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!
Angie; London, AR;
But he said to me, “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. II Corinthians 12:9 NIV
Vallee, Thomasville, AL. “I am still 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.” Psalms 27:13-14 NIV
Deanna, Holmdel, NJ
And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7 nasb
Michelle from New Roads, Louisiana:
“I waited patiently for the Lord. He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of destruction, out of the sticky mud. He stood me on a rock and made my feet steady. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many people will see this and worship Him. Then they will trust the Lord.”
Psalm 40:1-3 New Century Version
Salem, NH
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
Toni, Beaumont TX
“Let no corrupt communication proceed our of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.”
Ephesians 4:29 KJV
Phillipians 3:10-“For my determined purpose is that I may know Him, that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly!”
Ooops! So sxcited to share with you girls that I forgot to tell you the verse is in the amplified version!
Tangila, Pearland
“So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11 (NKJV)
Christal, Winston-Salem
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than 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, forever and ever! Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21 NIV
Beth-Marion
We may come near, then, with freedom, to the throne of grace, that we may receive kindness and find grace-for seasonal help. Hebrews 4:16 Young’s Lit. Trans.
Debbie, N Ireland “We though, are going to love – love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.” I John 4:19 (The Message)
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31 (KJV)
Danielle- Ely, United Kingdom:
“For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Revelation 7:17 (NIV)
Diane, Rockford MI
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Psalm 19:14 NIV
Karen – Cumming, GA “Do everything without complaining and arguing” Philippians 2:14 NLT
Federal Way, WA
“but she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives.” 1 Timothy 5:6 ESV
One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. Psalm 27:4
Sharon, New Jersey
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV
This Psalm has become so very real to me.
The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want. Psalm 23:1 NKJ
Barbara, Prospect, KY: Trust in the him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:8 NIV
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)
Noemi, Colorado Springs: “Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new” 2 Corinthians 5:17 Contemporary English Version. Add another 50 hispanic ladies memorizing Scripture through my website:http://elrinconcitodelapaz.com/
Tricia, Xenia, OH
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. Ps. 18:30 (NIV)
Karina, Recife – Brazil
“The LORD has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad” Psalm 118:24 NIV
Lisa, Granville, OH “Sustain me according to your promise, and I will live; do not let my hopes be dashed.” Psalm 119:116 NIV
Angie P. ~ Newark, DE ~ 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)
Ginger, Columbus, Ga: “See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.” Isaiah 49:16 NIV
Addie (age 15), Kernersville NC: 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. Psalm 63:3-4 {NIV}
Psalm 62:1 NIV My sould finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.
Meggie, Colorado Springs, CO.
16″You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in My name. 17This is my command: Love each other.”
John 15:16-17 NIV
God chose us (isn’t that amazing) – to bear fruit siesta’s, so love each other and go forth and bear fruit.
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 1:4 NIV
Nancy, Columbus IN
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 hm in his temple.
Ps 27:4 NIV
Kristi, Rogersville, TN
Revelation 17:14 NIV
They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings – and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.
Jane, St. Louis
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.” Isaiah 26:3-4 (ESV)
Leesburg, IN
For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands and your joy will be complete. Ps. 126:5 NIV
Cypress, CA
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart. NIV
Donna, Raleigh, NC
Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this. Psalm 37:4-5 (NIV)
Kasey Ewing, Bossier City, LA
In that day they will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.” Is. 25:9 NIV
“Though the fig tree should not blossom, and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail, and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold, and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.” Habakkuk 3:17, 18 (NASB)
Cathy, Walton, IN ” God is our refuge and strength, our ever present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1
LOVE the new App!!
Jacqueline in Sherwood, Oregon
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom. 8:38-39 (NKJ)
Hebrews 12:7 (NIV)
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?
Cristin
Ft Campbell
Casey, Fayetteville, AR
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 NLV
Shirley
Athens, AL
“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in Heaven.”
Matt 6:1 NIV
Amanda, Houston, TX
“Finishing is better than starting. Patience is better than pride.” Ecclesiastes 7:8, New Living Trans.
Gayla, Lee’s Summit, MO
1 Cor. 6:19-20
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.
Delores, Shoreline, WA
Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young–a place near Your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they are ever praising You.
Ps. 84:3-4 NIV
He died for us, a death that triggered life. Whether we’re awake with the living or asleep with the dead, we’re alive with him! So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you’re already doing this; just keep on doing it.
I Thessalonians 5:10-11 (The Message)
Kim, Missouri
“Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy.”
Psalm 126:5 (NLT)
Caitlin, Tulsa, OK
Colossians 3:12-13- So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. (NASB)