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)
Laurie
Amarillo, TX
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Matthew 7:7-8 NIV
Psalm 121:1-2 NIV
I lift my eyes up to the mountains
where does help come from?
My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth.
Sandra, Rock Hill, SC
Stand up and praise the Lord your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting.
Nehemiah 9:5 NIV
Keri Lynn, Macon
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NIV
Amy Harrison, Lubbock, TX
You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
You will trample the young lion and the serpant..
Psalm 91:13
Rachael Sol from Marietta, GA:
Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. (Colossians 3:2 NASB)
Debby Conway
Clinton MS
Hebrews 12:4 (NET)
You have not yet resisted to the point of bloodshed in the your struggle against sin.
Kim in St. Charles, IL
(Continuing Eph 3) Ephesians 3:20
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
Ephesians 3:20 (kjv)
Cece, Gilbert, AZ
“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”
John 12:23-24
Tracey, Niskayuna, NY
Matthew 17:20 “…… Truly, I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” NIV
Call to me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. Jeremiah 33:3
Marianna Behrends, San Angelo, TX.
Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. 1 Peter 5:7 NLT
Beth Stone, Deltona, Fl
Isaiah 53:2 (MEV) When you pass through waters,
I will be with you.
And through the rivers,
they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire,
you shall not be burned,
nor shall the flame kindle on you.
Michelle Moultrie, Birmingham, AL “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 ESV
Shiffra Kalamazoo, MI
The G-d of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. Rom 16:20 NIV
“Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.” I John 3:15 HCSB
Melissa, Scarborough, Maine: “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:5 ESV
(Jesus said), “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. “ John 5:24
Connie Walker, Houston, TX
And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. Colossians 3:17 NLT
Psalm 147:3-5
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He counts the number of stars and He gives name to all of them. Our Lord is great and vast in power. His understanding is infinite.
Stacy, Ruston, LA
“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to Him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.” Romans 8:1-2 NLT
Tonya Thibodeaux, DeQuincy, Louisiana
Psalms 46 : 8 – “Come, behold the works of the LORD, Who has made desolation in the earth.”
Claudia, Durham, NC
“Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.” Romans 8:34 ESV
Ricole Rice, Minot ND
I see that the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.
Acts 2:25 NLT
Kay in Muscle Shoals, AL
Search me, 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. Psalm 139:23-24
DeAnne, Talmage, KS “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:14 NIV
But the Lord is faithful, He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. II Thes. 3:3
Beth Reid, London, Ontario
James 1:20 (NIV) Human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
2 Corinthians 8:9 (NIV)
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
Linda O’Neill, Elk Grove, CA
This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. (Psalms 91:2 NLT)
“Truly my soul silently waits for God; from Him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved.” Psalm 62:1,2 NKJV
Ashley Roth, Peachtree City, Ga.
“I am doing a great work and I cannot come down…” Nehemiah 6:3 (NAS)
Pam Williams, Olive Branch, MS
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Romans 12:2 NLT
jan bean, amarillo tx
Careful words make for a careful life; careless talk may ruin everything. Proverbs 13:3 MSG
Jacquie Terada from Mt Vernon Wa
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.
Psalm 139:15-16a NIV
Emily, Warsaw, IN
“Your word is a lamp that gives light wherever I walk.”
Psalms 119:105 CEV
Mary Fadel Cordova, MD
“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” Job 42:2 (ESV)
Linda, Las Vegas, NV
I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.
Job 19:25 NIV
Love this verse!
“But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9, NIV
Kristetta, Pineville, LA. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. James 1:15-16 (NIV)
And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
Galations 6:9 NKJV
Diana, Indianapolis, Psalm 19:14 NIV
May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heartbe pleasing in your sight,Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Kitty, Bend, Oregon
O LORD, you are so good and kind, so ready to forgive; so full of mercy for all who ask your aid. Psalm 86:5 TLB
Heather, Hempstead, TX
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
– Psalm 18:2 (NIV)
Nancy Coffey
Barboursville WV
Psalm 27:1 NIV
“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?”
Kim Kobayashi
Monroe, WA
ESV Psalm 18:34
“He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.”
Kris C. – Westbrook, Maine
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
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Heb 4:16 NIV)
Jill from Bridgeport, WV ~
Ephesians 3:20-21 (NKJV)
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church of Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
Angela T., Albuquerque, NM
“It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.”
2 Samuel 22 : 33 NIV