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
Rachael Bachman, Cape Coral FL
For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. (Ephesians 6:12 HCSB)
Brenda Wilken ~ Eureka, MO
But he gives us more grace, That is why Scripture says “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
James 4:6 NIV
Nancy; Dallas TX
Mark 12:30 (NIV)
And you shall love the Lord you God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind and with all your strength: this is the first commandment.
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:28-30 NIV
Robyn, Brooklyn, CT
Psalm 28:7 (NIV)
The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.
Heather in Shiloh, IL
“You crown the year with Your bounty, and Your carts overflow with abundance.”
Psalm 65:11 NIV
Mary in NH:
Exodus 20:17
New King James Version (NKJV)
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
Be thankful for what you already have!
Canton,KS
Ephesians 4: 21 – 24 NLT
Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him,throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature created to be like God – truly righteous and holy.
Annette from Fort Worth, Tx
Psalm 42:12 NKJV
“As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, And set me before Your face forever.”
Deb , Adrian Mi
Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. (Psalm 68:19 TNIV)
Shasta, Bonaire, GA
And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:11 NIV
Cristy, Prattville, AL Psalm 37:5-6 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. NIV.
Jennifer from Tampa, FL – Romans 5:8 (NIV)
For God demonstrated his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Behold I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isa 43:19 ESV
Jenny, Des Moines, Iowa
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17 NIV
Terri, Bloomfield, MO
“For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this.”
Esther 4:14
Jillian from Tampa, FL – Romans 5:8 (NIV)
For God demonstrated his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
1 Corinthians 13.1 NKJV Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
Beth, Louisville, KY
Adrienne, Overland Park, KS
PSALM 65:11 HCSB
You crown the year with Your goodness;
Your ways overflow with plenty.
NEED IT!
Karen, Virginia Beach, VA
Psalm 73:23-24, NIV84
Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
You guide(AF) me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.
LaShawn Williams, Denton, TX
fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10 ESV
Susie; Naperville, IL
“Don’t be afraid for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am you God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”
Isaiah 41:10 (NLT)
Matthew 5:16 (NKJV)
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Dadeville, Alabama
Luke 9:23 (NIV) Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”
Deb C., Stetson, Maine.
Psalm 34:1 (NIV84)
I will extol the Lord at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
Romans 12: 1-3 ESV 1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
“You crown the year with a bountiful harvest even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.” Psalm 65:11 NLT
Jane from Jackson MO
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33 NIV
Search for the Lord and for his strength;
continually seek him.
Psalm 105:4 NLT
Mandy from Elnora, IN
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psalm 73:26 NIV
Shirley from Benton, AR
Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning,
For in You do I trust;
Cause me to know the way in which I should walk,
For I lift up my soul to You.
Psalm 143:8 NKJV
Deuteronomy 31:8 – And the LORD, he [it is] that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed. KJV
Sooooo needed in my life right now!
Cindy Wincel
Indianapolis, IN
Romans 12:7-21 NIV
Cindy,do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Sara, De Pere, WI
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners”
Isaiah 61:1 NIV84
Richmond, TX
“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)
And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. Ezekiel 36:26 NLT
Cathy, Houston, TX. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 1 Corinthians 5:17 NRSV.
Krystal P, Pelham,AL
“You can make this choice by loving The Lord your God, obeying him,and committing yourself firmly to him. He is the key to your life. And if you love and obey The Lord, you will live long in the land The Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Deuteronomy 30:20 (NLT)
Gwen, Greystones, Ireland
The Lord gives strength to His people, the Lord blesses His people with peace. Psalm 29v11 TNIV
Harmony – Hamilton, Tx
Psalm 118:13-14 NIV
“I was pushed back and about to fail, but the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and my song. He has become my salvation.”
You crown the year with Your bounty, and Your carts overflow with abundance. Psalm 65:11 NIV
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
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry James 1:19 NIV
Sheila, Stillwater OK Galations 5:22-23 ASV
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law.
Amber Henry, Lynchburg VA “I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth” Psalm 121:1-2
Christy Meyer-Cincinnati, OH
2 Corinthians 3:17 (NLT)
17 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
You crown the year with Your bounty, and Your carts overflow with abundance. Psalm 65:11 NIV
Wanda from New Lenox, Il
2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJ)
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of POWER and of LOVE and so a SOUND MIND.
Do I need to resubmit my verse?
Tammy from Spartanburg, SC…But The Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42 NLT
Jessica Dunham from Round Rock, TX
Proverbs 3:5-6 NASB “Trust in The Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”