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!
Susan, Winnipeg
“He is your constant source of stability; He abundantly provides safety and great wisdom. He gives all this to those who fear Him.” Is 33:6 NET
Perri, Opelika, 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. Lamentations 3:22,23
rae, columbus, tx:”I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26, NIV
Norma,Rowlett,Tx. Teach me your way O LORD;and I will walk in your truth;give me an undivided heart,that I may fear your name.Psalm 86:11,NIV
Lisa, McKinney, Texas
1Peter 1:15
Like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior.
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
Andrea Thiele
Surprise, Arizona
Becky
Westerville, OH.
“I would have lost heart unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”
Ps. 27:13 NKJV
Sue, Virginia
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait
for the Lord.
Psalm 27:14
NIV
Leaon Star
Lamar, Arkansas
Psalm 25:4-5 “Show me your ways, LORD,
teach me your paths.
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.” (NIV)
Teri S. Gadsden, Al
There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD. Prov. 21:30 NIV
April, Hume
“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…” Ephesians 3:20 NIV
My salvation and my honor depend on God, he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Psalm 62:7 NIV
Karla, Athens, AL
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves, Do what it says.
James 1:22 NIV
Epheisans 4:29 NLT
Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
Elizabeth Brown
Charlotte, NC
Nichole C – Nashville, TN
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. – Philippians 1:6
Erin, Chicago
“Put your hope in the Lord. Travel steadily along his path. He will honor you by giving you the land. You will see the wicked destroyed.” Psalm 37:34, NLT
Denise, Fresno, CA “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38,39 NIV
Rhonda, Ridgeland, Mississippi
But it is just as the Scriptures say, “What God has planned for people who love him is more than eyes have seen or ears have heard. It has never even entered our minds!”
1 Corinthians 2:9 – Contemporary English Version
Cindy B
alton NH
Lead me in thy truth and teach me; for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.
Psalm 25:5 King James
Christine, Union, MO. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.”
Col 3:23 NIV
Dianne, Waycross, GA “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
“When there is strife, there is pride, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.” Prov.13:10 NIV
Bethany
Abilene TX
Proverbs 31:26, 27: “She speaks wise words and teaches others to be kind. She watches over her family and never wastes her time.” New Century Version (NCV)
Shannon in Louisville, KY
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.
Romans 8:38 – NLT
Toni, Sugar Hill, GA
“Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave, just as the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:26-28 NASB
Jane, Milton, GA Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws we wait for you, your name and your renown are the desires of our hearts. Isaiah 26:8 (NIV)
Becky, St. Augustine,
“The name of the LORD is a strong tower;
the righteous run to it and are safe.”
Proverbs 18:10 NIV
Bridget, Portland, TX
Romans 5:3
“And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perserverance, character; and charter, hope.” (NKJV)
Tanya, Birmingham, Alabama
Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Psalm 25:4 NIV
Eleanor North Palm Beach, FL
Isaiah 41:10 HCSB
“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand.”
Nicole from Oxford, MS “‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the Lord. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts'”
Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT
Denise in Walton, Kentucky
1 Samuel 16:7 NIV
7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
Melanie & Kara Miller, Nampa, Idaho
M: Eph 1:4 NLT – Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.
K: Ps 103:2 – I will praise the Lord. I won’t forget anything he does for me.
Isaiah 43:2
“Sarah, I have called you by name; you are mine.
When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be
burned up; the flames will not consume you.”
Elissa, Barkhamsted, CT:
“So I say to you; Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be open to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks find, and to him who knocks, the door will be opened” ~ Luke 11:9&10 NIV
LORD, I’m knocking and asking for Your perfect will for me♥
Holli, Smiths Station, AL:
“Therefore, laying aside all malice (vicious character), all deceit (craftiness or treachery), hyprocrisy (pretense or insecurity), envy (displeasure at seeing the prosperity of others), and all evil speaking (slander or speaking evil of someone),…”
1 Peter 2:1 NKJV
(In parentheses, from Kay Arthur’s “Living with Discernment in the End Times”—REALLY made me do some soul searching.)
Roselyn, Houston, MS. I’m sorry I posted my verse 2 originally under the verse 1.
“God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.” Psalm 51:10 (MSG)
Siobhan, Austin, AR. “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking on the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5-11 ESV
Autumn-Rose, Castle Rock, CO – Genesis 1:27 (NLT) God created people (man) in his image; God patterned them after himself; male & female, he created them. (see http://anielasmommy.blogspot.com/2011/01/beginning.html)
Allison, Johnson City, Tn
The one who lives under the protection of the Most High dwells in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Psalm 91:1-2 (HCSB)
Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.
~Psalm 46:10, NIV~
Carol
Carthage, NY
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him & he will do this:
He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
Psalm 37:5&6 NIV
Donna,Albuquerque…”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 hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 4:6-7…NIV
Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4
Kristen Allen, TX
“…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. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when i am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NIV
Debbie from Chesapeake,VA – You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance. Psalm 65:11 NLT
Anna, Corvallis OR
“Do not let your heart be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.In my Father’s house there are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”
John 14:1-4
Anna, I like your verse…What a hope and promise! Donna Albuquerque
Kelly, Columbia, SC
And Paul said, “I would wish to God, that whether in a short or long time not only you, but all who hear my voice this day, might become such as I am, except for these chains.”
Acts 26:29 NASB
The Lord your God is with you, he is might 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
Shelli, Fort Worth: “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” John 15:12 NIV