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.
Megan Hughes, Minneapolis
O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.
Psalm 63:1 NIV
It is good to Praise the LORD and make music to YOUR NAME, O Most High, to proclaim YOUR LOVE in the morning and YOUR FAITHFULNESS at night,…
Psalm 92:1,2 NIV
Suzann Benson
Kingwood, WV
Marcia, Portland, OR, oops now Vancouver, WA
The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He delivers those who are discouraged.” Psalm 34:18 The NET Bible
Lily, Oklahoma – “The Lord is for me, I will not fear; what can man do to me?” Psalm 118:6 NASB
Sherry, Ontario, Canada
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:58 NIV
Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. Ps. 130:7 NAVE’S TOPICAL
“forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert & streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:18-19 niv
Vivian – Clovis, CA
Micah 6:8
“He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the LORD require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?”
Jennifer, Denver
“Then you will understand what is right and just and fair—every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.” Proverbs 2:9-11 NIV
Sorry I am late-nothing really came to me until just now & it is exactly what I needed to remember!
Jesus looked at them and said, “For people this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” ~Matthew 19:26 (New Century Version)
Bobbie Jo
San Angelo,TX
Beth – Oak Grove, La
“And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness”
Ephesians 4:24 – KJV
“The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He delivers those who are discouraged.” Psalm 34:18 The NET Bible
Sorry this post is late…I just returned home from the Holy Land:)
“Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers, or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good.
Titus 2:3 NIV
Pam/Benton, AR
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. -Romans 12:12 (NIV)
Tara,
Kyiv, Ukraine
{We were on vacation, so these are for both verse 9 & 10.}
Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Psalm 103:1-5 (NIV)
Audrey, Ohio
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (ESV)
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
I know we mustn’t write extra “stuff,” but just this one time please….
I missed the last verse – it was our daughter’s wedding week. However I did do my verse:
Psalm 73:25
“Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire You more than anything on earth.”
Now this week’s:
Linda – Bulverde, Tx
Psalm 73:28
“But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things You do.”
Thank you for grace sweet Beth.
Anita, Big River, Saskatchewan.
Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that brings freedom, because judgement without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgement!
James 2:12,13
Marlys, Hillsboro
Do not withhold good from those who deserve it,
when it is in your power to act.
Proverbs 3:27. NIV
Sue, Atlanta, GA “The Lord is near the brokenhearted; he delivers those who are discouraged.” Psalm 34:18 NET
Amy, Washington, DC: “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” Galations 5:25pm NIV
Nina, Moore, OK
“The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He delivers those who are discouraged.” Psalm 34:18 The NET Bible
Please pray for my troubled soon-to-be 17 year old.
Jeni, Southampton, UK
“Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” ~ James 1:4 NIV
Karen, Dallas:
He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.
And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
Colossians 2: 13b-17 NIV 1984
Annie, Alaska, Psalm 136:7-8 NIV
7 who made the great lights— His love endures forever.
8 the sun to govern the day, His love endures forever.
Bev in Bayou Vista
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.”1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV)
Joy, Cairo, Ga.
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”
1 John 5:14, NIV
Patti, Roxboro, NC
“Whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” Colossians 3:17 NLT
Lisa from Waycross, GA
Donna from Albany, GA
“The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He delivers those who are discouraged.” Psalm 34:18 The NET Bible
Lisa, Cumming, GA – “The Lord is near the brockenhearted; He delivers those who are discouraged.” Psalm 34:18
” Be at rest once more, O my soul for the Lord has been goo to you.”
Psalm 116:7 NIV
Katherine, Lilburn
We walked by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7 NKJV
Tammie – Pikeville, KY
I have seen his ways, but I will heal him.
Isaiah 57:18a HCS
Karen, Orillia, ON Canada
“For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through Him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.” 2Corinthians 1:20 (NIV)
Terri in Mechanicsville, Va
“Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”
2 Corinthians 7:1 (NIV)
Hope I’m not too late! Satan has gotten the best of me for the last month – no more!
Ashley, Huddleston, VA: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” James 1:22 NIV
Pat from Indy:
James 1: 12
“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.”
NIV
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
I Thessalonians 5: 15-18
Brittany, Gainesville, FL: and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. -Philippians 3:11
Jan in Gulf Breeze, FL. “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise HIm, my Savior and my God.” Psalm 42:11, NIV
Joanne, UK
When I am afraid, I will trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise,
In God I trust; I will not be afraid.
What can mortal man do to me?
Psalm 56:3-4 NIV
Sarah W. Blairsville, GA. “This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel say: in repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.” Isaiah 30:15 NIV
Lauren from Spartanburg, SC. Jeremiah 26:4 NIV
“As mor me, I am in your hands; do with me whatever you think is good and right.”
Romans 8:1-2 (NIV)
“Therefore, there is now 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.”
Jennifer
Charleston, SC
Holly
Geita, Tanzania
” Lord, you have been our dwelling place
throughout all generations.
Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the whole world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”
Psalm 90:1-2
NIV
Crystie…Rock Hill, SC
“He spoke the word that healed you, that pulled you back from the brink of death. So thank God for his marvelous love, for his miracle mercy to the children he loves…”
Psalm 107:20-21
Pam in Texas using The New International Version
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Psalms 90:12
Lucia
Valdosta, GA
The Soverign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.
Habakkuk 3:18
Lydia~Norman, OK
“Submit to God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you.” James 4:7
Kathryn – Atmore, AL
“You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need, His generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 (The Message)