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.
Kate, Hillsboro, OR
Rather, let our lives lovingly express truth [in all things, speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly]. Enfolded in love, let us grow up in every way and in all things into Him who is the Head, [even] Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One). Ehpesians 4:15 Amplified Bible
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.
Psalm 27:4 NIV
O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is. Psalm 63:1 (NIV)
Katie
Frisco, Texas
“for you are great and do marvelous deeds;
you alone are God.”
Psalm 86:9
Libby, Littleton, Co (ESV) – Isaiah 55:2 “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food… hear that your soul might live.”
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”
John 10: 27-30
(NASB)
See, I have carved you in the palms of my hands;your walls are ever before me.
Isaiah49:16 NIV
Jeannette from Land O Lakes, FL
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12 NIV
Nicole T.
Blue Springs, MO
“The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He delivers those who are discouraged.” Psalm 34:18 The NET Bible
“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Hebrews 10:25 NIV
Shauna
Horn Lake, MS
Hebrews 4:12 (HCSB)
For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as to divide soul, spirit, joints, and marrow; it is a judge of the ideas and thoughts of the heart.
Tracy, Charlotte, NC
Psalm 145:17 NIV
The LORD is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does.
Heather, Glencoe AL;
The Lord God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17(NIV)
Cathy, Dallas:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and he will make your path straight. Proverbs 3:5-6
Sarah – Lufkin
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 (New Living Translation)
21 It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us, 22 and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us.
Marceil, Cedar Rapids, IA Colossians 1:15 “in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” NASV
Tricia, Eldridge, IA
“Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer.”
Psalm 61:1 NIV
Toni, Benton, AR. “The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He delivers those who are discouraged.” Psalm 34:18 The NET Bible
Karen Basham, Lutz, FL: “But You, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head.” Psalm 3:3 NASB
Rebecca, Pineville, LA
Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord! Psalm 27:14,NET
Kim, W.Richland
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Mark 11:24 NIV
Miranda
Fort Payne, AL
‘Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.’ Gal 6:9 (NIV)
The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He delivers those who are discouraged.” Psalm 34:18 The NET Bible
Karen-Leonard, Tx
Col 3:23 NIV
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.
Gracen. Floyds Knobs, IN
“Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and shun evil.”
– Proverbs 3:7 NIV
Sharon, Geigertown, PA
Psalm 143:10 “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.” (NLT)
Crystal: Everett, Canada – “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-NIV
Dawn, Zionsville
For you created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made, your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one them came to be.
Psalm 139: 13-16 NIV
Jill Z., Gulfport, MS – “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.” 2 Peter 1:3 NLT
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.” 1 Corinthians 13:4
Beth, Houston
Stacy Detroit mi
Ephesians 4:2 (niv)
“be completely humble and gentle, be patient bearing with one another in love.”
Heather, Leawood, Kansas. “He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.” Psalm 91:4 (NIV).
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
Brittany
Dallas, Texas
“Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6, NIV)
Peggy, Cypress TX
Isaiah 43:10 NIV
“You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He.
For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 2 Corinthians 4:5 ESV
Renee, Roanoke, VA – – So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. – 2 Cor. 4:18 (NIV)
Bonnie, Rowlett, Texas
For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.
Hebrews 8:12 NIV
Tracey Knight ~ Arkadelphia AR
(as my firstborn is mid-flight over the Atlantic Ocean…)
“You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.” Psalm 139:5 NIV11
LaTava- Lincoln, NE
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:23 NIV
Ouida in Trenton,TX
So that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil,
Hebrews 6:18-19 (NASV)
Tori, Winston-Salem, NC
“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.” -Isaiah 26:3
Wanda ~ Eureka, MO:
“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” 1 John 5:4-5 NAS
Stephanie, Queen City, Texas:”But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:33 (NKJV)
Laura from Canton Michigan
Proverbs 25:28
Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self control.
Peter said to them, “Repent, and each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.” Acts 2:38-39 NET
Melody, Perry MO
2 Corinthians 4:18
NIV So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.
Psalm 3:3 (ESV)
Shannon
Katy, TX
Laura, Savannah, GA.
Ephesians 6:18 “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” 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.
Romans 15:13. NIV
Richmond, VA.