Good afternoon, Siestas! Monday probably would have been a more appropriate day to write this post, but we went straight into Tuesday night Bible study, so I wanted to get through that before we spent one more post on SSMTC. So, please forgive me for any details I might be missing.
It was a wonderful weekend, was it not? I personally had the sweetest time receiving and giving so many hugs, and putting names with faces I see all the time on the blog. In fact, I think someone mentioned on Saturday that is was National Hug Day. How appropriate is that?
One thing some of you may not know is that this was my second SSMT Celebration. I attended the celebration in 2010 as a participant and Siesta. Isn’t that so fun? Getting to serve you ladies this time around was a complete joy and honor. I often referred back to the first SSMTC and took in where the Lord had brought me since then. Who knew? To be so honest, it was very surreal. He is so good and sweet.
We started out Friday evening STRONG! I got to the church early around 2:30 with Jenn, who happened to be in charge of the entire event, and some of you beat us there. It was so fun to see how excited y’all were. Jenn and I ended up getting ready in the bathroom at church before things got crazy, and I got so tickled when about five of you walked in on us as we were freshening up our make-up. Real life, folks, real life!
After getting things all set up and ready, we opened registration at 5:00 and that’s when most of you started flooding in. At the registration table we gave a lot of hugs, and also some cute tote bags, pens and a program. They were adorable!
At 7:00 sharp Travis and his team led us in some powerful worship. If he doesn’t do it for you, I’m not sure who would. They are such an anointed and gifted group that genuinely loves serving the Lord, and it shows. Not to mention the excitement in the room. During the second song I walked up to the balcony to get a quick picture and just stood there for a minute to take it all in. We are a real blog community that has come to life. Instead of reading and posting your sweet comments, I got to stand there for a minute and listen to y’all sing. It was a sweet moment. Again, probably just another one of my nostalgic moments that I’ve been having lately. Please forgive any sappiness.
Once worship was over Beth was up and not only did she have a WORD for us out of 2 John, she surprised us all by reciting the entire book to us by memory. Because of how animated and passionate she is, I think it’s safe to say we all felt like we were watching a portion out of a Broadway play, except she was speaking the living, breathing word of God. For the next three sessions, on into Saturday, Beth spelled out the word WALKING for us and had a point for each letter.
There is no doubt in my mind that each woman walked away with some truth in her heart and the courage to take back her ground the enemy has trampled on or stolen! Wow. I’ve been thinking about my ground all week.
When we wrapped up the Friday evening session, while Beth took pictures with the different regions represented, the rest of us enjoyed cookies and cocoa in the Fellowship Hall. I didn’t get to personally drink any of the hot cocoa, but I heard it was out of this world. I know for a fact the sugar cookie was, as I did enjoy one of those. Or maybe two. Grin.
We all cleared out Friday night, only to lay our heads quickly on our pillows to return bright and early Saturday morning. Travis and his team and Beth all did a phenomenal job.
Halfway through the morning it was time to say our scriptures to each other. During this time I walked around to snap a few pictures and it was really fun to see everyone in pairs all around the building reciting your scriptures out loud. What a powerful time!
Throughout the weekend, we gave the ladies who could recite all 24 verses an opportunity to do so with a partner and claim a gift we had for them, and do y’all know we counted 385 that signed off for reciting all 24 verses? That is amazing! I think our in house cheerleader, Evangeline, cheered each of them on individually very enthusiastically. It’s what we do best at LPM.
We even had one Siesta recite all of her scriptures in Greek to Melissa on Saturday. Incredible.
Once we’d all said our scriptures, and all the pressure you felt was gone, Beth sent us out on the letter G: Go out into the world WALKING in what you know. It was the perfect ending to a perfect weekend. Travis led us in some foot stomping worship and then when all was said and done, I heard most of you talking about going to get Tex-Mex. That was very wise of you to do.
Ladies, you were an absolutely blast and the sweetest, most gracious and warm group of ladies and not to mention fun and beautiful. To say y’all are easy to love would be an understatement. However, I don’t want to leave out those of you that couldn’t make it this weekend! Know that you were thought of, prayed for and MISSED! Your hard work didn’t go unnoticed by us one iota. We love each of you dearly and haven’t stopped talking about you since Saturday, which started out through text message the minute we all left HFBC Saturday afternoon. Thank you so much for making a trek to Houston to celebrate with us!
Although saying this doesn’t plaster a pretty pink bow on this post to wrap it up, I want to let y’all know that we will not be doing scripture memory this year on the blog. That has been the number one question we’ve received so I just wanted to make it clear. We do, however, encourage you to continue on doing your scripture memory and grab a few ladies to do it with you! Don’t let this blog keep you from memorizing scripture. But do be looking out for Siesta Summer Bible study and be sure to check back in 2013 for scripture memory.
If you wrote a recap post, feel free to share a link to that specific post in the comments section with your comment. I know other ladies would love to read about your experience.
We love you ladies dearly. And we mean it!
Travis and Angela Cottrell
Worship. Sorry for the quality, these were captured with my phone.
Ladies reciting scripture to each other all over HFBC.
Our youngest Siesta who recited all 24 verses as well. Each time she did one, she jumped up and down and clapped. It was precious.
Our scripture wall. Awesome!
I was able to attend and was so abundantly blessed and filled to overflow! I will continue memorizing on my own in 2012 and look forward to joining you all again in 2013. Here’s a little link so that you can read my thoughts of the SSMTC 2012.
http://cindykessler.blogspot.com/2012/01/sweet-siesta-time-in-siestaville-aka.html
Be blessed!
Cindy K
What a blessing this was!!! Thank you to LPM for organizing this celebration. It really felt like God was raining His love upon us with a “Well Done, Siestas!” My heart about wrenched out of my chest when Beth told us to repeat in the commission that we may never meet again . . . I just imagine the heavenlies full of praise for Him. Oh, what a whispered moment of heaven we were allowed to experience this weekend. Thank you so much for your teaching Beth . . . I’m still trying to unpack it all. You are such a blessing!!!
I want to thank everyone so much for making this happen! God spoke to me from almost the first song! I so needed to have a time to get away from my regular distractions and hear Him!
I came by myself, and God was so sweet to give me another Siesta to share worship and my Scriptures with on Saturday. (Hi, Jean!)
I wrote about some of the things God spoke to me about in a blog post:http://marriedtoachurchplanter.blogspot.com/2012/01/dirt-on-ssmtc.html.
And I’m looking for a pretty container to display my dirt!
Many thanks to Beth and all the team who provided a lovely weekend for us. Thank you God’s word spoken and sung, for the cute tote bag and the cookies and the abundant hospitality. My new friends Andrea (from Pennsylvnia)and Shannon (now of Austin) said our verses to each other on Friday night. When we signed in as having said or listened to verses, a group of women applauded for us and affirmed us. What a blessing that was!
Please let us know when the link is avaiable to print the group pictures from Friday evening.
I felt the nudge of the Holy Spirit and will be facilitating a “James” study here in OKC.
Thank you again for your attention to detail and encouraging us to stay in the Word.
Just wanted to say thank you so much to Beth and all the LPM friends for the wonderful weekend. The love was palpable. Honestly, I was on a spiritual high for the whole week. All my friends back home wondered what happened to me while I was away and I couldn’t wait to tell them. Jesus has a way of doing that to you. Beth’s Bible teaching was so timely. Just the week before I had been praying about how to keep all the spiritual ground that I had claimed this year. I was concerned that Satan would be able to tame my belief in the Truth. Living on this planet can dull your senses. I plan on WALKING daily. The recap was great and makes my heart just fill up with love for all the wonderful memories and extraordinary women I met. I was befriended at the first step through the door and that meant the world to me because I came by myself. To put a cherry on top of the sundae, that’s me writing on the scripture memory wall. I can always just pull that up for an extra smile. Thank you so much for such a precious time. Love you guys to pieces! Lynda
I just love reading the comments from the Siesta Celebration! I did memorize my 24+ verses but was unable to attend the celebration however I did join all of you on the live stream. It was absolutely amazing! Thank you so much for making that available to us. Actually I had to step away for a short while and my husband came sit at my computer and took notes for me!! Isn’t he the greatest! I just praise God because I am so blessed!
Lindsee,
Thank you for the wonderful post and pictures. I read the post a few days ago and have been thinking about it. I have especially remembered what you said about going up in the balcony and looking down on everyone and everything. You took a picture and I could picture you soaking it all in and storing it up in your memory.
Yesterday a memory popped into my head from the summer I was the director for our church’s VBS. I remember standing in the sanctuary one morning watching all of the children singing and dancing. After all the work of organizing and planning, my heart just about exploded with the joy of seeing those pews filled with those singing children!
As that memory flashed through my mind, I understood a little of what you must have thought as you looked down from the balcony. Thank you for all of your hard work (and the rest of LPM). My daughter and I had a wonderful time and look forward to doing it again next time!
Tanya Cook
Thank you for providing such a great celebration for us! But, even more thanks for encouraging me to memorize Scripture. That has been such a huge blessing in my life. God still brings “my verses” up over and over throughout each week. He posts them on Facebook, mentions them through my Pastor’s sermon, or even through our Bible study lesson. Many times He has given me opportunity to apply them. God has blessed me greatly thru His Word. Truely, as His Word is spoken, we ARE changed forever! Thank you to Travis and his team too for all they did for us. It was awesome!
http://yolanda-highergrounds.blogspot.com/
Thank you LPM!!!
Hi.Can someone help me out? I am confused! A friend of mine told me about the Siestas from 2011. And I decided to get on board for 2012. I’ve been waiting to hear the news and what the scriptures would be, and even when to buy my spiral book!!
So is there no more Siesta group? And no more posting of scripture, no challenges and encouragement to memorize?
Confused! Please advise. I was SO EXCITED to start this and hoped to be a gret part of a ministry I so desperately need.
If not, please reconsider! Need help to understand if there is/is not this ministry. Thanks.
Lisa
Hey, Lisa! We do the Scripture memory team every other year officially as a blog community so we won’t start again until January 2013. I have no doubt that others are memorizing together on their own in smaller groups. I hope you hear from some of them. Glad you’re here!
Hi Lisa,
I know you don’t know me but I wanted to extend an invitation to walk through scripture memory with me and another friend this year. We each bought spiral bound index cards to record them in and we are posting them in a Facebook email thread.
If you’d like to join us and you are on Facebook then please send me a friend request and you can jump right in with us. Here’s my FB link:
https://www.facebook.com/cindyk64
(if that link doesn’t work then search for me at:
Cindy Kessler (Randolph)
The way it worked, in 2011, with the official team is that we chose our own verses as the Lord would lead but if you come up dry then you’re more than welcome to learn what either of us are learning.
Many blessings to you as you take that step to hide God’s word in your heart!
Cindy K
Lindsee,
I was at the event, but have two friends who could not come, but memorized all of their verses. They had no idea the event was being taped for those who could not attend (nor did I until Beth announced it). How did you get the word out? Is there any recording of it so that my precious friends could view that awesome teaching and join in on the celebration they so much deserved to see?
Blessings,
Traci McDavid
[email protected]
Thank you Beth and Staff for a weekend that was more than I dreamed it would be.. It was a refreshing, restoring , relaxing time with the LORD and with my daughter that I will never forget… I praise God for such dedicated, commited people who planned and prepared for us.. thank you.. 2 John will forever be etched in my mind and heart.
I wasn’t able to attend due to a new position, but I did my verses last year! Because of this scripture ministry I started a blog with our ladies at church and we’re doing the same. We started with 14 in January – small, but I believe God will grow it! Thanks again, Beth, for this fabulous ministry. And….I plan to be there in Houston in January 2014!
Lindsee, Thank you for the summery of the event. Sounds like a great time. After the 2010 SSMT event, audio files of Beth’s teachings were put on the website so those who weren’t in attendance could listen to them. Are you all going to do that this time too?
Is there any way we could get the commission posted that we were given that night? sorry if it has been posted somewhere and I wasn’t aware. Thanks. God bless you all!
Liz, it’s up under the very first response to this post. Blessings.
My daughter and I had a great time! I had a friend message me on Facebook that there was a picture of my daughter and me on this post. I didn’t even know anyone took our picture. We must have been having “a moment.” Thanks so much for putting together a great weekend!
Are you going to post the commission?
Sounds like it was a wonderful time! I surely would have joined the live feed if Google hadn’t put the notification email into my spam box :-(. Never saw it until a week later, which was too late. In the past there has been just spam in there but this time I think they were trying to weed out some political stuff and they weeded you out too! I am blessed just reading about your time though! Maybe next year!
Thank you thank you thank you – I know you all have aheard that a bazillion times, but that is the best way I know to express my tears and heart – thank you!!!!
BTW – are you all going to post the group pictures?
Thanks again and I love you all!!!
Leigh Gray
I seriously just got on this blog for the first time since that weekend. I couldn’t bear hearing about it. Just the little comments on twitter were tearing me to pieces. Ya’ll have no idea the things I gave up for this trip and how much it meant to me! I couldn’t even open the part of my bag that held my scripture verses to even look at them for about a week and even then it hurt! I know. So lame. It really shouldn’t have been that big a deal. And I know I should’ve just been happy for all of you that did get to go, but it was just so hard after I had put so much into this trip. It still hurts to read about it, but that’s okay. I had decided to never plan anything fun or do anything for myself ever again, but I’ve since changed my mind and I’m not only going to do the scripture memory in 2013, I’m going to try and get there in 2014 for the celebration! I’m just going to try not to get too excited about it this time. I did almost turn to the bottle for comfort, Gay, but I didn’t. We’re now working on month 18 and I honestly don’t have any support locally, so I have a couple of online support groups. I tried AA, but honestly they just fed all my other issues, because they are not problems to non-Christians, but I would hate myself later for participating in the profanity and sick sexual discussions! So I quit going. I went to Celebrate Recovery here, but didn’t really connect with anyone there and all I heard was what I should and shouldn’t do, which honestly if that really worked I’d just stay home and tell myself that, thank you. God has provided a wonderful opportunity to make new connections in a much larger city, since my husband just got a promotion that will relocate us to Spokane, Washington! We’ve been going to a church here recently that we love. A church plant that was brought here from the original Real Life Ministries in Post Falls, Idaho. A ministry I had heard many great things about for years, especially from my dear friend, who took me under her wing and discipled me some when I first came to the Lord almost 17 years ago! She is also a siesta and I’ve loved the great balance of grace and truth that is being lived out from everyone that has been involved with Real Life. I’ve wanted to go ever since they first came here, but my husband didn’t want to leave our church. Long story how he changed his mind, but he did. Anyway, I was a little sad since we’d only gone one week when he got the offer of a promotion, but I just found out they recently started a church plant in Spokane as well!!! Isn’t God so Awesome!!! I’m so looking forward to it! I just know He has great things planned for me and my family up there!!!!
I finally finshed my blog post http://hauptmannsblogging.blogspot.com/2012/01/houston-tx.html
thank you so much for such an amazing event!!
Does anyone now know if there is a way to hear the message Beth spoke on at SSMT?? I’d love to hear it after reading so many posts about it!
Thank you!!!
Lynne
It sounds like you all had a wonderful time and I am so sorry I was not able to attend. I would love to hear Beth’s message though. Last SSMT celebration those of us who didn’t attend were able to hear the message. I think you posted a link on the blog. Is that possible? If so, I would love to know.
Thanks for all you do.
Pierre, SD SSMT Gathering
We were not able to come to Houston, but we celebrated our scripture memory by reciting and dining at a wonderful local restaurant, in Pierre SD. I posted a picture of us on the Living Proof face book page. We exchanged gifts that were to remind us of our dedication to memorization for the year! What a great day to be a Siesta!
Could you please let me know the location where the pictures will be posted of the groups by geographical regions at the SSMTC Friday night? Or are you still working on that? Thank you.
Hi Georganne, we’re still working on that, but will let you know!
Dear Lindsee,
I do not want to be annoying and ungrateful, but I REALLY was hoping to get a chance to print off the picture with Beth with the people from our area from the SSMTC celebration. Do you have any idea when those will be available online? And where would I find them?
You do not need to post this if you prefer not to.
Georganne Thomas
Thank you so much! I got my email today with a link to the pictures. So I am now grateful. Sorry for being grumpy.
I would also like to be able to see the celebration if possible Thank you and can’t wait to attend one.
I love reading the comments from the Siesta Celebration! I did memorize my 26+ verses but was unable to attend the celebration however I did join all of you on the live stream. It was absolutely amazing! Thank you so much for making that available to us.