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!
Sherry Fisher, Almo,KY
“Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.”
NLT
Oops! 1John 3:2 NLT
Bless the Lord oh my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord oh my soul, and forget none of His benefits; Who pardons all your iniquities; heals all your diseases; who redeems your life from the pit; who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; Who satisfies your years with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle. Psalm 103 1-5
Cathy – San Angelo, TX
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer.
Romans 12:12
Jennifer, Aberdeen, WA “Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.” Psalms 37:3 NIV
Shannon, Rogers, Ar Psalm 101:3 “I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away;it shall not cling to me.” ESV
Rebecca Amaya, Elk Grove, CA
“Give thanks to Him; bless His name! For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” Psalm 100:4b-5 (ESV)
Angie Hardison, Surprise AZ-
Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. Romans 13:14 NIV
Lisa Hypes, San Jacinto, CA: Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” (Psalm 16:1-2 ESV)
G. Michelle
Billings, MT
Ephesians 3:14-17 ( ESV)
4 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
Leviticus 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the LORD>
Colossians 3:12
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. Isaiah 60:1 ESV
Lauren Sledge Bowling Green, KY
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of the righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and the praise of God. Romans 1:8-11
Deborah, Nashville, TN
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim 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)
Megan – Tulsa, OK
Hebrews 13:5 KJV Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have; for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Virginia, McKinney, Tx
“when I discovered your words, I devoured them. They are my joy and hearts delight for I bear your name O Lord God of Heavens Armies,
.” Jeremiah 15:16 NIV
Vicky McPhail, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” 1 Timothy 6:12, NIV.
Christy – Greencastle, Pa. “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. ” John 15:5 ESV
Laura Graves, Charleston, South Carolina. “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.” 1 Peter 3:10 ESV
Amanda, League City, TX-
“Be Joyful in Hope, Patient in affliction and Faithful in prayer” Romans 12:12 NIV
Nancy, The Woodlands, TX-“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Phil 4:7
Sarah Timmerman, Durham, NC
“Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” Luke 1:45NIV
Christina from Plain City, OH
Psalm 8:3-4 When I consider your heavens, the works of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? NIV
Debbie, Lynchburg, VA
Finally , all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous. 1 Peter 3:8 NKJV
Margaret
Falls Church, VA
Hear my voice when I call, O Lord; be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of you, “seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek. Psalm 27:7-8
Allison Crook – Albuquerque, NM
“The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back.”
Isaiah 50:4-5 (NIV84)
Nadean N Louisville, KY
Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (NIV)
Tucson, AZ
Psalm 143:8 Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning;For I trust in You;Teach me the way in which I should walk;For to You I lift up my soul. NASB
Julianne August. Orangeville, Ontario “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:4-7 NIV
Psalm1:1-3 says, ” Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 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 that yields its fruit in its season,and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” ESV
Kaylee Schlabach, Tampa, Florida
Isaiah 51:3 ESV
“For the Lord comforts Zion; he comforts all her waste places and makes her wilderness like Eden, her deserts like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song.”
Lindsay R., Phoenix, AZ. I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Psalms 32:8 ESV
Connie Colston, Waxahachie, TX
Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am you God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10 NASB
Beth Farmer – St. Louis MO
I John 2:14-15
15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. NASB
Tina Crouch
Waxahachie, Texas
1 Corinthians 13:4 NIV
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
Amy G
Springfield MO
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. (Isaiah 43:19 NIV)
Sandy Daugherty, Danville, KY The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. Isaiah 58:11 NKJV
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 (NIV)
Vonda Schwarz, Bertrand, Nebraska. ” For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.” Philippians 2:13 NIV
Tessa, Lincoln, NE
2 Corinthians 2:14-16
In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us he brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation – an aroma redolent with life. But those on the way to destruction treat us more like the stench from a toting corpse. – MSG
Suzanne C. Nashville, TN: We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps. (Proverbs 16:9 NLT)
Wendy Nye, Utica, Ohio
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
Eccl. 3:1 ESV
Jen S. _ Ponca City, ok “He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues people under me. ” Psalm 144:2 NIV
Isaiah 30:21 NIV Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
Lenoir, NC
Tracy McFadden; Carrollton, TX; Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31 NIV
Sheila Lee, Loveland,Ohio
For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. 2 Chronicles 20:12 NIV
Amy H, Petal,MS “Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Paslm 19:14 NASB
Florence Barth, Lebanon, PA
Hebrews 4:16 – HCSB
“Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time.”
Katelyn from Garland, TX
Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. Then people who are not believers will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others. (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 NLT)
Terri M, Austin, Texas
For I the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you. “