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.
Jenifer Smith – Clearwater, FL
I John 5:21 (AMP)
“Little children, keep yourselves from idols (false gods)–[from anything and everything that would occupy the place in your heart due to God, from any sort of substitute for Him that would take first place in your life].”
He said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.”
2 Chronicles 20:15
New Living Translation
Salena, Livonia, MI
James 1:19 NLT
Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger.
Cincinnati, Oh
Daniel 2:20 Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he alone has all wisdom and power.
Barb, Shelby Twp., MI
“For the JOY of the Lord is your strength.”
Nehemiah 8:10 [same words in all 5 translations I checked-awesome!]
Judy~~ Anniston, Al
Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all those who wait for Him.
Isaiah 30:18 (NIV)
Greenville, NC
I Samuel 12:24 But be sure to fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things He has done for you. NIV
Lorna, Statesville, NC
Romans 12:1-6 1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.
Debbie, Fisherville, Ky.
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12 NIV
Anna, Wisconsin. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18 NIV
“I will praise you forever for what you have done, In your name I will hope for your name is good.” Psalm 52:9
Sorry this is so late!
Monique – Elizabethtown, KY “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.” Phillipians 1:20 NIV
The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me.
Psalm 116:6, NKJV
Patti, Kissimmee, FL
Wendy and her 2 daughters: Faith (15) and Naomi Hope (11), Eden Prairie
Psalm 23: 1-3 NIV
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me besides quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”
2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV)
If my people, who are called by my name, humble themselves and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land.
Phyllis
Salisbury, MD
“For You Lord have never forsaken those who seek you.”
Psalm 9:106 NIV
(Better late than never!)
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Colossians 4:2 NIV
Susie,Whitehouse, TX
Rebecca, College Station
Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks.
Philippians 4:6 (NCV)
“…for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.”
Ps 9:10b (NIV)
PJ
Atlanta, GA
2 Timothy 2:4
And as Christ’s soldier, do not let yourself become tied up in the affairs of this life, for then you cannot satisfy the one who has enlisted you in his army. (NLT)
Rachel, College Station, TX
“But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”
James 1:6 NIV
Shelley, Springfield,MO
Psalm 70:4
May all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you!
May those who love your salvation
say evermore, “God is great!” (ESV)
O Lord, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief.
NIV Psalm 143:1
Becky from Marietta,GA
“She is clothed with strength and dignity; She can laugh at the days to come” Proverbs 31:25 NIV
Sharon in Florien: Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord and you will gain knowledge of God. For the Lord grants wisdom! From His mouth comes knowledge and understanding. Proverbs 2:5-6 NLT
Jamie, Sulphur- Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. Colossians 3:23 NIV
Lori, Sulphur- Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. Colossians 3:23 NIV
Allie, Sulphur- Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. Colossians 3:23 NIV
Addie, Sulphur- Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. Colossians 3:23 NIV
Two people can accomplish more than twice as much as one; they get a better return for their labor. If one person falls, the other and reach out and help. Eccl. 4:9-10
“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith…” Hebrews 12:1-2a NASB
Jennifer, Mansfield, TX
“The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He delivers those who are discouraged.” Psalm 34:18 The NET Bible
Melissa Stauffer, Centreville, Michigan
Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have entertained angels without knowing it.
Hebrews 13:2 NIV
Lara, Spring Hill, TN Psalm 34:18 NIV
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Ashley, Huntsville, AL: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 NIV
Cessie, Bakersfield, CA
“The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1 NIV
Melissa from Midland, MI “For we can not help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” Acts 4:20 NIV
(Oooh! I can’t believe the 15th already went by!!)
Anita, Purcellville, VA
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”
2 Timothy 1:7 NIV
Karen, Columbia, MO
I was having trouble choosing, and Beth, your verse was hand-picked for me at this moment in time, so I am going to share it.
“The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He delivers those who are discouraged.” Psalm 34:18 The NET Bible
Stacy Featherston, Searcy, AR
“You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy.” Psalm 63:5 NLT
Kathy H…College Station TX….We don’t serve a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all– all but the sin. Heb 4:15 The Message
Katie, Gig Harbor WA
…Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word so that He might present the church to himself in splendor without spot or wrinkle or any such thing that she might be holy and without blemish.
Eph 5:25-27 ESV
Deborah,Marshall, The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He delivers those who are discouraged. Psalms 34:18 (NET)
Valerie from Oklahoma
“Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.” Psalm 9:10 NIV
Stephanie, La Habra, CA. “Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Ps. 143:8 NIV
“…for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.”
Ps 9:10b (NIV)
Isaiah 55:2
Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your sould will delight in the richest fare.
NIV
Sue S. Lawrenceville, GA
Psalm 90:14 NIV “Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.”
Lyn, New Mexico
Jeremiah 29:13, King James Version
And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
Katie, NYC. Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Jude 1:21 NIV