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
Gretchen, Thousand Oaks, CA “Rest in God alone, my soul, for my hope comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will not be shaken. My salvation and glory depend on God, my strong Rock. My refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge.” Psalm 62:5-8 HCSB
Holly Barrett from Charlotte NC
Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart. My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end.
Psalms 119:111-112 NIV
Joani fom Jacksonville, FL “GOD, teach me lessons for living so I can stay the course. Give me insight so I can do what you tell me— my whole life one long, obedient response”. Psalm 119:33-34 (Message)
Lu from Cadillac, MI
For I am confident of this very thing that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ.
Phil. 1:6 (NASB)
Stacy from Detroit Michigan, “Because of the Lords great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.” Lamentations 3:22 (NIV)
Col.2:11-12. ESV. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.
“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord: look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn;” Isaiah 51:1 NIV
Jan, Littleton CO
Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
Isaiah 46:4(NIV)
Kristi fom Chesapeake, Ohio
You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance
Psalm 65:11 NIV
Amy from Birmingham, Alabama says
January 1, 2013 at 8:58 am
But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. 2 Thess. 3:3 NAS
Kelli from Sheridan, IN
But now, this is what the Lord says- he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Isreal: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
Isaiah 43:1 NIV
Amy Brown
DeFuniak Springs, FL
” Act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time.Your speech should always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person.” Colossians 4:5-6
HCSb
Kristin from Dunmor, Kentucky
A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. Proverbs 11:25 (niv)
Yes, Lord , walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. (Isaiah 26:8 NIV84)
Michelle, Bossier City
Shannon from Johnstown, New York
“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord, and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.” Jeremiah 17:7, NLT
Ginnie from Clewiston, FL
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.
Ephesians 3:20 ESV
Annie from Gainesville, Fl
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.”
Patty Williams
Talbott, Tennessee
He’s so personal and holy, worthy of respect. The good life begins in the fear of God- Do that and you will know the blessing of God. His Hallelujah lasts forever! Psalm 111:10(the Message)
Joan Fredericktown, OH
John 15:9 NIV
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remanin in my love.
Melissa, Scarborough: “But forget all that–it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.” Isaiah 43:18 NLT
Melissa, are you from Scarborough Ontario??? I live in Pickering! Nice to see a Siesta in my neighbourhood!
Betty, Wendell, NC
And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart.
Ezekiel 11:19 NLT
Joyce, Wahpeton ND
Then those who feared the Lord talked often with one another; and the Lord listened and heard it, a book of remembrance was written before Him of those who reverenced and worshipfully feared the Lord and who thought on His name.
Malachi 3:16 Amplified
Kay in Muscle Shoals, AL
“How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, yes faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.” Psalm 84:1-2 ESV
Lisa, Longview Texas
“Where there is no vision the people are unrestrained, But happy is he who keeps the law.” Proverbs 29:18 NASB
Linda, Bessemer, Alabama
“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:21 NASB
Jan, from Pekin, Illinois: “But this is what I commanded them, saying obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.” Jeremiah 7:23 NKJV
Karen from Gainesville, TX: Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Col. 3:1 NIV
Fran -Eden Prairie, MN.
Give thanks to The Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Psalm 118:29 ESV
Deb, Kalamazoo, MI
Brothers (sisters), I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:13-14(ESV)
Beth from Lexington, South Carolina
The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
Job 33:4 NIV
Bombey from Bellaire, 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.” Jer 29:11 NIV84
Joy – Georgetown, TX – 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 NIV
Megan, Dayton OH
“I life up my eyes to the mountains – where does my help come from?” Ps. 121:1 (NIV)
You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal. Isaiah 26:3-4 NIV
Tina from Ohio
The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed. (Isaiah 50:4 NIV)
Jean Grant, Carlisle PA
Psalm 1:1-2 (NIV84)
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
Sandy, San Antonio, Tx
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:11 (NIV84)
Lou Ann Smith from McAllen,TX
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe tat he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Hebrews 11:6 ESV
Katie Melton from Loganville, GA
“Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”
Phil. 2:3 ESV
Julie Elrod, Smyrna, GA: Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. James 3:1-2 NIV
Michelle Leach from Norman, OK “I will not cause pain without allowing something new to be born, says The Lord. If I cause you the pain I will not stop you from giving birth to your new nation, says your God.” Isaiah 66:9 NCV
Beth from Jonesboro, AR
“Hear my prayer, O Lord, Give ear to my supplications! Answer me in Your faithfulness, in Your righteousness!”
Psalm 143:1 NASB
Heather from Louisville, KY
“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 3:13b-14 NIV84
Gina Harris, Portsmouth, Ohio.
Seek the Lord and His strength; yearn for and seek His face and to be in His presence continually! (1 Chronicles 16:11 AMP)
For God so loved the World that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believed in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16, KJV
Glendale, AZ
I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back. (Philippians 3:12-14 MSG)
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
— 1 Peter 5:6-7 (NIV)
Cheryl, Austin, TX
I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—
I, and not some foreign god among you.
You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God.
Isaiah 43:12 (NIV)
Sherry Smith from Marietta GA
“but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.”
Proverbs 1:33 NIV84
Auburn, AL
“For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the Lord, “plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope”.
Jeremiah 29:11 NIV