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!
Staci, Wichita KS. Psalm 63:1 NIV
O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you,in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Sandy
Ames, IA
Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. Isaiah 12:2
Amy, Quincy
Mark 4:19, NIV
But the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.
From Martinsville, NJ
“The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results.”
James 5:16 (NLT)
1 Peter 3:3,4
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit which if of great worth in God’s sight. NIV
Psalm 40:5
~Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders You have done, the things You planned for us. No one can compare with You; were I to speak and tell of Your deeds they would be too many to declare.
Julie, Youngstown. So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty. Zechariah 4:6, NIV
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Matthew 5:8
Chantel, San Angelo
Isaiah 58:11 – The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail
“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you,all whose thoughts are fixed on you!Trust in the Lord always,
for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.” Isaiah 26:3-4
nancy – LPM
houston
My soul, wait only upon God and silently submit to Him; for my hope and expectation are from Him. Psalm 62:5 Amplified
Christine, Houston:
The LORD is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1 NRsV
Wendy
Rock Island, IL
“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 hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
Lake Jackson, TX
John 20:31 NIV
But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, The Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.
Paige, Loganville, NIV Is. 43:10 “you are my witnesses,” declares the LORD,”and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I Am He. Before Me no God was formed, nor will there be one after Me.”
Karen, San Antonio, TX:
Direct me in the path of your commands,
for there I find delight.
Psalm 119:35
Matthew 7:7-8
Keep on asking,and you will receive what you askfor. Keep on seeking and you will find Keep on knocking,and the door will be opened to you For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
NIV
Tanya, Warren, Romans 15:13 (NIV)
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.
I’m so excited,I just downloaded the cards from the website
I have beautiful Scripture memory cards now.I have all colors of vellum/ink & paper-soooo pretty
How awesome of ya’ll
thank you a millions times over! My heart is so very thankful
Psalm 40:5 (NIV)
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.
Praise GOD!!
Joy, Victoria, TX:
“He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it!”
1 Thessalonians 5:24 (English Standard Version)
Katie. Knoxville, TN. 2 Corinthians 12:9
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
Prescott, AZ
2 Timothy 1:7-For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Sandy, Texas
Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: Hebrews 12:14 NKJV
Leslie, Princeton, NJ:
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13, NIV
Katherine
The Colony, TX
Strength and dignity are her clothing,
And she smiles at the future.
Proverbs 31:25 NASB
SSMT #2
Kind words bring life, but cruel words crush your spirit.
Proverbs 15:4 (Today’s Version)
Save now, I pray, O Lord; O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity. Psalm 118:25 NKJV
Patti, Kissimmee, FL
Revelation 21:3-4 (NLT)
I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
Colossians 3:17
And whatsoever ye do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Neh. 4:14
And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your breathren, your sons, yours daughters, your wives, and your houses.”
Laura VMS, London, Ontario, Canada
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73 vs 26 NIV
“Teach us to number our days aright, that we might gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalms 90:12
Judie – Sterling City, TX
“Look at the nations and watch–and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.”
Habakkuk 1:5 NIV
Elizabeth – Birmingham, AL:
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Ps 119:105 (NASB)
Isaiah 58:11 – The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
Lindsey, Salisbury.
“God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent;
Has He said, and will He not do it?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
~Numbers 23:19 NASB
Debra, Powder Springs. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves in compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the LORD forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, Col. 3:12-15a NIV
Is40:28 Have you not known, have you not heard, the everlasting God, the Lord the creator of the ends of the earth does not faint or grow weary, there is no searchingof his understanding.
amp. Toni from Lousiana
Andrea, Poulsbo, WA
I remain confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord
Psalm 27:13,14 NIV
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. (Heb. 10:23-25, NKJV)
Wendy, San Antonio, TX: Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
~ Ephesians 3:20, NLT
Liz, Overland Park, KS – “Before destruction, a man’s heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.” – Prov.18:12 (ESV)
Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. ~Psalm 37:8 NIV
Amber, Clarksville, TN – “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23 NIV
O Israel, you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things from among you. Josh 7:13 NIV
Mary
Burke, VA
When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them,and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.
John 10:4 NIV
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
Colossians 3:1-2 NIV
Amy, Fayetteville
“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.” Proverbs 16:3 New International Version
“Why spend your 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.” Isaiah 55:2