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
Amy from Florissant
“Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, ‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!'” Mark 9:24 (NIV)
Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation:the spirit is willing,but the flesh is weak. Matthew 26:41 NASB
Midland, TX
For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business. James 1:11 (NIV)
Freida, Chatham,La “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;” Psalm 103:11 NIV
Brenda Kelley, Taylors, SC
“The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.” Psalm 34:19 NLT
Pam – Corydon, IN
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
1 Peter 2:9 NIV
Kathleen, Georgetown, TX
Proverbs 21:23 ESV
Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.
Donna from Angleton, TX
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 1:7 ESV
Connor, Spicewood, TX
Luke 7:22 NIV
So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.
Susan, Wynne
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
Taylor, Temple, TX
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”
Isaiah 43:2 (NIV)
Joanne Hill, Orange TX
Taste and see that The Lord is good, blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
Psalm 34:8 NIV
Darla, Pittsburgh (GO PENS!)
“Above all, have an intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins” 1 Peter 4:8
The Amplified Bible
Frances McCamey, Orange, TX
Taste and see that The Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8 NIV
Elizabeth M., Greenbrier, Ark.
“For You are my lamp, O LORD;
The LORD shall enlighten my darkness.”
2 Sam. 22:29 (NKJV)
Lacey, Katy Tx
Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.
Col 4:6 NASB
Psalm 119:2 MSG
You’re blessed when you follow his directions,
doing your best to find him.
Emily from Houston
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Colossians 3:10 niv
Ashlee, Roswell, Georgia “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9, NASB
Colossians 3:17 niv.
And whatever you do, wether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the father through him.
Cami
Nashville,TN
And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19 NIV
Matthew 7:8 ESV
For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
Whitney Caves
Clinton, MS
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:58 NASV
Ann, Cataula, GA
Even though the fig trees have no fruit,
and no grapes grow on the vines,
even though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no grain
even though the sheep all die
and the cattle stalls are empty,
I will still be joyful and glad,
because the LORD God is my savior.
Habakkuk 3:17, 18 (GNT)
Leslie, Kansas City, MO. “My beloved responded and said to me, ‘Arise my darling, my beautiful one, and come along, for behold, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.” Song of Songs 2:10-11 (NASB)
Kelly from Sherman, TX. “I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills his purpose for me.” Psalm 57:2 NIV
Emily Byrd; Baton Rouge, LA
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
Colene
Antioch, CA
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
James 1:19-20 (NIV)
Spartanburg South Carolina
Colossians 3:23-24 NIV
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for The Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from The Lord as a reward. It is The Lord Christ you are serving.”
Rebecca from Houston. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12, NIV
Michele S. Edmond, Ok
“Training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled,upright,and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” Titus 2:12-13 ESV
Kendall – Tulsa, OK
“Yet The Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For The Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!” Isaiah 30:18
Heidi in Whitefish, MT
“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
Vicki
Murfreesboro, TN
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (HCSB)
“Rejoice always! Pray constantly. Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Vickie Heerema, Pella, Iowa
But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. Malachi 4:2 (NIV)
Shelly Wilson, Fort Worth, TX
Jeremiah 17:7 (NIV) But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.
They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. (Psalms 1:3 NLT)
Janice in Abbeville,Al
“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him.”
– Psalm 34:8 (NKJV)
Diane
Longmont, CO
But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. Isaiah 65:18 NIV
Gina
Johnstown, CO
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD,”He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
Psalm 91:1-2 NIV
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer. (Psalms 19:14 KJV)
shelly
golden, CO
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD,”He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
Psalm 91:1-2 NIV
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
Debbie Portland, OR
Sherie
The Woodlands, TX
With all my heart I want your blessings. Be merciful as you promised. Psalm 119:58 NLT
Jennifer, Pickering, On Ca
Psalm 5:8
ESV)
Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness
because of my enemies;
make your way straight before me.
Bridget in Phoenix, AZ
1 peter 3:1-2 NKJV
1. Wives, likewise be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives,
2. when they observe your chase conduct accompanied by fear.
Kristen, Round Rock
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
Barb, Urbandale, IA
For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,
Romans 8:3 (NASB)
Dimy from Griffin, Ga.
“Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my my path.”~ Psalm 119:105 (NIV)
“Whom have I in heaven but You, and earth has nothing I desire besides you.” Psalm 73:25