Finally!!!!!!!!
Are you ready, Sisters? Do you hear me cheering?? I have never been more excited about doing this.
I am on the verge of doing about 10 backward flips on my hardwoods. I said on the verge. Not quite doing it. Well, I’m doing it in my heart. That counts for a lot around here.
SO LET’S DO THIS THING! Now, promise me this! Promise me you will read this entire post before you leave a single comment. I know you’re about to burst and I am, too, and, for that reason, I’ll keep it as short as possible. It’s so important that we get our ground rules firmly established so that we’ll have a fabulous experience. Remember, hundreds of our participants this time around are brand new so let’s make sure everybody’s on the same page.
A few things you absolutely MUST KNOW:
*Your comment to this post is your official registration onto the team. Everybody starts at Verse 1 no matter when they begin the process. (Word gets around and we often still have people joining in with us even in March and April. We don’t mind how late they begin as long as they can catch up, memorize their verses, and document each one of them on the proper post as an official participant.) This launch post will remain right here in this January 1st 2013 slot all year long and each new person will need to make her first entry here. This is how we track who signed up when we get to the end of the year and it’s party time.
*Your comment must be strictly limited to the following 5 pieces of information: name, city, verse, reference, translation. I’ll say it slower now for those brand new to the process:
Your name (or first name if you prefer), city. Your verse for that two-week period written all the way out, the reference for it (where it is found in the Bible: Book, chapter, verse) AND the *translation you’ve taken it from.
(*For instance, is the Bible you’ve pulled the passage from a KJV, an NAS, HCSB, NIV or NLT? Or is it The NET Bible, The Message or another similar version? The translation almost always appears on the outside spine of a Bible. If not, you will find it on the first few pages. If you’re looking on line, you’ll get an option to choose a translation. Do so as it speaks most clearly to you. We aren’t fussing over translations here in our memory work. You also do not need to stick with one version throughout.)
Just those 5 pieces of information! They will comprise every comment to this post. And the moment you start scrolling through all of them, you’ll see why. Page after page after page after page of Scripture and each one telling a reader exactly where to find it. It is the most powerful sight to behold. This invites people who are not participating in the memory work to reap tremendous benefits by just reading the comments and taking strength from verses they may not have known existed. This way it has the potential to bless our whole community or any weary visitor to our blog. I’ve been in crises before and gotten on the comment pages and scrolled from Scripture to Scripture and practically wept with relief and fresh courage or revelation. That’s why it’s best to keep the SSMT comments as succinct as possible. If you’ve got an exclamation in you that you just can’t hold back, you can occasionally make the briefest comment like, “I really need this one!” or “I’m sharing so-and-so’s verse” but, please, no more than that.
Comments other than the verse-entries on the 1st and 15th of each month can’t be approved. I’m so sorry and I hope you’ll understand. Thousands of us will be doing this together so the moderation process is monumental from the administrative side. The verses will be all Lindsee and I can handle in the comments for our two SSMT days per month. Keep in mind: NONE OF THESE INSTRUCTIONS PERTAIN TO THE OTHER BLOG POSTS HERE AT LPM. We will be completely free to do our regular thing on all other posts! The really stringent rules are only for the 1st and 15th of each month in 2013 and in reference to Siesta Scripture Memory Team. I hope that makes sense!
*Your comment may take 24 hours to get moderated (or posted if you’re new to the blog process) and sometimes a bit longer if it falls over a weekend. We try our hardest to stay up with it but on those days when 500+ come in at once, it’s quite a task! But we love it! It just requires a little patience on all sides! Before you assume that your entry somehow vanished and you’re tempted to write it again, give it one full day and see if it shows up. Keep track of what time you posted it and double check the comments around that same time. The accidental repeats make it much harder to track participation through the course of the year so always double check. If you don’t find it a day later, by all means, post it again!
*Remember that you get to choose your own verse! That’s really important! The ease with which you can memorize a verse is greatly impacted by how much it means to you. The more you need it or want it, the more you’ll absorb it. If you come up dry at times, no problem! You can either share my verse or another in the comment line that really speaks to you.
*PRAY that God will bless you in this endeavor and will enable you to memorize His Word! Ask continually throughout the entire year! When I get stuck and frustrated that I can’t get my words in order, if I’ll stop what I’m doing and ask God to supernaturally infuse me and help me to concentrate, you would not believe how quickly a breakthrough will come.
Are you about to stuff a sock in my mouth?? I’m about 2 seconds from stuffing one in my own mouth. Melissa gave me two new pair of boot socks for Christmas so at least I have fresh choices.
All right, already! Here goes mine! In honor of our process ahead and how willing the Holy Spirit is to help us…
Beth from Houston Texas, But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. John 14:26 NIV84
Here’s one more alternative if you’ve never memorized it for a new year! I just love it for January 1st:
You crown the year with Your bounty, and Your carts overflow with abundance. Psalm 65:11 NIV
May God’s grace abound to you, Sweet Thing. WELCOME! We have such a fabulous challenge ahead of us. GOD, GRANT US YOUR GOOD FAVOR!
So…what are you waiting for??? SIGN IN WITH VERSE ONE!
PS. I thought you guys might find it a bit amusing that I brought in the first 300 comments in the CAR on the way to the airport to catch my Atlanta flight for Passion 2013. Laughing. You keep your blog mama busy. I love you so!
Tags: Scripture Memory 2013
Col. 3:1
Kate from Sterling, Virginia
“Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?'”
John 11:40, ESV
Lisa from Waycross, GA
Donna from Albany, GA
(looking forward to starting this again this year!)
But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. John 14:26 NIV84
You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit.
Job 10:12 NIV
Hartley, Iowa
Jeremiah 29:11-14 “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 your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” NIV
Maria from Katy, TX, “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord. ” Psalms 40:3 (NIV84)
Ez. 18:31 NLT: Put all your rebellion behind you, and find yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.
Shay
Dallas, Tx
In the path of your judgments,
O Lord, we wait for you;
your name and your renown
are the soul’s desire.
Isaiah 26:8, NRSV
Ashland, OH- “I have cared for you since you were born. Yes, I carried you before you were born. I will be your God throughout your lifetime- until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.” Isaiah 46: 3-4 NLT
Stephanie from Normal, IL
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV
Brenda from Midlothian, VA. “…know the God of your father and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind…” 1 Chronicles 28:9 NAS
Martha, Benbrook, Texas
Call to Me, and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and might things, which you do not know.
Jeremiah 33:3
American Standard Bible
Brenda, Dallas, TX For by grace you have been saved through faith. And it IS not your own doing; it is a gift of God. Eph 2:8 ESV
Christine, St. Louis Park, MN 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 Cor 10:5 NIV
Ezekiel 36:26-27 MSG I’ll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I’ll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that’s God-willed, not self-willed. I’ll put my Spirit in you and make it possible for you to do what I tell you and live by my commands.
Wendy- Mooresville, NC “For his own sake, the Lord won’t leave his people. Instead, he was pleased to make you his own people. 1 Samuel 12:22. New Century Version
Glad you are doing this Wendy!
Lisa from Waycross, GA
Donna from Albany, GA
“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, who the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will REMIND you of EVERYTHING I have said to you.” John 14:26 (NIV84)
Jamie – Raytown, Mo
” But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” Hebrews 3:13 ESV
Ali Sexton from Midwest City, OK
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.
Colossians 3:23
NIV
Jo Ann from Jacksonville, Fla.
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of
God for the salvation of everyone who believes, first for the Jew then for the Gentile.
Romans 1:16 NIV
Wendy from Round Rock Tx
Psalm 62:8. Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:8
The Lord replied “My presence will go with you and I will give you rest.”
Exodus 33:14
Mountain Home, Ar
Tina – Cleveland, TN
The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. (Romans 8:6 NIV)
Rachelle from Smyrna, TN
The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.
Zephaniah 3:17 ESV
Cheryl from Fairhope – “You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eye.” (Deuteronomy 11:18 ESV)
Carin, Greenville, KY, “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
Patti from Shalimar, Florida, “But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it–he will be blessed in what he does.” James 1:25 NIV
Hi Patti – Great to see you on here! Happy 2013!
Kim, Granger, IN
However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”. 1 Corinthians 2:9
Carrollton, Texas
remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me,
(Isaiah 46:9 ESV)
Stephanie from St. Catharines, Ontario, CANADA
When Your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear Your name, O Lord God Almighty.
Jeremiah 15:16 NIV
Nikki, Covington, Ga – “My flesh and my heart faileth, but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.” KJV
Sharon, Los Angeles “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 NIV
Jessa Williams from Grantville, Pennsylvania.
Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed; for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10 (NKJV)
Cheri from Savage, MN For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1 ESV
Laura from Midland, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” Zephaniah 3:17 ESV
Melissa in Edmond, OK
“Pray, then, in this way: ‘ Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]
Matthew 6:9-13 NASB
Bernadette from Huntsville, Al: 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, NIV
Amanda from Verbena, AL
We can make our own plans, but the Lord gives the right answer.
Proverbs 16:1 NLT
Jackie, Versailles, KY
“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16 NIV 1984
Susan from New York, NY
“I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Psalm 34:1 ESV
Dana from Platte City MO
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12, NIV
Tracy from Atlanta, GA:
These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.
1 John 1:4
(NASB)
“Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened his servant’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.
Laurie from Syracuse, New York
You will seek Me And find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13 NASB
Gay from Round Rock, Tx
Our faces are not covered with a veil. We all display the Lord’s glory. We are being changed to become more like Him so that we have more and more glory. And the glory comes from the Lord, Who is the Holy Spirit.
II Corinthians 3:18 NIRV
Nicole from Knoxville, TN “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14
Psalm 27:1 (NIV-’84)
The LORD is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?
Margie
Hilton Head Island, SC
Paige from Woodville, AL “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39 NIV
Tracey from Shawnee, Kansas
Psalm 65:11 NKJV
You crown the year with Your goodness. And your paths drip with abundance.
Heather from Leawood, Kansas; “My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.” Psalm 62:1 (NIV).