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
Susan – Murfreesboro, TN
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23 (NIV)
Jenna, Sandusky.
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
Terri Frasure Dom South Lebanon, Ohio
“The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the works of Your hands.”
Psalm 138:8 (NKJV)
Kerry, Nederland, TX
I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.
John 14:27
New Living Translation
“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Tim 1:17 NIV84
Carolyn from Nashville, TN
John 14:27 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.
Melissa, Denham Springs, La ” Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths” Psalm 25:4 NIV
Cheryl, Huntington, WV You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3 ESV
Jeanette from Springfield, Ohio
“If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord.
So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”
Romans 14:8 NIV
Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within me bless His holy name. Psalm 103:1 NASB
Linda- Belton, TX
Who by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
Luke 12:25-26 NIV
Barb from Carlsbad, NM says The gifts and callings of God are irrevocable. Rom. 11:29 NKJV
Laura, Jefferson, ME
Psalm 25:7 ESV
Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!
Janet Jarmula Ronkonkoma, NY
“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 NIV
Debbie from Fort Thomas, KY
…”You have stayed long enough at this mountain. Break camp and advance”…
Deuteronomy 1:6 and 7 NIV
Joan, Portage, MI
“Direct my footsteps according to Your word; let no sin rule over me.” Psalm 119:133 NIV
Tempa, Palm Bay,Florida, “I love The Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.” Psalm 116:1,2 NIV
Taylor from Moulton, Alabama
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. (James 1:22, 25 ESV)
Tanis, Terrace
The Lord is compassionate and gracious,slow to anger and rich in faithful love.
Psalm 103:8 HCSB
The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.
Deuteronomy 29:29 (NIV)
Theresa from Tenaha,Tx Psalm 43:3. Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me;
Let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. 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. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
michelle
woodstock, vt
Psalm 94:18 nlt
I cried out, “I am slipping!” and Your unfailing love, O LORD, supported me.
Kristi- Blair, WI
“So we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.” 1 Thess. 2:8 NIV
Jill, Fort Ashby, WV “You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3 NKJV
Elaine ~ Powder Springs ~ You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Psalm 139:5 ESV
Jean, Palm Bay
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10 NIV)k
Alyssa Mochen
Rio Rancho, NM
From the fruit of their mouth a person’s stomach is filled; with the harvest of their lips they are satisfied. The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
Proverbs 18:20-21 MSG
Megan, Dayton, OH
Ps. 121:4, 5 (NIV)
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
Anne from Hot Springs, AR:
You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:8, 9 ESV)
Tracy from KY For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: Ephesians 2:8 KJV
Lisha Adam, Wetumpka, Alabama
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life — your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life — and place it before God as an offering.
Romans 12:1 (MSG)
O’Fallon, MO
And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them?”
Numbers 14:11, ESV
Kay Martin
Tupelo, MS
“For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, ‘All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever’.”
1 Peter 1:23-25 NIV
Valerie, Loveland
Sustain me according to your promise, and I will live; do not let my hopes be dashed.
Psalm 119:116 NIV
Ephesians 4:29 (NLT)
Don’t use foul or abusice language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
Lauren, Dedham, MA: “Show me your ways, LORD, teach me your paths.” Psalm 25:4 (NIV)
Amber, Rockwell, NC “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16 ESV)
Kim, Austin “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
Amanda- Daphne, AL
Zephaniah 3:17 NIV84
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.
Renee, Camden
The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower.
James 1:9-10 (NIV)
Melanie Grace of Greenbrier,TN
Psalm 71:23 (VOICE)
I will shout for joy
as I sing Your praises;
my soul will celebrate because You have rescued me.
Naomi, Colorado Springs,CO
“But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit” Jeremiah 17:7-8 NIV
Christina Fort Worth
Moreover, keep your servant from willful sins; do not let them rule over me.
Then I will be innocent and cleansed from blatant rebellion.
Psalm 19:13
Sandra R., Swainsboro, GA
When tempted no on should say, “God is tempting me.” For
God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;
but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he
is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has
conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin when it is
full-grown, gives birth to death. James 1:13-15 NIV
Sandy, Lexington, KY
“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7
Julie, Madison, GA
You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You!
—Isaiah 26:3 NLT
But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. (Romans 8:9 NKJV)
Romans 12:2 NIV
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.
Jane, Cuba, Missouri
Angie, Orlando, FL
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,” Is. 61:1 (NIV)