*This post is coming to you a few days early as our staff travels with Beth, which you will read more about below.
Hey, Everybody! It’s May! We are making progress, Girls! By now you are getting some verses down in your bones. I was thrilled two weekends ago when we had our clandestine Siesta picture after the end of our Albuquerque Living Proof Live and a bunch of them brought their spirals. Talk about teacher’s pets! Here they are:
OK! I’ve done a little video – a really, really short one this time – where I say my verses to you while I’m on a walk in our woods so this stands as my official entry for Verse 9! I’m doing memory work right now out of Ephesians Chapter Four and it is so powerful. As you’ll hear in this segment, God seems to have a tremendous partiality to the number ONE.
Y’all, I love doing this with you. I love an SSMT year. You are so dear to us. By the time you’re submitting your verses, I’ll be speaking in London at Hillsong Colour Conference. Our whole LPM staff is coming and many of our volunteers. Melissa is with me and will be heading up a short tour with our volunteers after the Hillsong conference ends, giving emphasis to several figures in Christianity who had tremendous influence on Spiritual formation. We are looking extremely forward to it. Her suitcase weighed 10 whole pounds more than mine strictly from books. Made me grin. The girl is a book nerd if you’ll ever meet one. We were so sad Amanda couldn’t come on this trip but she needed to be home with her very busy family this round. We miss her like nobody’s business. Would all of you please pray for us as we labor in this gorgeous field of harvest? Please ask Jesus to pour out His Holy Spirit lavishly upon us and to give us such hearts of love for every person we serve.  When I say, ask Jesus to pour out His Spirit, I mean like GUSHES. FLOODS, TIDAL WAVES of Living Water. Understand what I’m saying? PRAY BIG. Get in there with your faith if you’d be willing and ask God to be enormously present among us here. Ask for many to be saved, many to be delivered from strongholds, healed, and made whole in Jesus. Ask for multitudes to awaken to the breadth and length and height and depth of the borderless love of Jesus. Thank you! I owe you a debt of love which I gladly, joyfully pay.
Ok, Girls! Hit it with those verses!
Jennae, Clovis CA, NIV Proverbs 31:23 “her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.”
Cara Baird, Fointain, CO
Proverbs 2:6 ESV
For the Lord gives wisdom; fromHis mouth come knowledge and understanding
Andrea, Pottstown Romans 15:13 NIV
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow,
Sheri Vreugdenhil, South Bend, IN
“You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead; you spared me from going down to the pit.”
Psalm 30:3 NIV
Dean, Barbourville, Ky.
God has been brining the word refuge to me for months now. He is my refuge.
Psalm 119:114 NIV
You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.
Psalm 119:114 NIV
Emily, Topeka, Kansas
“Seek the LORD while He may be found; call to Him while He is near. Let the wicked one abandon his way and the sinful one his thoughts. Let him return to the LORD, so He may have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will freely forgive.”
Isaiah 55:6-7 (HCSB)
Deena from Amarillo, Texas
“Without question, this is the great mystery of our faith:
Christ was revealed in a human body and vindicated by the Spirit. He was seen by angels and announced to the nations. He was believed in throughout the world and taken to heaven in glory.” 1 Timothy 3:16(NLT)
Franklin, TN
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Phillipians 4:6-7 NIV
Anita, Miami, FL
Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. Colossians 3:2 (NKJV)
Jessica Hawney, San Jose Ca
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-30 msg
Nancy, Junction City, AR
“I give you a new commandment to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. Everybody will know by this that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35 NET
Guinevere, South Bend, IN
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32 NIV
Mandy, Porter, TX
Proverbs 29:25 NLT
Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the Lord means safety.
The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in YAHWEH shall be safe.
Proverbs 29:25 RSB
Dale Dyer, Georgetown, OH
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,”
Philippians 2:5 ESV
Melisse, Slippery Rock, PA
Zephaniah 2:3a NLT
Seek the Lord, all those who are humble, and follow his commands. Seek to do what is right and to live humbly.
Kiva, Irvine, CA.
“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”
Philippians 4:13 NLT
Judy Pauley, Norfolk, Va.
Psalms 147:8
He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain, and makes grass grow on the hills.
Tisha
Pilot Mtn, NC
“My Spirit remains among you, just as I promised when you came out of Egypt. So do not be afraid.”
Haggai 2:5(NLT)
Anna, Tillsonburg, Canada
Philpppians 4:8 NIV
Finally, brothers, 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.
Melissa Emma; Scarborough, Maine: Warch over your heart with all diligence; for from it flow the springs of life. Proverbs 4:23 NASB
PS: Beth, I love hearing you say your verses! You inspire me!
Deanna Ellis, Lexington, SC “May the God of peace, who through the blood of the covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that Great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Hebrews 13:20-21 NIV
Luann Hansen Harlan, IA
“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”
Jeremiah 33:3 NASB
Susan Wimmer, Bristol WI
“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being.”
Ephesians 3:16 NIV
Terri, Pleasant Hope, MO
In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation. Psalm 5:3 (NIV)
Angie Martens, Charlotte, NC
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.
Psalm 40:3 (ESV)
Ashley from San Antonio
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and make me willing to obey you.
Psalm 51:12, NLT
Lori Benson, Paris, Tx
“But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger.”
James 1:19b (NASB)
Gabriella Houston, Rocklin CA
To the Jews who had believed Him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32 Faith Girlz NIV
Wendy Houston, Rocklin CA
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Philippians 2:3 NIV
Kris C., Westbrook, ME
Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.
Psalm 55:22. NIV
Joy Bruhnke, Ft. Myers, Fl
“Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.”
1 John 5:21 NIV
Nancy Sticht, St. Augustine, FL:
He has saved us and called us to a holy life – not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.
II Timothy 1:9 (NIV)
Becky from Marietta, GA
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Romans 12:12
Norman, Oklahoma
8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.
John 17:8,9,10 (KJV)
Rebecca of Lake Mary, Fl
The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in Him: though he may stumble, he will not fail, for the Lord upholds him with His hand. Psalm 37:22-24 NIV
Shari Valdez from Long Beach, California
For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their lawless deeds I will remember no more. NKJV
Sara Martin, Houston, TX: Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23:6, NIV
Debra Taylor, Madison, MS
(I am going to try to memorize Romans chapter 8 and will start with the first 4 verses.)
“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from he law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Romans 8:1-4, NASB
(the verse that is ringing in my heart is really verse 6, “for the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.”)
Erin, Littleton CO:
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Romans 12:12 NIV
Kathryn Luedtke, Sherwood Park, AB
…who forgives all your sins, who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion.
Psalm 103:3,4
Teresa – Roanoke, VA, PSALM 103:15-16, HCSB
As for man, his days are like grass – he blooms like a flower of the field;
When the wind passes over it, it vanishes, and its place is no longer known.
Lorrena Duran Albuquerque, NM
Love is patient, Love is kind. Love is not jealous, or boastful or proud. 1 Cor13:4(NLT)
Valerie
Clinton, Me
“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,” ~Ephesians 3: 17b-18 (NIV)
Sheri
Georgetown, TX
2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of timidity but of power and love and discipline. (NASB)
Erin D. Conway, AR
“For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling.”
1 Corinthians 2:2-3 (NIV)
Amanda Carter
Ocean Springs, MS
Yet The Lord will command His living-kindness in the daytime, and in the night His song will be with me, a prayer to the God of my life.
Psalm 42:8
ESV
Heather McKinstry, Greendale, WI
And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.
Ephesians 4:23-24MSG
Jamie, Tyler, TX
The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes.
Proverbs 21:1 NIV
Joni Fastnacht – Lee’s Summit, MO.
“…may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,…”
Ephesians 3:18 ESV