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
Wendy, Cheyenne, WY.
If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy, but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.
1 Corinthians 13:1, The Message
Mary in Sartell, MN. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23 ESV
Linda Gregory, Belton
Give thanks in all things; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
I Thessalonians 5:18 ESV
Kina from Chicago, IL
Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.
Isaiah 43:18 ESV
The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
Psalm 23:1-2 NKJV
Chris, Louisville, KY
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!
Ps. 146:1, NKJV
Natie from Charlotte, North Carolina:
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.”
Matthew 5:11–12 ESV
Tammy N. from San Antonio, Texas
I love you Lord, my strength.
Psalm 18:1 NIV
Karla from Sparta, MI
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV
Mendy from South Charleston WV
Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalms 37:4 NIV
Christina, Fort Worth “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” Proverbs 14:12 HCSB
Jessica from Sioux Falls, SD: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” Hebrews 12:1 ESV
Lydia from Andalusia, Alabama. “For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.” Habakkuk 2:3, NIV 1984
Rosalye
Vicksburg, MS
The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.
John 6:63
NIV
Barbara from Bedford, TX
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”
2 Corinthians 4:7 NIV
Pam Nelson
Brighton, CO
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Colossians 1:1 ESV
Oops, I meant 3:1
Christina from Houston, TX
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
Christina Brown
Louisville, KY
Ah, sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.
Jeremiah 32:17 NIV
Betty from Waveland, IN “The Kingdom of God is not just talking; it is living by God’s power.” I Corintians 4:20 The Living Bible
Debi from Merrimack, NH – “My child, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands.” Proverbs 2:1 (NLT)
Michelle, Carver, MA.
I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and a bride adorns herself with jewels.
Isaiah 61:10 NIV
Becky Jo
Chesterfield, MI
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in Him all things were created: things in Heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and in Him all things hold together.
Colossians 1: 15-17 NIV
Diane Hotchkiss from Cypress, TX Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes. Nehemiah 4:14 (ESV)
Christy from Walling, TN
“Because of the LORD’s faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness! I say: The LORD is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in Him.”
Lamentations 3:22-24 HCSB
Fareen from Las Vegas, NV
James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
James 1:1-4
NASB
Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make your paths straight.
Cara; Conway, AR; If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. James 1:5;NLT.
Dousman,WI, Set a guard over my mouth,O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips. Psalm 141:3 NIV
Tessa from Bryan, TX- “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is one; a new life has begun.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT
Lori, Pueblo West CO
“Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.” ~ Galatians 5:1 MSG
Valerie from Warrensburg, MO “This is the day The Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm118:24 HCSB
Emily from Houston, Texas
Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness, give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. ~Psalm 86:11 NIV
Tonya from Mansfield, TX
Not that I have already obtained this or am perfect already, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider to have made it my own. But this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.
Philippians 3:12-13 ESV
Michelle from Humble, TX
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
Joshua 1:9
Tonya from Quantico, VA-
“Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!” Romans 15:13 The Message
Heidi in Whitefish, MT
“Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.
Honor one another above yourselves.”
Romans 12:10 NIV
“Remember that you were at that time separate from Christ…strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the World. But now, in Christ Jesus, you who were formerly far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He himself in our peace” Ephesians 2:12-14 NASB
Cyndy from Newnan. “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13 NASB
“for we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:5-6
Kelsie from Searcy, AR
The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
1 Timothy 1:5
Kelsie from Searcy, AR
The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
1 Timothy 1:5 NIV
Melene Chesapeake, VA
The Lord will keep you from all harm, he will watch over your life. Psalm 121:7 NIV
Green Valley Il
Ashley, Grand Junction, CO
“May the bolts of your gates be of iron and bronze; may you be secure all your days” Deuteronomy 33:25, NLT.
Jenna from Sandusky, Ohio
Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.
Deuteronomy 31:6 NASB
Sheila from Bethesda, MD: But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven, a land that the Lord your God cares for. The eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. Deuteronomy 11:11-12 ESV
Lori, Friendswood, TX, “Look to the LORD and his strength, seek his face always.” Psalm 105:4 (NIV)
Cindy from Otterville, IL
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
Rachel from Thousand Oaks, CA
“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.’
1 Peter 5:10 ESV
Carmela from Canton, Ohio
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
1 Peter 5:7 NIV
Janet from West Linn OR
“Keep me safe,O God, for in you I take refuge” psalm 16:1 NIV