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!
Laura, Greenville, NC: “If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs o the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.” Isaiah 58:9-12 NIV
Hi Laura – I found 10 of us memorizing verse 11 with you! Here are the other names if you want to be praying for all of us.
Vanessa, Bremen, GA
Dedra, Madison, AL
Terri, Kernersville NC:
Carol from Terrell, NC
Candace, Kentucky
WendyB, Heidelberg, Germany.
Melissa, Kenai, Alaska
Helen Wall
Cindy, Broken Arrow, OK
“The Lord is good to those who depend on Him, to those who search for Him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.” Lamentations 3:25-26, NLT
Jeni, White Bluff, TN: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NIV
Mary
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Eph 2:10 NKJV
Eph 1:15-16
For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.
NIV
Julie: Minneapolis, MN
“And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, wheather thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.”
Deuteronomy 8:2, KJV
She is clothed in strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. Proverbs 31:25, NIV
Paula, Fort Mill, SC
Siobhan, Austen, AR: I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent to you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. Joel 2:25-26 ESV
Keri M., Anniston, Alabama
Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him that your Father in heaven may also forgive your trespasses.
Mark 11:24,25
Dee Dee, San Antonio: You crown the year with Your good blessings, and You leave abundance in Your wake. Psalm 65:11 (NET)
Melissa, Edmond, OK: Brothers and sisters, I myself don’t think I’ve reached it, but I do this one thing: I forget about the things behind me and reach out for the things ahead of me.
Philippians 3:13. (The Common English Bible.)
Lindsey from Dubach, LA: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” -James 1:22 (NIV)
Rebecca, Berlin, GA. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8: 38&39 NASB
Jen P from Russellville, Arkansas
Deut. 1:31 NLT
“And you saw how the Lord your God cared for you again and again here in the wilderness, just as a father cares for his child. Now he has brought you to this place.”
Kelley, Gainesville, Fl: Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us! Eph. 3:20 NIV
Tina, Columbus, OH: “Do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord, no matter what happens. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so you will continue to do God’s will. Then you willl receive all that He has promised.” Hebrews 10:35-36 NLT
Beth, Madison, AL The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18 NIV
Deanne, Laguna Hills, CA – “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10 NIV
Rhonda, Kalamazoo, Michigan: Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises! James 5:13 NIV
Nicole, Dallas/Fort Worth: Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, 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. Philippians 4:6-7
Jessi, Athens, GA: “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.” Romans 12:1 The Message
Karen, Lexington, KY – “But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stat I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” Ruth 1:16 NIV
Jeanne, Santa Rosa, CA: Proverbs 22:7 (NIV)
The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
Jerre,Anacortes,WA: “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31
Kim, San Juan Capistrano, CA: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.” Philippians 4:8. NIV Study Bible.
Diana, Surrey, BC Canada
“Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you, He rises to show you compassion, for the Lord is a God of justice, Blessed are all who wait for Him!”
fighting headcold
Suzanne, Tucson: “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
Carrie (Kitchener, ON Canada) – “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations,I will be exalted in the earth!” Psalm 46:10 (NKJV)
LeAnne, Albertville. Psalm 62:5 “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.” NIV
Emily
Potomac, MD
“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 through the desert, rivers in the badlands.”
– Isaiah 43:18-19, The Message
Alta loma, CA
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Romans 8:37 NKJ
April, Lake Charles, LA
“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.” ~ Rom. 15:13 (NIV)
Cindy from Huntingdon, PA: “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26 NIV
Ps. 139:23-24 NLT
Search me,O God, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Thereforem I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV  Â
Amy, Ardmore, OK
“Therefore, beloved brothers be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV
Crystal, Whitefish, MT: “Be very careful, then, how you live-not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” Ephesians 5:15-17 NIV
Jill, Booneville, Ky: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6 NKJV
Isa 30:18 NIV – see what the cold did?
Valerie, Ashburn: “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and the burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 NLT Bible
Madelin: Thousand Oaks, CA
Isaiah 43: 18-19 – NLT
18 “Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
19 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.
God is my refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Ps. 48:1
Gina from San Antonio … Rom 15:13, NIV…
I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Diana, Locust Grove GA
Galatians 5:16-17 (New International Reader’s Version)
16 So I say, live by the Holy Spirit’s power. Then you will not do what your sinful nature wants you to do.
17 The sinful nature does not want what the Spirit delights in. And the Spirit does not want what the sinful nature delights in. The two are at war with each other. That’s what makes you do what you don’t want to do.
Jana – Crystal Springs, MS Psalm 119:124-125, NIV
“Deal with Your servant according to Your love and teach me Your decrees. I am Your servant; give me discernment that I may understand Your statutes.”
Twyla, Greenville: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,” Ephesians 3:20 NIV
-Grace & Peace, San Diego, CA: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)
Ps. 139:23-24 NLT
Search me,O God, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
Sharon McLaughlin
Panama City Beach, FL
Becky, Fort Collins, CO: “My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will never be shaken.” Psalm 62:1-2 NIV
Melody, Colorado Springs
“But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
Deuteronomy 4:29 NKJ