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
Mary Jane, Troy KS
” Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.” 2 Timothy 2:16 NIV
dyersburg, TN NASB Proverbs 7:3
Bind them on your fingers; Writen them on the Tablet of Your Heart.
Andi Crumrine, Rockwall, TX
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:32 NIV
Kathy, Bryant AR:
With trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn –
Shout for joy before the Lord, the King.
Psalm 98:6 NIV
Sarah Miller, Melbourne, FL “But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1 (NLT)
Jill Sanders, Leachville, AR
For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
~2 Timothy 1:7
There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling;
Ephesians 4:4. NASB
Shirley Maxwell
Macon, Georgia
Robbyn Hanstad, Frisco, Texas
Psalm 27:13 (NIV)
“I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”
Dayton, Ohio
“Teach me your way, O Lord , that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.”
Psalm 86:11-12 ESV
Marilyn, Piedmont Oklahoma
“Teach me your way, LORD, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.” Psalm 86:11 (NIV)
Karen Sanders, Burleson, TX. “All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.” 1 John 5:17 NIV
Barb Wisconsin. With long life I will satisfy him and show him My salvation. Ps 91:16 ESV
Teri Wymore in Millington TN
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had,
Romans 15:5 (NIV)
Lori, Friendswood, TX
Proverbs 21:23 (HCSB)
The one who guards his mouth and tongue keeps himself out of trouble.
Sabrina – Bryant, AR
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him.
Ps. 103:11
Tara Milligan, Stigler, OK. 1 Corinthians 13:2, NIV, “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.”
Alice from Ooltewah, TN. “And provide for those who grieve in Zion– to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” Isaiah 61:3(a)
Nikki L, Littleton, CO
“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:19 ESV
Ellen K., Chester, VA
1 Chronicles 16:31 ESV
“Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice, and let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!””
“Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones”. Proverbs 16:24 (NIV)
Lauren Fancher, Marble, AR.
“It is more blessed to give than to receive”. Acts 20:35 (NIV)
Frances, Orange, TX
A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Proverbs 31:10 NIV
Sherry – Raleigh, NC
5. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Casey Hale, Roanoke, Texas
“Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”
Proverbs 3:6 – NLT
TJ, Clinton, OK
“For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, and I have walked in Your truth.”
Psalm 26:3 (NKJV)
Jill Smith, Eugene, OR
I sought the LORD, and He answered me, He delivered me from all my fears.
Psalms 34:4 NASB
Sarah- Brookhaven, MS
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16 ESV
Lynn from Lucas Kansas. “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
Philippians 4:6 ESV
Tomi, Des Moines, Iowa. May Your faithful love rest on us, Yahweh, for we put our hope in You. Psalm 33:22 HCSB
Marleeta, Florence, CO
1 Cor. 13:4 (NASB)
Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant.
Sara Martin, Houston, TX: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” Ephesians 6:10, NIV
Psalms 25:4,5
Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths, lead me
in your truth and teach me. For you are the Lord of my salvation, on
you I will wait all the day.
Pam Jackson, Blue Springs, MO
“You search out my path and my lying down and are acquated with all my ways.” Psalm 139:3 ESV
Stacy, Ruston, LA
Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Colossians 3:13 NLT
Lee Ann Kelley, Fairhope, AL
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Ephesians 4:3
“You are worthy, O Lord,
To receive glory and honor and power;
For You created all things,
And by Your will they exist and were created.” Revelation 4:11
Sally Morton, Canon City, CO
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5 (NIV)
Allyson, Wichita Falls, TX
“Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter!”
Isaiah 5:20 (ESV)
Joyce Corvallis, OR
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer”. Romans 12:12 NIV
Joelle Abilene, TX
“The Lord watches over you— the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.”
Psalm 121:5-6 NIV
1 Thess 1:12 “…in order that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord, Jesus Christ. (NRSV)
Hello Siestas. This is my first post on this blog.
2015 has been a very difficult year, personally. This year has been filled with a lot of losses, unfamiliarity, difficult decisions/choices, taking serious inventory (spiritually), and stretching.
I believe God is Sovereign and infallible, yet when I am faced with something out of my control or when I find I cannot control (this is an accurate statement) people, situations, or outcomes I find I want to dictate to a Sovereign God what should and should not be allowed.
The follow verses have made me take notice of how patient God has been towards me (and continues to be) in all of this and other difficult seasons. I often wonder, why? I wonder this because I look through my own lens of impatience and insecurity. But praise be to God He is nothing like me!
Psalm 18:16-19 [MSG] – But me [Shana] He caught – reached all the way from sky to sea; He pulled me [Shana] out of that ocean of hate, that enemy chaos, the void in which I [Shana] was drowning. They hit me [Shana] when I [Shana] was down, but God stuck by me [Shana]. He stood me [Shana] up on a wide-open field; I [Shana] stood there saved – surprised to be loved!
As I insert my name in those verses my prayer is that the Word of God would not just be plain old words, but that they would transform me (especially my mind) in the power and conviction of the Holy Spirit.
Thank you precious women of God for allowing me to share.
Kristina, Burkburnett, TX
Taking the child by the hand, He said to her, “Talitha kum!” (which translated means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”)
Mark 5:41 NASB
1 John 3:19-20
This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts and he knows everything.
Rachel
Kelowna, BC
Terri McKeever, Katy Tx
How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?
John 5:44 (NIV)
Mechelle – Tulsa, OK
God is my helper; the Lord is the sustainer of my life.
Psalm 54:4
Proverbs 1:7 NLT
“Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.”
Dawn Lucy, Attalla, AL Getting a blessing this week to see your film debut at a premiere in Gadsden, AL. Can’t wait to see you and Priscilla Shirer. So blessed.
Tammy White House,TN
Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.
Isaiah 41:10 NLT
Hap in Heath OH
“Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” Proverbs 16:24 NIV
Stacey, Denham Springs, LA
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
Romans 1:16 (NIV)