Siesta Scripture Memory Team 2015 Instructions and Spiral Information!

HEADS UP, SCRIPTURE MEMORY PARTICIPANTS!!! IF YOU’RE ON THIS POST TO READ THE INSTRUCTIONS, YOU ARE IN EXACTLY THE RIGHT PLACE SO PROCEED WITH CONFIDENCE! ****BUT!!! IF YOU ARE REGISTERING AND MAKING YOUR FIRST 2015 ENTRY WITH VERSE 1, PLEASE GO TO THE JANUARY 1ST OFFICIAL LAUNCH POST! THAT’S WHERE VERSE 1 GOES! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR COOPERATION WITH THE DETAILS INVOLVED. SO MUCH LOVE TO YOU!

 

Hey Everybody!

We are revving up around here for SSMT 2015! The Scripture memory team we host and support every other year is the most extensive thing we do around here on the LPM blog so you can know that you are the size of an airbus on our ministry radar right now. We are elated about the year we have ahead and believe with all our hearts that God finds tremendous delight in this group of diverse women banding together to memorize His Word. Here is everything you need to know about how to participate in the 2015 Siesta Scripture Memory Team! Please be sure you make it all the way to the bottom of the post where you’ll find the information about our matching spirals.

First, a few things up front since many people joining us have no previous interaction here:

*For you new comers, an explanation of the name is in order. ā€œSiestaā€ is just an endearment for ā€œSister.ā€ Thereā€™s no club to join and no person you need to become. If youā€™ve trusted Jesus as your personal Savior, youā€™re a sister in Christ. If you don’t know Him, we’d love for you to stick around and get to know us and see if anything around here draws you. Everyone is welcome. Here’s a bit of our back-story on the weird name: When we first began the blog, it never occurred to any of us how much weā€™d come to love each other. As the community grew closer and closer and the participants more and more familiar with one another, one of you asked what name we should call each another. I tried to say, ā€œIā€™ll tell you what we are: Weā€™re sistahs!ā€ but spell-check switched it to ā€œsiestas.ā€ It stuck and thatā€™s been us ever since. We even liked the thought that its actual meaning is to take a nap. Weā€™ll know weā€™ve been a place of divine intervention if weā€™re a respite from the female competition and clatter out there. Only Jesus can give us that kind of relief in this exhausting culture.

*We call this a Scripture memory ā€œteamā€ because thatā€™s exactly what we are. We cheer each other on, hold each other accountable, and urge one another to make it to the goal – 24 verses systematically memorized in 12 months – through a process that requires significant practice.

*Very often you will see me refer to SSMT. Just so nobody’s confused from the start, that is an abbreviation for ā€œSiesta Scripture Memory Team.ā€ If you’re not participating in SSMT, please know that we donā€™t limit the entire blog to our Scripture memory participants. It has a big presence on here because itā€™s twice a month but we still do lots of other things. Please donā€™t feel left out or forgotten.

*Why 24 verses? In previous years, weā€™ve found this to be a very doable pace: 1 verse every 2 weeks. If you do much more, youā€™ll tend to fall behind and not retain. If you do much less, the impact is negligible. You really can do this. So many of you will surprise yourselves with what youā€™re capable of doing in the power of the Spirit. Yes, it takes work but itā€™s tremendously fulfilling and the results are nearly immeasurable. Look at it this way: weā€™re going to be meditating on something: unforgiveness, toxic memories, misery, lust, greed, dissatisfaction, jealousy, competition. Let’s choose Scripture instead! Christ Himself said as a man thinks, so is he. He also said His words are spirit and life. This is work worth doing, Beloved. Never ā€“ NOT ONCE ā€“ have I ever known anyone to get to the end of a Scripture memory commitment and say that it didnā€™t make any real difference. Not a single time.

OK, NOW FOR THE INSTRUCTIONS. You can cut and paste these somewhere if necessary. Hereā€™s how it will go:

1. On the 1st and 15th of every month of 2015 starting on New Year’s Day, you will find a post by 8:00 in the morning asking for your memory verse, suggesting one if you’re drawing a blank, and encouraging you in your process. In past years I’ve written all the posts myself but I thought maybe this year we needed to do something to shake it up a bit and make it extra-fun. I’ll still do all the posts on the 1st but the entries on the 15th will be written by a cross section of women from this community who’ve been asked to guest post. That means that, over the course of the year, you’ll hear from 12 of them. They’ll tell you a little bit about themselves, share the verse they’ve selected for that round, and why they chose it. We’ve also asked them to supply us with a picture so you can have a face to go with each name.

2.You are to enter the verse youā€™ve chosen to memorize for that two-week period within twenty-four hours of the post going up. Iā€™ve been asked many times if itā€™s okay if youā€™re late supplying your verse and, yes, of course it is, but try to avoid doing it often. The people who make it to the very end of the year are overwhelmingly those who stay up with it month to month. Please know up front that one of the important parts of this process is the exercise of self discipline. This culture is mass producing self-indulgent narcissists. Year-long commitments like these that require punctuality and focused energy push back on that degenerating trend. All that to say, please donā€™t drop out if you get behind. I just want you to know that this will be much more successful if you treat it as a real, live commitment you are willing to work hard to keep.

3. When you clock in with your verse those two times a month, keep your comments limited to your name (first only if you prefer), city, verse and translation. Long comments on SSMT days are no-noā€™s. It wonā€™t take you long to figure out why we maintain that rule. Wait till you see the powerful sight of hundreds if not thousands of verses flowing down the comment stream. It is a gorgeous sight. When youā€™re having a bad day, all you have to do is scroll down a few hundred of your sistersā€™ Scripture selections and I promise you, youā€™ll get a word. Itā€™s a very powerful thing. Here is a sample comment:

Beth Moore from Houston, Texas: “May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy.” Colossians 1:11 ESV

Always add your translation because so many of your sisters will want to know where you found the wording for your entry. One of the great impacts of this process is how much we reap from each others’ selections. Often youā€™ll see a sister say, ā€œIā€™m doing the one so-and-so did last time!ā€ (Yes, you can make a comment that brief. Those can be fun. Occasionally youā€™ll even see someone write, ā€œFor the sake of my marriage, Iā€™ve chosen to memorizeā€¦ā€ Thatā€™s okay, too, but try to keep it very succinct.)

4. THIS ONE IS KEY! As often as possible, choose a verse that means something to you in your present season or circumstance. This is the reason why we donā€™t all memorize the same Scripture. Weā€™re not all going through the same things. The more you let God lead you to verses that direct you or edify your soul in your present circumstances, the more He will renew your mind toward your challenges. This is a huge part of 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 where weā€™re told to demolish strongholds and take our thoughts captive to Christ. If you donā€™t have a verse on your mind or youā€™re drawing a blank when the 1st or 15th rolls around, you are more than welcome to share the selection offered in the post. That’s one reason it’s there. You might also look at a few of the comments and see if one of theirs resonates with you. I say this next part with a grin: try to refrain from memorizing Scriptures that you think your spouse or your children need to learn. Memorize what you need to learn. That means do your best to avoid jotting your verse on a stick note and planting it on your bathroom mirror where your man can see it and repent of his sins. He probably wonā€™t because heā€™s got your game. I bet you can guess how I know that.

5. I strongly recommend that you stick with only one verse to memorize each time. (This is just a recommendation and not a rule. Youā€™re free to do whatever works for you.) Keep it simple and meaningful. (If I were addressing you live, Iā€™d have you repeat that sentence back to me so just go ahead and say it out loud in order to nail it down. That sentence could be your best friend through this process.) If you do too many verses or get too complicated, you will soon be overwhelmed and want to drop out. Better to do 24 simpler verses over a 12 month period of time than a chapter over the first month then quit. We want this to be a discipline we practice for the rest of our lives. Think marathon. Not sprint.

6. Either shortly before or after making your entry each 1st and 15th in the blog comment, write the verse by hand in your spiral. (Again, thatā€™s a recommendation and not a rule. Iā€™ve discovered that thereā€™s something about writing it with your own hand and picturing it later in your own handwriting that helps it sink into your memory bank. Iā€™m not entirely sure why.) Take that spiral with you everywhere you go. Read it and read it and read it and read it. Do mental gymnastics with it. Flip that baby over and over. Many women have told me along the way that theyā€™re not good at memorization and I truly understand that. I also beg to offer two responses: First, that may change. Give the Holy Spirit a chance to do something brand new with you. Second, even if you donā€™t get your verses down word for word, you are still meditating on them as you read and reread them. You still, thereby, accomplish one of the most important goals: captivating the mind to Christ. You just canā€™t lose on this one. Either way, it has a powerful effect.

 

NOW, about that spiral! In years past, we’ve created them here at Living Proof and shipped them to those who ordered them. But, to our slack-jawed surprise, last time we did it, 10,000 women signed up and nearly all of them ordered spirals. My beloved (SMALL!!!) staff and hardworking volunteers filled every one of those orders over about a 10-day mad-dash and, though they never lost their smiles, it flat-out nearly killed them! We are just too small a staff to handle that many orders. HOWEVER!!! We MUST have matching spirals! So, here is the perfect solution. Watch this tutorial and you’ll see how quick and easy it will be to prepare your spiral:

 

 

There are two sizes to choose between for your spirals.Ā  Click on the size cover you would like to print for yourself then adhere it using any of the methods we suggested. You can certainly use regular printer paper but cardstock works perfectly:

siesta_5x3_final_new

5×3
6×4

 

OK, I think thatā€™s more than enough to get us prepared for January 1st but I so hope you’ll go ahead and get our huge wrap-up celebration on your radar because we want you to know how to qualify and plan to be there! It is the biggest blast ever.

Our Siesta Scripture Memory Team 2015 Celebration will on January 16, 2016. I’m telling you about it now so that you can have it for a little extra incentive. Our main incentive is the will and good pleasure of God, of course, but He Himself authored great celebrations in His Name so feel free to be excited at the thought. Also, I want you to have plenty of time to start saving your money for your transportation and hotel. We do not charge for the event. Your entrance fee is your well-used spiral. By the way, we will have Travis back again to lead us in worship and Amanda, Melissa, my whole LPM staff and volunteer team will be there to serve you.Ā  Hereā€™s how you qualify to attend the celebration:

*Clock in by first name and city at least 21 out of 24 times. (But please make your goal 24 out of 24!) Let me reiterate that you can be late with your entry on a 1st or 15th of any month but, by the end of the year, there has to be a record in the comment sections of you signing in at least 21 out of 24 times on a SSMT post. Make sense? Please give us 24 hours to post your comment before you assume it got lost. We still moderate all comments and the amount we get on SSMT days necessitates a slower pace. Thank you for your cooperation!

*Bring your spiral to the celebration. Again, thatā€™s your ticket in.

*If you’re planning to come to the celebration, be prepared to say any 10 of your 24 memory verses to another Siesta (of your choice) during the designated time at the celebration. (We get in pairs.) Some of you will be tempted to let this be a deal breaker but donā€™t back out! Siestas are really sweet and patient with each other and we are notorious for giving each other hints. We can even act out charades if necessary. If youā€™re one of those who genuinely struggles with memorization, just tell your memory buddy up front and sheā€™ll give you all the grace you need.Ā  Tell her the gist of the verse as accurately as you possibly can. Sheā€™ll be able to tell that you are well acquainted with it and that the goal was accomplished even if you canā€™t say the verse word-for-word.

*Register for the event when the time comes. (December 1, 2015)

Whew! Have I exhausted you?? Iā€™ve worn myself out. Sorry this is so wordy! We just want to answer as many of your questions up front as possible.

I want to say something to you before I wrap up this diatribe: this community means something to me. I love it because I love you. I think about you on an ongoing basis. So does my staff. You are a huge part of this ministry. Thank you for the privilege to serve you and to embark on another wild journey with you. May Christ find such delight here that He astonishes us with His presence, favor, and power.

So, welcome to Siestaville: women walking alongside women on our way Home, stirring up excitement toward that great day. SSMT is one way we do that. AND ITā€™S A WHOPPER. Letā€™s do it, Sisters, starting this coming January 1st! Iā€™ll talk to you again about other things before then but I donā€™t want the New Year to take you by surprise.

I love you.

Beth

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9,767 Responses to “Siesta Scripture Memory Team 2015 Instructions and Spiral Information!”

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Comments:

  1. 9101
    Donna Miller OR says:

    Ps.100:3 NAS
    Know that the Lord Himself is God;
    It is He who made us; and not we ourselves;
    We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

  2. 9102
    Pam Walling says:

    Bridgeport, WV

    1 Thessalonians 5:18(NIV)

    Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

  3. 9103
    Susan Kolb says:

    Susan Kolb
    Slidell, LA

    If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
    @ Chronicles 7:14 NKJV

  4. 9104
    Wanda from Vero Beach, FL says:

    “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works.”
    Hebrews 10:23-24(NKJV)

  5. 9105
    Denise from OK says:

    I have loved you with an everlasting love. Jeremiah 3:13

    • 9105.1
      Pamela Muncy says:

      Have you read ‘With an Everlasting Love’ by Kay Arthur? If you cherish this verse you need this book!

  6. 9106
    Renae says:

    Hendersonville, TN
    For if ye forgive men their trespasses,
    your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
    But if ye forgive not men their trespasses,
    neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
    Matthew 6:14-15 KJV

  7. 9107
    Kearse George says:

    Kearse George, Denver, CO
    “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devilā€™s schemes.” Ephesians 6:11 (NIV)

  8. 9108
    Kathy Knight says:

    Kathy Knight in Las Vegas
    2 Peter 1:3-4 NIV

    “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness”

  9. 9109
    Lisa Mast says:

    Lisa Mast – Fort Wayne,IN
    And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.
    Acts 16:31 ESV

  10. 9110
    Karla Kincade says:

    Karla Kincade
    Indianapolis, IN

    And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
    Colossians 3:14 NIV

  11. 9111
    Susan Kranz says:

    From Ravendale, CA:
    You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is
    fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
    Psalm 16:11 NKJV

  12. 9112
    Natalie Chance says:

    Psalm 22:22 ESV ā€œI will declare your name to my people; in the assembly I will praise you.ā€

  13. 9113
    Jennifer Perkins says:

    Jennifer Perkins Longview TX “Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances.” 1 Thessalonians 5:19-20

  14. 9114
    Sherry says:

    Luke 12:7

    Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

  15. 9115
    Emily Johnson says:

    Romans12:12 niv
    Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

    Oakdale ca

  16. 9116
    Jess Bucher says:

    Jess Bucher from Valparaiso, IN
    ā€œDo all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,ā€
    ā€­ā€­Philippiansā€¬ ā€­2:14-15ā€¬ ā€­ESVā€¬ā€¬

  17. 9117
    Linda says:

    Romans 15:7

    Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

  18. 9118
    Twyla says:

    Psalm 40: 1-3 RSV
    1. I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he inclined to me and heard my cry.
    2. He drew me up from the desolate pit,[a]
    out of the miry bog,
    and set my feet upon a rock,
    making my steps secure.
    3. He put a new song in my mouth,
    a song of praise to our God.
    Many will see and fear,
    and put their trust in the Lord.

  19. 9119
    Alana, Bosque Farms, NM says:

    Rev 1:18 (NIV) “I am the Living One: I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”

  20. 9120
    LaVonne Watson says:

    Forrest CIty, AR
    Isaiah 46:4New International Version (NIV)

    4 Even to your old age and gray hairs
    I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
    I have made you and I will carry you;
    I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

  21. 9121
    LaVonne Watson says:

    Forrest CIty, AR
    Romans 12:12English Standard Version (ESV)

    12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

  22. 9122
    Jan Hair says:

    2 Corinthians 10:4
    For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.

  23. 9123
    Allison says:

    Allison, Austin

    I am the vine, you are the branches. He who is in me and I in him will bear much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing.
    John 15:5

  24. 9124
    Julie Andrews says:

    Julie Andrews
    Chagrin Falls, OH

    Gen 15:1 NIV

    The Word of the the Lord appeared to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid Abram, I am your shield, your very great reward.”

  25. 9125
    Berni Isabel says:

    Miami, FL

    Ephesians 4:14-19 NIV

    “For his reason I kneel before the Father from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pay that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And i pray that you being rooted and established in love may have power together with all the saints to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

  26. 9126
    Sandy says:

    New Braunfels, Texas
    Ephesians 2:8 ESV
    For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.

  27. 9127
    Sandy says:

    New Braunfels, Texas
    October 1 verse
    Philliipians 4:19 NIV
    And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

  28. 9128
    LaQuana Guillory-Williams says:

    Denver, CO

    John 15:7 NASB

    If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

  29. 9129
    Kawana Dobbins says:

    Enterprise, AL

    Colossians 2:9-10 NKJV

    9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

  30. 9130
    Sara says:

    Joshua 1:8
    Study this book of instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.

  31. 9131
    Lynn Vander Laan says:

    Ada, MI

    Joshua 24:15b (NIV)

    But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.

  32. 9132
    Terri McKeever says:

    Terri McKeever Katy, Texas
    Teach me to do Thy will; Thou art my God: Thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.
    Psalm 143:10 KJV

  33. 9133
    Phoebe Holbrook says:

    Phoebe Holbrook from Ky Psalm 139:18 NKJV
    If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You.

    Was on vacation and could not submit on the 15th

  34. 9134
    Pamela Muncy says:

    Pamela Muncy from Ashland, KY ESV Luke 11:9
    9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

    I was on vacation and could not post on 15th

  35. 9135
    Nancy says:

    “It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect”. Ps. 18:32 (NIV)

  36. 9136
    Anita says:

    The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise. Proverbs 12:15 KJV

  37. 9137
    Gina from MO says:

    “I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:13-14

  38. 9138
    Rita Koch says:

    riTa, Upland, IN

    Romans 6:20 (HCSB)
    For when you were slaves of sin, you were free from allegiance to righteousness.

    Romanos 6:20 (RVC)
    Cuando ustedes eran esclavos del pecado, eran libres en cuanto a la justicia.

  39. 9139
    Angie Colbeck says:

    ” Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1

  40. 9140
    Jamie Vukelich says:

    Proverbs 15:1New International Version (NIV)

    15 A gentle answer turns away wrath,
    but a harsh word stirs up anger.

  41. 9141
    Rachel L Jones says:

    The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.

    Exodus 14:14 NRSV

  42. 9142
    Debbie says:

    Commit to the Lord whatever you do and He will establish your plans. Prv 16:3

  43. 9143
    Sherry Whitaker says:

    “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.”

    Joshua 1:9 NLT

  44. 9144
    Michelle Lux says:

    Cedar Park, TX
    Luke 6:31 NIV
    Do to others as you would have them do to you.

  45. 9145
    Claudia Teixeira says:

    Claudia Teixeira of Sugar Land, Texas

    I and the Father are one. Join 10:30 NIV

  46. 9146
    Melissa Dukes says:

    Augusta, GA.
    ā€œJesus said to him, ā€œ ā€˜You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.ā€™ā€
    ā€­ā€­Matthewā€¬ ā€­22:37ā€¬ ā€­NKJVā€¬ā€¬

  47. 9147
    Yanzhen Pan says:

    Yanzhen Pan, chapel Hill, NC

    Carry each others’ burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2

  48. 9148
    Lois Lorentzen says:

    Matthew 12:34 (NIV) “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.”

  49. 9149
    Carolyn Dodge says:

    Hi. So sorry I’m late posting my verses, but my husband Brad and I have been on vacation in NC. Our favorite place the mountains. Had such a great time together and were just so blessed by the Lord. The weather was perfect and we also spent time with my cousin on the Outer Banks. The foliage was absolutely amazing. God is so good!!
    Isaiah 30:15B In repentance and rest is your salvation. In quietness and trust is your strength. NIV
    Psalm 42:7 Deep calls unto deep at the noise of your waterfalls all your waves and billows have gone over me. NKJV

  50. 9150
    Kim says:

    Kim, Prague

    “Let us not become weary on doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest is we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 (NIV)

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