**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!
Amber, Lincolnton, NC
“But everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved…” – Joel 2:32, NLT
Lindy, Scott
Job 38:2(NIV) – “Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?”
Lisa, Enterprise, AL
~ Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.
— 1 Peter 4:8 (NIV)
Sabrina – Houston, Texas
love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst.
When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer
matt. 5:44 The Message
Nicole, Norman, OK
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; kmock and the door will be opened to you.”
Matthew 7:7 (NIV)
Genevieve,Orange, Tx: And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession–to the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:13-14 (NIV)
Cynthia, Massanutten, VA
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chr 7:14, NIV)
Julie- Minneapolis
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.
Daniel 4:37 NIV
Carrie, Wentzville, Mo.
God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. Hebrews 6:10 NIV
Jennifer from New Orleans, “Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.”
Isaiah 43:18-19 NASB
Jean, Rubicon, WI
“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for
each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of
a righteous man is powerful and effective.”
James 5:16 NIV
Jennifer; Houston, TX: You hem me in-behind and before; You have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Psalm 139:5-6
Jodi:Fairhope, AL – “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10 NKJV
Natalie, Jacksonville – Psalm 139:9&10 NIV If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
Joan/Coppell, TX: The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach 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, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,… Isaiah 61:1-2
Sue, Newnan, GA
“Taste and see that the LORD is good;”
Psalm 34:8a NIV
Dana, Blue Ridge, Tx
Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.
2 Tim 2:16 NIV
Kim Loveland, Co : 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 entrust my life.
Psalm 143:8 NIV
But I will never stop loving him, nor let my promise to him fail. Psalm 89:33
When I am afraid,I will trust in you. Psalm 56:3
Becky, Temecula, CA
Deuteronomy 32:12 NIV
“The Lord alone led him; no foreign god was with him.”
Connie Windham
Trout, LA
Galatians 6:1 NIV
Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.
“but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. Is. 40:31a NIV
Laurie, Atlanta, GA
August 1 (traveling and no computer access last time)
“Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage…They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.” NAS (Psalm 84:5,7)
August 15
“Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.” NAS
(I Corinthians 9:19)
Bonnie, Charleston SC
“My body and mind may fail, but You are my strength and my choice forever.” Psalm 73:26 CEV
Kathy, Austin
Is. 49:17,18
I have you written on my palm. I see your walls
Your sons hasten back and those who laid waste de part from you
Lift up your eyes and look around
ALL your children gather and come to you
Assurely as I live, declares the Lord
You will wear them ALL as ornaments
You will put them on like a bride
Kelli ~ Kalispell, MT
“Open my eyes so I can truly see the marvelous things in Your law!” Psalm 119:18 The NET Bible
But He gives greater grace. Therefore He says: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. James4:6
Kristy, Woodstock, GA
Daniel 2:22-23 “It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him. To You, O God of My fathers, I give thanks and praise, For You have given me wisdom and power; Even now You have made known to me what we requested of You, For You have made known to us the king’s matter.”
Peggy, Corpus Christi, TX
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
John 14:6 NKJV
Diane S., Commerce, MI
Be joyful always, pray at all times, be thankful in all circumstances. This is what God wants from you in your life, in union with Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Leanne
Mississippi
So the sun stood still and the mood stayed in place until the nations of Istreal had defeated its enemies.
Joshua 10:13a NLT
Peg, Naperville, IL
“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him…” Psalm 103:11 (NIV)
Debbie, Fort Thomas, KY
“‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the LORD Almighty.
Haggai 2:9 NIV
Judy Baggett, Irving, Texas
“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
Eva, Knoxville – It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 1 Corinthians 13:5(NIV)
Valerie
Sparks, Nevada
Three things will last forever – faith, hope, and love – and the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13 NLT
Ashley, Colorado
That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:10, NLT
Delores O. Shoreline, WA
Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.
Romans 5:3-5 NIV 1984
Melissa, Thompson’s Station.
So we must not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.
Gal. 6:9, HCSB
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
Ephesians 3:20 NLT
Sheri. Bolivar, MO
Adding on again…
“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 the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen!” Ephesians 3:20-21 NIV
Patty, Granite Bay, CA Psalm 34:8 NIV “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.”
Colleen, Cape Town, South Africa
I will have no fear of bad news; my heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
My heart is secure, I will have no fear; in the end I will look in triumph on my foes. Psalm 112:7-8
(I took the liberty of changing the pronoun “He” to “I” so as to make the verse more personal.
Stefanie Dailey- Parrish, FL
being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6 NIV
Lexington, NC
Galations 6:9 NIV – Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Tracy, Spring, TX
I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Psalm 16:8 NIV
Deanna, Safford, AZ
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”
Isaiah 43:1b (NIV)
Sharon, Riverside
Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives,
when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.
1 Peter 3:1,2 NIV
Marsha, Lexington Park MD,
My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
and my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.
Psalm 63:5 NAS