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.
Kim in Springfield, MO – Psalm 71:10 KJV
For mine enemies speak against me; and they that lay wait for my soul take counsel together,
Elizabeth, Portland, Oregon:
“For You are my hope, O Lord God. You are my trust from my youth and the source of my confidence.” Psalm 71:5 Amplified Bible
Cindy from Summerville, SC
Psalm 40:4
Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord
April, Vermilion
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
1 John 4:16a (NIV)
Jennifer D. Salina,KS
“The mind governed by the flesh is death,
but the mind governed by the Spirit is
LIFE and PEACE.”
Romans 8:6 NIV
Suzanne, Birmingham: “The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He delivers those who are discouraged.” Psalm 34:18 The NET Bible
Annie, Alabama
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Philippians 4:21 (NIV)
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Philippians 2:3&4 (NIV)
Fresno, CA
“I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called…” Ephesians 1:18 NLT
Anita Burton, Hartsville, TN – For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves. Colossians 1:13 NIV
Thomasine, Rio Rancho. The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He delivers those who are discouraged.
Psalm 34:18 NET
Kathy – Anahuac, Texas
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will direct your paths. NIV
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:2-3 NIV
Kim ~ Niceville, FL
For the word of the LORD is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
Psalm 33:4 (NIV)
Wendy Raleigh NC
“May your unfailing love be with us,LORD, even as we put our hope in you.” Psalm 33:22 NIV
Lisa, Marion, IN
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:19(NIV)
Michelle Holt, Powder Springs, Georgia
“Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. ”
Psalm 46:10 NASB
Marsha, Lexington Park MD,
For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
He is to be feared above all gods.
Psalm 96:4 NAS
Heather, Wilmington, Delaware. “Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; You surround them with your favor as with a shield.” Psalms 5:12, NIV
Courtney, Fort Collins, CO:
“Teach me Your way, LORD, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart that I may fear your name.” Psalm 86:11 NIV
Rogers,AR “And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.” NKJV
1 Cor. 14:32,33
Marsha, Knoxville, TN Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord. Psalm 27:14 NLT
Joy from Clarksville,
John 15:5
I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing.
NIV
Allyson
League City TX
Psalm 34:18 NET
“The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He delivers those who are discouraged.”
Tammy
Lusby, MD
“Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping His Covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands. Deuteronomy 7:9 NIV
Birmingham, AL
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalms 34:18 (NIV)
Anita, Lynchburg, VA “Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him talk ye of all his wondrous works. Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.”
1 Chron. 16:9&10 KJV
Donna, Sarnia, Ontario
“I know that everything God does will endure forever,
nothing can be added to it and nothing taken away from it. God does it so that men will revere Him. (Ecc 3:14 NIV)
Keri
Washington, GA
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Romans 10:9
Jennifer – Oklahoma City, OK ”I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do. I will not forsake them.” Isaiah 42:16 (NIV)
The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He delivers those who are discouraged. Psalm 34:18 NET
Beverly Elliott Ohio Colossians 3:13
Accepting one another and forgiving one another
if anyone has a complaint against another. Just
as the Lord has forgiven you, so also you must
forgive. HCSB
Luke 18:27 (NIV)
Jesus replied, ” What is impossible with men is possible with God.”
Sarah Birmingham, Lambertville, MI
Cassandra, Raleigh, NC “Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him talk ye of all his wondrous works. Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.” 1 Chron. 16:9&10 KJV
Kim,Richmond,TX,”The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”(NIV),Psalms 19:1
Beth, Fountain Inn, Jeremiah 9:23-24 This is what the LORD says, “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD.
I almost chose this one! I may do it next time…so good!
Cindy, Rochester, Minnesota. “…work out (cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete) your own salvation with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ). [Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight.” Philippians 2:12b-13 (AMP)
Kristy, Princeton NC
Ps 53:2 (NIV)
God looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.
Philippians 2:3 (NIV)
‘do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather in humility value others above yourself.’
Amy
Whiteman AFB, MO
The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.
Psalm 126:3 NIV
Jennifer- Conyers,GA
Matthew 5:8 NIV
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Tanya, Warren, PA
Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day.
2 Timothy 1:12 (NIV)
Judy, Cottageville, WV “Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him talk ye of all his wondrous works. Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.” 1 Chron. 16:9&10 KJV
“But if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die;but if by the spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live…” Romans 8:13 NIV
Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalms 46:10 (NIV)
Jennifer, Houston: Love each other with genuine affection and take delight in honoring each other. Romans 12:10
Anna, Lexington: “Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out into the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.” James 1:27 (Message)
Cathy, Tyler, TX NIV Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you: do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you: I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Leanne, Georgetown, TN:
“We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of teh LORD, about his power and might and his wonders. (NTL)
Psalm 78:4
Casey, Southlake, TX “My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,” James 1:19 (NIV) (1st time SSMT – just found you!)
Katie, Loveland, CO “Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.” Psalm 115:1 (NIV)