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!
Selena – Cordele, GA
The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him. Lamentations 3:25, HCSB
Chrystal C. – Quartz Hill, CA
Jesus said to him. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 ESV
Karlys, La Place, LA
Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
Colossians 3:2 ESV
Jenn DeVille, Knox City, Texas – John 10:10 – The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but JESUS has come that we might have life more abundant.
1 Peter 5:6-7 (NIV)
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all Your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.
Carla, Coweta, “By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.” Ephesians 3:7 (NLT)
Jan Goodson, Keller, TX, Finally, be strong in The Lord and in His mighty power.
Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
Ephesians 6:10-11 (NIV)
Julie Speyer, Madison, GA
Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psalm 73:25-26 NIV
Melinda Hollis, Independence MO
“Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.”
Philippians 4:5 NIV
Colossians 3:17
And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him…
KJV
Mandy, Porter, Texas. “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.” 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)
Sherri Hartman Maumee, Ohio
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. NKJV
Emily, Sterlington, LA
Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. Luke 9:23 NKJV
“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf…”
Hebrews 6:19-20a NIV
Emily in Puyallup, WA
Laura Harris, Montgomery, AL, 2 Corinthians 12: 9-10 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. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Michelle Crane, American Canyon, CA “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.” Psalm 1:2-3 NIV
Jennifer, Greensburg, LA, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:7 (NIV)
Heather, Greensburg, LA “All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” John 1:3 (KJV)
Emily, Greensburg, LA, “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
Rhonda H Wade, Buchanan GA
Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Romans 8:26 NKJV
M.Julia Saltus
Las Vegas, Nevada
I will meditate on Your precept And regard Your ways.
Psalms 119:15
NASB
Lise Ode, Cumming, GA
For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7, AKJV
Diane, Albany, NY
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Psalm 34:18 NIV
Let not mercy and truth forsake thee; bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart. So shalt thou find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Proverbs 3:3-4 KJV. Shira MacLennan, Americus, Georgia.
Buffalo, OH
“But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.”-Acts 20:24 (NLT)
April, Tennessee, Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. (Philippians 4:6 NLT)
And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Acts 2:21 NIV
Stephanie Shinn, Chanhassen, MN
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)
Brianne Leonard, Greenwood, AR “Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.” Psalms 51:12
Theresa Brennan, Toledo, OH
Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
Pam DeStefano, Schwenksville, PA
“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”
Romans 8:11 (NKJV)
Wendy Buttrey Acworth, Ga
Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. Isaiah 65:24 NIV
Kristin from Spokane, WA
The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
So he will have no lack of gain. NKJV
Fleetwood pa
Job 13:13-16 ESV
“Let me have silence, and I will speak, and let come on me what may. Why should I take my flesh in my teeth and put my life in my hand? Though he slay me, I will hope in him; yet I will argue my ways to his face. This will be my salvation, that the godless shall not come before him.
Vicki
Murfreesboro, TN
Lamentations 3:26 (HCSB)
“It is good to wait quietly for deliverance from the Lord.”
Melanie Winchester, VA “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.” Ephesians 1:11, NIV
Lea Ann Frank from Hales Corners, WI:
Matthew 14:28~ “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
You should memorize this verse with your name substituted for Peter’s name. Then you will enjoy the most thrilling walk of your life!
Have you heard the Hillsong United song, ‘Oceans’? Awesome!
Edelle Simmons, Long Beach, CA
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things.
Philippians 4:8 NIV
Karin, Aston, PA
Galatians 5:22-23
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” NIV
Katelyn Lee, Mitxhell, IN. “Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.” Ephesians 4:29, NLT
Susie McNeely Russellville AR
For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
Psalms 107:9 KJV
Stephanie Knight, Waynesboro, MS
“But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.” 2 Thess. 3:3 NIV
Anna, Cincinnati, OH.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
Joyce Kortze, Rockford IL
“Remember not the former things,
Do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing.
Now it spring forth; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
And streams in the wasteland.”
Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV
Plano, TX
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil. (Proverbs 4:23-27 NIV)
Addy Burke, Fernandina, FL – “Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually.” Psalm 105:3-4 NRSV
Helen Roseberry, Redondo Beach, CA “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn” Isaiah 61:2 NIV
in Muscle Shoals, AL
“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.” Ephesians 1:17 NIV
Natasja, Tauranga, New Zealand
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Phil 4:6-7
I forgot translation NKJV
iNCLINE NOT MY HEART TO ANY EVIL THING, TO PRACTICE WICKED WORKS WITH MEN THAT WORK INIQUITY; AND LET ME NOT EAT OF THEIR DAINTIES. PSALM 141:4
Ginny, Vancouver, BC Canada
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ak or think, according to the power at work within us” Ephesian 3:20 ESV
Jaime Weaver, Klamath Falls, Oregon
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:17b-19 NIV