Hey, everybody! You are in the exact right place to submit your Verse 2!
This is such a fun first for SSMT! Remember in the SSMT informational post when I told that, while I’ll still be doing all the SSMT posts on the 1st of every month, the one on every 15th would be written by various sisters in our blog community? Welcome to the first one! It took me about 5 seconds to decide who we should ask to kick off our SSMT guest posts. My beloved friend, Jan Morton, has been an active member of this community from its inception. I fell in love with her by watching her interact with countless women in the comment line, ministering to them and encouraging them and mothering them and making them laugh. And through that connection, we became personal friends. Our SSMT guest bloggers throughout 2015 will be from various age groups but this one happens to be right at my age and in a very similar season in her personal life and serving life. Those of you who have been around a while know that Jan Morton became so dearly loved in this community that we early on named her the “Mayor of Siestaville.” So, without further hesitation, please grant me the honor of introducing you to one of the mightiest women in the faith that I know. Jan, we are so honored to have you host us today! Thank you for investing in us!
Happy 2015 Siestas! This is such a privilege for me to share with our SSMT. I adore this community! My name is Jan Morton. I’m a pastor’s wife from Georgia. [I am also “GJ” for Gran Jan/Georgia Jan.] I’ve been married to my husband Gary for 37 years. Only 20 years old when we got married¸ we were way too young but who knew? ☺ We have two grown married sons, two sweet daughters-in-love, and 5 delightful grandchildren ages 6, 4 ½ , 4 ½, 2 ½, and 17 months – Gran Jan’s JOY! I love gardening, singing in choir/praise team, reading, quilting, and serving in the women’s ministry of my church. I work in our local school system (26 years now) as the Administrative Assistant to our Superintendent. A new ministry I’m involved in at my church is called Taste & See, a mentoring, encouragement time for women. Cooking and conversation! We get in the kitchen and wonderful things happen. Isn’t the kitchen a great place to gather? It is at the Morton home!
Ecclesiastes 3:1 “For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven.” ESV
The word says: For everything [it says everything], there is a season and a time for every matter/purpose/activity under heaven. Everything – the entirety of; a great deal, especially of something very important, EVERYTHING!
God has been drawing me to the theme of seasons, and that is what I want to share with you today. All of life relates to seasons. The beauty found in the four seasons of a calendar year to the seasons of our lives. I’m in the season of life known as the empty nest. Just me and my man like when we had “only just begun.” I’m loving this season, especially being a grandmother. Looking back as a 57 year old woman can do…I can truthfully say I’ve learned in every season of my life. I pray to grow old gracefully and stay relevant and young at heart.
What is your season of womanhood right now? Are you in SPRING – a young woman in school or just beginning a career or education or newly married? How about SUMMER – in the “zone” raising children or building a career or marriage? Maybe you’re in AUTUMN – children grown, and you may be looking toward retirement? Or perhaps you find yourself in WINTER – your senior years as a woman, perhaps a widow, reflecting on past seasons and all that God has brought you through.
WHEREVER YOU ARE, BE ALL THERE. This is what God is showing me because in the busyness of life I can easily lose focus. Don’t be longing for another season and miss what’s going on around you now. This deception is one of the biggest lies of the enemy of our souls; the distraction and discontentment with where we are today. Embrace your season: SEASON – SAVOR EVERY AVAILABLE SENT OPPORTUNITY NOW! Some are more enjoyable than others, sure they are! Just as changes in seasons bring mosquitoes in summer or storms in winter, there are extremes in our lives. Some of you empty nesters may suddenly find yourself caring for both your grandchildren and aging parents. Some of you young women may be longing for marriage. Some of you stay at home moms or single moms may have to go into the workforce for a season to pay the bills. If our entire lives were one continuous season we wouldn’t have the changes we desperately need to help us grow. As much as I love to garden, if every day were spring or summer, I wouldn’t have autumn to harvest, or winter to dream and plan.
This old gal has learned some things in 57 years of seasons:
• Our constant, never-changing, faithful Lord Jesus is with us in every SEASON, in everything.
• Sometimes seasons overlap – in fact, several might descend on you at once. Sometimes joy and sorrow meet in a season.
• You may think springtime has come, but unseasonal cold snaps may occur and you better be ready. Memorizing God’s Word is a lifeline.
• Ask God to give you a strong focus in your season today and receive it as the gift it is, embracing the wonder. God will provide your daily bread.
“Which is the happiest season of life?” was asked of an older woman. She replied: “When spring comes, and the flower buds are breaking through I think, ‘How beautiful is spring.’ And then when summer comes and covers the trees with heavy foliage and singing birds are among the branches, I think, ‘How beautiful is summer.’ When autumn arrives with golden fruit, and the leaves bear the gorgeous colors, I think, ‘How beautiful is autumn.’ And then comes winter, and there is neither foliage nor fruit, and I look up through the leafless branches as I never could until now, and see the stars shining in God’s home.
Embrace whatever season you are in now. RIGHT NOW. Don’t long for another season. I know the days may be long, but at my age, the years seem so short. So wherever you are, be all there. Because of Jesus, one day we will be “SEASONED TO PERFECTION” and live with Christ for eternity. Let’s get there one day at a time and savor our seasons as God wills. Because He has made everything beautiful in its time. (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
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OK, ladies! It’s me, Beth, again. Submit your second verses! Remember to limit your comments to these 5 pieces of information:
Name, city, verse, reference (where it is found) and translation.
Here’s mine!
Beth Moore, Houston, Texas. “In Him the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:21-22 ESV
I love you guys!
Heather Raleigh, NC
“Do not let this book of the law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night so that you will be careful to do everything that is written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
Joshua 1:8 NIV
Debbie Evans, Ojai, CA. “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. James 1:2-3 NIV
Bolivar, MO
“You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.
“He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD.”
Dueteronomy 8:2-3 NASB
JennaLee- Mountain Lake, MN
Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
Ephesians 4:32 (NASB)
Rachele, Houston, TX
Colossians 3:23
“Whatever you do, do it heartily as unto the Lord and not to men.”
Lamentations 3:25-26
25 The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
To the soul who seeks Him.
26 It is good that one should hope and wait quietly
For the salvation of the Lord.
NKJV
The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not abandon the works of tour hands Psalm 138:8 NIV
Sonia Silva, Edmonton
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. NIV
Sandy, San Diego, CA
“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39 (NKJV)
Colossians 1:22: Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.
Suzanne McCord Mr. Pleasant, SC Micah 6:8 nkjv micah 6:8
He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?
Kim Thrower, Houston TX “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Philippians 4:6 ESV
Ingrid Tracy, CA
I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Psalm 16:8 ESV
Vicki, Clinton, MS
Romans 12:1-2
I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service of worship. Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Suzanne Waters, Sylvania Georgia (in a season of joy !)
Ecclesiastes 3:1 “For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven.” ESV
Cindy Franklin, Graceville, FL Col 4:6 KJV
Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.
Sarah-Atlanta
I call on You, my God, for You will answer me; turn your ear and hear my prayer. Psalm 17:6 NIV
Lisa, Taylorsville, NC
1 Corinthians 8:6 KJV
But to us there is but one God, the Father of whom are all things, and we in Him and one Lord Jesus Christ by whom are all things, and we by Him.
“So let’s walk right up to Him and get what He is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the grace.” HEBREWS 4:16 MSG
Christina Rice, Chicago IL, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Karen Mceathron,Oconomowow WI
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.I will say of the Lord He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.
Psalm 91:1-2 (NKJV)
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18 NIV
Heather Nichols, Aurora, IL
Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful and endures thru every circumstance. 1 Corinthians 13:7 NLT
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14 NIV
Pam, Dublin, VA
He must increase, but I must decrease. John 3:30 NASB
Kathie Nappier
Aiken SC 29803
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
Ephesians 1:3 NIV
Kathy Bricker, North Wilkesboro, NC
Isaiah 41:10 (ESV) Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Christine Arnold, Atlanta, GA, “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.” 1 Corinthians 16:13 NIV
Theresa – Brandon, MS – And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:8 (NLT)
Burnt Hills, NY
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
Psalm 19:14 (ESV)
Melanie, Escondido, CA
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven”. Matthew 5:16 NIV
Dolly – Indianapolis, IN
“He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.” Psalm 91:4 (NIV)
Romans 15:13 NIV
May the GOD of HOPE fill you with all JOY and PEACE as you trust in HIM, so that you may overflow with HOPE by the power of the HOLY SPIRIT.
Proverbs 2:5-7 NKJV
Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.
For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding;
He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly.
Lesley Roberts, Fort Worth, Texas
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13 NIV
Rachel – Kelowna
Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 NIV
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:9 ESV
Jennifer from Nacogdoches, TX: He says, “Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10 NIV
Chrystal, Coachella – The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior – Psalm 18:2
Laura, Kansas “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)
Helen Gilliard, Georgia, (NIV) “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
Lisa
West Columbia, Texas
“I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.” Psalm 91:2 (NIV)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love…
Ephesians 1:3-4
Chelley Muskegon, MI “Long ago, even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ, to be holy and without fault in His eyes. Eph 1:3 NLT
Sarah-Webb City, MO
A sluggard does not plow in season; so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing.
Proverbs 20:4 NIV
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh”
Ezekiel 36:26
If a ruler’s anger rises against you, do not leave your post; calmness can lay great offenses to rest.
Ecclesiastes 10:4 (NIV)
Stace Doran, Tunnel Hill, GA 1 Peter 3:3-4 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self. The unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit which is of great worth in God’s sight.
Nicole Bozell, Indianapolis, IN: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.” Psalm 19:1 ESV