Hey, Darling Things! I was so happy to catch up with many of you yesterday! I was seriously thirsty for some time with you. If you didn’t tune in to the livestream but want to catch up, check the previous post. The video will stay up for a little while. It’s not at all too late to watch it and leave a comment with your 5-song playlist (on that post, not this one please!). That post is about trading in a spirit of despair for a garment of praise! If you’re game for that, jump back to the previous entry after you’ve left your memory verse here.
Man, oh, man, I was tested all day long yesterday on whether or not I’d permit Jesus to cover me with a garment of praise. Anybody else? The day wasn’t complete until I had car trouble. Oh, and I almost forgot to throw in here that Star and Geli were bound and determined to have my raccoon for supper. I screamed to high heaven and Keith ran out in the sticks barefooted in his maroon Texas A&M pajama pants and called them off. Why the police didn’t drive up to see if there had been domestic violence, I’ll never know. Laughing. Oh, mercy, ladies. We live real lives, don’t we? The kind where you unload a dishwater that was crammed full of dishes only to realize late into the massive unloading that they were still dirty. Blast it.
I’m praising our glorious God this morning while it is still dark outside, anticipating that over the next half hour the sun will rise on a brand new day and it will be a great one. A great one, indeed, Lord Jesus. Bring it. And show Your beautiful self to us in its course.
SO, SISTERS, IT’S TIME FOR OUR 5TH VERSE! You are jotted in my prayer journal this morning where I asked God to keep you steadfastly at the process and to give you joy and victory in it and to keep your soul alive and healthy in His Word. Do not grow weary in your well doing! Always keep in mind that we’re wearing our obsessive minds out on SOMETHING. It may as well be the Word of God with the power to build it back up! Your God did not give you a spirit of fear, Sweet Thing, but of…
POWER.
LOVE.
SELF CONTROL.
I thought maybe some of you could use some fresh ideas this round so I’m going to put a few extras in here today. Two of these are from the Psalm I read to you at the conclusion of the livestream yesterday. The beauty of the first selection is that it would count for both your Scriptures this month since it’s two verses. Now, mind you, you’d still have to document the second half of it on March 15th but that’s easy to do. Right? I felt like God put a word on my heart yesterday that some of us who are really struggling with the memorization process might be making it a bit harder than it has to be in some of our selections. Try to avoid over-complicating it when possible. Only choose a really complex portion when you feel like your life and sanity depend on it and, in that case, go for it with all your might and ask God to empower you to absorb it. OK, here goes:
(1) It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; (v.2) to declare Your steadfast love in the morning, and Your faithfulness by night. Psalm 92:1-4 ESV (See how easy those two would be, Sisters? And it would knock out your whole month of March!)
I’ll go ahead and choose the second one (out of the same Psalm) for my selection this March 1st. I’m choosing The NET Bible for my translation on this one because it makes me happy to use the word happy in a Bible verse. Thank you, Miss Shameless Sanguine.
Beth, Houston. “For You, O Lord, have made me HAPPY by Your work. I will sing for joy because of what You have done.” Psalm 92:4 The NET Bible
I’ll throw in one more because I jotted it down on an index card several months ago and set it on my desk at home where I can see it everyday while I’m having my quiet time. It hasn’t finished its work in me yet so, while it’s still on my mind, I’ll offer it up as one more possibility for some of you. I love, love, love this verse in The Message.
GOD, the Master, The Holy of Israel,
has this solemn counsel:
“Your salvation requires you to turn back to me
and stop your silly efforts to save yourselves.
Your strength will come from settling down
in complete dependence on me.” Isaiah 30:15 The Message
Well, amen to that.
I love you guys so much! That sun is just beginning to peak through the trees. It’s going to be a great day.
Tags: Scripture Memory 2013
Tracy, Abigail, and Ava Grace Hill, Wichita Falls, TX
John 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him. NIV.
Nicole, Littleton, CO
John 14:27 (NLT) “I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn’t like the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”
Suzanne Morton, Decatur, Texas
“I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:13-14
Nicole From Chandler
Isaiah 26:3-4 (NIV)
3 You will keep in perfect peace
those whose minds are steadfast,
because they trust in you.
4 Trust in the Lord forever,
for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.
Merredith, Champaign. Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. John 15:4 esv
Sarah, Houston TX
Romans 6:23 (NIV)
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.
Anne – Johnson City, TN
Matthew 6:30 (NLT)
And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
“Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.”
Romans 1:22
Mitzi from Long Beach
Take delight in The Lord and He will give you your heart’s desires.
Psalm 37:4 ESV
Remember to extol his work, of which men have sung.
Job 36:24 ESV
Debbie
Portland, OR
Scottsdale, AZ
He must become greater and greater, I must become less and less. John 3:30 NLT
Nicole T, Blue Springs, MO
Nicole T, Blue Springs, MO
Matt 5:4 (NIV)
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Mary, Rancho Mirage
Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.
Proverbs 22:6 (NLT)
Glenda, Newcastle, Australia,
O God, you are my God, earnestly will I seek you, my inner self thirsts for you, my flesh longs and is faint for you in a dry and weary land where no watr is.
Psalm 63.1 (amplified)
Kristin, Suwanee,GA ~
Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.
2 Chron 20.15b (NIV)
Mary
Woodway, TX
Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.~ Proverbs 3:6, NLT
Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs. (Proverbs 10:12 NIV)
Michele, Naperville, IL “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law if the Spirit of life has set me free from the law of sin and death.” -Romans 8:1-2 NIV
Kelly
Hastings FL
Jeremiah 1:5 NIV
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.
Lisa, Simsboro, LA
“You hem me in – behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Psalms 139:5 NIV
Dori Adams Raleigh, NC
“And He brought us out from there, that He might bring us in and give us the land that He swore to give to our fathers.” Deuteronomy 6:23 ESV
He will sit like a refiner of silver, burning away the dross,… Refining them like gold and silver.
Malachi 3:3. NLT
” He is my rock and my salvation, He is my fortress,I will not be shaken.” Psalm 62:6 (NIV)
Jennifer Pipes in Arkansas
Psalms 63:8 NLT
I cling to you, your strong right hand holds me securely.
Hope, Parrish
Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful. Romans 12:12 NLT
Laura, Baton Rouge, LA
For the Lord God will be my help; therefore,shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. Isaiah 50:7 (KJV)
Jen from Exton continuing Romans 8
Romans 8: 35-36 (AMPL)
35 Who shall ever separate us from Christ’s love? Shall suffering and affliction and tribulation? Or calamity and distress? Or persecution or hunger or destitution or peril or sword?
36 Even as it is written, For thy sake we are put to death all the day long; we are regarded and counted as sheep for the slaughter.
Inez Barnes
Hamburg, AR
Psalm 34:8 NIV
Taste and see that the LORD is good
Staci, Dickinson, ND
2 Chronicles 20:12,15b,17 (NASB)
O our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us, nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are in You…Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s…You need not fight in this battle, station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed, tomorrow go out to face them, for the Lord is with you.
Carrie, Cary: Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. -1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NLT
Tabitha, Michigan
“Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.”
Psalm 37:7 NLT
Joy, Warrior, AL
Romans 8:10-12 ESV
But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised CHrist Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who dwells in you. So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh,
Romans 12:1 – 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.
Deana, Waco Texas
Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7 (NIV)
Proverbs 18:21
Words kill, words give life. They’re either poison or fruit – you choose.
MSG
Many are the plan in a person’s heart but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. Prover 29:21
Surely, it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In your LOVE you kept me from the pit of destruction you have put all my fins behind your back. Isaiah 38:17
Charlene Peterson
Norcross, GA
For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come
Romans 8:38. KJV
Melody, from Kansas City
“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”
John 15:4
April Nicole, New Orleans
“You defend my cause, Lord, You redeem my life. Lord, you see the wrong done to me; judge my cause. You see all their malice, all their plots against me.”
Lamentations 3:58-60, HCSB
Melissa, LaGrange, GA – 3rd John 4,(NIV) “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”
Piper
Hickory, NC
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10 kjv
Teri Schultz, Aledo, TX
Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. Psalm 119:35 (NIV)
Melissa, Perry, GA
Psalm 91:2 ESV
I will say to The Lord, “My rock and my refuge, in whom I trust.”
Correction:
I will say to The Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust.” Psalm 91:2 ESV
Rosa, Sulphur Springs, TX
Psalms 16:8-9 (NET), “I constantly trust in the LORD; because he is at my right hand I will not be upended. So my heart rejoices and I am happy; My life is safe.”
Tiffany from Jennings, LA
Therefore do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
2 Corinthians 4:16
Debbie B. from Lawrenceville, Ga
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for The Lord not for humans. Colossians 3:23 NIV
Jeremiah 15:16
When Your Words came, I ate them and they became my joy & my hearts delight!