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)
Yvette Palmer, Mesa Arizona
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
Psalms 23:6
King James Version (KJV)
Emily, Loveland, CO – “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)
Karen, Dallas, TX:
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
Isaiah 43:2 NIV
Deb , Loveland, CO – “Therefore comfort one another with these words.” I Thessalonians 4:18 (NKJV)
2 Cor 4:17 NIV
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far
outweigh them all.
Jennifer O., Corpus Christi, TX
“A male and female of each kind entered, just as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord closed the door behind them.”
Genesis 7:16 NLT
Kathy, High Point, NC
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not human masters.” Colossians 3:23 NIV
He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. (Psalms 103:12 NLT)
Nottingham U.K.
Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favouritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. (Acts 10:34-35)
Madelin, Thousand Oaks, CA
No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has known what God has prepared for those who love him. ~ 1 Corinthians 2:9
Deb, Becker, MN
Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. Romans 8:18 (NLT)
Julie Holloway – Lafayette, LA. 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)
Maggie, Atlanta, Georgia
May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Psalm 19:14 NIV
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.
I Thessalonians 4:13-18 NASB
You are my hiding place. You protect me from trouble. You surround me with joyous songs of salvation.
NIV Psalm 32:7
Neosho, Missouri
Anne, Athens, Greece – Ephesians 2:18 (NLT) –
Now all of us can come to the Father thru the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.
Melissa, Vicksburg, MS: “A kindhearted woman gains respect.” Proverbs 11:16 NIV
Janice – Topeka
Job 1:21
Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.
Annette Turner, Houston Texas
I will love You, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
Psalm 18:1-2a (NKJV)
Glennell
Buda, Tx.
Malachi 3:10 (ESV)
Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.
Jana Troy, KS Max Lucado Devotional Bible
“You have heard that it was said,”An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil. But if any one strikes you on the cheek, turn to him the aother also.”
Matthew 5:38-39
Angie Wilt, Kansas City, Missouri. A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired. Proverbs 17:22 MSG
Psalm 139:23-24
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.
Karen Roberson, Cullman Alabama
Judith, Scott, Louisiana
You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13 (NASB)
What does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8 ESV
Melanie Grace of Greenbrier, TN
Jeremiah 29:11(GW)
I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope.
Janet from Odessa, TX
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Romans 12:1. ESV
Lancaster, TX
Philippians 3:13b-14
“…But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
lori Jensen, Mountain View, Wyoming
Bur those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. ~ Isaiah 40:31 NLT
Proverbs 17:22
A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. NIV
גGimel [Acrostic poem of David continued]
“Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable.” –Psalm 145:3 (ESV)
Rene’ Adee, Canyon, TX
“The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice;
Let the many islands be glad. Ps 97:1 NASB
Kelly in south Arkansas
“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.”
Jeremia 29:11 hNIV
Janet, Holmes Beach, FL
Do not withhold your mercy from me, O Lord;
may your love and truth always protect me.
Psalm 40:11 NIV
Connie, Suffolk, VA
“and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Eph 3:19 ESV
Hendersonville, TN
“I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me.”
Psalm 13:6
NIV
Tami J Fall City, WA
“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful.” John 14:27 HCSB
Meredith from Columbus, Ohio: And if we know that he hears us- whatever we ask- we know that we have what we asked of him. -1 John 5:15 (NIV)
Jan Morton (GJ)
Hawkinsville, GA
Psalm 119:114 (NKJV)
You are my hiding place and my shield;
I hope in Your word.
Ruthie Farmer
Brentwood TN
“The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing.
The words I have spoken to you_
they are full of the Spirit and life.”
John 6:63 NIV
Renee, Rockford, MI
You will keep in perfect peace
those whose minds are steadfast,
because they trust in you.
Isaiah 26:3 NIV
Mary Joy, Dayton, OH.
“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.” Rom. 15:13 (NIV).
Cheryl – Houston, Tx
“For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?”
But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:16 (NIV)
Psalm 17:2 AMP
“Let my sentence of vindication come from You ! May Your eyes behold the things that are just and upright. “
Wendy Tunison Caldwell, Idaho
21. to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughtout all generations, forever and ever. Amen
Ephesians 3:21 ESV
Hillary Dickey, D’iberville, MS.
Whether you turn from the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
Isaiah 30:21 NIV
Desiree Reimer, Calgary, AB
Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! Psalm 34:3 ESV
JulieB
Sharpsburg, Ga.
Ephesians 3:20 ESV
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,”
Jessica, Bellefonte, PA
“The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying:
‘I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with unfailing kindness’.”
Jeremiah 31:3 (NIV)
Joshua 1:9 NLT
This is my command – be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.