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
Sandy – Spicewood, TX
The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, guide and shield me], I shall not lack.
Psalm 23:1 Amplified
For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 NIV
Mindy Stewart, Kimberly Alabama ~ “There is a time for everything; a season for every activity under the heavens” – Ecc 3:1 NIV
Kathleen Akridge
Saint Louis, MO
Phil. 3:13 (NIV)
“Brothers and sisters, I do not yet to consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.”
Glory to God!!!
You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.
Isaiah 26:3 NIV
Karley from Rochester MN
For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.
Hebrews 4:12 (NLT)
Rana from Kalamazoo, MI
“Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” Ephesians 3:20 NLT
Rachel Curry; Colleyville, TX
“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.”
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NASB)
Tonia from Indianapolis, Indiana Psalm 121 (KJV)
121 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
Sarah: Sydney, Australia.
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.”
John 15:16 NIV.
You crown the year with Your bounty, and Your carts overflow with abundance. Psalm 65:11 NIV
Nikki, Sydney, Australia
“In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”
Ephesians 3:12 NIV ’84
Karyn Aldridge. Brisbane AUSTRALIA.
Psalm 139:23, 24 NIV
Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
In You, O Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame. Psalm 71:1 NIV
” Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day.”
Stacy from Hickley, England
‘For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.’
Matthew 12v34 ESV
Wendy, York, PA – “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2 NIV
NEHEMIAH 8:10b NIV
….do not grieve for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
( 2nd time trying to post)
Cape Town
“You crown the year with Your bounty, and Your carts overflow with abundance.”
Psalm 65:11
NIV
Karen from Moncton,NB -But I do more than thank. I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength! (Ephesians 1:1819 MSG)
Kalonni, Van Meter, Iowa: “Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes.” James 5:1-2 NIV
Becky Faulkner, Hayden, Al – I lift my eyes up to the hills, from where does my help come? my help cones from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. – psalm 121:1 Esv (I am doing stepping up now)
“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Galations 5:24)
Charleston, 2 Thessalonians 1:11 Because we know that this extraordinary day is just ahead, we pray for you all the time – pray that our God will make you fit for what he’s called you to be, pray that he’ll fill your good ideas and acts of faith with his own energy so that it all amounts to something. (MSG)
Gina Schumer, Poland Oh
You crown the year with a bountiful harvest, even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.
Psalm 62:11 NLT
Carrie, San Luis PotosĂ, Mexico
When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. (Proverbs 11:2 NIV)
Jane from Americus, Georgia.
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12 NIV
“I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” Isaiah 41:13
Tammy, Glencoe, Oklahoma
If God is for us who can be against us
Romans 8:31. NIV
Kaye from Manassas, VA, “Look to the Lord and his strength, seek his face always.” Psalm 105:4 NIV
Jennifer from Haslet, TX
Romans 1:11-12
I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong- that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. BIG
from Lorraine in Corpus Christi, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” NIV
Marisa DeWitt, MI
Colossians 4:2
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
Maria Travelers Rest SC
O give thanks unto the Lord ; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. (Psalms 136:1 KJV)
Lori from Westville, NJ
“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.1Peter 5:6-7 NIV
Michele, Edmond, Ok
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted ans built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Col.2:6-7 NKJV
Connie – Forsyth, MO “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
“Only in God be at rest, my soul, for from him comes my hope.He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be disturbed.”
Psalm 62:6-7 The New American Bible 1970
Dana from Round Hill, Virginia
Be imitators of God therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:1 NIV
Janet, Concord, NC: “Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.” Psalm 141:3 NIV
Julie from Maryville, TN
James 1:19: Understand this dear brothers and sisters! Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger. NET Bible
Jill, Bozeman ,
I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them;I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.
Ezekiel 11:19
No Internet until today.
Hebrews 13:15-16, NIV
“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
Carolyn
Wheaton, IL
Cathy, from Rhinebeck,NY
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)
Ima, Springfield IL:
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord , and on his law he meditates day and night. (Psalms 1:1, 2 ESV)
Just found out about the challenge, be back on 15th!
Kathy C Skidmore MO
I am the vine, you are the branches whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5 ESV
Kathy, Columbus, Georgia
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is,His good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2
Harrisburg, PA
The Sovereign Lord is my strength;he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.
Habakkuk 3:19 NIV
Beth Hudson, Scipio, IN
Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright. Proverbs 20:11, ESV
Hillyn, Russellville, AR ~ I will sing to the Lord, for He has been good to me. Psalm 13:6 NIV