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!
Kait, Pittsburgh
“Finally brothers and sisters, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.”
2 Corinthians 13:11 (ESV)
Beverly, Vicksburg
Jeremiah 31:16-17
16 “But I, the Lord, say to dry your tears. Someday your children will come home from the enemy’s land. Then all you have done for them will be greatly rewarded.
17 So, don’t lose hope. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
Linda
Spring, TX
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21 NIV
Marilyn, McKinney
Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You, And Your righteousness to the upright in heart. Psalm 36:10 NKJV
Heather, Birmingham, AL
NIV
Isaiah 54:10
“Though the mountains may shake and the hills disappear, my unfailing love for you will not be shaken, nor my covenant of peace be broken”, says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
Janet ~ Jenks, OK. Heb. 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. ~ NIV
Shawna from Alabama…”(Love)..it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong-doing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. ” 1 Corinthians 13: 5b-8a ESV translation
OK. Starting verst # 2.
John 13:15 “I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.” NLT
Love it!!!!!
Rhonda Kalamazoo, Michigan:
2 Corinthians 5:7 (Contemporary English Version)
But we live by faith, not by what we see.
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.”
But you said, “We will not walk in it.”
Jeremiah 6: 16 NIV
Kathy – Memphis, Tn
Blessed is the man who who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law he meditates day and night.
Psalm 1:1-2 NKJV
Brenda
Fort Ashby, WV
Psalm 63:1 (NIV)
You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land where there is no water.
Lisa (age 11)
Fort Ashby, WV
Luke 18:16 (NLT)
“Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them!
For the kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.” (Jesus speaking)
Melody, Ocean Springs, Philippians 4:8 (NIV)
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.
Debbie~Madison, Ohio
Whatever happens, conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.
Philippians 1:27 NIV
Becca, Midland “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7 NIV
Erin “Redd”
Houston
“Reckless words pierce like a sword,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” Proverbs 12:18 NIV
Patti
Sarasota
Kind words are like honey – sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.
Proverbs 16:24 (NIV)
Tammy Spartanburg, SC
Phillipians 4:6 The Message
“Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.”
Shannon. Jackson, MS
I urge you my brothers and sisters, in view of Gods mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God- this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.then you will be able to test and approve what Gods will is- His good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:1-2 NIV
Holly, Snellville “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.”
South Bend, IN: “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” (Romans 12:12).
Sherri S, Richmond, VA
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Psalm 107:1 (NIV)
Lee Ann,Brentwood – “He must become greater; I must become less.” John 3:30 NIV
Christy Amsterdam, NY “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galations 6:9
DeAnn, Rome GA -I am your servant; give me understanding (disernment & comprehension), that I may know (discern & be familiar with the character of) your testimonies.Amplified Psalms 119:125
“His eyes are like blazing fire and on His head are many crowns. He has a name written on Him that no one knows but He, Himself.” Revelation 19:12 NIV
Cindy, Henrietta, TX
Romans 3:14 NIV He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
Harriet
Wexford, PA
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own.” 1 Corinthians 6:19 NIV
McKenna, Henrietta, TX
Kathryn, Raleigh
Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.” Psalm 90:14
Marcy, Sandia Park NM: Wait and hope for and expect the Lord, be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord. Ps. 27:14 (Amp)
Martha, Waco: Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. 1 Chronicles 16:11 NIV.
Ann
Murrells Inlet, SC
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy spirit. Romans 15: 13 NIV
Psalms 145:19 (NIV)
He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.
From Kirsten in Roswell, Georgia:
“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people—”
Colossians 1:3-4
Jeremiah 17:7,8 NIV. But Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; it’s leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and nver fails to bear fruit.
Lynn, Louisville
I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.
Psalm 27: 13-14 (KJV)
Nell, Chattanooga, TN
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
Ephesians 6:14 NIV
Erin from Cypress
“Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.”
1 Corinthians 9:19 NIV
Lisa, Knoxville
And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 NIV
Rhonda Newnan, Ga.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (New International Version,
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.[a]
Dannel, Holtwood PA
Romans 8:1-3 NIV Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so He condemned sin in sinful man,
Lisa, Knoxville
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Hatthew 6:26
Leah, Little Falls
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
“Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.” Phil. 1:12
Melinda, Pearland, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you know Him better.” Ephesians 1:17 NIV
Victoria from Venice, FL
Do everythng without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe…
Philippians 2:14-15 (NIV)
Christy, Burbank, CA.
“Hear O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
Deut. 6:4-5 (NASB)
Therefore I am well content with weakness, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Cor. 12:10
Sheryl, Jacksonville – Psalm 86:11 “Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.”
Jennelle
Pollock Pines, CA
“..we were like those who dreamed.
Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.
Psalm 126:1b-3 NIV