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
Suzanne – Metairie, LA
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
James 3:13 (NIV)
Karen – WY
Romans 8:28 (NIV)
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Tera Ferguson
Gardendale, Alabama
I Kings 19:12b-13 NIV
And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. I kings 19:12b-13. NIV
Lonnie G, Omaha Ne
I know it’s short, but I have been out of town and its all I got right now….
Pray continually, (1 Thessalonians 5:17 NIV)
Psalm 62:5 ESV
‘For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.’
Lynn – Orlando, FL
“Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
But we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”
~ Psalm 20:7. (NIV 1984)
Pam D., Hendersonville, TN, 2 Thessalonians 3:3 “But the Lord is faithful and will give you strength and will protect you from the Evil One.”
Linda Francia, Mobile, AL
You, God are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for You, my whole being longs for You in a dry and parched land where there is no water. Psalm 63:1
Galatians 5:22-23
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Joyce, Wahpeton ND
Romans 8:37 ESV
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
Karen from Unionville, PA
Jer. 29:13 (NKJV)
13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
Stephanie B. – Springfield, MO
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7 NKJV
Carolyn – St. Peters, MO – He will call upon me and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him – Psalm 91:15
Hate this is 11 days late. We were flying on vacation the 1st and I spaced.
Amanda
Derby, KS
Matthew 11:28 NLT
Then Jesus said, “Come to me all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
Ann
Morelia, Mexico
“the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.” Psalm 103:16 (NIV)
Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Central, LA. Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.kjv
So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6 NIV)
Alexia- Champaign, IL
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5:1 NIV
Psalm 139:10-11 (NIV) Two verses because I have fallen behind and need to get caught up. 🙂
Even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,”
Janice, Bakersfield, CA
In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
John 1:1-2
Christie, Gray Court, SC
Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. Galatians 5:16, HCS
Caitlin, Gray Court,SC
Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” Gal. 5:16, HCS
Molly, Gainesville, GA
“The Lord keeps all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy. My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever.” Psalm 145:20-21 NASB
Palatka, FL “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)
Natasha K
Kitchener, ON, Canada
1 Chronicles 29:18 (NIV)
Oh Lord, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you.
Crystal, NC, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” Luke 16:10 NIV
Amy Adams
Middletown, DE
2 Peter 1:5-7 (NIV) – For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledcge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.
Job 14:16 NIV
Surely then you will count my steps but not keep track of my sin.
Dianne – Hartselle, AL
But you, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.
Psalm 3:3 Amplified
You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!
Isaiah 26:3 NLT
Kimberly from Carlsbad, CA
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
Matthew 7:7 NIV
Kimberly from Carlsbad, CA
“For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Matthew 7:8 NIV
Mindy B, Gloster, LA – “May the God before whom my fathers . . . walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the Angel who has delivered me from all harm – may He bless these boys” (Mason, Conner, & Aaron). Genesis 48:15-16a NIV
Tiffany Tennant
Muskogee, OK
The Lord replied, “Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it. (Habakkuk 1:5 NLT)
Kathryn Salley
Greenville, SC
Lamentations 3:25
The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him
NIV
Sherry
Oklahoma
1
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
~ESV
Michele Albert, Naperville, IL
“Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.”
-Psalm 86:11 NIV
My protection and success come from God alone.
Psalms 62:7
Amanda Patton, Leawood, KS,
” I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Romans 15:13
Brenda, Houston, Tx
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever, Hebrews 13:8 (NKJV)
late this month…Jen B, Gaithersburg, MD
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.”
Alyson, Elgin TX
All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
Psalm 139:16b
Brandy, Sutherlin Oregon
Psalm 62:5 NIV “Find rest, o my soul, in God alone, my hope comes from him.
Hebrews 12:3 NIV
Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Abbie, Katy :”do not withhold good from those who need it, when you have the ability to help.” Proverbs 3:27 NET
Jessa from Grantville, PA
Deuteronomy 10:12-13
New King James Version (NKJV)
12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good?
Jolene, Suwanee, GA
“Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”
Psalm 51:12 NIV
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:30 30 NIV
A soothing tongue is a tree of life,but a deceitful tongue breaks the spirit. (Proverbs 15:4 GWT)