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
Meghan Canter from Annapolis, MD. “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.”
Acts 20:24 NIV
Jordan, Denver, Colorado
“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
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27 NIV
Debbie Zeman Vancouver WA
“For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.” 2 Corinthians 8:12 NIV
Amy from Leonardtown, MD Philippians 4:6-7 NIV
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Donna, Albuquerque NM, But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. 2Thessalonians 3:3 ESV
Debbie from Universal City, TX. “The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.” NIV
Billie from Scottsdale, AZ:
“Listen, children, to a father’s instruction, and pay attention so that you may gain discernment.”
Proverbs 4:1 (NET)
Missy in Jim Falls WI
“Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.” Gal 6:4 NLT
Rosa F., Sulphur Springs,TX
“O taste and see that the Lord (Our God)is good! Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied)is the man who trusts and takes refuge in Him.” Psalms 34:8 AMP
Stacey and Emily (age 12) from Omaha, NE
Give thanks to The Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Psalm 107:1 NIV
Ally (age 10) from Omaha, NE
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 6:23 NLT
Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
Ephesians 4:29 NKJV
Dedra from Wichita, KS – “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” 1 Pet. 4:8, NIV
Laura, Baton Rouge, LA
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. (Isaiah 43:19 NIV)
Faith from Hartford, MI
“O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.” Psalm 139:1-2, ESV
Teresa P. from Midland, TX, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” Philippians 3:12 NIV
Lisa Malstrom, Spring, TX
For I am about to do something new.See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?I will make a pathway through the wilderness.I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
Isaiah 43:19 NLT
Ellie in Fairfax, VA. For i know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11, ESV.
Ant from Tulare, CA: I went to the LORD for help. He answered me and resuced me from all my fears. Psalm 34:4 Gods Word Translation
Robbie Borders, Baker City, OR I sought the Lord and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34:4 NKJV
Debbie from Gastonia, NC, “Therefore, I urge you my brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship.” Rom 12:1 NIV
Melissa Danisi Clovis, CA “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27, ESV)
Lisa from Cleveland, OH
“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
Bree from N. Virginia
In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice. In the morning I lay my request before you and wait in expectation! Psalm 5:3 NIV
Bonnie from Price, Texas. “Then He returned to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. And His mother stored all these things in her heart. Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.” Luke 2:51-52 NLT
LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of Your deeds, O LORD, renew them in our day, in our time make them known, in wrath remember mercy
Habakkuk 3:2 NIV
Sally from Dunnellon, FL However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9 NIV
Sara from California 1 Timothy 4:8(NKJV) For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.
Amy Storms – Santa Clarita, CA
Therefore the Lord God said: “Look, I have laid a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will be unshakable.”
Isaiah 28:16 HCSB
Alycia Mantooth from Greenville, Texas. “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to You O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” – Psalm 19:14 (NLT)
Shelby from Lilburn, GA, ” I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 36:26 NIV84)
Sherri, Albuquerque, New Mexico. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you, Oh Lord my rock and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14 NLT
Sandy from Centennial, Colorado, “Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you. Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 40:10 NAS
“And we who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever increasing glory which comes from the Lordwho is the Spirit. 2Corinthians 3:18” NIV
Amanda E from Rockwall, TX
“Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in my God, my Savior”
Habakkuk 3:18 NIV
Julie from Queen Creek, AZ ~ “As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person.” Proverbs 27:19 (NLT)
Nikki from San Diego, CA
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26 NIV
Andi from Rockwall, TX
“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.” (Ephesians 1:17 NIV)
Jennifer Craven from Winston-Salem, NC- My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Ps 73:26 ESV
Sondra from Lincoln, Ca. above
Kim – Apex, NC
1 Thessalonians 4:3-4 NIV
It is God’s will that you should be sanctified; that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable.
Ali C.-Pleasanton, CA
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 1Peter 1:3 (NIV84)
Gail Dorn from San Antonio, TX
What is impossible with man is possible with God. Luke 18:27 (NIV)
Jackie Wichita,KS “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)
The true light that gives light to everyone is coming into the world.
JOHN 1. 9
NIV
Laura Nichols
Jefferson, Maine
Psalm 25:1-2 (vs 1 is too short to do alone!)
“To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in You I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me.” ESV
Danice from Fayetteville, GA. says
Therefore chose life, that you and your offspring may live,
loving the Lord your God,
obeying his voice,
and holding fast to him,
for He is your life and length of days,
that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them. Deut 30: 19b-20 ESV
Jill from Sterling Heights, MI
Have I not commanded you? “Be stong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” ~ Joshua 1:9 (ESV)
Christine from Columbus, GA
Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform 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.
Kristen, Spring Hill, TN
Everything is permissible- but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible- but ot everything is constructive. 1 Corinthians 10:23 NIV