**January 20-21, 2012**
Hear bells and whistles and lots of music, maybe even a few beginning bars of the Hallelujah chorus: YOU MADE IT EXACTLY HALFWAY!!!! You are officially over the hump after you get this entry behind you.
Way to go, Sisters. Way to go! It’s a pretty good feeling, isn’t it? Don’t think for a second that the enemy didn’t try to steal away your focus and commitment. If you made it this far, you fought with him and won. This is a big victory. Celebrate it with your very faithful God.
I want to brag on you for being so fastidious about limiting your comments to the memory verses. Even when I’ve taunted you with extra conversation, you’ve held steadfastly to the rule. You are the best group ever. To look down the comment stream and see nothing but verses is immensely powerful. My faith explodes in my chest every single time. The sight of it and the effect it was having on my own personal life led me to invite anybody on Twitter who could use a fresh brainwashing to come and peruse it. I pray that numbers were blessed and that some took the challenge and decided to start memorizing Scripture.
All that said, this time, since we’re at the halfway point, I’m going to open your comments up to one extra line for the sake of personal testimony. After you’ve documented all your usual information (First name, city, verse, and translation), finish this sentence: Memorizing God’s Word this year has…
Get as specific as you can!
So you’ll have an example to go by, here’s my entry this time around with the completion of the added sentence:
Beth, Houston. “Make every effort to present yourself before God as a proven worker who does not need to be ashamed, teaching the message of truth accurately.” 2 Timothy 2:15 (The NET Bible) Memorizing God’s Word this year has caused me to have a redirected mind in a situation that could have bred fear and discontentment.
Get the idea? OK, now it’s your turn.
P.S. Here’s some really great news! Android and Blackberry SSMT apps are up, running and available. AND, plans toward our January celebration are already in full swing! We can hardly wait to host you here, Sisters.
I love you like crazy.
Beth
“Make every effort to present yourself before God as a proven worker who does not need to be ashamed, teaching the message of truth accurately.” 2 Tim 2:15 (NIV)
heather, lancaster pa, Psalm 130:5 I wait for the Lord, my sould waits, and in his word I put my hope.
Memorizing scripture this year has hightened my sense of His presence and how I walk with Him on a daily basis.
Betsy – Antwerp, OH
Psa 51: 10-12 (NIV)
10 “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit in me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me
Memorizing scripture this year has help me to feel His presence in every challenge that I face.
Colossians 3:15 (NLT)
15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
Memorizing scripture this year has helped me keep my focus on Jesus and grow!
Megan, Greenwood, IN: “May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.” 2 Thessalonians 3:16a NIV
Memorizing scripture this year has been refreshing, challenging and brought peace when I’ve needed it most.
Kelsi, Pewaukee, WI:
“Whether I turn to the right or the left, Your voice is behind me saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it.’”
Is. 30:21 (NIV)
Memorizing scripture this year has allowed me to experience true freedom through complete trust, confidence and contentment with God’s Will for me in all circumstances.
Whitney; Hamptonville, NC: “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.” 1 John 2:3 NIV
Tammy;Siloam NC/The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him. Nahum 1:7 (NIV) Memorizing God’s Word this year has been challenging but I commit to do better the last half of the year.
Missy from Arkadelphia: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 NIV
Atlanta, Ga
‘But as for me,I watch in hope for the Lord,
I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.’
Micah 7:7 NIV
Beth – Emmalena, KY
Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this – not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way. Romans 14:13
As for me, I trust You, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.” my times are in Your hand”.
Psalm 31:14, 15a
NKJ
Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psalm 73:25
NKJ
Amy
Norfolk, MA
Memorizing scripture this year has helped me have peace and calmness when there has been fear and anxiety.
Tina-Roanoke, AL – Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Psalm 51:10. NIV
Ann, San Antonio, TX Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Eph. 4:32 NIV
Julie, Chesterland, OH
“Therefore, my 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)
Memorizing scripture this year has…BLESSED MY SOCKS OFF!
Johnnie in Corpus Christi, TX
“Who is the man who delights in life, loving a long life to enjoy what is good? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceitful speech. Turn away from evil and do what is good; seek peace and pursue it.”
Psalm 34:12-14 HCSB
Memorizing God’s Word this year has shown me once again that God is with me, guiding me, teaching me, comforting me, … Thank you LORD for allowing me to be Your child.
“Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.”
II Corinthians 5:9 NASB
Jayne-Frisco, TX
Memorizing scripture this year has helped me to have a sense of peace and calm in the midst of the present storms of life!
Lisa
Van Buren, AR
Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.
NKJV
Memorizing scripture this year is lengthening my plumb line that will guide me all the days of my life.
South Bend
“There the Lord greatly increased His people and made them stronger than their oppressors”.
Psalm 105:24 Amplified
Memorizing God’s Word this year has helped me to stand against assaults of the devil on my family, my mind and brought me hope.
Vanessa, Florence, SC:
And he will be their peace.
Micah 5:5 (NIV)
Martha, Florida
Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Give thanks to the Lord no matter what happens. 1 Thess 5:16-18 NrIV
Memorizing scripture this year has made me aware of the need to be in His word constantly.
Ann, San Antonio, TX Memorizing God’s Word this year has changed the way I view my daily life as I meditate on my verses each morning.
Joni, Port Neches, Texas. “I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corin. 12:9-10, NIV) Memorizing Scripture this year has reminded me how blessed I am to have a God who loves me, protects me, thinks about me, teaches me, encourages me, and disciplines me–all for my good and His glory.
Amy
Snellville, Ga
Psalm 31:24 NLT
“So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord.”
Hannah, Chesterland, OH
“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue,and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
2 Peter 1:5-8 (ESV)
Crystal, Mullica Hill, NJ- Romans 8:1 ESV: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Amy, Granby
For in Scripture it says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” 1 Peter 2:6 NIV
Memorizing God’s Word this year has helped me to focus more and meditate more on a specific passage. Good to have focus in a chaotic year!
Also, picked this verse earlier today and then went to Week 2 of Beth’s Daniel study that my Women’s church group is doing this summer . . . and this verse was the closing word! How cool is that!? How cool is God!
Marybeth from Norcross: Jeremiah 15:19 NLT
This is how the Lord responds: “If you return to me, I will restore you so you can continue to serve me. If you speak good words rather than worthless ones, you will be my spokesman. You must influence them; do not let them influence you!
Memorizing scripture this year has helped me retain a taste of the mountaintop experience of my very first international mission trip.
Deanna, Willmar, MN
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NLT)
“We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God.”
Memorizing God’s word this year has helped me focus on the One who is in control, the I AM, vs. the circumstances around me that seem so dark and overwhelming.
Decatur, Alabama: “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” 2 Timothy 1:7
Janie, Lubbock, Tx: “You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit.” Job 10:12 NIV
Kristi, N. Webster, IN (moving next week to Seagrove Beach, FL)
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 6:5-7
Memorizing Scripture has given me peace and confidence in the changes God has in store for our family as we move a long distance away from family and friends and towards a new adventure!
Kari Schmitt, Camarillo, California: A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. Proverbs 14:30 NIV
Memorizing scripture this year has been a brand new challenge!
Charli, Phenix City, AL
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)
Laura, Savannah, GA
Ephesians 6:19-20 “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.” (NIV)
Memorizing God’s Word this year has given me specific tools to fight very specific battles against the enemy.
Cheryl, Austin: “For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is. So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:5-7 NIV
Memorizing scripture this year has helped me through my first few months in a new and stressful job.
Cheryl, Everett James 4:8a Amp
” Come close to God and He will come close to you”
Memorizing God’s word this year has reminded me how to really live like a loved child of God and to live out that love and grace in every situation that I face each day.
Rachael, Cincinnati, OH:
“Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the Lord delivers him in times of trouble.” Psalm 41:1 NIV
Memorizing scripture has brought me closer to the Lord, helping me to daily be obedient to his call.
Concetta, White Oak, Proverbs 19:11 (NASB), “A man’s discretion makes him slow to anger, And it is his glory to overlook a transgression.”
Anita, Hartsville, TN – May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalms 19:14 NIV
Memorizing God’s Word this year has brought me thru the fire that the evil one has been heaping upon me! Praise the name of Jesus!!!
April U., Blacksburg, VA:
“Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
– Galatians 1:10 (NIV)
Memorizing scripture this year has been challenging but a very much needed discipline for this season of my life.
Donna, Tuscaloosa, AL
“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
Colossians 3:2 NIV
Memorizing scripture this year has plowed the soil of my soul to help God’s precious words take deeper root in my life.
Luke 18:27
Jesus replied, “what is impossible with man is possible with God.”
Victoria – Madisonville, LA
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Phil. 4:6 NIV
Memorizing God’s word this year has brought me peace by teaching me to keep my thoughts on him.
He does not delight in the strength of the horse;
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him,
In those who hope in His mercy.
Psalms 147:10-11
“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14 (NIV)
Hill, Los Angeles
The LORD said to him,
“Who gave man his mouth?
Who makes him deaf or mute?
Who gives him sight or makes him blind?
Is it not I, the LORD?
Exodus 4:11 NIV
Memorizing God’s Word this year has helped me through some tough, dark moments.
Joy; California;
Let me hear of your unfailing love to me each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I have come to you in prayer. Psalm 143:8 (NLT)
Memorizing God’s word this year has made His special message to me be heard in a very personal and intimate way as each verse spoke volumes for this moment in my life, as He knew it would.
I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. Psalm 4:8. NIV
Memorizing scripture this year has helped me fight enemy attacks.