Hey Siestas!
Can you fathom that we are on our 10th memory verse??? Good grief! 2011 is almost halfway over! Amanda and Curtis just got Jackson’s preschool graduation pictures and we all nearly flipped. It is the cutest thing ever, especially with that missing front tooth. His ceremony is in a few days but the little blue cap and gown just about put all of us over the edge. We will have a kindergartener next year and a mighty fine one at that. It just sails by. And how well many of you know.
I am getting lots of questions about whether or not we’re having Siesta Summer Bible Study. I want to say yes so badly. I have tried to turn this puzzle piece every conceivable direction to see how it would fit on the table. Between SSMT every 1st and 15th, the summer Living Proof Lives, the final Deeper Still, and, probably the biggest factor of all, the complete James manuscript due date at the end of summer, I just can’t make it work and still be a wife, mom, and active Bibby. I also don’t have my faithful blog master, Amanda, here to assist me with all that summer Bible study entails right now. I am, however, presently thinking of some ways that we can hold one another accountable to stay in the Scriptures this summer and also give you the opportunity to connect with other Siestas who want to do some of the same studies. Stay tuned for that. For now, I’ll joyfully recommend to you two that I’ve done this Spring:
Duty or Delight by Tammie Head (Many of you will remember getting to know this brand new author in April through our blog video. She is dear to me and will no doubt become dear to many of you.)
Brave by Angela Thomas (Angela is a gifted teacher and writer and I try not to let anything she offers sit on the bookstore shelf for long before I bag it and read it. I’m almost finished with this study and have been tremendously blessed by it.)
Both of those women love Jesus and communicate His Word beautifully. And you know how I feel about Priscilla Shirer and everything God uses her to bring to the table. You’ll never miss on her. Man, I wish we could do one of their studies the traditional way in Siestaville this summer but sometimes we realize that even another good thing is perhaps the wrong thing for now. If the Lord is willing, we’ll definitely do a study our usual way next summer on the off year from SSMT.
OK, young ladies, how about that 10th verse?? NO DROP OUTS!!! This verse is trying to leap off the page at me this time around and not so much for my own plight right now but for some people I really love:
Beth, Houston, Texas. “The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He delivers those who are discouraged.” Psalm 34:18 The NET Bible
Praise You, Lord. You are so faithful. Close in on those who are brokenhearted and hold them in Your healing grasp. Deliver the discouraged in such dramatic ways that You alone get the credit. We exist here in this blog community to give You glory, Lord. Come and get it. Our eyes are to the skies.
Jennifer, Huntsville: “The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He delivers those who are discouraged.” Psalm 34:18 The NET Bible
Darcie, Bethel, CT — “Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” Luke 19:9-10 NIV
“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-like is forced into the open and shows its true colors.” James 1:2 MSG
Wow, I really like the MSG version of this! I’ll have to memorize it. 🙂
The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He delivers those who are discouraged.
Psalm 34:18
NET
Marita, Maricopa, AZ
Nubers 6:24-26 (ESV)
The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Alta, Indiana
“The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”
Galatians 5:6b NIV
Jackie from Lake Charles: “For I tell you that men will have to give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken” Matt 12:36 NIV
Psalm 145:17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made.
Maurina from Lake Charles: “For I tell you that men will have to give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.” Matt 12:36 NIV
Tiffany, Columbus, OH: “Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that come from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.” Ephesians 6:14-16 (NLT)
christina, Plano, Texas –
The LORD is righteous in all His ways
And kind in all His deeds (Psalm 145:17, NASB).
Hi Christina, I like your verse! (I’m memorizing the same one only in the NIV:) Next month I plan to memorize the next verse, 18, in that same Psalm. My sister-in-law and family use to live in Plano, now they live in MN. Hope you have a day of blessing!
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” John 17:3 (NKJV)
Natalie- Jacksonville, Psalms 139:1&2 O Lord you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts fromm afar.
Heather, Shokan, New York
Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.
1 Peter 4:9 NKJV
Patti, Monument, Colorado
“Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him.” Isaiah 30:18 NIV
Proverbs 24:17-18
“Don’t be happy when your enemy falls.When he trips, don’t let your heart be glad.The Lord will see it, but he won’t be pleased.He might turn his anger away from your enemy.”
NIV
Leslie in Warner Robins, GA
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart.”
Jeremiach 29:13 NIV
Trina, Mansfield, TX
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” 2Timothy1:7(NIV)
Susan, Tucson, 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
Lisa, Rainbow City, Alabama….”Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.” Romans 8:1-4 (NIV)
Shelli, Fort Worth: “The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He delivers those who are discouraged.” Psalm 34:18 NET
Shelli, Richmond “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37 NIV)
Time for L week -Nancy, Versailles, Ky
Listen to advice and accept instruction,
and in the end you will be wise. -Prov 19:20 NIV ’84
Ali C. Dublin, CA- “For nothing is impossible with God.” Luke 1:37 NLT
Okie Susan (and her Wichita sister)
And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.” Luke 1:46 NIV
Oh, how my spirit rejoices in God my Savior today!!!
Ruth in Westerville, Ohio
“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard yours hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:7 NIV
Kathi Jacksonville, Fl “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I wll fearlessly make know the mystery of the gospel.”-Ephesians 6:19 NIV
Beth, Platte, SD: “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
Joyce, Lebanon, Tennessee
You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.
Psalms 32: 7 NIV
Mariposa – Albuquerque NM
If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36 NIV
Elizabeth, Rocky Mount, North Carolina:
Psalm 37:4, NIV – “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
Jennifer, Chantilly
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:18, NIV
Cindy, Laguna Niguel, CA. “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.” 1 Peter 1:22 NIV
Melanie, Houston, Texas: Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. (Ephesians 6:13 NIV)
L Diane, Indianapolis
This is what the Lord says–your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.”
Isaiah 48:17
Janet, Georgia: “Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.” –Psalm 119:89 (NIV)
Susan, Barrie, ON,Canada
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”
2 Corinthians 4:7
Cathy from Loxahatchee, FL
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.
Debbie
Walpole, MA
1 John 1:8 (NIV)
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”
Christy, Pennsylvania
1 John 5:2 We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey his commandments. New Living Translation
Nitsa, Eugene, OR
“There is one who speaks rashly like the thrust of a sword,
But the tongue of the wise brings healing.”
Proverbs 12:18 NAS
Paula, Russell, KY
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3 NIV
Julie, Prescott, AZ
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,”
Colossians 3:23 NIV
Hannah, Perry, MI
“I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing.”
John 15:5, The Message
He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When the flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it because it was well built., Luke 6:48, NIV
Psalm 56:3
“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you”.
ESV
Psalms 32:7
You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.
Amanda,
Guernsey, WY
No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
Joshua 1:5 NASB
Romans 8:31 …If God is for us, who can be against us?
Lisa, Jackson, MO. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18
Psalm 34:18 was put before me way too many times not to use this verse this week. I need some prayers to keep the energetic mindset for SSMT please.