**Siesta Celebration is January 20-21, 2012**
Hey, Sweet Things!
Finally, August 1st! I’m always so glad to see it come so that it can GO. But it’s not just the end of a long, hot summer for everybody. It’s also the last couple of weeks of summer vacation. Those of you with school-age children will soon find yourself back in carpool lines and going over spelling words. In just a couple of weeks, Jackson will start kindergarten and will catch our whole family by surprise even though we’ve known it was coming for five and a half years. We just cannot fathom it. We have a picture framed in our bedroom that I see everyday with Keith and I cuddling him between us when he was just a few hours old, and we brand-spanking-new grandparents are kissing over his head. Something was reborn in that couple of 25+ years that day. Our interests have always tended to be different and were getting increasingly so, but, that cold February afternoon in Dallas, Texas, we somersaulted right back into one another and tumbled into a well of love with a seven pound man-child.
Keith and I got to have Jackson and Annabeth Friday night while Curtis and Amanda went to dinner and a movie. They’d been gone for 10 days to Wyoming and, even though we’d seen them at a Mexican food restaurant the day they got home, we’d not had them to ourselves yet. We made a date right away. They delight us to no end and cause us to laugh until our sides split. Don’t get the idea there’s no work involved but investments don’t get better than this one. We have real, live conversation over dinner these days and, when you’re grandparents, not a single word gets wasted on you. All of it’s solid gold. Jackson told us at the dinner table Friday night while stuffing a piece of warm French bread into his mouth that butter is his “temptutation.” And, sure enough, it was dripping off of his chin and looked so good that we all shared that same temptutation and gave right on in to it.
We have an empty room in our house right now because we wanted Melissa and Colin to have her bedroom furniture and it’s turned into the perfect playroom. Nothing like an empty room to fire up the imagination. Jackson and I built an obstacle course Friday night that ended with a dizzying spin in my swiveling desk chair. It was so much fun. Amanda and Curtis walked through the door at 10:15 and we were all four still up in the kitchen, Paw Paw popping popcorn on the stove. It’s so good to have the Jones’s home. Melissa and Colin have been out of town for a week, too, and I can hardly wait to get my hands on them. They’re flying home from California this very moment. Most of the time they were out of cell phone range so we’ll have plenty to catch up on.
On to the business at hand! Our year is flying by! It’s time to check in with our fifteenth verses for our Siesta Scripture Memory Team. For some reason I’ve seen the word “gentleness” turn up a number of times in my Scripture reading lately so I’ve decided to choose a memory verse that makes especially important use of it. Here goes:
Beth, Houston. “Brothers and sisters, if a person is discovered in some sin, you who are spiritual restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness. Pay close attention to yourselves, so that you are not tempted too.” Galatians 6:1 The NET Bible
Restoration is one of the most powerful, intentional works of the Cross of Christ. Let’s never refuse anyone his or her right to be restored. Here’s to a little gentleness in a harsh world. Everyone could use some.
Stay in the Word, Siestas! You are so loved here!
Shannon Roberts, White Hall, AR
Deut 7:9 (NIV) 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 commandments.
Tanis, British Columbia
Before a word is on my tongue,
You know all about it, LORD.
You have encircled me;
You have placed Your hand on me.
[This] extraordinary knowledge is beyond me.
It is lofty; I am unable to [reach] it. Ps 139:4-6 HCSB
Kim, Dickinson, ND Psalm 34:1 NIV
I will extol the LORD at all times; His praise will always be on my lips.
Nesha: Mechanicsville, VA
‘Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.’
Heb 10:23 NIV
Julie, Texarkana- “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.” James 3:13 NIV
Marilyn, Fort Pierce, FL, You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9 NIV
Bettie, Wendell, NC
Psalms 46:10 (NIV)
“Be still and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Dedra Herod, Madison, AL
“Some will say, ‘I belong to the LORD’; others will call themselves by the name of Jacob; still others will write on their hand,’The LORD’s’and will take the name Israel.”
– Isaiah 44:5, NIV
Love this verse!
Beth C., Huntsville, AL
The helpless call to him, and he answers;
he saves them from all their troubles. Ps 34:6 (GNT)
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. REV 3:20 NIV
Proverbs 3:5
“Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own.” The Message
Lisa, West Des Moines, IA: “My thoughts are completely different from yours,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.” Isaiah 55:8 (NLT)
Alyson Lung: Longmont, CO
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish it’s work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
James 1:2-4 NIV
Callee from Houston: “You, dear children are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4
Heather, Lewiston: “I say to myself, ‘The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.'”
Lamentations 3:23, NIV
Sharon, Griffin, Ga
Hebrews 11:1 NASB
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Michele,
Pearland, TX.
The LORD will protect you from all harm;
He will protect your life.
The LORD will protect your coming and going
both now and forever. Psalm 121:7-8 HCSB
Sylvia V. Jersey Village, TX
Ephesians 1:17 (NIV)
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
Lori Beaube, Hazlehurst, Ms
So I say to you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you.
Luke 11:9 NKJ
Traci from Lakewood, WA “You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.” Psalm 119:114 NIV
“And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to live in obedience to Him. Let your roots grow down into Him and draw up nourishment from Him, so you will grow in your faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all He has done.”
Colossians 2: 6-7 NLT
Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.
Proverbs 22:6 NIV
Dana
Boerne, TX
Ruth, Shawnee, KS
Psalm 27:5 (NIV) —
For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.
Alicia, OKC
A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones. Proverbs 12:4 NIV
Cara, Valley Head, AL ..at this present time your abundance being a supply for their need, so that, their abundance also may become a supply for your need, that there may be equality. 2 Cor. 8-13 NASB
“Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” Proverbs 26:12 ESV. Kimberly, Amarillo, TX
Stephanie, Hampton, VA: “The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Galations 5:14 NIV
L Diane, Indianapolis
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV
Tricia, Eldridge, IA
“But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” Hebrews 3:13 NIV
Kristi S.C.
“Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.” Hebrews 13:7 NIV
But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make.
Jeremiah 18:4 NASB
Brandy, San Angelo, Texas, Ezekiel 36:26 “And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.” New Living Translation
Connie
Austin, TX
Because the sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be dismayed. Therefore, I have set my face like a stone, determined to do his will. And I know that I will triumph.” Is. 50:7
Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:1-2 NIV
Carol Peavy
Jena, LA
“The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” 2Ti 4:18 (NASB)
From Houston,
Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord your God, Who teaches you to profit, Who leads you in the way that you should go.
-Isaiah 48:17 [Amplified Bible]
Sister Lynn
Clyde MO
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” Colossians 3:12 (NIV)
“You, LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.”
Ps. 18:28 NIV
Ginger
Wetumpka, AL
Direct me in the path of your commands,
for there I find delight.
Psalm 119:35 NIV
Amanda
Guernsey, WY
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty (whose power no foe can withstand). Psalm 91:1 AMP
Adele-Alys, Matthews, NC: This came from LPL Charlotte and actually dovetails into my March 15 selection:
I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. Revelation 3 :11 ESV
Lindsey
Fuquay-Varina, NC
“Direct my footsteps according to your word;
let no sin rule over me.”
– Psalm 119:133 (NIV)
Robbie, Southaven, MS: “Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God” Romans 4:20a (NIV)
Hannah from Albuquerque, New Mexico
This is what the LORD says:
“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
who depends on flesh for his strength
and whose heart turns away from the LORD.
He will be like a bush in the wastelands;
he will not see prosperity when it comes.
He will dwell in the parched places of the desert,
in a salt land where no one lives.
Jeremiah 17:5-6 NIV
Carla Ritz in Lock Haven, PA – “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:9 NASB
Kim, Missouri
For we live by believing and not by seeing. 2 Cor. 5:7 (NLT)
Stefanie McClurg- White Oak, Tx
Deuteronomy 7:6-“For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.”
Suzanne, Birmingham: “Dear Friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as thought something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed.” I Peter 4: 12-13 NIV
Charmaine, Miami – “Because your love is better than life, I will praise you. I will praise you as long as I live. I will lift up my hands in prayer to your name. I will be content as if I had eaten the best foods. My lips will sing, and my mouth will praise you.” – Psalm 63:3-5 (NCV)
Katie, Augusta, Ga: Love is patient and kind, love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful, it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. I Cor 13:4-8