Hello Siestas!
I’m Adrienne, aka “Fuzzytop”, writing to you from Jasper, Tennessee, a very small town about 25 miles west of Chattanooga. I’m a transplant to the South, having moved here from the Phoenix area in 2005. My family consists of husband, Tom, Rachel (HS Senior), and James (HS Freshman). Along with the humans, our family includes six dogs and eight cats, and of those, only two were acquired deliberately; we have soft hearts for abandoned dogs and cats. We also have six cows, a donkey, and assorted chickens and live on 40 acres in a rural area, which is a huge change from the Phoenix suburbs.
So…..a little bit about myself. I grew up overseas in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We lived there until I was nine, and then immigrated to the United States, landing in Mesa, Arizona. Culture shock!!! After High School I attended Arizona State University, receiving a BS in Bioengineering and later, a MS in Quality Engineering and Applied Statistics. For many years I worked as an engineer and a project manager at Intel Corporation in AZ. Here in TN, I work in Quality Assurance for an engineering firm in Chattanooga. Work-wise, I seriously love data analysis and statistics. Away from work I enjoy reading, drawing, beading, gardening, and spending time with my family. I also love Bible Studies, and have done every Siesta Summer Bible study with two dear friends, Linda and Sarah, whom I met through this blog.
As a child, I had very little exposure to Jesus and the gospel. In Kuala Lumpur, I attended a Catholic school, and I recall my class practicing for communion using slips of newspaper in place of the wafers. The nuns were very concerned that we not “mess up” our First Holy Communion, so it was a stressful event. I had no idea what it all meant. My parents were not Christians, so as a child we never went to church or read the Bible, but somehow I knew in my heart that God was real. During difficult times in my early years, I remember praying to God, and trusting that those prayers were heard.
During High School, I began attending church and youth group with some close friends, and began identifying myself as “a Christian”, but I know now I had never truly given my heart and my life to Jesus and fully trusted in Him for salvation. My Christianity was nothing but a label. I became disillusioned when I found out those High School friends were no different from the non-Christian “bad” kids I knew. I dropped out of Youth Group and then church for many years.
During college I met my husband. He had been saved during his senior year of High School, and we spent many hours talking about God, and Jesus. After we married, we started attending church. One fateful Sunday I went alone, and during the invitation, I felt an overwhelming conviction that the invitation was for me. Honestly, I was stunned, having thought for many years that I was saved! I didn’t respond to the invitation that day, but all the next week it was on my mind, and I prayed to really know what to do. The following Sunday during the invitation I was again convicted in my heart that I needed to respond and this time, I went forward, prayed for Jesus to forgive me of my sins, and truly accepted him as Savior. Even today, almost 30 years later, I can remember the overwhelming flood of relief and joy.
Of my four siblings, parents, step-parents, in-laws, nieces and nephews, only a few are saved. I count many lost people among my extended family, and I believe it is an imperative that I pray for them. In Romans 10:1 Paul wrote, “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved,” (emphasis mine). As C.H. Spurgeon once stated in a sermon:
Until the gate of hell is shut upon a man, we must not cease to pray for him. And if we see him hugging the very doorposts of damnation, we must go to the mercy seat and beseech the arm of grace to pluck him from his dangerous position. While there is life there is hope, and although the soul is almost smothered with despair, we must not despair for it, but rather arouse ourselves to awaken the Almighty arm.
There are days when I am frustrated with seemingly unanswered prayers regarding the salvation of people I love. So the Scripture I’m choosing this time is 2 Pet 3:9, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (NIV), which reminds me that these things are under His control and His timing, and that God desires salvation for every soul. If you have lost loved ones, like me, perhaps this verse will comfort you also.
I am so grateful for this blog, and SSMT. The friends I have met through this blog, the original Siesta Fiesta, and the SSMTC events are so precious to me.
Love in Christ,
Adrienne (Fuzzytop)
Becky Jo
Chesterfield MI
Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.
My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.
Psalm 62: 5-7 NLT
Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose
hope the Lord is.
Jeremiah 17:7 KJV
Kimberly Kleimann, Chico, CA
Elaine, New Orleans, Louisiana
Psalm 77:11
I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes I will remember your miracles of long ago.
Ellen Hollenshead, Albuquerque, NM. …in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord; who swears to his own hurt and does not change…Psalm 15:4, ESV
I want to encourage you in your prayers for your family. At the age of 88 my father prayed to accept Jesus. I had been praying for him for 52 years prior to this. My mother’s last words to me were to pray for Daddy. Do not grow discouraged. As much as you want to see your family member come to know Jesus, God desires it even more.
Robin – Thank you for your encouragement! I loved hearing that your father accepted Christ. Amen!
Adrienne
Barb, Lakeland FL “Brothers and sisters, don’t ever get tired of doing the right thing.” 2 Thessalonians 3:13 NIRV
For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
Psalm 91:11 NIV
Beth, Andover, MN: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13 NIV)
Hi, Adrienne. Thank you so much for your testimony. I love your scripture choice as it’s close to my heart for my daughter and her husband. God is working, that I know. So glad we can trust Him completely. He certainly never gave up on you!
Thank-you Ann! I am so very thankful that He did not give up on me. I will pray for your husband and daughter.
Adrienne
♥Pam in Pasadena, Texas
Psalms 91:13-14 RSV
You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample under your foot. Because he cleaves to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name.
Becca Stovall- Clinton, MS- Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it. (2 Samuel 7:21 ESV)
Keri Lee Robbins, Las Vegas, NV. “Be my strong refuge, To which I may resort continually; You have given the commandment to save me, For You are my rock and my fortress. Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.” (Psalms 71:3-4 NKJV)
June Greenstreet
Bradford Ontario
“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12-13 ESV)
Nice to meet you, Adrienne! : ) I’m praying for your family’s salvation. What a great reminder and awesome testimony. I was the first person in my family to gave their life to Christ at the age of 24 (16 years ago). As far as I know only one sister and my Dad are now saved. We have some things in common. I LOVE Bible studies!!! I work in the Quality Assurance department at Gallup. I love cats (at one time I had 2). Yet now, my husband and I only have a giant flemish rabbit. God bless your ministry! Praise God for eternal life through Jesus Christ! Let’s all keep praying for God’s great mercy and grace to fall upon our country, the unsaved~ soften their hearts, and an awakening of the Church. May we live for His Kingdom and glory and not in the world, in Jesus’ name. Amen!
Hi Amber! Nice to meet you too, and THANK-YOU for your prayers. That means so much to me.
Adrienne
Ruth Somers
Baton Rouge, LA
And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:19. KJV
South Portland, Maine
…Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life….
Deuteronomy 30:19-20 NIV
Elaine – Orange, ca (in a hospital… just had surgery this morning)
Psalm 16:11 ESV
You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Connie Kempf
Eugene, OR
James 3:12 “Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.
‘
Sarah, Christian and Esther May Marion; Wenatchee
“Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you.”
James 5:1 NIV
Sandie Powell, Albuquerque, NM: Psalm 139:12
“Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee”. KJV
Billie, Scottsdale, AZ
“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)
Brenda Ammons, Byhalia, MS Psalm 63:6 NIV “On my bed I remember You; I think of You through the watches of the night.”
Debbie Fleming Ringgold, GA.
Psalm 32:1-2-“Blessed is he (she) whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit there is no deceit.” NIV
Kathleen D.
Bernardsville, NJ
Acts 23:26 NIV
Then Paul knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers I am a Pharisee the son of a Pharisee. I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead”.
Lisa from Rootstown, Ohio. “By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.” Hebrews 11:31 NIV
Olda, Huntsville
For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.” Job 19:25, ESV
Laurie O, Atlanta, GA
I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. Colossians 2:4, ESV
Debbie Beasley, Huntsville, AL Psalm 119:18 “Come Holy Spirit, Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions.”
Alice, Lichtenvoorde, Holland
Ik prijs de Heer die mij inzicht geef,
zelfs in de nacht spreekt mijn geweten.
Steeds houd ik de Heer voor ogen,
met Hem aan mijn zijde wankel ik niet.
Psalm 16: 7,8
I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Psalm 16: 7,8
Vivienne B, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
Submit to God, and you will have peace;then things will go well for you. Listen to his instructions, and store them in your heart.
Job 22:21-22
Wendy Karabensh
Vero Beach
The Manure Principle:
“Without oxen a barn stays clean,
but you need a strong ox for a large harvest.”
Proverbs 14:4
NIV
Lynn Hildenbrand, Easton, MD
And whenever you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.”
Isaiah 30:21 HCSB
Thank you Adrienne, for posting this story of how you came to know Christ as your Lord and Savior. We have a daughter that we thought was a follower of Christ but her actions have, at times, made us wonder where she reallly stands. We continue to pray for her daily and hope that she will run to Christ and whole heartedly and embrace him to the full. We will not give up hope for we know that God has assured us that his timing is perfect.
Hello Carla! Yes, His timing is perfect, but the waiting is hard. It is a struggle. I will pray for your daughter.
Adrienne
Teresa Maldonado, Austin, TX
Psalm 84:2-3NIV
2-Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young-a place near your alter, O Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
3-Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.
Jo, Columbia, Missouri
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35 NIV
Psalm 19:14 ESV Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.
Kathryn Luedtke, Sherwood Park, AB
The Lord is compassionate & gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse, nor will he harbour his anger forever,
he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to his iniquities.
Psalms 103:8-10 (NIV)
Let love and faithfulness never leave you, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Prov.3:3-4 NIV
WAYNE,PA
“Oh that you would expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do & keep me from trouble & pain. And God granted him his request.” 1 Chron 4:10 NLT
Nancy- Chattanooga, TN
Joshua 1:9
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (NIV)
Sue, Houston, Lam 3:19-24 GNB
Lord’s unfailing love and mercy shall continue,
Fresh as the morning, sure as the sunrise.
The Lord is all I have. so in Him I put my hope.
Kerry from Houston, TX
(continuing with The Beatitudes)
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Matt. 5:6 NASB
Barbara Fenn, Medina, Oh
Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
Rom 12:15 ESV
Julie Lohr, Gahanna, Oh
Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my concerns.
See if there is any offensive way in me;
lead me in the everlasting way. Psalm 139:23-24 HCSB
I love this one Julie, it was one of my earlier SSMTs!
Pat Wagar Hayward, WI, 6-13-15
“We love each other bedcause He loved us first.”
I John 4:19 NLT
Zeph. 3:17
The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He takes
great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice
over you with singing.
Karen S., Urbandale, IA
“The light keeps shining in the dark, and the darkness has never put it out.” John 1:5 CEV
Twila-Fayetteville Ga.
Precious in the site of the Lord, is the death of his saints. Psalms 116:15 niv
Kara from Hot Springs, AR
It seems the days roll around too fast and I missed the posting of verse 11 so here goes 11 and 12!
Colossians 3:22,23
22 Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God; 23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
While I sit at my job, these words have been going through my mind. It’s all for God’s glory!!!
April Smith San Angelo,TX
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. (Ephesians 4:29 NIV)