Hey, Sweet Things! I hope you had the sweetest Christmas day. You guys had such special traditions. I loved picturing many of you yesterday doing the very things you described. Yolanda, I keep thinking about you coming from a sharecropper’s family and getting to pick out anything you wanted from the grocery store at Christmas. That you got the okra and your brother got the cool whip made me so happy. What a culinary pair. I hope so much I’m remembering those details right! If I’m butchering your story, correct me and forgive me.
Our family had such a great day! We stretched from a 22 month-old to two nearly 80 year-olds. We read the Christmas story together, prayed as a family, and tore into presents of all shapes and sizes. I was so whipped by late last night that I almost couldn’t make it to the mattress but the Moores, Jones, and Fitzpatricks had indeed celebrated the birth of Christ and shared much joy and laughter. And food. God lent me the cooking gift for 24 hours and my meal was so stinking good that I kept wanting to high-five my own self. Every time the conversation went to something else, I tried to subtly steer it back to my miraculous kitchen extravaganza and how it all came off at the same time. These are Christmas miracles, people. Not pearls before swine at the Moore house.
I don’t have a single picture to show you right now because I never picked up my cell phone. Melissa took great pictures with an actual camera but those will have to be uploaded. We’ll get them to you soon. So many fun things happened yesterday but I’ll mention the one that still had me tickled when I got into bed last night: Jackson’s first shot at karaoke. I got him a Phineas and Ferb Karaoke Machine and his parents thought it best not to get it out of the box until they got home at a later hour. Amanda videoed his debut last night and texted it to me on my I-phone. I’ve watched it over and over. I sent it to Travis and he had the good sense to love it, too. He thought maybe he noted a worship leader in the making based, I believe, on Jackson’s enthusiasm for the craft rather than his actual pitch. It is so hilarious and endearing that I can hardly stand it. Of course, little Miss is right up in his business but he occasionally acquiesced and put the microphone up to her mouth. She, too, sang with considerable gusto. The two main words of the kids’ song were “born again” (really LOUD) so the karaoke experience was the richer for its fine theology.
OK, I promised myself I wouldn’t do this because I need to stick to the task at hand and keep this post very focused so that we can direct people back to it in the future. SO, on with our important purpose: how to participate in the 2011 Siesta Scripture Memory Team! Here are a few things to know up front:
*For you new comers, “Siesta” is just an endearment for “Sister.” There’s no club to join and no person you need to become. If you’ve trusted Jesus as your personal Savior, you’re a sister in Christ. When we first began the blog several years ago, it never occurred to any of us how much we’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, “I’ll tell you what we are: We’re sistahs!” but spell-check switched it to “siestas.” It stuck and that’s been us ever since. We even liked the thought that its actual meaning is to take a nap. We’ll know we’ve been a place of divine intervention if we’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 “team” because that’s exactly what we are. We’re a really long line of women standing shoulder to shoulder with our swords drawn. And we don’t draw our swords to wound people, to convict our family members (God’s job) or to cut off the ears of our hearers. We draw our swords to fight the good fight of faith. While I was helping stuff Siesta Scripture Memory Spirals into envelopes on the 22nd, I said to my coworkers, “JUST THINK, what would happen if 6000+ women really did memorize 24 Scriptures in 2011?? What are the implications of that? What kind of repercussions might that have in our personal lives and our homes?” And we got all riled up. You bet this is a team. Don’t be too cool for it. Remember, God’s Spirit is a fire. If we’re too cool, we can’t help but quench it. If cheesy works around here, we’re not ashamed.
*Very often you will see me refer to SSMT. Just so you’ll know, that is an abbreviation for “Siesta Scripture Memory Team.” I also want the rest of you to keep in mind that we don’t limit the entire blog to our Scripture memory participants. It has a big presence on here because it’s twice a month but we still do lots of other things. Please don’t feel left out or forgotten.
OK, NOW FOR THE INSTRUCTIONS. You can cut and paste these somewhere if necessary. Here’s how it will go:
1. On the 1st and 15th of every month of 2011, you will find a post by 8:00 in the morning where I will ask for your memory verse and give you mine. This will begin New Year’s Day. You are committing to 24 Scriptures in 12 months. In previous years, I’ve found this to be a very doable pace. If you do much more, you’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 you’re capable of doing in the power of the Spirit. Yes, it takes work but it’s tremendously fulfilling and the results are nearly immeasurable. Look at it this way: you’re going to be meditating on something: unforgiveness, toxic memories, misery, lust, greed, dissatisfaction, jealousy, competition. Choose Scripture! Christ Himself said as a man thinks, so is he. He also said His words are spirit and life. This is work worth doing, Sweet Thing. Never – NOT ONCE – have I ever known anyone to get to the end of a Scripture memory commitment and say that it didn’t make any real difference. Not a single time.
2.You are to enter the verse you’ve chosen to memorize for that two-week period within twenty-four hours of the post going up. I’ve been asked many times if it’s okay if you’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 wimpy narcissists. Year-long commitments like these that require punctuality and focused energy push back on that degenerating trend. All that to say, please don’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, city, verse and translation. Long comments on SSMT days are no-no’s. It won’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 you’re having a bad day, all you have to do is scroll down a few hundred of your sisters’ Scripture selections and I promise you, you’ll get a word. It’s a very powerful thing. Here is a sample comment:
Beth from Houston, Texas: “Forget about what’s happened! Don’t keep going over old history. Be alert! Be present! I’m about to do something brand new. It’s bursting out. Don’t you see it? There it is! I’m making a road in the desert and rivers in the badlands.” Isaiah 43:18-19 The Message
(That was my first Scripture from last year so I wrote it from memory. If you choose that one, you better double check it. It’s at least 95 per cent accurate…I think. Yep. Double check it.) 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 other’s selections. Often you’ll see a sister say, “I’m doing the one so-and-so did last time!” (Yes, you can make a comment that brief. Those can be fun. Occasionally you’ll even see someone write, “For the sake of my marriage, I’ve chosen to memorize…” That’s okay, too, but try to keep it very succinct.)
4. As often as possible, choose a verse that means something to you in your present season or circumstance. This is the reason why we don’t all memorize the same Scripture. We’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 we’re told to demolish strongholds and take our thoughts captive to Christ. If you don’t have a verse on your mind or you’re drawing a blank when the 1st or 15th rolls around, you are welcome to share mine. I will always include it in the post. 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 won’t because he’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. You’re free to do whatever works for you.) Keep it simple and meaningful. (If I were addressing you live, I’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 own spiral. (Again, that’s a recommendation and not a rule. I’ve discovered that there’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. I’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 they’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 don’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 can’t lose on this one. Either way, it has a powerful effect.
OK, I think that’s enough to get us prepared for January 1st. Now, let me tell you well in advance how to qualify for our Siesta Scripture Memory Team Celebration mid-January of 2012. (I’m writing this from my home on Sunday evening and I forget exactly which weekend in January 2012 we scheduled it. I’ll double check and let you know shortly so you can save money for your transportation and hotel. We do not charge for the event. Your entrance fee is your well-used spiral. By the way, Travis is planning to be there again to lead us in worship and my beloved LPM staff and daughters are looking really forward to it, too.) Here’s how you qualify:
*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, that’s your ticket in.
*Be prepared to say any 12 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 don’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 you’re one of those who genuinely struggles with memorization, just tell your memory buddy up front and she’ll give you all the grace you need. Tell her the gist of the verse as accurately as you possibly can. She’ll be able to tell that you are well acquainted with it and that the goal was accomplished even if you can’t say the verse word-for-word.
*Register for the event when the time comes. (December 1, 2011)
Whew! Have I exhausted you?? I’ve worn myself to a pulp. Sorry this is so wordy! We just want to answer as many of your questions up front as possible.
I want to tell you something before I sign off. You have impacted my walk with Christ. This community has given me encouragement when I was nearly down for the count. I am more disciplined because you are here. You make a difference in my life. You make me think, and laugh, and study. You offer me company when I am lonely. You stir me up to love and good works. You are used of God in my life to make this hard world a better place.
That’s what Siestaville is for. Women walking alongside women on our way Home, stirring up excitement toward that great day. SSMT is just one way we do that. AND IT’S A WHOPPER. Let’s do it, Sisters, starting this coming January 1st! I’ll talk to you again about other things before then but I don’t want the New Year to take you by surprise.
Your blog mama loves you.
I am so excited to start memorizing scripture – I’ve asked my sisters in the US and friends in Shell, Ecuador to join in too.
Count me in! I am new to Beth’s blog, so I am soo excited to start, and to read everyone else’s verses.
I’m excited to begin!
I plan on committing to this as I need all the help I can get when in comes to knowing scripture and finding it! Where is the book of Genesis again? LOL! I do believe that the Holy Spirit will give me the ability to complete this task! Lord knows He has given me the ability to tie my shoes! The result of this will be nothing short of releasing power and great faith, thus doing mighty things for God’s kingdom! Here we go girls! Let’s make the devil mad!
Beth & Co,
I am so excited and scared to death about this challenge. I set goals like this and often don’t carry it through by the end of the year. I want to do this! Thanks for the challenge. I don’t know how I am going to pick my verses so I’m praying about that too.
What a blessing, Melanie
Dear Beth & LPM staff,
I want to thank you for all you have done in your ministry to bring so many closer to the Lord. I have learned so much from Beth’s studies. This is my first time commenting but I have read your blog for awhile now and I know I keep coming back to it because God wants me here. I ordered a spiral and also bought myself your book Praying God’s Word to start the new year with. When it came it was wrapped in pink tissue paper! What a beautiful touch! Thank you! May you all be blessed this coming year for all you do.
I meant to say ‘Here we go siestas!’
I have done siesta summer bible studies in my home for the past couple of years, but have always been afraid of the memorizing scriptures….but this year is different!!! With God by my side I know I can do this and I am so in!!!
I am so excited about the new 2011 scripture memory challenge. I know I won’t be able to travel for the Siesta celebration next Jan. I was feeling sort of blue about it and I believe God gave me the idea to ask others in my small fellowship to join me on this journey. I presented the idea to another friend in our church. She agreed it’s a great idea and we are going to invite others from our church to join us on this journey of Scripture Memory for 2011 this coming Sunday. I’m so excited to see what the Lord will do in our tiny fellowship and those who commit to do this for this coming year.
Thank you to Beth and the LPM team for planting this seed! God Bless
LuAnn
thank You, Jesus…thank You.
With tears I thank You. For you alone know that every word of Beth’s prayer could have come from my own heart. This is the number one area of bondage in my life and I’m tired of it. Tired of the enemy stealing the joy You have placed in my life. I want to taste and see Your victory in this.
in the victorious name of Jesus…Amen!
SSMT, here I come. So excited to be participating with my best friend and accountability partner, Lara. God has been planting verses in my head since I found out this was coming. A little nervous, but Phil. 4.13 will keep me going.
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! For making the spiral a free PDF on your website! I downloaded and printed it last night and am going to have it bound today! I just LOVE it-so cute. It’s even inspiring to want to write neater and maybe with a cool pen! Y’all are great!
Where did you find the pdf file for this?? I’m new to the site and not locating it … thanks!!
Hey sister, we will be ready to ship spirals again next Mon or Tuesday. In the meantime, if you would like to print your own, the pdf artwork is available free at: http://www.lproof.org/store/search.asp?searchtext=spiral
One of my best friends posted the link to this on her Facebook page. I am new to SSMT, but I definitely want to participate! 🙂
Welcome, Jamie!
Good morning Beth,I want to say this is my first time to blog and I’m very excited about the SSMT. I already have my first verse in my spiral book and memorized, working on my second one.:) I have been coming to your sessions for about four years now, and will be there on the 18th of next month. thank you so much for the bible studies, I have done quite a few of them. God bless you and your family.
I am so technically challenged, but I am going to give this a try this year 🙂 thanks for all you do
Am I still able to join the SSMT for 2011? How do I go about joining? Please, oh please say it’s not too late for me!
Just watch for Beth’s SSMT 1st & 15th posts and submit your scripture(s) with your name/email. That’s it! Welcome. =)
I am in this year!
Just re-entering my name as I mis-spelled my own email address earlier :>)
I am very excited about this. I am a first timer, as many others that I have seen, and may need some help but am feeling so inspired! I have my journal that I picked up at my Beth Moore trip in Chicago and am looking forward to diving more into the word! I will be praying for finding my first verse!
Am I too late to join SSMT? How do I start? Please, oh please say it’s not too late for me!
No ma’am! Just look for Beth’s SSMT post on each 1st & 15th and submit your scripture (and name/email). Welcome!
I am doing it! Thank you for all the work that you all put into this. I am excited and nervous! I am looking forward to a wonderful 2011 filled with God’s words to me.
are we not able to get a spiral for the Scripture memory anymore? i’ve been away from the internet, so didn’t get to order one. just curious if they are making more?
Hey sister, we will be ready to ship spirals again next Mon or Tuesday. In the meantime, if you would like to print your own, the pdf artwork is available free at: http://www.lproof.org/store/search.asp?searchtext=spiral
I have previously attempted to participate in SSMT and dropped out midway. This past year, I picked up a memory tool in a Bible Study I was working through. (This Isn’t the Life I Signed Up For). Utilizing the spiral or other notecard system, write the verse on one side and the first letter of each word on the other. The prompt of the first letter helps me to memorize much quicker! My favorite verse of 2010 was/is, “This day I call heaven and earth as witness against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live, love the Lord your God, listen to His voice and hold fast to Him.” Deut 30:19-20 The otherside of the card would read “TdIchaeaway,tIhsbylad,bac.Ncl,styaycml,ltLyG,ltHvahftH.” D30:19-20 This year, I am going to participate ALL year with SSMT! Looking forward to it!
Have not participated previously although checked in from time to time, as I do memorization and the Study of the WORD with others throughout the year each year but this year I am very much looking forward to joining in with all of you Siestas!
Blessings and peace!
This community is such a blessing to me. I just got caught up on the last two posts and the prayers…it was so beautiful to read all women pouring their hearts out to our Creator. This blog really is a place of peace and not competition. Thank you all. Thank you for the memory cards!! My husband saw the cover and said, “Doesn’t that mean sleep???” LOL
Much Love,
Michelle, TN
I am new to the blog site, do I need to sign up for the scripture memory team. Sorry if I have miss understood or read incorrectly?
Tracy
Welome, Tracy! Just watch for Beth’s SSMT posts each 1st & 15th to submit your verse(s)…and your name/email. =)
I’m excited!
I can’t wait!!
29 hours and 15 minutes!
Hello Siestas!!
I am so excited to do this with you all. This will be my first year and I am commited to do this for the 24 times. I have posted on my facebook and hopefully some of my friends will join us.
I am looking forward to share this with you Beth and all of our sisters out there in the world!!!
Denise
Hi Beth, I purchased 13 of the notebooks and invited 12 of my friends to join me in memorization this year. I sent each friend a scripture verse necklace to get her started on the memorization! Twice a month we are going to email each other and share our verses. I am so thankful you have inspired us to do this. My twenty-eleven (2011) motto is “Live Inspired.” You’re helping me get started in the right direction.
LOVE, HUGS and HAPPY ANNIVERSARY,
Christine
PS- I have 10,000 Twitter followers @LifeVerse and I’ve been tweeting your Siesta Scripture Program. It seems many of my followers are joining me and I’m so excited for all of us!!!
This is my first year participating and I am looking forward to the challenge!
Hi Beth! I have a quick question. I was reading instruction #1 and am curious as to the reference of the scripture that says “so a man thinks, so he is”. It really made me think and I would love to underline it in my Bible. Thanks so much, I know you are extremely busy! God bless you! Amanda
Hi Amanda,
The reference is Proverbs 23:7
KJV For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat & drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
NAS For as he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, “Eat & drink!: But his heart is not with you.
NIV for he is the kind of man who is always thinking about the cost. “Eat & drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
I hope seeing the 3 different translations helps.
Blessings,
Serena
Thank you!
I’m so excited about this challenge! I’m definitely in! Can’t wait to see what God will do in my life in 2011.
Ok, I am making a commitment here to do this! I printed the instructions for moral support. I need a renewal this year like never before.
Blessings in Christ, Theresa
I’m in! I can’t wait! I’m going to see if my sister wants to join me to keep each other accountable. We live far away from each other so we’ll have to ichat our verses to each other…Seriously so fun!
I had the chance to commit to this group in 2009 but I didn’t. In August of that same year we found ourselves in the children’s hospital with our precious newborn baby girl. I was desperate for Scripture! It was a very dark, difficult time. It was very difficult to sit down and truly drink from His Word because of all the tests, doctors, nurses–everything that comes with hospital life. We were desperate for God’s Word but didn’t have it stored up in our hearts. One night I thought of our sweet Beth and the way she encouraged us to join SMMT to memorize Scripture. I knew at that moment I would commit the next time it was offered. Here I am! Ready to learn and use His powerful tool in my life! Not because I’m fearful of what’s to come in 2011 but because I’m desperate for more of Him. Thank you Beth & Siestas! With love from Alaska
I’m excited about this, just what I need! My word for 2011 is “EXTRAVAGANT”! I want to be extravagant in my worship, extravagant in my giving and just the thought of memorizing 24 verses is extravagant!
I am so excited to get to do the SSMT and get a fresh WORD from my Father, the King.
This sounds like so much fun!
I just read about the Siesta blog. I’m looking forward to doing the scripture memorizing this coming year!
Just checking to see what was involved in “posting” so I’m ready for the 1st!
I am excited to be on this team. I am excited to see how God blesses this next year, and I don’t want to miss a single one.
Count me in, too, Beth. I need to do this again. I don’t have my spiral with me, it is at home-I am here in Houston. BALMY is an understatement epecially having just come from a freezing Tennessee. I will use my journal to write scriptures then transfer to spiral.
Kels who is trying to find her way back home(Redding, Ca.)
I am looking forward to SSMT more than words can say!! Beth, I am inspired, challenged, encouraged by your enthusiasm. God bless you!
I’m a newbe to this blog and I am so excited to start the memory verses!! What do you mean by “spiral”??? Just a notebook to keep your verses in???
That’s it, Summer Jo! If you want, spiral index cards can be found at your local office supply store. That’s what Beth is referring to. Welcome!
I’m in! I’ve been waiting for this for a month!
Thank you for helping me to do something I know is so important for my spiritual growth.
So excited about this spiritual journey for 2011! Let the scriptures begin!!
Looking forward to learning scripture with my siestas in 2011!