Hey sweet siestas!
How much fun is this? Can we all just stop for a minute and thank our beloved leader, Bible teacher and yes, friend, for spurring us on in this world of scripture memory? I fail every time on my own. We need our people to conquer this task, don’t we? I’m good for a couple of months and then I flat out quit and blame it on something other than myself. But, I won’t quit if I have y’all! I’m thankful for this community. I’m thankful for the accountability. Memorizing scripture has transformed my heart and mind…the Word is living, and we have the privilege to breathe it in when we open those sacred pages and be changed from the inside out.
Something that I have done as I have memorized scripture is to write a brief synopsis of why I chose the verse on the back of the index card. I also date it. At the end of the year, it’s so powerful to go back and read a mini-journal of God’s faithfulness and the journey you’ve taken together that particular year. Go back and do that if you haven’t done it already. I’ll bet it won’t take you long to recall why you picked a particular verse. It will be a sweet gift to read through at the end of 2015.
Ok, my name is Fran Thomas and I’ve been married to Chip for 21 years! That’s crazy to me! I swear I’m still 30-something. We have 3 teenage boys. That’s another kind of crazy! Our oldest is 18. (Insert tears of high school graduation, starting college and hoping you can cook and do laundry on your own) It’s nuts, y’all. Savor the moments, mommas. It flies.
We are living life in Jackson, TN, and I love our community of people here. I work at Union University, teach college girls on Sunday mornings, sing in the choir, and serve with our jail ministry at Englewood Baptist Church. I am also a partner in a non-profit ministry with my two best friends, Christy and Robyn, that we founded called “More than a Mission Trip.” Our heart is missions in every form and fashion. Our heart is for the lost, the saved who are lost, God’s precious people at the ends of the earth and those who are around the corner. Our desire is to encourage other women to serve God locally and globally…there is no better time than NOW to love, obey and serve Him with all we have! We can’t question or delay what God clearly calls us to do.
So how appropriate for me to choose a verse that has me in a season of being scared to death of what God has called me to do. Would this be the Christian “pot calling the kettle black” or what? I like safe and comfy just like you do. It’s predictable and doesn’t make my stomach hurt. I know the scriptural promises from Him, but there is simply something terrifying about taking new steps with Him after a season of predictability. *sigh*
So, we press on, sisters. We believe Him and take Him at His word. I’m doing this even with the butterflies alive and churning about! Unfortunately, I think I have an unbelief issue right now, but I’m choosing to believe Him for this season because He is able! He is faithful… Me? Not so much. He never fails. NEVER.
“But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.” James 1:6
I don’t want to doubt or be tossed around because of my unbelief. I want my feet to be steady and secure in Him, His voice, and His direction. I really want to believe Him and trust Him even with these butterflies during this new season. I don’t just want to say, “Yes, Lord I believe you,” but it only be a temporary belief or trust. We’ll start strong and then fade, don’t we?
Lord, help my unbelief.
It’s easy to say, “Sure, I’ll get out of the boat, and walk toward Jesus,” but it’s a whole other thing to actually put the feet into motion, isn’t it? Let’s not be tossed around, sisters. Let’s walk by faith and take Him at His Word. Let’s choose to believe Him girls!! Declare it even when we don’t feel it. We’ll begin to believe what we know and speak over that situation. Let’s declare the Truth that we are hiding in our hearts.
Y’all are such a blast! Hang in there and march on strong and steady because we are MORE than conquerors! We CAN do this because He WILL show us the way! He will NOT leave us! He WILL show Himself faithful! He has good plans for this season! He will NOT harm us! And on and on and on the promises go. Declare them. Believe them.
It’s such an honor to journey alongside you. I will be your biggest fan and cheer you on like nobody’s business. Fix those pretty eyes on Jesus and let’s run our race well. I’m praying for us all. I desperately need Jesus and His Word.
Love y’all,
Fran
Judy, Clay Center, KS “May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ.” 2 Thessalonians 3:5 NLT
– Sharpsburg, Ga.
“Has the LORD redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies.” Ps. 107:2 NLV
Beth Bellow, Houston, NIV
John 1:1-5
1.In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2. He was with God in the beginning.
3. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.
4. In Him was life and that life was the light of men.
5. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility. Eph 2:14 NIV
Jones Creek, Texas
Submit to God.
Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
James 4:7
(NKJV)
Angela from Aurora, NE – “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.” Matthew 6:5 NIV84
Linda
Johnstown, Pa.
Deuteronomy 33:12 (NIV)
“Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in Him, for He shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between His shoulders.”
Linda Patterson. Wolcottville IN
I will praise The Lord who counsels me, even at night my heart instructs me
Psalm 16:7
Dena Bibb, Stockton, CA
“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
Lee from IN says; Psalm 91:14 ESV “Because he holds fast to me in love I will deliver him I will protect him because he knows my name. “
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 2 Corinthians 10:4 NIV
Debbie, Fort Thomas, KY
Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. NIV Daniel 12:3
Sarah, Montrose, CO:
And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Matthew 6:28-29 (ESV)
Dana
Clarksville, TN
Zephaniah 3:17 NIV
“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.”
Sheree Campbell, Phoenix, AZ
“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. I Peter 3:15 NIV
kathy
Madison, CT
Matt 6:34 (HCSB)
Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Karen Teplik, Mesa, AZ “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-which is your spiritual worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)
Mary Beth, St. Louis, MO
“Joyful are people of integrity,
who follow the instructions of the LORD.
Joyful are those who obey his laws
and search for him with all their hearts.”
Psalm 119:1-2 (NLT)
Mary, Winter Park, FL
I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.
Ps 15:7 ESV
Kathy, Los Gatos, CA
Psalm 91:1-2 (NIV) He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
Debbie/Sherwood, OR/ Psalm 93:4 Mightier than the waves of the sea is his love for you
Michelle, Warner Robins, GA
But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. James 1:6 NIV
Laura Best from Kenly, NC
“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” I Thessalonians 5:18 NIV
Ann, Cataula, GA
Habakkuk 3:17, 18 (New English Bible)
Although the fig tree does not burgeon,
the vines bear no fruit,
the olive crop fails,
the orchards yield no food,
the fold is bereft of its flock
and there are no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will exult in the Lord
and rejoice in the God of my deliverance.
Sallee Bonham
Belle, Missouri, USA
I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I have set my heart on your laws.
Psalm 119:30 NIV
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.” ESV
When it seems like all is going wrong, the world is caving in, destruction everywhere….God is my refuge and strength! So thankful for the Word!
Debra Taylor, Madison, Mississippi
Misty Calhoun, GA
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16. NIV
Christina Drown Fort Worth, TX
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.
Psalms 139:23 NIV
Erika Dotto
West Palm Beach, FL
“In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation”
1 Peter 5:10 NLT
Misty
Calhoun, GA
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again : Rejoice. Philippians 4:4. NIV
Letha Cullman, Alabama. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. Colossians 1:18 ESV
Gloria Huffman
Freeport, FL
But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:16 (NIV)
Oops! My verse above is actually Isaiah 40:31!
Leisa Hale, Sheridan, Indiana
James 1:22 NIV
Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God , you will not despise”
Psalm 51:17. NIV
Nancy Denver
“There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.” Psalm 19:3 NIV
Rebecca L., Thornton, CO – Eph 6:18 NASB –
With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.
Nancilea, The Woodlands, TX
Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.
(Romans 10:1 ESV)
Sharon Freeman; Lawton Okla
Lamentations 2:19 NKJ
….Pour your heart out like water before the face of the Lord. Lift your hands toward Him for the life of your young children….
Lynn Greene, Shelby, NC
“pray continually,” 1 Thessalonians 5:17 NIV
Fort Madison, IA “I sought the Lord and HE answered me; HE delivered me from all my fears.” Psalm 34:4 ESV
Cara, Stillwater, OK: When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me? (Psalms 56:3-4 NASB)
Caitlin Long
Demopolis, Al
“This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger.”
James 1:19 NASB
Carol Peavy
Jena, LA
Cause me to hear your loving kindness in the morning, for in You do I trust. Cause me to know the way in which I should walk. For I lift my soul to You.
Psalm 143:8 NKJV
Liz Millinor
St Johns, FL
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. (1 Peter 5:10 NIV)
Cindy, Deming,NM
Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I stand up; You understand my thoughts from far away.
Psalm 139:1, 2 HCSB
Jen … Fort Worth, TX
“do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7 ESV
Mande Brightwell. Longview, TX Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10 NIV
Cheryl, Harleysville, PA
Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. 1 Cor. 16:13-14, 23 NKJV
Sarah w, east Liberty, ohio
And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
Psalm 50:15 (KJV)
Cheryl Conklin, Roswell, NM
“But I trust in Your unfailing love. I will rejoice because You have rescued me.” Psalm 13:5 (NLT)