HEADS UP, SCRIPTURE MEMORY PARTICIPANTS!!! IF YOU’RE ON THIS POST TO READ THE INSTRUCTIONS, YOU ARE IN EXACTLY THE RIGHT PLACE SO PROCEED WITH CONFIDENCE! ****BUT!!! IF YOU ARE REGISTERING AND MAKING YOUR FIRST 2015 ENTRY WITH VERSE 1, PLEASE GO TO THE JANUARY 1ST OFFICIAL LAUNCH POST! THAT’S WHERE VERSE 1 GOES! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR COOPERATION WITH THE DETAILS INVOLVED. SO MUCH LOVE TO YOU!
Hey Everybody!
We are revving up around here for SSMT 2015! The Scripture memory team we host and support every other year is the most extensive thing we do around here on the LPM blog so you can know that you are the size of an airbus on our ministry radar right now. We are elated about the year we have ahead and believe with all our hearts that God finds tremendous delight in this group of diverse women banding together to memorize His Word. Here is everything you need to know about how to participate in the 2015 Siesta Scripture Memory Team! Please be sure you make it all the way to the bottom of the post where you’ll find the information about our matching spirals.
First, a few things up front since many people joining us have no previous interaction here:
*For you new comers, an explanation of the name is in order. āSiestaā is just an endearment for āSister.ā Thereās no club to join and no person you need to become. If youāve trusted Jesus as your personal Savior, youāre a sister in Christ. If you don’t know Him, we’d love for you to stick around and get to know us and see if anything around here draws you. Everyone is welcome. Here’s a bit of our back-story on the weird name: When we first began the blog, it never occurred to any of us how much weād come to love each other. As the community grew closer and closer and the participants more and more familiar with one another, one of you asked what name we should call each another. I tried to say, āIāll tell you what we are: Weāre sistahs!ā but spell-check switched it to āsiestas.ā It stuck and thatās been us ever since. We even liked the thought that its actual meaning is to take a nap. Weāll know weāve been a place of divine intervention if weāre a respite from the female competition and clatter out there. Only Jesus can give us that kind of relief in this exhausting culture.
*We call this a Scripture memory āteamā because thatās exactly what we are. We cheer each other on, hold each other accountable, and urge one another to make it to the goal – 24 verses systematically memorized in 12 months – through a process that requires significant practice.
*Very often you will see me refer to SSMT. Just so nobody’s confused from the start, that is an abbreviation for āSiesta Scripture Memory Team.ā If you’re not participating in SSMT, please know that we donāt limit the entire blog to our Scripture memory participants. It has a big presence on here because itās twice a month but we still do lots of other things. Please donāt feel left out or forgotten.
*Why 24 verses? In previous years, weāve found this to be a very doable pace: 1 verse every 2 weeks. If you do much more, youāll tend to fall behind and not retain. If you do much less, the impact is negligible. You really can do this. So many of you will surprise yourselves with what youāre capable of doing in the power of the Spirit. Yes, it takes work but itās tremendously fulfilling and the results are nearly immeasurable. Look at it this way: weāre going to be meditating on something: unforgiveness, toxic memories, misery, lust, greed, dissatisfaction, jealousy, competition. Let’s choose Scripture instead! Christ Himself said as a man thinks, so is he. He also said His words are spirit and life. This is work worth doing, Beloved. Never ā NOT ONCE ā have I ever known anyone to get to the end of a Scripture memory commitment and say that it didnāt make any real difference. Not a single time.
OK, NOW FOR THE INSTRUCTIONS. You can cut and paste these somewhere if necessary. Hereās how it will go:
1. On the 1st and 15th of every month of 2015 starting on New Year’s Day, you will find a post by 8:00 in the morning asking for your memory verse, suggesting one if you’re drawing a blank, and encouraging you in your process. In past years I’ve written all the posts myself but I thought maybe this year we needed to do something to shake it up a bit and make it extra-fun. I’ll still do all the posts on the 1st but the entries on the 15th will be written by a cross section of women from this community who’ve been asked to guest post. That means that, over the course of the year, you’ll hear from 12 of them. They’ll tell you a little bit about themselves, share the verse they’ve selected for that round, and why they chose it. We’ve also asked them to supply us with a picture so you can have a face to go with each name.
2.You are to enter the verse youāve chosen to memorize for that two-week period within twenty-four hours of the post going up. Iāve been asked many times if itās okay if youāre late supplying your verse and, yes, of course it is, but try to avoid doing it often. The people who make it to the very end of the year are overwhelmingly those who stay up with it month to month. Please know up front that one of the important parts of this process is the exercise of self discipline. This culture is mass producing self-indulgent narcissists. Year-long commitments like these that require punctuality and focused energy push back on that degenerating trend. All that to say, please donāt drop out if you get behind. I just want you to know that this will be much more successful if you treat it as a real, live commitment you are willing to work hard to keep.
3. When you clock in with your verse those two times a month, keep your comments limited to your name (first only if you prefer), city, verse and translation. Long comments on SSMT days are no-noās. It wonāt take you long to figure out why we maintain that rule. Wait till you see the powerful sight of hundreds if not thousands of verses flowing down the comment stream. It is a gorgeous sight. When youāre having a bad day, all you have to do is scroll down a few hundred of your sistersā Scripture selections and I promise you, youāll get a word. Itās a very powerful thing. Here is a sample comment:
Beth Moore from Houston, Texas: “May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy.” Colossians 1:11 ESV
Always add your translation because so many of your sisters will want to know where you found the wording for your entry. One of the great impacts of this process is how much we reap from each others’ selections. Often youāll see a sister say, āIām doing the one so-and-so did last time!ā (Yes, you can make a comment that brief. Those can be fun. Occasionally youāll even see someone write, āFor the sake of my marriage, Iāve chosen to memorizeā¦ā Thatās okay, too, but try to keep it very succinct.)
4. THIS ONE IS KEY! As often as possible, choose a verse that means something to you in your present season or circumstance. This is the reason why we donāt all memorize the same Scripture. Weāre not all going through the same things. The more you let God lead you to verses that direct you or edify your soul in your present circumstances, the more He will renew your mind toward your challenges. This is a huge part of 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 where weāre told to demolish strongholds and take our thoughts captive to Christ. If you donāt have a verse on your mind or youāre drawing a blank when the 1st or 15th rolls around, you are more than welcome to share the selection offered in the post. That’s one reason it’s there. You might also look at a few of the comments and see if one of theirs resonates with you. I say this next part with a grin: try to refrain from memorizing Scriptures that you think your spouse or your children need to learn. Memorize what you need to learn. That means do your best to avoid jotting your verse on a stick note and planting it on your bathroom mirror where your man can see it and repent of his sins. He probably wonāt because heās got your game. I bet you can guess how I know that.
5. I strongly recommend that you stick with only one verse to memorize each time. (This is just a recommendation and not a rule. Youāre free to do whatever works for you.) Keep it simple and meaningful. (If I were addressing you live, Iād have you repeat that sentence back to me so just go ahead and say it out loud in order to nail it down. That sentence could be your best friend through this process.) If you do too many verses or get too complicated, you will soon be overwhelmed and want to drop out. Better to do 24 simpler verses over a 12 month period of time than a chapter over the first month then quit. We want this to be a discipline we practice for the rest of our lives. Think marathon. Not sprint.
6. Either shortly before or after making your entry each 1st and 15th in the blog comment, write the verse by hand in your spiral. (Again, thatās a recommendation and not a rule. Iāve discovered that thereās something about writing it with your own hand and picturing it later in your own handwriting that helps it sink into your memory bank. Iām not entirely sure why.) Take that spiral with you everywhere you go. Read it and read it and read it and read it. Do mental gymnastics with it. Flip that baby over and over. Many women have told me along the way that theyāre not good at memorization and I truly understand that. I also beg to offer two responses: First, that may change. Give the Holy Spirit a chance to do something brand new with you. Second, even if you donāt get your verses down word for word, you are still meditating on them as you read and reread them. You still, thereby, accomplish one of the most important goals: captivating the mind to Christ. You just canāt lose on this one. Either way, it has a powerful effect.
NOW, about that spiral! In years past, we’ve created them here at Living Proof and shipped them to those who ordered them. But, to our slack-jawed surprise, last time we did it, 10,000 women signed up and nearly all of them ordered spirals. My beloved (SMALL!!!) staff and hardworking volunteers filled every one of those orders over about a 10-day mad-dash and, though they never lost their smiles, it flat-out nearly killed them! We are just too small a staff to handle that many orders. HOWEVER!!! We MUST have matching spirals! So, here is the perfect solution. Watch this tutorial and you’ll see how quick and easy it will be to prepare your spiral:
There are two sizes to choose between for your spirals.Ā Click on the size cover you would like to print for yourself then adhere it using any of the methods we suggested. You can certainly use regular printer paper but cardstock works perfectly:
OK, I think thatās more than enough to get us prepared for January 1st but I so hope you’ll go ahead and get our huge wrap-up celebration on your radar because we want you to know how to qualify and plan to be there! It is the biggest blast ever.
Our Siesta Scripture Memory Team 2015 Celebration will on January 16, 2016. I’m telling you about it now so that you can have it for a little extra incentive. Our main incentive is the will and good pleasure of God, of course, but He Himself authored great celebrations in His Name so feel free to be excited at the thought. Also, I want you to have plenty of time to start saving your money for your transportation and hotel. We do not charge for the event. Your entrance fee is your well-used spiral. By the way, we will have Travis back again to lead us in worship and Amanda, Melissa, my whole LPM staff and volunteer team will be there to serve you.Ā Hereās how you qualify to attend the celebration:
*Clock in by first name and city at least 21 out of 24 times. (But please make your goal 24 out of 24!) Let me reiterate that you can be late with your entry on a 1st or 15th of any month but, by the end of the year, there has to be a record in the comment sections of you signing in at least 21 out of 24 times on a SSMT post. Make sense? Please give us 24 hours to post your comment before you assume it got lost. We still moderate all comments and the amount we get on SSMT days necessitates a slower pace. Thank you for your cooperation!
*Bring your spiral to the celebration. Again, thatās your ticket in.
*If you’re planning to come to the celebration, be prepared to say any 10 of your 24 memory verses to another Siesta (of your choice) during the designated time at the celebration. (We get in pairs.) Some of you will be tempted to let this be a deal breaker but donāt back out! Siestas are really sweet and patient with each other and we are notorious for giving each other hints. We can even act out charades if necessary. If youāre one of those who genuinely struggles with memorization, just tell your memory buddy up front and sheāll give you all the grace you need.Ā Tell her the gist of the verse as accurately as you possibly can. Sheāll be able to tell that you are well acquainted with it and that the goal was accomplished even if you canāt say the verse word-for-word.
*Register for the event when the time comes. (December 1, 2015)
Whew! Have I exhausted you?? Iāve worn myself out. Sorry this is so wordy! We just want to answer as many of your questions up front as possible.
I want to say something to you before I wrap up this diatribe: this community means something to me. I love it because I love you. I think about you on an ongoing basis. So does my staff. You are a huge part of this ministry. Thank you for the privilege to serve you and to embark on another wild journey with you. May Christ find such delight here that He astonishes us with His presence, favor, and power.
So, welcome to Siestaville: women walking alongside women on our way Home, stirring up excitement toward that great day. SSMT is one way we do that. AND ITāS A WHOPPER. Letās do it, Sisters, starting this coming January 1st! Iāll talk to you again about other things before then but I donāt want the New Year to take you by surprise.
I love you.
Beth
James 1:19-20(NLT)
“Understand this, my beloved brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.”
Psalm 46:10 (ESV)
“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
“But he said to me, āMy grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.ā Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christās power may rest on me. That is why, for Christās sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
I’m posting late for 1/15
Nothing can stop Gods plan for your life. Isaiah 14:27
Melissa Kingwood,TX
Amen!!!!
Rose from Evington, Va.: Thanks for pointing out Isaiah 14:27. It’s especially powerful in the HCSB: “The LORD of Hosts HIMSELF has planned it . . . !” (Emphasis added.)
Then you will call on 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. (āJeremiahā¬ ā29ā¬:ā12-13ā¬ NIV)
Arleen Lancaster, Ca
Take a census of the whole Israelite community by their clans and families, listing every man by name, one by one. Numbers 1:2 NIV
God KNOWS me. I count. <3.
Posting to catch up. This is a new way to think about it for me.
Trust the Lord completely, and donāt depend on your own knowledge. With every step you take, think about what he wants, and he will help you go the right way. (ERV)
That was Proverbs 3:5-6
“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
Christie from Memphis Tn
Isaiah 1:18
” Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, ” Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
I am posting late for January 1st
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourself. Do what it says” James 1:22 (NIV)
Just starting SSMT:
Phil. 4:6-7 – Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel. (CEV)
Romans 8:5 ESV
For those who live according to the flesh,set their minds on things of the flesh,but those who live according to the Spirt set their minds on things of the Spirit.
Philippians 4:8 ESV
Finally brothers,whatever is true, whatever is honorable,whatever is just,whatever is pure,whatever is lovely,whatever is commendable, if there is,any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise,think on these things
Jennifer from Statenville, GA – I’m new to the group so my scripture for 1/15 is “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for man.” Col 3:23
Be joyful always
Pray continually
Give thanks in all circumstances
For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus
1 Thess. 5:16-18 NIV
Posting late for 1/15
“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.” 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 NIV
Hebrews 1:1-2 NIV
God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these days has spoken to us in His Son, who He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.
Rev. 12:11 – And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
Libby – Fortville, IN
Romans 8: 28 (ESV) “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
A generous person will peosper;whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. Proverbs 11:25 NIV
Mathew 5:13 ESV
“YOU are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its last, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.”
Julie from College Station:
“From the end of the earth I will cry to you, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” Psalm 61:2
Keely from Denton, TX
(early post for 2/1)
If you do not judge other people, then you will not be judged. If you do not find others guilty, then you will not be found guilty. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
Luke 6:37 (NIV)
Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. Proverbs 11:2
Laronda from Arlington,this is a late post for Jan 1
Ps147:3 NIV he heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds
Late post for Jan 15th
Col.1:10 NIV
And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way bearing fruit in good work growing in the knowledge of God
Terese Kay, Black Earth, Wi.
And he said to man,
“The fear of the Lord-that is wisdom
and to shun evil is understanding
Job 28:28 NIV
Have I not commanded you, be strong and courageous do not be terrified and do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:9
This is my life verse, the one I have gone back to all my Christian life. I have needed courage and I have had many times that discouragement threatened to overtake me. God is good always and no matter what happens He will always be our Good God.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:28-30
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
Psalm 34:8
NKJV
My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Psalm 62: 5-7, NKJV
Gen 1: 27 NKJV
So God created man in His image; in His image He created him; male and female He created them.
Annette Turkson from Canton Ohio: I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow. Not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below ā indeed nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39 NLT
Posting late for January 15th!
Carlie Land from Jefferson City, MO
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is Godās will for you in Christ Jesus.” – 2 Thessalonians 5:16-18
NIV is the translation
Be strong and courageous do not be frightened, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9 ESV
Judi, Red Deer AB (Canada)
Let me dwell in your tent forever; let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings.
Psalm 61:4 NAS
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well”
Psalm 139:14
For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
Philippians 1:9-11 9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christāto the glory and praise of God.
Charla,, Zebulon, GA—For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the of God. (ā2 Corinthiansā¬ ā5ā¬:ā21ā¬ ESV)
*RIGHTEOUSNESS (of God)
Beth Howard~Gillette, Wyoming
Isaiah 12:3 “Therefore you will joyously draw water From the springs of salvation.”
Debra Macon,GA You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:32 Holman Christian Standard Version
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
Psalm 121:2
NIV STUDY BIBLE
Payson, AZ
Numbers 6:24-26 (NIV)
24 āāāThe Lord bless you
and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.āā
Isaiah 44:4-5 “This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s And that one will call on the name of Jacob; And another will write on his hand, ‘Belonging to the L ord ,’ And will name Israel’s name with honor.(NASB)
Christie Miller Memphis Tennessee
Joel 2:25 ( NKJ )
SO I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust, my great army which I sent among you.
from Prague, CZ
“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 (NIV)
Cynthia Gainesville, Ga.
James 4:17
Remember, it is a sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. NLT
Lauren, Nashville, TN
“Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.” Psalm 51:12 NLT