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
“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 a hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
Jeanette, Fraser, CO “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” I Cor. 15:57 ESV
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
Kim in Tuscaloosa, AL
Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.
Joel 1:14 (NIV)
Valerie ~ Lewiston, ID
Romans 8:28 NIV
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.
Pam Hotmann, Amarillo, Texas
Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20 NIV
Give thanks to the Lord , for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. (Psalms 118:1 NLT)
– Sharon from Savannah, GA
Carol from Pierre, SD
Knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:3-4 NKJV
Sara, Wichita, KS
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eterenal.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Linda Allen, TX
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strenghten you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10 NIV
Hodnett, Sonya, Shreveport, LA
But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:31 NIV
Ecc:3:3
A time to kill,Amd a time to heal atime to beak down and a time to build up.
Lee’s Summit,MO: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4 NKJV
Pat, Vicksburg, MS
2 Tim 1:7 NKJ
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind.
Patti G, Ft. Worth, TX
The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.
Exodus 14:14 NIV
Kathryn from Dallas, TX.
“for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” -2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV)
Melanie from Georgetown
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Psalm 143:8 NIV
Alexa, Shippensburg, PA
“Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid, for The Lord God is with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9 NIV
Carla C. – Parrish, FL
Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
Matthew 6:27 (NLT)
Amanda Emerson – Taunton, Massachusetts
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.”
1 John 4:7 ESV
Catherine from Orlando, Florida: But the Advocate, 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
“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
Fort Worth, Texas:
“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: and the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and by his stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5 KJV
Exodus 15:11 ESV – Who is like you O Lord among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in Holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?
They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. (Psalm 112:7, NIV)
Michele-Lubbock, TX
Psalm 91:4 “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou
trust:his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.” KJV
Andrea, Birmingham, AL
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to You, Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.
Psalm 19:14 (HCSB)
Southlake
“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
Nancy Engberg, Minneapolis
For the Lord God is a sun and a shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless.
Psalm 84:11 NIV
Sue from Norwood, MA
Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Phil 4:6 NRSV
I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old–what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us. Ps. 78:2-3 NIV
Ann W. from Walker,LA says
February 1, 2013@11:40 A.M.
Psalm 119:89 (NAS)
“Forever, O LORD,Thy word is settled in heaven.”
Verse 1: Isaiah 43:2 NIV
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
“A fool vents all his feelings, But a wise man holds them back.” Prov 29:11, NLT
The Woodlands, TX
Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (RSVCE)
Phyllis – Amarillo, TX
The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17 NIV 1984
Holly B., Sealy, Tx: As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17 NIV
Esther in Defiance, ohio – “they will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the placed long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.” Isaiah 61:4
I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. Psalm 34:1 ESV
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
Lauren from Tulsa
“Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.”
Isaiah 40:31
Debbie from Lisle, IL
“Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. 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.” Psalm 37:4-6 NIV
Wendie in LaGrange KY (currently in warm FL!)
Praise the Lord, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Psalm 104:2-5 (NIV)
San Antonio, TX, 2 Cor 10:5, NKJV :
casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ
Eva
Tuskahoma, OK
Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.
II Corinthinas 9:15
KJV
Kristin- Forney, TX
NIV James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7, KJV
Eph. 1:3-10 (ESV) says “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places, even as he chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love, he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace with which He has blessed us in the Beloved. In Him, we have redemption through His blood for the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth.” Whew! so many phrases!!
Melissa, Flower Mound, TX
Shout for joy to The Lord, all the earth. Worship The Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Ps.100:1-2, NIV