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.
Shelli, Houston: “A wise woman builds her home, but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands.” ~ Proverbs 14:1 (NLT)
Peace River, Ab
I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
Phillipians 3:8
Leslie Nobles Currie, NC
Proverbs 19:21 NIV
Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
James 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
dixie, santa monica,california
Psalm 32:1-2 NIV
Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count
against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.
Cindy in Midland, TX now relocated to Mt. Pleasant, SC
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Hebrews 12:1 NIV
April, Oviedo, FL
“For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” Isaiah 41:13 NIV
“See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.” 1 John 3:1 NASB
Susan, Wake Forest NC:
II Corinthians 5:16-17 NIV
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
Wendy, Vero Beach
“Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me.”
~Psalm 119:133 New International Version
Jane, Canton, Il.
“devote yourselves to prayer,keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.”
Colossians 4:2. Ryrie
Susan, Andover, KS –
“The Lord 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)
“Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit.”
Psalm 147:5 (NIV)
Wendi from Sulphur, LA
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.
Colossians 3:23. NIV
Delores, Columbia TN
Matthew 8:13 NKJV
Then Jesus said to the centurion,
“Go your way; and as you have believed, so
let it be done for you.” And his servant was
healed that same hour.
Susan, Canton, Mi
“Am I now trying to win the approval of men or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I am trying to please men I would not be a servant of Christ.” Gal 1:10 NIV
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting Psalm 139:23-24
NIV
Kari in Benton, Ar
Kelly, Lilburn, GA :
This is what the Lord says:
“Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 9:23-24 (NIV)
Owensboro,Ky
“Therefore,my brothers,you whom I love
and long for, my joy and crown.”
Philippians 4:1 NIV
Judy, East Chain, MN
“The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He delivers those who are discouraged.” Psalm 34:18 (The NET Bible)
Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have so that no one will take your crown.
Rev. 3: 10-11 NIV
Elaine, New Orleans, LA
“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His love endures forever. Psalm 136:1 (NIV)
Connie, Chariton, Iowa Psalm 103:1 Bless The Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! NKJV
Diane, Ocala, FL
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is Good. His love endures forever. Psalm 136:1 NIV
James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Debbie laureen ,New Port Richey FL
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” 1 Peter5:7 NIV
Amber
Sulphur, LA
He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.
Isaiah 40:29
Nancy, Oxford, Fl,
Micah 6:8 NIV, He has showed you, O man, What is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to have mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Wendy, San Francisco, CA. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. Luke 19:10, NIV
Jan Topeka, KS
Hebrews 13:8
Jesus the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Audrey Rockwall, TX John 10:11 a NIV
I am the good shepherd.
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Hebrews 13:8 NIV
Cindy, Union Grove
I will praise you O Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonders.
Psalm 9:1 NIV
Marilyn from Taylor Mill, KY
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body will also live in hope. Acts 2:26
I John 3:18 (NIV)
Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
Tami
Columbus, Ohio
John 8: 31 & 32 (NKJ) If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Renita-Prattville
6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. (NIV)
Vivian
Birmingham, Alabama
“The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He delivers those who are discouraged.” Psalm 34:18 The NET Bible
Diane, Ontario, Canada
“The Lord is near the brokenhearted, He delivers those who are discouraged.”
Ps. 34:18 The NET Bible
Jeanene Newnan, GA
Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4 NIV
Erin
Albion, IL
1 John 4:19 We love because he first loved us (NIV).
Kim, Monroe, NC
I lift up my eyes to the hills– where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
Psalm 121:2 NIV
Pauline, Kearney, NE
…”Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And throught he rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.”
Isaiah 43: 1b-2 NKJV
Becky, Springfield, MO. “The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He delivers those who are discouraged.” Psalm 34:18 The NET Bible
Erika, San Antonio, Texas:
Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.
(Psalm 37:5-6 ESV)
1 Peter 3:3-4 NIV – Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.
Shannon Flagstaff “Not by might nor by power but by My spirit says the Lord Almighty” Zechariah 4:6
Callee from Houston, Tx “Be very careful, then, how you live -not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil.” Eph 5:15-16 NIV
Martha, Clearwater, FL
” The Lord is near to the brokenhearted; He delivers those who are discouraged”
Psalm 34:14 NET
I forgot to put Richmond, VA
Bethany
Clyde, TX
Psalms 36:7–
“How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.”
Susan – Maynard, MA
“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.” Philippians 2:13 NLT