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.
Melinda, Wisconsin: But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do. 1 Peter 1:15
Goiânia, Goiás, Brasil
“The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He delivers those who are discouraged.” ~ Psalm 34:18 The NET Bible
Charlie
Mississippi
Psalm 90:16-17
May your deeds be shown to your servants, your splendor to their children. May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us – yes, establish the work of our hands.
Cheri, Savage MN Psalm 25:14 NIV
The LORD confides in those who fear Him; He makes His covenant known to them.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21 NIV
Dayla Springfield, MO
The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He delivers those who are discouraged. Psalm 34:18 NET Bible
Stacie Livonia, MI
2 Corinthians 4: 1,8,9 NIV
1 Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.
8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;
9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
Tami, MI: “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age” Titus 2:11-12, NIV
Melissa, Spokane, WA –
James 1:12 (NIV) “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”
Sarah, Colorado Springs
God’s love is meteoric,
his loyalty astronomic,
His purpose titanic,
his verdicts oceanic.
Yet in his largeness
nothing gets lost;
Not a man, not a mouse,
slips through the cracks.
Psalm 36:5-6 (The Message)
I love, love, LOVE that one! I need to pull that one back out of a previous spiral and sharpen back up on it.
That was one of Beth’s the first go round. I loved it and put it to memory just a month ago. It is so neat to go through these scriptures and read them, pray over the one that posted them, and then pray that God will used that verse in my own life.
I absolutely love SSMT!!!
Colleen, Cape Town, South Africa
…..but the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you because the Lord your God loves you.
Deutoronomy 23:5 NASB
Praise the Lord, my Father did this for me!
Diane, Killeen, TX: “The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.” Psalm 145:14 NIV
Sherry ~Dayton,NV~ “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” ~1Thessalonians 5:16-22 NKJV
Kelli, Anaheim CA
Matthew 22:37-39
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
cindy from Alton,NH Clossians 3:17 And whatsoever you do in word or deed do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. KJV.
Kim, Ashland, VA
“No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good,
and this is what He requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.”
Micah 6:8, NLT
Buffy
Rogers
Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength, seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles and the judgements he pronounced.
I Chronicles 16:10-12
NIV
The Lord is near the brokenhearted; he delivers those who are discouraged. Ps. 34:18 NET
Kayla
Cleveland
Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident!Rely on the Lord! Psalm 27:4 The NET Bible
Bobbie
College Station, TX
Psalm 34:18 (NIV)
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
“The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He delivers those who are discouraged.” Psalm 34:18 NET
Lori, Hazlehurst, Ms.
Love suffers long and is kind, love does not envy, love does not parade itself, it is not puffed up 1 Corinthians 13:4 NKJ
Diane, Missoula, MT: “He put his mark on us to show that we are his, and he put his Spirit in our hearts to be a guarantee for all he has promised.” 2 Corinthians 1:22 NCV
Kimberly Orr–Zionsville, Indiana
“…He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 1 Peter 3:11-12 NIV
and
“The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He delivers those who are discouraged.” Psalm 34:18 NET
michelle, Vermont
2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Aimee, North Aurora, IL
The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.
1 Samuel 16:7
“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
Elisabeth
Modesto, CA
“The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He delivers those who are discouraged.”
Psalm 34:18 The NET Bible
“Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.”
Psalm 100: 4-5 NIV
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” Colossians 3:12 NIV
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 56:8-9
New American Standard
Mary, Anacortes, WA
Show me Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation’
On You I wait all the day.
Ps 25:4,5
Adele-Alys from Matthews,NC : Try to discover what the Lord wants of you. Take no part in the futile works of darkness,but,on the contrary, show them up for what they are. Ephesians 5:10-11 New Jerusalem
Lindy, Scott
Psalm 27:14(NIV) – Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.
Merredith, Champaign For my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations. Isaiah 56:7 NIV
Yanna Bryan, Texas “The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He delivers those who are discouraged.” Psalm 34:18 The NET Bible
Thank you Beth, this is a good one.
Andrea Porter, Pottstown, PA
John 5:39 NLT
You search the Scriptures because you believe they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me!
Paulette
Nogalus Prairie
John 3:30
“He must become more important while I become less important.”
The NET Bible
Sandra, Swainsboro, GA
For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth
to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. 2 Chronicles 16:9a NIV
“The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint, and whoever has understanding is even-tempered. Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues.”
~ Proverbs 17:27,28 NIV
Vicki, Surprise, AZ
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
James 4:10 NIV
Cindy, Dallas Tx
5Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 2Cor. 10:5 KJV
Juliana
Livermore, CA
I cry out to God Most High,
to God, who fulfills his purpose for me
Psalm 57:2 NIV
Kathy, Shreveport, Louisiana
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10 NIV
Megan, Satellite Beach FL
‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me’.
Acts 26:16 TNIV
Proverbs 1:33 AMP
But whoso hearkens to me [Wisdom] shall dwell securely and in confident trust and shall be quiet, without fear or dread of evil.
Michelle, West Des Moines, IA
Great is the Lord and worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom.
Psalm 145:3 (NIV)
Zechariah 2:5 (NIV) And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will be its glory within.’
Tammy from Fort Myers, FL: “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
Lyli, Fort Lauderdale:
“The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly (Prov. 15:2, NIV).