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:
âYour 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
Mansfield, OH
When Jesus heard them, he stopped and called, âWhat do you want me to do for you?â âLord, we want to see!”, they said. Jesus felt compassion for them and touched their eyes. Instantly they could see! Then they followed.
Matthew 20:32-34NLT
Kim, Cincinnati OH,
Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
Neh. 8:10 NIV
Joyce Davidson, Big River, Saskatchewan, Canada
“Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”
Psalm 25:4,5 NIV84
Carrie from Zeeland,MI
Psalm 32:1 NIV
“Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgive, whose sins are covered.”
Christine Andrews Tx
Isaiah 26:3 (NIV)
3Â You will keep in perfect peace
    those whose minds are steadfast,
    because they trust in you.
Kasey from Newnan, GA
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV
Martha, Georgetown, TX, 2 Tim 1:7 (NLT) For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
Wendy from Abilene, TX
“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)
Janice R, Steinbach, MB- “Let your face shin on your servant; save me in your unfailing love.” Ps 31:16
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,
a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV)
Joy – Georgetown, TX – Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. NIV
Jamie from Oklahoma City, OK
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33, NIV
Kathy – Anahuac, TX
God can do anything you know, far more that you could imagine or guess or request even in your wildest dreams. He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. Ephesians 3:20 The Message
Amie, Honolulu, HI
Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. Ecclesiastes 5:2 NIV
Val from Snohomish,WA
“âYou are my servantâ; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. 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 41:9b, 10 NIV)
Barbara Severns, Eagle, Idaho
For the vision is yet for the appointed time, it hastens toward the goal, and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it for it will certainly come, it will not delay.
Habakkuk 2:3 NASB
Kristin A. in Renton, WA
(plugging away on memorizing James)
“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 1:25 ESV
Ps. 90: 12-14 ESV
So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants! Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Cindy, Kearney NE
âEverything is permissible for me,â but not everything is helpful. âEverything is permissible for me,â but I will not be brought under the control of anything. (1 Corinthians 6:12 HCSB)
Kalee, Fort Worth, TX.
For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:11 ESV
“Those who look to Him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.” Psalm 34:5 ESV
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.”
1 John 3:1 NIV
Psalm 119:18 NIV
Open my eyes that I may see
wonderful things in your law.
Lindsay: Warrior, AL
“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” Psalm 20:7 (ESV)
Roxie, Jerseyville, Illinois, Psalm 91:1-2 ESV
“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress my God in whom I trust.’ “
Sarah, Truman MN
Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption of the world caused by evil desires.
1 Peter 1:4 NIV
Andrea Dublin, OH
Isaiah 40:29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. NIV
Christy from Holland, MI
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow.” Romans 15:13, NIV
Alice, Chesapeake VA
Deuteronomy 3:22 NET
Do not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God will
personally fight for you.
Kristi, Bogota, Colombia
They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. (Isaiah 61:4 NIV)
“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.” (James 1:6 ESV)
Dahlonega
“I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me as I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
~John 15:5 ESV
Kelley, Olive Branch, MS
As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord âs word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him. (Psalm 18:30 NIV)
Morgan/Chicago
Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap steadfast love;
break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
Hosea 10:12 ESV
Laura, Greenville, NC: Blessed are the people who know how to praise you. They walk in the light of your presence, O Lord. They find joy in your name all day long. They are joyful in your righteousness because you are the glory of their strength.
Psalm 89:15-17 (NIV)
Theresa, Taylorsville, KY: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Galations 5:22-23 (NIV)
Jennifer Menomonee Falls, WI
Galations 5:22
“But when the Holy Spirit contorls our lives, he will preoduce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self- control. Here there is no conflict with the law.”
Miranda-Greenville, SC
Psalm 34:17-18 NIV
17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Diane from Littleton, CO
Ephesians 1:22-23 NIV
And God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills everything in every way.
Donna from Angleton, Texas
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5 ESV
“Be joyful allways” 1 Thesolons NIV
Rachel Wanzer, Owasso, OK
Isaiah 54:10 NIV
“Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace be removed,â
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.”
“Great peace have they who love your law and NOTHING can make them stumble” Ps 119:165, NIV
Psalm 91:1 NIV
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
Mandy Russell in Byram, MS
“Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything by prayer and petition (definite requests) with thanksgiving, continue tomake your wants known to God.”
Phil 4:6 (AMP)
When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. Ecclesiastes 5:4 NIV
Karin Smith
Pittsburgh, PA
“That he who began a good work in you will carry
it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 1:6. NIV
Connie, Chariton, James 2:2 NKJV For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poorman in filthy clothes,
Hosea put it well: I’ll call nobodies and make them somebodies;
I’ll call the unloved and make them beloved.
Romans 9:25 MSG
Be joyful always
1 Thessalonians NIV
Matthew 5:13-16 ESV
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”