Hey, beloved Scripture Memory Team!
I so hope you are blessed in the presence of Christ Jesus today. I am all the way in Baltimore, Maryland serving a wonderful group of women at our Living Proof Live. Our dear Lindsee is pinch-hitting for me this time around and she also has some great information for you regarding our upcoming celebration. Her portion will pick up immediately following my 19th verse. I’m choosing my verse this round from the theme Scripture God gave us for our Friday night session here at Living Proof Live in Baltimore. I want to remember it forever. You don’t have to hear the session to see why it is enormously relevant and a powerful Scripture indeed to have hidden in your heart. You’re welcome to share it with me if you don’t have a selection ready.
Beth, Houston. “I continually look to the Lord for help, for He will free my feet from the enemy’s net.” Psalm 25:15 The NET Bible
I love you guys so dearly! OK, Lindsee, take it from here!
Girls, registration for the SSMT is flourishing and we already have over 1000 ladies registered. Praise God! Don’t stress if you’re not already registered, we have plenty of room. Registration will officially close two weeks before the event, so know that you have plenty of time. We are so excited and can’t wait to celebrate with you! When we say you are highly treasured around here, we mean it.
With that said, we have had a lot of unique questions come in that are not covered in the FAQ page so we wanted to put them here and then we’ll put them on that page as well. We hope this is helpful to you as you plan your trip to Houston in January. We don’t want anyone to feel left out or lost.
Are my children welcome to attend the celebration?
While we all know how much our Siesta Mama loves little ones (grin), and understands that some of them might be memorizing scripture with us, her teaching is specifically geared toward women 18 and older. Please use caution in bringing little ones. As a reward, we encourage you to do a special party for your children if they have been memorizing with you. Make it a special time to celebrate their hard work.
Is there anything LPM can do to help Siestas in the same region connect prior to the January meeting?
We are blessed to hear you are coming to SSMT in 2012! As much as we would love to publish a regional list of those attending, we are unable to do this due to the confidentiality of each individual’s information. This is for your protection, ladies. Thanks so much for understanding. If you would like to put your Facebook page (not your email or phone number) in the comments section, we will post it, as we know you have more control over the privacy of that. We should all be very careful about what we post on the World Wide Web for all to see!
Can we do t-shirts, pink feather boas, etc to help connect with other Siestas in the airports and restaurants?
First of all, y’all are AMAZINGLY creative and fun! We love that and are so blessed by your anticipation for this special weekend. In light of these fun ideas, we have a special photo op planned on Friday evening. This will be your special keepsake from LPM for the weekend. If you want to make your own fun memory (ie. t-shirts, bracelets, boas, etc) by all means have a blast with it! We’ll look forward to seeing you in 2012!
I want to attend the SSMT Celebration, but I’m nervous about coming solo. What should I do?
Please come! We promise you will be blessed! Many women came solo in 2010 and left with new friendships and blessings in abundance. During the celebration, we will have you pair off with another Siesta sitting around you and say your verses. It will be a very rich time of celebration indeed. Don’t let coming alone keep you from coming. You will not be the only “one” coming!
Since today is the first of October, we are only three months away from the celebration. Can you believe that? We are so looking forward to January and know you are too!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Amber, Euless Texas
Hebrews 11:40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
Mary, Satellite Beach
“Because of the tender mercy of our God,
with which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.” ~ Luke 1: 78-79 NASB
Vicki from Waco: John 15:6 NIV–“If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.”
Leah, Atlanta: “But know that the Lord has set apart the godly man for Himself; the Lord hears when I call to Him.” Psalm 4:3
Karla – Cedarburg, WI –
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
2 Corinthians 4: 16-17 NIV
Celeste Hill Laguna Niguel, CA
Do not be seized with alarm and struck with fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom! Luke 12:32 AMP
Beth. Stillwater. Psalm 27:14 “Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!”
Angela, Maui. “I continually look to the Lord for help, for He will free my feet from the enemy’s net.” Psalm 25:15 The NET Bible
Bridget, Portland, TX
Proverbs 14:9 NLT
“Fools make fun of guilt, but the godly acknowledge it and seek reconciliation.”
Karen, Dallas,TX.
Do not lie to each other,
since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self,
which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free,
but Christ is all, and is in all.
Colossians 3:9-11 (NIV 1984)
Hello there Siesta Mama!
I thought of you today when I was reading this letter that my cousin posted on her FB about being a surivor of Cancer! She talks about how memorizing scripture as a child that gotten her through some pretty dark day’s! Hiding God’s word in our hearts is what we have to do to get through the trials! Just wanted you to know I was thinking about you and how you are making an impact for us to learn those scriptures! Here is her letter I thought I would share with you and I know she does not mind!
Thank You God For Your Blessings on Me!
T Stands for Thanks.
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Thank you God for allowing me to have cancer. Yes, you heard it right, “Thank you God for allowing me to have cancer.” If I had not gone through this challenge, I would have missed so many wonderful blessings. The overwhelming love and support from my family and friends; the opportunities to witness to those going through the same challenge; to know that God has given me such strength and that there isn’t anything that He and I can’t handle together; the ability to still have such joy in my life; and the wonderful love, support, and devotion I receive from my husband. I always knew Dennis loved me but I could never have comprehended how much.
H Stands for Hope.
“Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken.” Psalm 61:5-6
I encountered so many people who were hopeless about what they were facing. God gives me such hope and He is my strength. Without hope, I can’t get through this. I would have a “pity party” every day. Each morning rings a new day of hope. Every day my spirit is renewed and He is my rock and I shall not be shaken.
A Stands for Angel.
“See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.” Exodus 23:20
I have encountered what I call my earthly angels; some of whom are reading this right now. But one angel in particular that I encountered was a lady I worked with named Debra White. Since I retired, she and I had not talked until I came back to work on a project.
When I found out I had breast cancer, I went to her office to tell her. She told me two weeks prior to this that she had been at a Wednesday Night Prayer Service and they were writing down names of people who needed prayer. She said she felt God talking to her and telling her to put Linda Stephens’ name down because she was going to be going through some trials. Debra was my earthly angel God sent ahead for me. Do you realize how good it makes me feel to know that even before I knew I had breast cancer that God had people praying for me? God was preparing me for where He was taking my life.
N Stands for New.
“He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.” Psalm 40:3
There are so many “new” things I have seen and experienced. Besides having the new experience of losing my hair, I experienced a brand new attitude. I realized that life isn’t about me, it is about God. It would have been so easy in the mornings to wake up and ask: “Why do I have cancer?”; “What did I do wrong?”; “Why do I feel so sick?”; “Why doesn’t God love me?” But when you change your attitude and realize everything is about God, you wake up asking: “What can I do for you today Lord?”; “Who are you going to place in my path today so I can witness to them?”; “What did I ever do to deserve such unconditional love?” Like someone said, the Big C isn’t cancer, the Big C is Christ.
K Stands for Knock.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8
When I thought about this verse and read the word “will” throughout it, I realized that God is telling us that He “will” do something; not “might do something”. All I have to do is to knock so the door will be opened. How often have we waited behind a closed door and been afraid to open it? That is the way I felt when I first got my diagnosis; I just wanted to stay in my room with the door closed and was afraid of facing reality outside of the bedroom door. But I did knock and God answered and His door was wide-open for me. The door is never closed now for I am seeking Him every day and finding a new purpose for my life.
S Stands for Scriptures.
“And from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” 2 Timothy 3:15
I am so thankful that my Mother and Father brought me up in church. When I was a child learning scriptures, little did I know how those verses would sustain me in some of my darkest and most painful moments. When you are sitting in a recliner for hours with strong chemo medicine going through your body, the scriptures you memorized as a child comfort you. When you are lying in bed after a chemo treatment and you are so sick that you don’t know if you will ever feel well again, God’s words and promises spring into your mind making the pain more manageable. When you are lying down with bright lights glaring in your eyes and huge machines going around your body killing both good and bad cells, saying verses gets you through these ordeals. I can’t begin to tell you how often I recited Psalm 23 over and over in my mind. I could envision myself lying down in the green pastures by beautiful, still waters. I could see the Lord sitting next to me and holding my hand. I don’t fear cancer or death because I know that no matter what happens that “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” So if you are a parent, make sure you take the time to help your children memorize scriptures. Also, if you teach children at church, know that the verses they are learning today will never leave them.
These words only describe a small portion of the many blessings God has given me. God has blessed me with such positive people around me; My Family; My Church Family; My Work Family; My Health Care Family; and even people who I have only met through mail or e-mail.
Take time out every day and write down the blessings God has given you. Remember, even bad things like cancer can become a blessing.
Sue – Pasadena, TX – “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105
Psalm 103:13 (New King James Version)
“As a father pities his children, So the LORD pities those who fear Him.”
Shannon Michaelis, Houston, TX
“They will be my people, and I will be their God. And I will give them one heart and one mind to worship me forever, for their own good and for the god of their descendants. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, promising to not stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me. I will rejoice in doing good to them faithfully and wholeheartedly until I replant them in the land.” Jeremiah 32:28-41 NLT
Carla, Houston
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
2 Cor. 4:7 (NIV)
Chyrll, Memphis TN
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’ Matthew 28:17-20 ESV
Terry
Washington, IL
“For you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.”
Psalm 63:7 ESV
1 Peter 1:3-4 (NIV)
Praise be to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you.
Kathleen
Bellmore, LI, NY
Tammy/Siloam NC — For I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. Philippians 4:11b (NIV)
Federal Way, WA
Federal Way, WA
Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. Matt. 6:4 NLT
Shelby Kasten Ft Myers, Florida
James 1:9 My dear brothers take note of this, everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.
LuAnn, Port Huron, MI.
1 Peter 1:22 Amp. Since by your obedience to the Truth through the Holy Spirit you have purified your hearts for the sincere affection of the brethren, see that you love one another fervently from a pure heart.
Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:16
NAS
Saskatchewan, Canada
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
Psalm 27:14 NIV
Melody, Cleburne, TX
“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8 NASB
Celeste, Thompson’s Station, TN:
I continually look to the Lord for help, for He will free my feet from the enemy’s net. Psalm 25:15 The NET Bible
Annie, Alaska
Ps 136:21 niv
and gave their land as an inheritance, His love endures forever.
Tammy, Hendersonville, TN
I continually look to the Lord for help, for He will free my feet from the enemy’s net. Psalm 25:15 The NET Bible
Courtney, Chicora. “I CONTINUALLY LOOK TO THE LORD FOR HELP, FOR HE WILL FREE MY FEET FROM THE ENEMY’S NET.” The NET Bible
still no e mail
PSALM 25:15
Hebrews 13:4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. NIV
Christina, Egenhausen: He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. NIV Isaiah 40:29
Kathi Jacksonville, Fl
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strenght of my heart and my portion forever.”-Psalm 73:26 NIV
Michelle – Austin, TX
Psalm 119:19 NIV
I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me.
Tammy, Dallas
Remove the heavy yoke of oppression.
Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors! 10 Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble.
Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.
Isaiah 58:9-10 NLT
Ashley, Huntsville, AL: “Do not say “Why were the old days better than these?” for it is not wise to ask such questions.” – Ecclesiastes 7:12, NIV
How do I know living proof received my siesta sisters celebration registration?
Hi Aleta! We are checking on it. Did you get the email I send you?
Philippians 4:12 NIV
“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”
Tracy, Edgewood
No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. ~ Romans 4:20-21 (ESV)
Darcy, Lenoir
Psalm 84:4 NIV
Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.
Darien, Lenoir
Psalm 84:4 NIV
Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.
Jae, Lenoir
Psalm 84:4 NIV
Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.
Susanne, El Paso, TX
Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. James 1:19b (NIV-1984)
Psalm 25:15 (NKJV)
“My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for He shall pluck my feet out of the net.”
Do everything without complaining or arguing,
Philippians 2:14 (NIV)
Isaiah 30:19-23 (NLT)
“O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more.
He will be gracious if you ask for help.
He will surely respond to the sound of your cries.
Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink,
He will still be with you to teach you.
You will see your teacher with your own eyes.
Your own ears will hear Him.
Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.
Then you will destroy all your silver idols and your precious gold images.
You will throw them out like rags, saying to them, “Good riddance!”
Then the Lord will bless you with rain at planting time. There will be wonderful harvests and plenty of pastureland for your livestock.”
Traci, Vadnais Heights, MN.
Debra, Mississippi
Psalm 5:12 (KJV) For Thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous with avour wilt Thou compass him as with a shield.
“But, I will sing of your strength in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.
Psalms 59:16 NIV