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.
Allison Rains, Benton, LA
“My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will never be shaken.” ~Psalm 62:1-2~
Stillwater, Ok
Ephesians 3:16
that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being.
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1 NKJV
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. Psalm 56:3 NIV
Michelle, Odessa TX
Blessed is the woman who perseveres under trial, because when she has stood the test. She will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. James 1:12
Sherry, Perry, GA
“For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 6:23 (NKJV)
Heather Andreasen, Saginaw, MI
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” 2 Timothy 3:16 NIV
Rene’ Pingel, Cape Girardeau, MO
Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. Galatians 1:10 NIV
Cecilia Bramhall, Pflugerville, TX
Psalm 66:1-2 NIV
Shout with joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of His name; make His praise glorious!
Fern Massey, Leavenworth, KS
Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. John 16:22 NASB
Sue Big Rapids, MI
Ps. 147:5 NASB Great is our Lord, and abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite.
Joan Bush (Coppell, TX): I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love… Ephesians 3:16-17 NIV
Mary Rosevear McNeal
Roswell, Georgia
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” James 4:8
Lisa, West Des Moines, IA “Life itself was in him, and this life gives light to everyone. The light shines through the darkness and the darkness can never extinguish it.” John 1:4-5 (NLT)
Catlett, VA
Matthew 11:15 (NKJV)
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;
They shall not be ashamed,
When they speak with their enemies in the gate.
Psalm 127:5. (NASB)
Kim-Hickory, NC
For all things are for your sakes that tha abundant grace might through the
thanksgiving of many rebound to the glory of God. 2 Corinthians 4:14 (KJV)
Lindsey Grace, Hernando MS
These things I have spoken to you that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full
John 15:11
Shelagh Garry, Newcastle upon Tyne, England
His house is my shelter and secret retreat. It is there I find peace in the midst of storm and turmoil. Safety sits with me in the hiding place of God. He will set me on a rock, high above the fray.
Psalm 27: 5 The Voice
Michele, Edmond, OK
” So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Ps.90:12 ESV
Judy – Panama City, Fl Romans 11:33 NLT
Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand His decisions and His ways.
Susan, Jasper, Tennessee
Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)
Do not fear, for I am with you, do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Adina, Pittsburgh PA
If I go up to heaven You are there
If I make my bed in Sheol You are there.
Psalm 139: 8 HCSB
Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. NKJV
Tara Condon
Madisonville, LA
Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and He will say: Here am I.
Isaiah 58:9, NIV
Heather, Hempstead, TX.
“You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.” Psalm 145:16 (NIV)
Michelle, West Des Moines, IA
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
James 1:2-4 NLT
Joanna Trauger. Greer, SC
So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. 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 3:16-19 NIV
Micki,Prairie Village,KS
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
Julie, Gahanna, OH
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
1 Peter 2:9 NIV
Linda G. Crawfordsville, IN
“Since you are precious in My sight,
Since you are honored and I love you,
I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life.”
Isaiah 43:4 (NASB)
“He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.” Isaiah 53:2 NIV
Sharon West, Miller, MO
From whom his whole family in heaven and in earth derives it’s name. Ephesians 3:15 NIV
Laura, Jefferson, ME
Psalm 73:26, ESV
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God
is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Susan Young, Fairhope, AL Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27 (NIV)
(I missed the April 1 post
Regina, Floydada, Tx.
” Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.”
~ 1 Peter 4:8 (ESV)
Kathy, Easley SC
“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” John 4:23 NIV
Hebrews 10:23
Without wavering, let us hold fast ,tightly, to the hope we say we have, for God can be trusted to keep His promises.
Jenny Fridge, Richmond, TX
Whoever sows to please their flesh, from their flesh will reap destruction. Whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
Galatians 6:8 NIV
Ann, Pawleys Island, SC
“so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you being rooted and grounded in love,” Ephesians 3:17
Lori Thompson in McKinney, TX
Psalm 139:2
You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
Meredith in Columbus, Ohio- He protects his flocks like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them in the folds of His garment. -Isaiah 40:11 (HCSB)
Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, Philipians 3:13 NIV
Judy Berey, Mandeville LA Romans 12:21 NKJV “Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.”
Cheryl, Roswell, NM
“Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face continually.” Psalm 105:4 (NASB)
Jan Witt, Rockwall TX
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Romans 15:13. ESV
Mugga Sheridan, Wyoming
And over all these virtues put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,since as members of one body,you were called to peace, and be thankful.
Colossians 3:14-15 NIV
Joyce
Sparta, NJ
“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.’
Luke 6:27 (ESV)
Melody Williamson
Sevierville, TN
The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.
Psalm 23:1. NLT