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!
Pamela
Hubbard, OR.
Psalm 64:1 NIV
Hear me O God, as I voice my complaint; protect my life from the threat of the enemy.
Rhonda Ramsey Traverse City, Mi
Romans 5:1 KJV
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Sharon Barnard Fort Worth, Texas “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others”
Phil 2: 3-4 NASB
Erin, Ohatchee, AL
“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 NASB
1 Peter 5: 7 cast your anxieties on him as he cares for you ESV
Roni – Demopolis, Alabama
“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you”. Isaiah 26:3 NLT
Shauna Humphreys, Muse, OK. “Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.” Isaiah 58:8 (NIV)
I love this verse and almost chose it.
Ami De La Rosa, Collinsville, OK “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
“No unbelief 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
April from Portales, NM
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Psalm 51:10 ESV
Kelsey, Waverly IA
I Praise you because I am Fearfully and Wonderfully made ; Your works are wonderful I know that full well
Psalm 139:14 NIV
Lisa Curtis, Jackson, MO
He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6 NIV
We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in Him.
1 John 4:16 NLT
Ivey Beierle, Avon, IN “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” Romans 11:1 NIV
Eileen, Lompoc, CA
You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal. Isaiah 26:3-4 (NIV)
Pushkala, Louisville, KY: “I will give thanks to you Lord with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High. Ps 9:1-2 NIV
Holly T., Nixa, Missouri
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalm 27:1. ESV
Kathy Kaherl, Burlington, CT
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. Psalm 19:1-4 NIV
Donna, Victoria Texas
2 Cor. 10:4-5 NIV
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary,they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Taste and see that the Lord is good;blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Psalms 34:8
This is april from Logan Kansas. Galatians 4:8-9 Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist. So now that you know God or should I say, now that God knows you, why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world? NLT
Michele Powell Nampa, Idaho
Philippians 4:5 (NIV) Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
Jenn Danhof, Marana, AZ. “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” ESV
Shelley Ball, Sevierville, TN
“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37 ESV)
Jessica Hawney, San Jose, CA Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:16 NIV
Kathy, Folsom, CA
“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…” Isaiah 61:1 NIV
Dana, Cape Girardeau, Mo
Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, perfect, pleasing will of God.
Romans 12:2 HCSB
Angie, Whittier-CA
“Be careful how you think, your life is shaped by your thoughts.”
Provers 4:23 (GNT)
Barbara Bollman, West Fargo, North Dakota
Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you.
Show me where to walk for I give myself to you. Psalm 143.8
NLT
Amy Lefkowitz, Richmond, VA:
The LORD says, “I will rescue those who love me.
I will protect those who trust in my name.
When they call on me, I will answer;
I will be with them in trouble.
I will rescue and honor them.
I will reward them with a long life
and give them my salvation.”
Psalm 91:14-16, NLT
Avayd Ann Lacy
Kansas City, KS
“A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes on other will be refreshed”. Proverbs 11:25 NLT
Kathi Anglin, Sykesville, MD
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
1 Timothy 6:17, NIV
Dawn Ferraro from Hauppauge NY
but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 ESV
laura – morgantown, wv
“A gentle response turns away anger, but a harsh word stirs up wrath.” Proverbs 15:1 NET
Merideth Pobst, Jackson, Missouri
Romans 10:17
“Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of Christ.” – NIV
Pamela North, Wilmington NC. “But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” Luke 8:15 NIV
Nancilee – Milton, Georgia
“It is useless for you to go on talking; it is clear you don’t know what you are saying.” Job 35:16 ESV
Karen Benson, New Prague, MN
1John 3:18
Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
NIV
And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
Isaiah 11:2
Bonnie Tolson, Outer Banks, NC. “Love one another with brotherly affection [as members of one family], giving precedence and showing honor to one another.” Romans 12:10 AMP
Nadine, High Point, NC
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
Zephaniah 3:17 not
For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty Savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his live, he will calm all your fears. He will rejocean over you with joyful songs.
Julie Passman
McKinney, TX
Hosea 10:12 (KJV) Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.
Heather- Inman, SC
Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.
Ephesians 3:17-18 NLT
Vickie Arthur, West Monroe, La.
To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal? says the Holy One. Life your eyes and look to the heavens. Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. Isaiah 40:25-26 NIV
Christina Fort Worth
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and make me willing to obey you.
Psalms 51:12. NLT
Susie Kirkland, Wa.
“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.” NIV
Ezekeil 36:26 I’ll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that’s God-willed, not self-willed. I’ll put my Spirit in you and make it possible for you to do what I tell you and live by my commands.
(I’m praying this daily for a family member)
Michelle – Livermore, CA
“I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”
Revelation 3:15-16 ESV
Patti Knobbe- West Point, NE “Sweetness of the lips increases learning. The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, and adds learning to his lips.” Proverbs 16:21,23 (NIV)