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. “Siesta” is just an endearment for “Sister.” There’s no club to join and no person you need to become. If you’ve trusted Jesus as your personal Savior, you’re 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 we’d 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, “I’ll tell you what we are: We’re sistahs!” but spell-check switched it to “siestas.” It stuck and that’s been us ever since. We even liked the thought that its actual meaning is to take a nap. We’ll know we’ve been a place of divine intervention if we’re 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 “team” because that’s 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 “Siesta Scripture Memory Team.” If you’re not participating in SSMT, please know that we don’t limit the entire blog to our Scripture memory participants. It has a big presence on here because it’s twice a month but we still do lots of other things. Please don’t feel left out or forgotten.
*Why 24 verses? In previous years, we’ve found this to be a very doable pace: 1 verse every 2 weeks. If you do much more, you’ll 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 you’re capable of doing in the power of the Spirit. Yes, it takes work but it’s tremendously fulfilling and the results are nearly immeasurable. Look at it this way: we’re 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 – NOT ONCE – have I ever known anyone to get to the end of a Scripture memory commitment and say that it didn’t make any real difference. Not a single time.
OK, NOW FOR THE INSTRUCTIONS. You can cut and paste these somewhere if necessary. Here’s 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 you’ve chosen to memorize for that two-week period within twenty-four hours of the post going up. I’ve been asked many times if it’s okay if you’re 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 don’t 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-no’s. It won’t 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 you’re having a bad day, all you have to do is scroll down a few hundred of your sisters’ Scripture selections and I promise you, you’ll get a word. It’s 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 you’ll see a sister say, “I’m doing the one so-and-so did last time!” (Yes, you can make a comment that brief. Those can be fun. Occasionally you’ll even see someone write, “For the sake of my marriage, I’ve chosen to memorize…” That’s 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 don’t all memorize the same Scripture. We’re 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 we’re told to demolish strongholds and take our thoughts captive to Christ. If you don’t have a verse on your mind or you’re 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 won’t because he’s 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. You’re free to do whatever works for you.) Keep it simple and meaningful. (If I were addressing you live, I’d 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, that’s a recommendation and not a rule. I’ve discovered that there’s something about writing it with your own hand and picturing it later in your own handwriting that helps it sink into your memory bank. I’m 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 they’re 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 don’t 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 can’t 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. 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 that’s 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. Here’s 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, that’s 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 don’t 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 you’re one of those who genuinely struggles with memorization, just tell your memory buddy up front and she’ll give you all the grace you need. Tell her the gist of the verse as accurately as you possibly can. She’ll be able to tell that you are well acquainted with it and that the goal was accomplished even if you can’t say the verse word-for-word.
*Register for the event when the time comes. (December 1, 2015)
Whew! Have I exhausted you?? I’ve 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 IT’S A WHOPPER. Let’s do it, Sisters, starting this coming January 1st! I’ll talk to you again about other things before then but I don’t want the New Year to take you by surprise.
I love you.
Beth
Kelhe Hatfield, Larkspur, CO Verse 1 – To be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Eph 4:19 NIV
Jennifer Willis, Claremore, OK
So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” – John 20:21
Beth Howard~Gillette, Wyoming
Isaiah 40:26 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one
and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength,not one of them is missing.”
I love this verse. I used it as my first verse this year.
Take delight in the Lord,and he will give you the
desires of your heart.
Ps.37:4 NIV
January 1, 2015
Only watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.
Deuteronomy 4:9
NIV
January 15, 2015
Let us strive to know the Lord. His appearance is as sure as the dawn. He will come to us like rain, like the spring showers that water the land.
Hosea 6:3
NIV
February 1, 2015
Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:28-30
Beth Howard~Gillette, Wyoming
Habakkuk 3:17-19 “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.”
Jamie-Calhoun,Ga
He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 2 Corinthians 1:4 NLT
Plano, Texas
Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
Kawana D. in Enterprise, AL
Colossians 1:15-16New King James Version (NKJV)
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
Cynthia,Gainesville,Ga.
1 Samuel 3:10 NKJV Now the Lord came and stood and called as at other times.”Samuel,Samuel.” And Samuel answered,”Speak,for your servant hears.”
2/14/15
Louisiana
Ez18:30b,31. KJV
Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions: so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
Cast away from you all your transgressions whereby ye have transgressed: and make you a new heart and a new spirit:
Ginny White- Orofino ID
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith who for the joy set before him endured the cross scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2 NIV.
John 3-16 KJV. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life
Tonya, Newark, Ohio
12 LORD, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us.
Isaiah 26:12
This is my 2-1-15 verse…I have to catch up!
Genesis 15:1 NIV
After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward. ”
1Tim. 2:5-6 KJV
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
Lois, Centerton, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13 NKJV
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. Psalm 143:10 NIV
Vanessa Peacock Augusta, Georgia
Anita Hayes, Justin, TX
Psalm 65:8 “They who dwell in the ends of the earth stand in awe of Thy signs; Thou dost make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy. ” Psalm 65:8 (NAS)
Sherry Page
Elizabeth, CO
Jeremiah 24:7 NIV
I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD.
They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they
will return to me with all their heart.
Erin Brown, Knoxville, TN
Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a garment, and they who dwell in in it will die in like manner, but my salvation is forever, and my righteousness will never be dismayed.
Isaiah 51:6
Connie, Woodstock, GA
This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24 (NLT)
Kay of Amarillo: “Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Philippians 4:6
Deuteronomy 9:29
Yet they are Your people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out by Your mighty power and by Your outstretched arm.
Janette Winship St Petersburg, FL
Leviticus 25:18 “Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws, and you will
live safely in the land”
NIV
Brittney in Moody, AL
I seek you with all of my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:10-11 NIV
“Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust HIM to help you do it and HE will.” Ps. 37:5 ESV
Columbia, SC
1 Thessalonians 5:17-18. NKJV
Pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks, for this the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Marilyn Leslie Mentor on the Lake
Isaiah 26:3-4 NKJV
You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord is everlasting strength.
Hebrews 12:1 NASB
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
Kellie from Cleveland, Oklahoma:
1 John 3:18-19
“Let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions. It is by our actions that we know we are living in the truth.”
Burlington, Ontario
“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; (â€Isaiah‬ â€55‬:â€10 NKJV)
Gerie Meier – Spring Grove, IL
The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
Psalm 145:18 NIV
Lisa Mast – Fort Wayne, In
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5
Isaiah 41:13 NIV For I am the Lord your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, do not fear; I will help you.
Susan Kolb, Slidell, LA
One of my favorite verses from the NKJV:
See first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Matthew 6:33
OOPS! Misspelled the first word–but it does put an interesting twist on the verse! Seeing through God’s eyes!
It should read:
Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
Esther 4:14 NKJV
Tara, Eustis Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. John 14:27
Angie Vernon, Harrah, Oklahoma “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, 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 NIV
Susie Sharrai, Harrisburg, PA
For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.
~ Isaiah 41:13 NIV
Joanne Hill, Orange TX
Dear Children,let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
1 John 3 : 18 NIV
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer”
Sheree Campbell, Phoenix, Psalm 19:14 (NKJV)
And let us not grow weary of doing good,for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded of you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Mathew 28:19-20 ESV
Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
Eph 6:13 NASB
Tammy-Grand Junction, CO — “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105 NKJV
Makenzie Taylor. Cullman, Al.
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone.Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”
-Colossians 3:13-14 (NIV)
Julie Coram K.C., MO
I Timothy 2:4-6 KJV
“Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”