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!
Mary, in Seymour:
and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you,
1 Thessalonians 4:11 NASB
Julie
Clanton, AL
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither – whatever they do prospers. Psalm 1: 1-3, NIV
Julie, Texarkana – So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. Heb. 10:35 NIV
Thanks,Julie!
Jennifer, Cleveland, Ohio, Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. – Philippians 4;6-7, The message
I loved that translation, i had never read that before!
Courtney, Houma, LA
Show me the right path, O Lord, point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.
Psalm 25:4-5, NLT
Lisa, Orlando. “Please, Lord, let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and to that of Your servants who delight to revere Your name. Give Your servant success today…” Nehemiah 1:11 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
So we don’t look at troubles we can see right now;rather,we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever. 2nd Corinthians 4:18
Jillian Olathe, KS Matthew 17:20 (Message) “Because you’re not yet taking God seriously,” said Jesus. “The simple truth is that if you had a mere kernel of faith, a poppy seed, say, you would tell this mountain, ‘Move!’ and it would move. There is nothing you wouldn’t be able to tackle.”
Jennifer, Oklahoma City, OK
“The Lord your God carried you as a man carries his son, all the way
you went until you came to this place.” Deut. 1:31 (NIV)
Psalm 16:7 “I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.”
Kelly, Atlanta –
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.” Psalm 139:23 (NIV)
Deneen, Pittsburgh
“Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek for me with all of your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:12-13 NIV
Jennifer P. Russellville, AR
Oh Lord my God, you have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them. Psalm 40:5 NLT
Nancy – Newport News, VA
Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.Ps.119:105
NIV
Jamie, Raytown. “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” Colossians 3:2 ESV
Jackie from Ionia: Proverbs 31:12-13 “She does him good and not evil All the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax, And willingly works with her hands. ” NKJ
Beth, Taylorsville, GA
“Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name give glory, because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth. Why should the nations say, “Where now is their God?” But our God is in the heavens; He does what ever He pleases.” Ps 115:1-3 NAS
Psalm 27:13-14 NKJV
I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
Wait on the LORD;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD!
elaine – new orleans, louisiana
1 John 2:17
The world and its desires pass away, but the [wo]man who does the will of God lives forever.
Marybeth in Oxford, PA- “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the LORD!” Psalm 27:13-14 NKJV
Debbie, Walpole MA
Psalm 9:10 – NIV – Those who know your name will trust on you, for you Lord have never forsaken those who seek you.
Brooke Birmingham, AL
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself ” The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”
Lamentations 3:22-24 NIV
Did you go to Samford?
Nope…my husband went to seminary at Beeson though.
“My determined purpose is that i may know Him, that I may progressively become more deeply intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His person. ” Philippians 3:10 AMP
Alta, Sharpsville In
Oh- this one is it for me!!!
Shawna
Longmont
Luke 1:37 (NIV)
For nothing is impossible with God.
Dawn in Monett, MO
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.
Chrissy, Detroit Lakes, MN: “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27 (NIV)
Tracy
Atlanta, GA
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.”
1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV)
Alicia, NE Ky,
“Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.” Ephesians 5:33 KJV
mercy Tampa, Florida
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see (Hebrew 11:1 NIV)
Tammy from Marietta, GA: “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.” NIV
Pam, Greensboro, NC “It is for freedom that Christ has set us (me) free. (I will) Stand firm then and do not (will not) let yourselves (myself)be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Gal. 5:1 NIV (parentheses mine)
Standing firm and standing in agreement in prayer with and for you. Thanks so much for this word – it resonates all the way to the marrow of my bones!
Debbie Fuqua, Clarksville TN
“For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you,Fear not, I will help you.”
Isaiah 41:13
NKJV
Piedmont, OK “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.”
Psalm 34:18 NKJ
Kristina, MN. “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)
“Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully.” ~ 2 John 1:8 (NIV)
Crystal City, Manitoba, Canada
Isaiah 58:11 ESV
And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in.
Kimberly, Houston
You crown the year with Your good blessings; You leave abundance in Your wake! Ps 65:11 NET
Love that you are commenting too! Can’t wait to hug your neck again in Houston!
Joy, Peachtree City. “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. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.” Jeremiah 29: 11-12 NIV,(copyright 2010
What a promise the Lord has given to us it sure covers the waterfrout … AMEN
Kristy, Wake Forest, NC- “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take a stand against the devil’s schemes.” Ephesians 6:10-11 (NIV)
Penney, Caribou, Maine
“Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine.”
Leviticus 20:26 NASB
Angie, Kansas City, MO: Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23 (NIV)
Live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desire of the sinful nature. GAL. 5:16 ESV
“The Lord your God is with you,
He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
He will quiet you with his love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”
Zephaniah 3:17, NIV
Abilene Kansas, NIV Jude 1:2 “Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance”
LeAnne in Malawi: May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 15:5-6 ESV
Sheri
New Lebanon
Dear brothers and sisters,when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. James 1: 1-2 NLT
Belinda, Jackson, LA
Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and mutual edification. Romans 14:18 NKJV
“Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.” Philippians 4:6-7 The Message
Diane, Naples NC
“All things work together for the good of those that love the Lord and are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 NIV
Kimberly W. Cleveland, TN
Deuteronomy 31;6,8 KJV
6. Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
8. And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neith be dismayed.