.” (The Message)
Daphne ~ Winnipeg, MB
So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.
Colossians 1:9-10 NLT
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Phillipians 4:13 NIV
Rebekah, Stuart, Fl. Out of the mouth of babes and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. Ps 8:2 ESV
“Why am I discouraged? Why am I restless? I trust You! and I will praise you again because You help ma, and You are my GOD!!!” Psalm 42:11 (Contemporary English Version)
Tish from Prattville, Al. 🙂
Lisa, Tunkhannock, PA 2 Samuel 22: 31 NIV
As for God, His way is perfect; the Word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him.
Olympia, WA. “I charge you: Be strong and resolute; do not be terrified or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 Tanakh, Jewish Bible