**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!
Jessica from Rockvale, TN
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Always be joyful, keep on praying. No matter what happens, give thanks for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
Erin- Northville, MI Hebrews 12:15 NIV
“See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many”
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
James 1:2-3 (ESV)
Shannon
Katy, TX
“Turn away from evil and do what is good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry for help. The face of the LORD is set against those who do what is evil, to erase all memory of them from the earth.” Psalms 34:14-16 (HCSB)
Becky, Groesbeck, Tx. : “Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.” Jeremiah 3:15 (NIV)
Aubyn, Corinth, TX “the LORD delights in those who fear Him,
who put their hope in His unfailing love.” Psalm 147:11 NIV
Carole, Imperial, CA: “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. 1Timothy 1:15-16 NIV
Courtney, Houma, LA
He said to them, “Go and eat delicacies and drink sweet drinks and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is holy to our Lord.t Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10 NET)
Suzanne; Pasadena, Tx
37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.
38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
John 7:37-38 NKJV
Jennifer J. – Texarkana, AR
Romans 12:12 NIV
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
August 1,2011
II Chronicles 31:21. NIV
In everything that he undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered
Lara Harris, Spring Hill, TN
Joel 2:25 NIV
I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—
the great locust and the young locust.
Jamie, Sulphur- Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6 NKJV
Aliza, NZL.
This is my prayer for you: that your love will grow more and more; that you will have knowledge and understanding with your love; that you will see the difference between good and bad and will choose the good; that you will be pure and without wrong for the coming of Christ; that you will do many good things with the help of Christ to bring glory and praise to God.
Philippians 1:9-11 (NCV)
Deb , Pierre SD
The Lord watches over you- the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
Psalm 122:5 NIV
Kelley, Russellville
“Unto thee O Lord, do I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in thee let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.” Psalm 25:1-2. KJV.
Maxie,Montgomery,AL “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” Philippians 2:3 (NIV)
Austin, Tx
You, Lord, give true peace to those who depend on you, because they trust you.
Isaiah 26:3 (NCV)
Petra – Ceres, CA
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,t to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins
and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations. (Isaiah 61:1-4 NIV)
Land o Lakes, FL Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4 NIV
Amanda, Mountain View, CA
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28, NIV
Melinda – Atlanta, TX
Colossians 3:23-24 (NASB)
“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men; knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.”
Kerry, Houston
“A person without self-control is like a house with its doors and windows knocked out.”
Proverbs 25:28 (The Message)
Dawn, Clinton PA
Ps. 19:14, NKJV
Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strenth and my Redeemer.
Kathi
Lexington, OH
I will praise You, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing of You among the peoples. For great is Your love, higher than the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and let Your glory be over all the earth.
Psalm 108:3-5 (NIV)
“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’ ” John 14:6 NIV
Elaine – Brea, CA
Romans 12:14 (NIV)
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
Nicole, Winnipeg, Matt 5:16 MSG
Keep open house: be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up to God, this generous Father in heaven.
“So you see it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to God must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seeks him.” Hewbrews 11:6 NLT
Leah, Little Falls,
From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another. John 1:16 NIV
In the morning, O LORD, You hear my voice, in the morning I lay my requests before You and wait in expectation. Psalm 5:3 NIV
Suzann Benson
Kingwood, WV
Ginger, El Paso, TX: You therefore must endure hardships as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 2 Timothy 2:3 NKJV
Lorie, Columbia, SC
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of scriptures we might have hope.
Romans 15:4
Betty from Austin, Texas: March on, my soul: be strong! Judges 5:21b
Carla LaFayette,Al
Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful. Romans 12:12.NLT
Walton, IN
” For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23 (NIV)
Cary Forney, TX I Corinthians 13:2 NLT
If I had the gift of prophesy and understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others I would be nothing.
Becca, TN
“Help me understand the meaning of Your precepts so that I can meditate on Your wonders.” Psalm 119:27 (HCSB)
Joy – Whitehouse, TX
Isaiah 33:6 NET
He is your constant source of stability; He abundantly provides safety and great wisdom; He gives all this to those who fear Him.
Galations 5:9
Let us not become weary in doing good,for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
NIV
Olivia, Tennessee
Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Proverbs 4.23 NIV ’84
Rebecca, Birmingham
Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.
1John 2:6 NIV
Rosalie CIncinnati
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith 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 55: 8-9 KJV
…..”It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Acts 20:35b NIV
Laurie, Spokane,
But He knows the way I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. Job 23:10 NASB
“We captivate every thought to make it obedient to Christ” ~ 2 Cor. 10:5 NIV
Habakkuk 2:1 “I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart, and watch to see what He will say to me and what I will answer when I am corrected.”
Kathleen, Ashland.
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” Philippeans 2:3 (NIV)
Denise,Davis,Il.-“So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ.”-Romans 10:17
Miranda
Fort Payne, AL
‘For the Lord is good and His love endures forever. His faithfulness continues through all generations.’ Psalm 100:5 (NIV)