Hey, Everybody! I am jotting this post several days in advance because I’ll be at a Living Proof Live in Atlanta, Georgia the day this goes up. In fact, if you read this before 11:15 CST (12:15 Atlanta time) on Saturday, we’d be incredibly blessed if you’d pray for our remaining time to be so flooded with the presence of God that we can hardly bear the glory.
I’m so proud of you for making it this far in our Scripture memory process! Sisters, you have worked hard. Let yourself feel the holy nod of God. He has tremendous joy in seeing His children esteem His Word highly enough to store it like treasures in the vault of their hearts. We’ve arrived at a milestone of sorts in this journey. June is tremendously significant for our team because this is the month we come to the halfway marker. Once we get into July and August we have less memorization in front of us than we have behind us. That’s a big deal.
This time around I’m choosing a verse that I’ll be challenging the attendees to memorize at the Atlanta Living Proof Live. I’m not sure a verse could be more fitting for the pure act of praise. I love Scriptures that not only speak about God but speak straight to God. Get a load of this one:
Beth, Houston. O Lord, You are great, mighty, majestic, magnificent, glorious, and sovereign over all the sky and earth! You have dominion and exalt Yourself as the ruler of all. 1 Chronicles 29:11 The NET Bible
Any of us who memorize a fair amount of Scripture have certain go-to approaches that have helped us along. If you’ve got a method that is working, by all means, go with it! But, if you’re interested in memorizing the same verse and would like some suggestions about how to tackle it, I’ll share what works for me. Keep in mind that the methods of Blonder Than She Pays To Be could be madness to someone else so take this or leave it depending on your learning style.
With any verse, I start looking almost immediately for how I can reason out the word order. The first thing I’m going to notice in 1 Chronicles 29:11 is that there are 6 rapid-fire descriptions of God in the first sentence. In this verse, I’d reason that it’s fitting for the word “great” to be first among the descriptions because many of us are accustomed to using the terminology that God (or the Lord, in this case) is great. It’s an easy, accessible word. The next three descriptions all begin with “M”: mighty, majestic, magnificent. As I prepare for Atlanta, I’ll be saying those three words over and over in that order so that they’ll get ingrained in my thinking. They have an amplifying rhythm to them, too, because the first one (mighty) is two syllables, the second one (majestic) is three syllables, and the third one (magnificent) is four syllables. Does that help at all with the word order and how they roll off your tongue? Say them until you feel the syllables build and you might latch onto them pretty quickly.
After the beginning “G” (great) and the 3 “M’s”, we have another “G.” This time it stands for “glorious.” That’s a word I love to say so I’m hoping I can remember it pretty easily. G-M-M-M-G. Are you beginning to catch on? (I think I just heard somebody yell “NO!” Was that you?? I tried to warn you that I can make things harder than they have to be. Laughing. You might need to be the one telling your sisters here how to tackle a wordy verse. Just give me an “E” for effort here and maybe an “A” for affection. I do so seriously love you.)
The last of the 6 descriptions is “sovereign.” To me, that’s always the final word on anything that has to do with God. If I’m confused or I can’t fit in my brain why this happened or why God approached a particular thing a particular way, I finally come to a measure of peace by stating this biblical truth: He is sovereign over all things. In the exact words of 1 Chronicles 29:11, “over all the sky and earth.” I love visual language and that, Sister, is plenty visual. Span the galaxies in the universe with your imagination then put your scope on our planet and zero in. (I know I’m really pushing it right now with some of you but the way I’d keep it straight that “sky” comes before “earth” is that it starts with an “S” like “sovereign” right before it. If I’m getting on your last nerve, never mind.)
Then put the finishing touches on the verse with this: You have dominion and exalt Yourself as the ruler of all!
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not expecting that we’d have it down pat in the brief amount of time it’s taken us to walk through those few paragraphs but what about 15 days? That’s how long we’d have to get those words steeped into our souls. Could we get them down over the course of two weeks? Yes, ma’am, I do believe we can! And, if not word-for-word, just think how much we’ve meditated on descriptions of our God! That is time NEVER wasted. Let’s ask God to give us the supernatural unction to accomplish this memorization and remind Him how much glory He could receive from our being able to extol His preeminence like that over and over while we’re…
praying…
driving…
walking through our neighborhoods…
on our treadmills…
rocking our babies…
getting chemotherapy…
getting physical therapy…
sitting with an elderly loved one…
healing from a heartbreak…
or so happy that we need some way to tell Him how marvelous we think He is before we burst.
Of course, most of you have your own Scripture selections and I have just put you through the wringer for nothing! So, whether you’re sharing 1 Chronicles 29:11 or bringing your own verse to the table, let’s see them! I’m blessed almost out of my bleached blond mind to get to do this with you, Sister. You are a tremendous joy to me.
Tags: Scripture Memory 2013
Cindy Cannon, Otterville, IL
The Lord is with me, I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? Psalms 118:6 (NIV)
Michele, Hollister, CA
Lord, You are great, mighty, majestic, magnificent, glorious, and sovereign over all the sky and earth! You have dominion and exalt Yourself as the ruler of all. 1 Chronicles 29:11 The NET Bible
Jill E., Export Pa
“In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” NIV
Jill, from Sterling Heights, MI
No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,~Philippians 3:13 (NLT)
Sharpsburg, Ga.
“Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.” Psalm 5:3 NLT
Ps 139:17 ESV Betty M Voltaire ND
How precious are your thoughts to me O God! How great is the sum of them?”
Michele, Rockmart, GA
A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirt dries up the bones.
Proverbs 17:22 NIV
Jeanette, Tualatin, OR Phil 3:13 NIV
Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it, But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead; I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Linda, Dora
In him we live and move and have our being, as some of your own poets have said, we are his offspring.
Acts 17: 28. NIV
Careese, Amarillo, TX
2 Thessalonians 3:3 (NLT)
But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect…
1 Corinthians 15:10 NIV
Lauren from Conyers, GA
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us-they help us to learn to endure
Romans 5:3 NLT
Elizabeth, Gilbert AZ
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 11:6 NIV
Alicia Mesa, AZ
And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies Because of his Spirit who lives in you. Romans 8:11 NIV
Michelle, Livermore, CA
“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”
Romans 8:15 KJV
Jeannie, Charlotte NC
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.
Romans 12:9 ESV
O Lord, you are great, mighty, majestic, magnificent, glorious, and sovereign over all the sky and earth! You have dominion and exalt yourself as the ruler of all.
1 Chronicles 29:11 (from the amazing Atlanta LPL)
Jill, williamsburg
O LORD, You are great, mighty, majestic, magnificent , glorious , and sovereign over all the sky and earth ! You have dominion and exalt yourself as the ruler of all.
Chronicles 29:11
Mary
Silver Spring, MD
“But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.” Proverbs 4:18 (ESV)
Ps 33 The Voice
20 We live with hope in the Eternal. We wait for Him,
for He is our Divine Help and Impenetrable Shield.
21 Our hearts erupt with joy in Him
because we trust His holy name.
22 O Eternal, drench us with Your endless love,
even now as we wait for You.
Cindy H Gilbertsville, KY
Romans 12:12 ESV
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
Laura, Houston; “Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace: Thereby good shall come unto thee.”
Job 22:21 (KJV
Danita Tippet, Lake in the Hills, IL
Romans 12:3 ESV
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
Janell-Frisco, TX. One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. (Psalm 27:4 NIV)
Vickie, Poplar Bluff. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7 NIV
I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.
Psalm 3:5
Connie, Fulton, KY
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV
Deb in Windsor, CT:
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:13-14, NIV
Jean Grant, Platte City, MO
Luke 12:24 (NIV)
Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!
Note: my kids and I are studying Apologia Science’s “Flying Creatures of the 5th Day” and we will memorize this verse together : )
Ephesians 3:16
I pray that out of his glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being.
He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds. Psalm 147:3 NLT
Tyler, TX
Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. (ESV)
Gail, Jacksonville, FL “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path”. -Psalm 119:105 NIV
Rebecca R., Raleigh, NC “There is no speech where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” Psalm 19:3-4 NIV
Shannon, Jacksonville, FL “I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I have set my heart on your laws.” -Psalm 119:30 NIV
Ande S Corryton TN
And there was no day like that before or after it, that The Lord hearkened unto the voice of AMA: for The Lord fought for Israel.
Joshua 10:14
KJV
(Reminds me my prayers have power)
Darcy, Pittsburgh
Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.
~ Romans 12:12, NLT
Michelle, West Des Moines, IA
I will praise God’s name in song and glorify Him with thanksgiving.
Psalm 69:30 NIV
Joy, Caldwell, ID
Now go; I’m sending you out like lambs among wolves. (Luke 10:3 HCSB)
Olivia, Madison, MS
For I, the Lord your God,
hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, “Fear not,
I am the one who helps you.” Isaiah 41:13 ESV
Philippians 2:3-5 “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.” NRSV
Peggy, Yorktown, VA
Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jer 29:12-13 NIV
Conyers, GA
KJV Psalm 46:10
Be still & know that I am God; I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
Angie, Aberdeen, SD: 1 Timothy 1: 7
For God has not given us a Spirit of Fear, but of power and love and discipline.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:2 (NIV)
Katy from Snellville, Ga:
Psalm 145:17 NIRV
“The Lord is right in everything He does. He is loving towards everything He has made.”
Sue Big Rapids, Mi
Ps 91:2. I will say to The Lord, ” My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust.”
“Yes,everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ.” Phil. 3:8 NLT Susan Winston -Salem, NC
Maureen, Logan, UT:
O Lord, You are great, mighty, majestic, magnificent, glorious, and sovereign over all the sky and earth! You have dominion and exalt yourself as the ruler of all.
1 Chronicles 29:11 NET
Melanie Love, Mineola, TX. NIV. 1 Corinthians 10:13. No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also prepare a way out so you can stand up under it.