Siesta Scripture Memory Instructions

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.

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2,602 Responses to “Siesta Scripture Memory Instructions”

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Comments:

  1. 2051
    Susan says:

    Susan, Dallas:
    2 Cor. 3:4-5, NIV

    “Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.”

    Joshua 1:9, NIV

    “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged for the Lord will be with you wherever you go.”

  2. 2052
    Anne from KC says:

    Jesus replied, “This is the work (service) that God asks of you; that you believe in the One Whom He has sent (that you cleave to, trust in, rely on, and have faith in His Messenger)”.

  3. 2053
    Kim H from Austin TX says:

    Jeremiah 29:11-13
    ” For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart.”

  4. 2054
    Susan from Waterford says:

    Ephesians 3:20,21 NKJV
    “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.”

  5. 2055
    Ashley Foster says:

    From Evans,GA
    “Whom have I in heaven but You? I desire You more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart. He is mine forever.” Psalm 73:25-26 NLT

  6. 2056
    Melanie Johnson says:

    Melanie from Georgetown
    Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live.” John 11:21a NIV

  7. 2057
    laurie, Crystal Springs, MS says:

    Ephesians 2:10 (NIV) “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

  8. 2058
    julie williams says:

    6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
    NIV Hebrews 11:6

  9. 2059
    Jen says:

    Round Rock, TX

    Galatians 5:1 NIV
    It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

  10. 2060
    Terri Schuchardt says:

    Hebrews 12:12 MSG So don’t sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet!

  11. 2061
    Jeanie Ryan says:

    Romans 3:23
    “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

    John 1:9
    “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”

    Matt. 11:28
    “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden,and I willgive you rest.

  12. 2062
    Megan, Columbia says:

    We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

    2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV

  13. 2063
    Angela from Round Rock says:

    25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
    And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
    26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
    but God is the strength of my heart
    and my portion forever.

    Psalm 73:25-26 NIV

  14. 2064
    jane bailey says:

    Psalm 13:6 NIV

    I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me.

    Jane from Alabama–Thankful for many blessings

  15. 2065
    june McCurley says:

    June from Alabama

    Matthew 10:28 KJV

    And fear not them which kill the body, but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

  16. 2066
    julie williams says:

    8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. Heb 11:8 NIV

  17. 2067
    Kim H - Austin Tx says:

    Philippians 4:6-7 NIV
    ” Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

  18. 2068
    Phyllis, Flower Mound TX says:

    “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.” Isaiah 46:4

  19. 2069
    e. metzger says:

    -he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Rom.3:26 niv

  20. 2070
    Jennifer says:

    Round Rock, TX

    2 Peter 1:3 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.

  21. 2071
    Ashley Foster says:

    From Evans, GA
    “This is good and pleases our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.” 2 Tim 2:3-4 NLT

  22. 2072
    Terri from KC says:

    Hebrews 12:13 Clear the path for long distant runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out . And run for it! MSG

  23. 2073
    Melanie Johnson says:

    Melanie Johnson from Georgetown
    Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light form my path. Psalm 119:105 NIV

  24. 2074
    Megan, Columbia says:

    Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.

    1 Corinthians 3:16-17, NIV

  25. 2075

    Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is Gods’s will for you in Chirst Jesus.

    1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV

  26. 2076
    Angela from Round Rock says:

    Psalm 46:10
    (NIV1984)

    “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.”

  27. 2077
    anne from KC says:

    Taste and see that the Lord is good. Ps 34:8

  28. 2078
    Ashley Foster says:

    Ashley Foster, from Evans, GA
    “So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” Matthew 19:6, NIV

  29. 2079

    God ,my shepherd! I don’t need a thing. Psalm 23:1MSG

  30. 2080
    Anne from KC says:

    May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through…The one who called you is faithful and he will do it. 1 Thess 5:23-24

  31. 2081
    Susan from Waterford says:

    “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” 2 Corinthians 9:15 NKJV

  32. 2082
    Susan from Waterford says:

    Late posting because of surgery but my verse for Oct 15 was “The eternal God is your refuge, And underneath are the everlasting arms;..” Deuteronomy 33:27

  33. 2083
    sandy in leander says:

    “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,” Ephesians 1:18 NIV

  34. 2084
    Kim H -Austin Texas says:

    Job 2:10 NIV

    He(Job) replied” you are talking like a foolish woman.
    Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?”

  35. 2085
    Angela from Round Rock says:

    Proverbs 4:23
    New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

    23 Above all else, guard your heart,
    for it is the wellspring of life.

  36. 2086
    Phyllis, Flower Mound TX says:

    “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

  37. 2087

    Wow, wonderful blog layout! How long have you ever been blogging for? you make running a blog glance easy. The full glance of your web site is fantastic, let alone the content!

  38. 2088
    Melanie Johnson says:

    Be strong in the LORD and in His mighty power. Ephesians 6:10 NIV

  39. 2089
    e.metzger says:

    He is the Rock, His work is perfect. For all His ways are justice. A God of truth and without injustice,Rightous and upright is He. Deuteronomy 32:4 nkj

  40. 2090
    Megan, Columbia says:

    Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion unitl the day of Christ Jesus.
    Philippians 1:6 NIV

  41. 2091
    julie williams says:

    6 Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.
    Psalm 51:6 KJV

  42. 2092
    Jennifer says:

    Round Rock, TX

    1 Timothy 6:6, NLT
    Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.

  43. 2093
    Jane Bailey says:

    Jane Gadsden, Alabama

    Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
    Romans 12:21 NIV

  44. 2094
    June McCurley says:

    June from Alabama

    Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

    Psalm 119:105 NIV

  45. 2095
    Ashley Foster says:

    “They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the LORD to care for them.” Psalm 112:7 NLT

  46. 2096

    You have bedded me down in lush pastures, you find me quiet pools to drink from.Psalms 23:3 MSG

  47. 2097
    Terri from KC says:

    True to your word you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction .Psalm 23:3

  48. 2098
    Phyllis, Flower Mound TX says:

    Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the Light of your Presence, O Lord. Psalm 89:15

  49. 2099
    Barbara, Bakersfield says:

    Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged for the Lord will be with you wherever you go.

    Joshua 1:9, NIV

  50. 2100
    Kim H Austin TX says:

    ” Delight yourself in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.”
    Psalms 37:4

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