Siesta SMT Celebration (part 2)

Here, it is a week after going to Houston for the Siesta Scripture Memory Team Celebration. Guess what? I just unpacked my suitcase. I am laughing so hard at myself as I write this. Does anyone else ever do this? I would love to know. Are you the unpack your bags, as soon as you get home kind of girl? Or are you like me and you wait about a week after your trip.

There is so much to talk about from last weekend. Oh my, where do I start?
There were over 500 Siestas registered for the Celebration. We even had  ladies from Hawaii and Alaska.
Oh don't forget Canada too! Wow.
So what was the requirement for going?  Scripture Memory. For twelve months we logged on to the LPM blog (Beth Moore) on the 1st and 15th of every month.  This is where we posted our Scripture verses that we were feeling led to memorize. The second requirement was writing it down on spiral index cards. The index cards were are ticket to get into the celebration.

As I set out for the airport, my wonderful husband  knew I would need some coffee, it was early. Thank goodness for him. Our family had our BIG family hugs and off I went.
What a joy it was meeting some Siestas like Brittney ,Lora, and Kelly, as we boarded the plane.(feel like I'm forgetting someone, sorry)
Upon arriving in Houston, it was fun meeting even more siestas at the airport. Some were wearing pink feather boas.
Georgia and Patty are so fun, I loved getting to know them.
Karen (a new siesta that I met) needed a ride to the Omni where we were staying. So I was happy to take her, since I had rented a car. We never laughed so hard, staring out on the freeway with our navigator. (you just had to be in the car.) Karen, thank you for being the co-pilot in Houston traffic. We did it!

Upon arriving at the Omni, (it was absolutely stunning) there were more siestas.. Quick clothes change, then some of us were off to eat lunch/dinner at Cyclone Anaya's. It was yummy.

Pulling up to the church seemed surreal. To be honest the rest of the evening felt that way to me. I was having a hard time grasping in that we all were there celebrating something so amazing.
Travis Cottrell led us in worship Friday night. I had to sit down and pray during worship and ask God to help me focus on Him and not just the "being there"..

Beth Moore taught out of Psalm 119.  Beth told us that we'd be memorizing all 176 verses during the time we were there. She was only kidding us. One of the many things she said, that really stuck out  to me was "What is He calling you to do right now?" Personally, there are times that I want to look beyond the lamp. I want to know what is next. Really, I only need to know the right now. Very Powerful!

After the session ended Friday evening, we all met in the front of the church to have fellowship. Let me tell you that our Siesta Mama makes the best Texas sheet cake! Doesn't it look yummy? mmmmm....

Karen, once again, navigated us back to the hotel. When we pulled back up I was still looking for my roommate. Want to know something hilarious? Kristi saw us walking up to the hotel and asked if she could walk in with us. So we are walking along and the whole time neither one of us had figured out that we were roomies yet. That is until, she said something, then we laughed and said oh my that is just too funny!

Thank you Kristi for being a great roommate for the weekend. Hugs to you!!

Some of us went up to the presidential suite that the hotel had opened up as hospitality. It was beautiful, it felt as if we were walking into the movie Beauty and the Beast. 

The next morning (Saturday) we met other ladies to eat breakfast at the church. The breakfast burritos and pecan coffee were absolutely delish. Thanks to the wonderful chef.

I was so excited to met Ivy Saturday morning.

      

I looked over and said something about her hat. It was so cool to find out how much we had in common.

Ivy is a youth pastor's wife. I love working with young pre-teen and teen girls. We both love photography. Did I mention we both had the same camera? When we went to take a picture of us with our verses, She had Romans 8:28 opened. I was like NO WAY, this was one of my verses. It was soooo cool.

Ivy you have a special place in my heart. We will be forever Hat Siestas.....

Travis Cottrell once again led us in a amazing worship. Beth continued to teach out of Psalm 119.

When Beth finished teaching we partnered up and said our verses to each other out in the church court yard.

This is where I met Pam.

What a precious time it was with Pam. She has a special place in my heart as well. I am forever grateful for being able to say our scripture memory to one another.

Here are pictures of hundreds of women saying there scripture memory to one another. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

                            

After about thirty minutes of saying our verses to one another, we went back inside to end with a time of praise and worship. Tears filled my eyes as you could hear all of us singing "Amazing Grace". God's grace is truly amazing! Travis led us also in an old hymn "Victory In Jesus" Thank you Father for sending your Son to the cross for our sins. We have victory when we accept Jesus in our hearts.

It was hard to leave. It was hard to say goodbye. There were so many amazing women there. I wish there was more time to met and hug everyone. What a special weekend this was. I am so ever thankful to Beth Moore, her daughters Amanda and Melissa.I have such respect for your family.  LPM staff, thank you for all your dedication to this ministry. I have such respect for you too.

       

May God continue to bless you all

With Hugs and Prayers,