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!
Tereasa, Tacoma, WA: “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
Katie, Monterey CA
Wait on the LORD;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD! Psalm 27:14 NKJV
Mindy from Kimberly – “for like the grass they will soon wither,like green plants they will soon die away.” Psalm 37:2 NIV
Lacey, Leonard TX. “Look to the Lord and His strength, seek His face always.” 1 Chronicles 16:11 NIV
Connie
Austin TX
Ps 29:11 (amplified)
The Lord will give [unyielding and impenetrable] strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace
Sarah, Vancouver WA
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 heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:6-7 (NIV)
Rebecca, Dallas, TX: “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)
Laurie, New Hope, VA. Ephesians 3:17b-19 And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (NIV, 1984)
“In the last days, God says, I will pour out my spirit on all people. You sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.” Acts 2:17 NIV
Janae – Riverside,PA “and in the wilderness where you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place.” Deuteronomy 1:31(NKJV)
Hanni, Indiana:
For the LORD your God has arrived to live among you. He is a mighty Savior. He will rejoice over you with great gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will exult over you by singing a happy song. (Zeph. 3:17, NLT)
melissa, Holtwood, PA
He who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him. (Psalm 32:10)_
Trish from Colorado ~
Continuing to memorize the book of Colossians this week is Colossians 1:5-6
…because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as {it has been doing} in you also since the day you heard {of it} and understood the grace of God in truth; (NASB)
P.S. My 6 year old daughter is memorizing this year with me.
Proverbs 31:25, NIV
“She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.”
Angi, Land O’Lakes, FL, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 (NASB)
Jill, Lexington, KY
“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8 NIV
Melissa, New York, New York
14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. 15 For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?
2 Corinthians 2:14-16 (NIV ’84)
Peggy, Crowley Lake, CA
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Romans 15:13 ESV
Debbie Pinckney MI
Psalm 143:8 NIV
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. Hab. 3:18
Michelle, TX
Cheri, Savage, MN Psalm 63:1-5 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. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
Gayle, Old Bridge, “Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall.”
Psalm 55:22 NIV
Verse 2
Jeremiah 1:5 (NCV)
“Before I made you in your mother’s womb, I chose you. Before you were born, I set you apart for a special work. I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
Annette, Mount Pleasant, SC, Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” John 11:40 HCSB
Trinna, Mandeville, “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)
Nancy, Tucson, AZ
“The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.” Romans 8:6 NIV
Lori, Parma, OH: Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.— 2 Corinthians 4:16 (NIV)
Debbie Burdzy, Calgary, Alberta.
“…no word from God will ever fail” (NIV 2010) &
“For nothing is impossible with God.” (NASB)
Luke 1:37.
Let’s do a happy dance!!!!
Georgia, Whitewright, TX
One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.
5For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock. ~ Psalm 27:4-5
Chesney Crouch, Knoxville. “Teach me Your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to Your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor You. With all my heart I will praise You, O Lord my God. I will give glory to Your name forever, for Your love for me is very great. You have rescued me from the depths of death.” Psalm 86:11-13 NLT
Teresa, Newcomerstown, Ohio
My dear brothers and sisters, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, never think some people are more important than others. James 1:2 New Century Version
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
Psalm 91:2
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and make us realize what is wrong in our lives. Its straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right.
2 Timothy 3:16 – NLT
Karin, Johannesburg South Africa, Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23 NKJ
Habakkuk 17-18
Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior. [NIV]
Romans 12:12 (NIV)
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
Kristen, Kansas City,KS
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.
II Corinthians 10:4-5
Jan, Geraldine “Many O Lord my God, are the wonders You hae 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.” Ps 40:5
Heidi in Whitefish, Montana
Last verse: “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your hands, just as we told you…
New verse: so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12
Lauren, Lexington. “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:5 NRSV
Rebekah in Wheatland, CA: “We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you. Psalm 33:20-22 NIV
Judy, Dallas, “I will remember the deeds of the LORD; Yes, I will remember Your wonders of old. I will ponder all Your work, and meditate on Your mighty deeds.” Ps 77.11-12 ESV
Nakisha, Zeeland MI
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more that all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen”
Eph 3:20-21
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted
And saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:18 (NASB)
Today was the due date of the baby I misacarried last year.
Sorry- from Kristen, Tuscaloosa
I am sorry for your loss Kristen. I have been there too, many, many years ago. May Jesus fill that heartache with His love and grace.
Sherri, Topeka, KS: I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:16-19
Judy from Louisiana, Psalms 63:3
“Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.” (NIV)
Carisa, Hillsboro, KS: Above all else guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23 NIV
Beaumont, Tx Ephesians 4:29 NIV 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.
Beth, Stillwater. Romans 12:9-10. “Love must be sincere. Hate was it evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.” NKJV.
Elizabeth, Atlanta
He who answers before listening, that is his folly and shame. Proverbs 18:13