READY? AIM! FIRE!
Happy New Year, my dear sisters in Jesus! Last night I wrote a letter to the Lord Jesus right before I went to sleep and recalled His faithfulness through a tumultuous year. Right before I turned out the light, I opened up Daily Light for the last Scripture reading for the year and it offered this verse:
The Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way you went until you came to this place. Deut. 1:31
I could have cried. Yes, He surely did. And He carried you, too. Tightly in His faithful arms.
Only God knows what this particular year has in store for us. He alone sees how the path will wind, and climb, and fall, and rise again. We do not have control over the future as we glance ahead to 2011 but make no mistake. He does and we, His lavishly loved daughters, can indeed prepare to live what He thoughtfully brings our way victoriously. On this first day of the new year, we are not victims. We are called to live as victors, holding up the Shield of Faith in one hand and the Sword of the Spirit in the other.We need BOTH.
It’s finally time to post your first memory verse of 24 in 2011! If you haven’t already read the instructions thoroughly, please look at the post on December 26th titled “Siesta Scripture Memory Instructions.” It will tell you everything you need to know. Just a quick refresher: Your comments will almost entirely consist of these entries:
First name, city, verse, reference, and version.
Please keep it limited to these facts so that the verses stand out prominently for us to behold. You can occasionally say something as brief as “I’m excited!” Or “I need prayer!” but nothing longer than that please. Let’s let the Scriptures themselves rise like we’re looking at them with our 3-D glasses on.
Here’s my first Scripture entry of 24 in 2011:
Beth, Houston: All generous giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change. James 1:17 The NET Bible
Be sure and hand write your verse in your spiral to help engrave it on your sweet mind. Also consider writing your contact information on the inside cover in case you leave it somewhere and God causes someone gracious to find it.
I love to claim Psalm 65:11 on the first day of the new year:
You crown the year with Your good blessings, and You leave abundance in Your wake. The NET Bible
Lord, I want an abundance of Your Holy Spirit! (See Luke 11:13!) Abba, go before us this year and leave the fragrance of Your very presence in Your wake!
OK, Siestas! Hit it! I’ve prayed for you and can’t wait to pursue the Lord Jesus Christ with you this year. If some of you don’t know which verse to use this time around, consider Psalm 65:11. It’s a great first round.
Remember to wait 24 hours from the time you post your comment until you assume it got lost and enter it again. So many comments come in at once on these Scripture memory posts that the server bogs down, causing it to take extra time.
I love you, Sisters! Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can do this! Remember, KEEP IT SIMPLE AND MEANINGFUL!
Sheryl,Rocky Mount,NC, “The Lord God is my Strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army: He makes my feet like hinds feet and will make me to walk (not to stand still in terror, but to walk) and make (spiritual) progress upon my high places(of trouble, suffering or responsibility)! Habakkuk 3:19 (Amp)
Kari from Three Rivers, MI
2 Chronicles 20:12b msg. We don’t know what to do; we are looking to you.
Nicole, Staten Island, NY
Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58 (NIV)
Karen, Birmingham: God can do anything, you know-far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! Ephesians 3:20 The Message
Natasha, Waterloo, ON:
They who dwell in the ends of the earth stand in awe of your signs; you make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy!
Psalm 65:8 NASB
You crown the year with your good blessings, and you leave abundance in Your wake.
Psalm 65:11 NET
Dana
Boerne, TX
Lynda, Bluffton
“… One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it—it’s the main course, and won’t be taken from her.” Luke 10:42 The Message REMIX
Mindy: Clayton
Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!” Matthew 26:41 NLT
Tricia, Xenia, OH
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7 NIV
Kelley, Columbus, MS: But seek first the kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33 ESV
Carolyn, Houston: DO NOT judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgement you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Matthew 7:1-2 NRsV
Cacy~Evans, GA
Proverbs 4:23 NLT
Gaurd your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
I’m REFOCUSING this year…changing the way I think!
Nancy, St. Petersburg Fl: Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV
Gail Dooley- Papua New Guinea
1 Peter 3:4 NIV
Instead, it (your beauty) should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit which is of great worth in God’s sight.
PS-I’m a missionary in PNG, our internet is unreliable at times. So, I may need a bit of grace if I post late.
Longview: It is the Lord who goes before you; He will march with you, He will not fail you or let you go or forsake you; let there be no cowardice or flinching, but fear not, neither become broken in spirit, depressed, dismayed, and unnerved with alarm. Amplified
Anjie, Bloomington, Indiana
I Corinthians 10:23 “Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial.” NIV
Do not let your hearts be troubled; trust in God, trust also in me.
JoHn 14:1 ,NIV
Becky, Rochester,MN “For you have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.” Psalm 63:7, NASB
Mary B. From Lufkin Tx
Psalms 84:11: For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly. (NKJ version)
Catherine, Spring Texas:
“I came that they might have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).
John 10:10
NIV
Tia, Pierre, SD: The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. Psalm 34:17 (NIV)
Jolynn from Rowlett
“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.” Joshua 1:8 New Living
Sara
Alberta, Canada
Ephesians 3:20-21 (The Message)
God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.
Valerie, Ontario, OH “But don’t just listen to God’s Word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.” James 1:22 NLT
Rachel, Knoxville, TN. “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:58 NIV
Darlene, Mt. Airy
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Ephesians 1:3 NAS
But forget all that – it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19 NLT
He is your constant source of stability; He abundantly provides safety and great wisdom; He gives all this to those that fear Him. Isaiah 33:6
Mary Beth, Woodstock
Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. Psalm 73:25 NASB
I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me.
Proverbs 8:17 NKJV
Hannah from Cheney WA
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18 NIV
Tammy, Murray, KY
I cry out to the Lord. I lift up my voice to the Lord for Mercy. Psalms 142:1 NIV
Leslie, Princeton, NJ: 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 on 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 your heart. Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NIV)
Meredith
Anderson, SC
Isaiah 40:12
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?
NIV
Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
Laura, Pleasant Hill, CA
Dinah Atlanta, GA
Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Romans 14:19 NIV
Luke 12:34 (NIV)
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Grace, 7 and 3/4 years old
Pleasant Hill, CA
Natasha, Frisco, TX: Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Heb. 13:5, NIV
Valerie, Portland, OR : Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you. Psalm 143:8 NLT
Cecilia, Mechanicsville In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1
Brenda, Sagamore Hills: For this reason I kneel before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives it name. I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being. Ephesians 3:14-15 NIV
Laurel, Augusta (Ga): Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of of Christ Jesus. Phil. 1:6 NIV.
Roxanne, Spring TX
Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. (NASB)
Amanda, Chesapeake, VA:
Proverbs 18:9: A lazy person is as bad as someone who destroys things. (NLT)
“Live a life filled with love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God -Ephesians 5:2 (NIV)
Melissa, Newark, CA. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12 NIV
Lisa Curtis, Jackson,MO
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James1:17. NIV
Feel like I am already cheating using your verse but I am doing it anyway.
Lisa, Belle Chasse, LA: “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.” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
My first Siesta year–loving it!
For the Word of God is alive and active. Sharper than a double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing the soul and spirit, joint and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 (NIV)
Kathy, South Bend, “Praise be to you, O LORD, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; your are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and powser to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.”I Chronicles 29:11 NIV