Hello, Siestas! My name is Diane Vaccaro, and I live in Fresno, CA. I’m a pastor’s wife and a mom of 3. I’m honored to share my verse today in a more formal way than usual. Often in our family we talk about how reflecting on scripture is paramount for transforming our hearts. God’s living Word can do more than we could ever imagine if we only give it time to seep into our thoughts and heart for a moment or two… or ten. It’s in those moments of reflection that I’m open and available to consider how the verse applies to my own life and heart. A quick read often leaves me with a short memory of what I’ve read, and a missed opportunity for revelation of who God is and how he loves. Memorization isn’t the goal, but a tool to continue to mediate on the Word, wherever I am, and ponder it, repeating it in my mind and mouth so that it becomes part of me.
Here’s my verse:
Diane – Fresno, CA
“The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17
What I love about this verse is that it brings together God’s attributes as a mighty warrior and as one who delights, even to the point of singing over me. Strength and tenderness. He is a God that can take on my enemies without neglecting the tender and vulnerable places of my heart. And I’ve got an enemy…I don’t know about human ones, but I’m confident that The Enemy is always on the hunt. It is part of being a believer. It’s part of my life in ministry.
As I reflect on this verse I wonder where I’m trying to be the warrior instead of letting God do the fighting. I wonder if I fight fights that aren’t mine, neglecting the ones God has put before me for victory if I’d only fight.
And I wonder if I’ve become so distracted that I miss the singing. Has God been singing over me a melody so sweet while I’ve been straining to hear the world’s approval? I really want to hear the song of God. The world’s song pales in comparison.
One day I was alone in my car and not listening to music (both are seldom). I was praying and pleading and at one point simply asked God, “Do you delight in me?” This verse was pulled from somewhere in my memory as if to say, “Yes, I delight in you. You bring me great joy. I’m singing over you.”
Mighty God, my prayer is that you would set my feet in the direction of my battles, that I would fight with courage and bravery, knowing that you will supply all I need. Show me when I try to fight battles meant for you. I want to duck when your sword comes crashing through, bowing to your will and power. Quiet my heart and soul that I would hear you – hear your direction and your joyful singing over me. I want your song to be the soundtrack of my days.
My prayer is that you, Siesta, will experience the Mighty Warrior and the songs of delight that he sings over you today.
Pineville, LA
1 Peter 4:12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.
Julie (Calgary, AB)
“Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.” – Psalms 91:3 (NIV)
Deirdre Denise McClain “At once, I was in the Spirit, & there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. The one who sat there had the appearance of jasper & ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne.” Rev. 4:2-3 * Houston
Andrea, Pottstown
Ephesiand 2:8-9 NIV
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast.
Marilyn Gillis, Florence, AL
EPHESIANS 3:17 NIV
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts
through faith. And I pray that you, being
rooted and established in love,
Christina Luther
Roseburg, Oregon
Deut 10:21 NIV
He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.
Leisa Hale, Sheridan, Indiana
2 Corinthians 5:5
God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.
LASB/NLT
Paula Weatherly
Huffman, TX
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6 NASB
Kerrah Fabacher, New Orleans, LA
“Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord.” Lamentations 3:40
Patty Royal
Orlando, FL
2 Chron 20:12 (NASB)
“. . . For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes re on you.”
Kay, Deer Park TX
13 For you created my inmost being; you
knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Psalm 139: 13 ESV
Deena, Grants Pass, OR
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain. Hebrews 6:19. NIV
Gretchen, Gahanna, Ohio– Praise be to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV
Susan Canham, Bismarck ND
14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
-Ephesians 6:14-15
Marlena Cantrell, Alabaster, AL
“Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.” 1 Peter 3:8-9 (NIV)
Sarah- Appleton, WI
When life is heavy and hard to take,
go off by yourself. Enter the silence.
Bow in prayer. Don’t ask questions:
Wait for hope to appear.
Lamentations 3:28-29, The Message
Debbie Ebert, Joplin MO
“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.” Isaiah 26:3-4 NIV
Jenna Franklin, TN
“so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love” Ephesians 3:17 NIV
In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:6 KJV
Chris Robertson from Fort Wayne, IN
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts throught faith. And I pray that you, being rooted,and established in love
Ephesians 3:17 (NIV)
Allyson Flack, Wichita Falls, Texas
“A truly wise person uses few words; a person with understanding is even-tempered.”
Proverbs 17:27 (NLT)
Sandy – Dodge City, KS
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Romans 12:12 (NIV)
Joelle, Abilene, TX
He also says, “In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. (Hebrews 1:10 NIV)
Brenda, Ottawa, Canada – Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6 NKJV
“To all those who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, a festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.”
Isaiah 61:3
NLT
Lisa, Katy, Tx
Beverly
From Louisiana
But I will call on God, and the Lord will rescue me. Psalms 55:16. NIV
that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, so that, because you have been rooted and grounded in love… Ephesians 3:17 NET
Karen Edlund, Rochester, MN
Psalm 139:23-24, NIV84
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Stephanie Jo
Crane OR
Death is the reward of an undisciplined life; your foolish decisions trap you in a dead end.
Proverbs 5:23 MSG
Melody
Myrtle Beach, SC
“Love is more important than anything else. It is what ties everything completely together.” Colossians 3:14 CEV
Sue Vaughn, Granbury, TX:
“By these He has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desires.” (II Peter 1:4, Holman CSB)
Stephanie, Pawley Island, SC
and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.
1 Peter 1:4 9 (NLT)
Lisa, McKinney, TX so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, (Ephesians 3:17 NIV)
Phyllis, Ft. Worth, TX. “But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) Ephesians 2:4-5 NLT.
Houston Tx
Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. (2 Corinthians 4:10 KJV)
Let your manner of life be without convetousness and be content with such things as ye have; for he hath said I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Hebrews 13:5 (KJV)
Tina, Zalma, MO What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us. Romans 8:31 (NIV)
Leigh Toronto, ON
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(NIV)
Aleah, Vacaville, CA
Still chugging along on 1 Peter 🙂
It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. (1 Peter 1:12 ESV)
Martinez, CA
“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the Lord’s holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
then you will find your joy in the Lord,
and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Isaiah 58:13-14
Psalm 51:10
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. KJV
Nell Brinkley, chattanooga, tn. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself; that where I am you may be also. John 14;3. Esv
from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name,
Eph. 3:15 NASB
Hutchins, TX
Jennifer R. Houston, TX – “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Matthew 6:24 NIV
Jackie, Mobile, Al.
” Whoever boasts must boast in this: that he understands and knows Me. Indeed, I am the Eternal One who acts faithfully and exercises justice and righteousness on earth. These are the things that delight Me.”
-Jeremiah 9:24 The Voice
Christine, Greenville, SC
“They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you, declares the Lord”.
Deana Johnson from Visalia, California: “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21 NIV
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us–whatever we ask–we know that we have what we asked of Him. I John 5:14,15 NIV
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
Leah Westerville, OH
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.”
Romans 1:16 NIV