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
I, too, keep doing this and never get to the event. Always get behind in logging on twice a month. You’d think that wasn’t so difficult….
I’m excited to do this again! Great way to start off a new year! Thank you, Beth, for keeping us encouraged to stay in the Word! And for the Word to be IN us, too!
This will be my first time and I am so excited! This is exactly what I need. I’ve only been going to church and studying the Bible for about 1 1/2 years.
I am so excited about this journey and all the Scriptures the Lord will guide us to memorize. Thank you for doing this!
I am so excited to do this! This is going to be my challenge to myself for 2015: Get this 64 year old brain on Scriptureoids! I’m getting my spiral ready to roll. Thank you, Katie, for getting this challenge out to me!
In Him
This is my 2nd time doing this, but the first time I didn’t go through the whole year. I know God has some verses to lay on my heart this year so I’m excited to see what He wants me to memorize with the Siestas! I can’t wait to make my little spiral. That “craft” video was so cute, Beth!
I want to do this.
This is my first time doing this. I’ve just completed a year-and-a-half of chemo treatments and a stem cell transplant. My goal going through it all has always been that God would be glorified through my life, but I feel as though I have not allowed Him to change me the way I had hoped. My prayer now is to stop being lazy and to infuse my soul with His word, allowing Him to permeate my every thought, word and action. May He be glorified in my life(and yours) and be sanctified for His purpose!
This is my first year! I am looking forward to hiding more of God’s word in my heart!
Super excited !!! First time for me and I can’t wait to start. Mele kalikimaka to you and your ohana.
Just made my spiral book. This is my 1st time here and I’m excited to begin. God Bless.
I am really excited about doing this again this is my second time. It is so full filling. Thank you Beth
I”m thrilled about this again!!! I’ve been WAITING for this year!!! WOOOHOOOO! I’ve started this in the past and have never been faithful enough to finish. This is the year!!! I remember one year tho Beth did a video about “how” to memorize Scripture….I remember it having an acrononym that she talked about. What was it?? Where is that video? Hummm…. ??? Regardless I”m ready….doing this with 4 other girlfriends too!!! HOUSTON IS OUR GOAL!!!!!! Thank you! The Lord bless you!!!
OK, I had the BEST of intentions to be a crafty girl and get my spiral ready!! I am 65 and not very cute any longer, but was ready to give it a try!!!
It took me 3 stops in Austin to find a spiral, I finally decided on a vertical spiral due to the lack of spirals available. Satan must be trying to prevent this divine exercise…I was not to be discouraged by that bad guy
Anyway, I just spent 45 minutes adhering my printed cover-I have a master’s degree and graduated with honors, however my spiral appears to that of one in pre school- sooo I assume I understand our dear Lord wants to continue to deliver me from my “preschool” spiritual status. I am scotch tapped (although I attempted the other recommended adhesion procedures and ready to go!) I hold dear my last two years of verses and often hold on to them for dear life. Beth and all of you at Living Proof, please know I am grateful to have this opportunity to “go again”. Not sure why we have to so often face the “Red Sea” yet again and our only hope is in our Lord’s salvation and rescue. May all of you and yours be blessed with a blessing that is felt deep within your hearts and souls this season.
Way to persevere, Kathy! Glad you are joining us!
Although I’ve done the Summer Siesta Bible Studies the past two years, I’m excited to participate in SSMT for 2015. Love, Love, Love the video including spiral making party starring LPM staff – gonna be a fun year…looking forward to the journey together!
This will be my first year joining in. I found this blog through a post on Facebook. It sounds like exactly what I need!
Do I register by leaving a comment here?? This is just what I need! thanks
Hi Donna, Your comment on each 1st and 15th post is your “registration”. Not a thing more! Glad to have you joining us!
I am nervous that I will fail, like all of my new year’s resolutions of the pat but I am excited about the chance that I will succeed. Thank you for this opportunity.
I’m in š
Do we post the verses here or is there a specific page dedicated to it? Sorry I’m really new to this. Thanks!
Hi Carolla, so glad to have you joining us! All you need to do is comment on each 1st and 15th post with the verse you’ve chosen! That’s it!
I hope there will be an app again. Loved it two years ago!
Becky
Hi Becky, I know the app is being updated and edited, but I do not have news of when or if it will be ready for use. We will surely let you know when it is!
I’ve been looking for a good memory verse system and this looks wonderful. I’d really like to participate. Is the sign up the one on this page or is it elsewhere?
Hi Lia, All you need to do is comment on each 1st and 15th post with the verse you have selected to memorize. That’s it! See you January 1st!
This will be my first year doing this! I’m excited!! I tried to watch the video of how to make your spiral, I hear the music, but not Beth.
Beth, I am going to do this with my 2 teenage daughters, my sister-in-law and her 10yr old daughter. Then I asked my husband if he would do it with my 11yr old son. He said yes! Now I need to make a manly cover for their spirals! Lol. I recall seeing Curtis’ spiral on the blog some years ago. Very manly š What will God do with so many memorizing His word? Whew! The possibilities… Thank you for the encouragement!
YEA…I’m so excited! I AM IN!
This is my first year and I keep looking at my spiral with excitement! I can’t wait to see how my heart and mind will be changed this year.
Looking forward to this!!! š
I have started this before and not finished. But God is speaking to heart so clearly that this is something that He wants me to do. He is saying the places in my mind that have been bound for so long, girl it’s time to be free! I come to the well so thirsty, so ready to drink deeply of the living water that is His word. Because He who the Son sets free is free indeed! I am so thrilled beyond words that I have such an amazing group of godly women walking this path me. Glory Hallelujah!
Can’t wait to get started! Will you all be putting out an app again like you did in 2013? Loved that!
Hi Jen, I know the app is being updated and edited, but I do not have news of when or if it will be ready for use. We will surely let you know when it is!
Yay! I have kept both apps and it’s a great way to have my verses on hand at all times.
Can’t wait!!!!!
I’m in!! Excited to see where God will take me in His Word!
I watched the entire tutorial but didn’t see anything showing how the “spiral” actually gets to be part of the 4X6 or 5X3’s. How do we do that part?
Hi Felicia, Usually a drug store, grocery store, or office supply store will have a variety of sizes that will work for you. Once you purchase your spiral, you can select and print the cover size you want to adhere to it. I hope that helps!
I think I was confused by the post, but you wanted to go through scripture memory 2 x’s a month. And you will post on the 1st and 15th of the month at 8am (your time? Cst? Pst?)
And we post at that time as a drill.
Are these memory verses we are choosing for ourselves or are they part of a lesson you’re doing? I’m not sure.
Hi Sarah, Thank you for your questions. Yes, we will memorize 2 scriptures a month, every 2 weeks on the 1st and 15th. The new SSMT posts will go up at 8:00AM CST on each 1st and 15th and then you comment with the verse you have chosen to memorize. You are welcome to memorize the one Beth (or our guest blogger) has chosen, or select your own. Whichever you’d like to do! We’re glad to have you joining us!
Yahoo! I hoped y’all would do this in 2015. This will be my second time with SSMT. I thought I’d continue solo in 2014, but I need accountability. Plus, I did too many in 2013, so I just drilled and reviewed my verses. I absolutely love how the Lord directs us to verses!
In the fall of 2012, I attended a local Women’s Conference sponsored by my church and one of the speakers recommended scripture memorization as a mean of growth and suggested the book, 100 Bible Verses Everyone Should Know by Heart by Robert Morgan. I got so much out of Part 1, the power of scripture memory, that this was worth the price of the book. I intended to go right through the book with recommended verses, but God had another plan. It was truly amazing how He lead me to verses. I made notes in my spiral next to each as to how this happened. I recommend such notes or spiritual/prayer journals to help us remember the Lord’s guidance.
Bless this Sistahood!
Merry Christmas from Idaho!
Hi Beth. Thank you so much for your ministry. I am a first-time Siesta for 2015 and I have my bible study girls joining also. We have been talking about memorizing verses and this is the first tangible achievable way to do just that. I look forward to 2015. I already have my spiral!!
This will be my second year to do this, and I am very excited for what will happen. 2013 was a very hard year, and for some reason I kept getting stuck on verses that talked about God’s faithfulness. Didn’t really think anything about it till about April when I lost my job, with no warning. Suddenly I went from making about 4 g per month, to making nothing. I was fevers rated but through it all kept on memorizing. God provided for me in the 5 months following (due to it being a private family I couldn’t collect unemployment) and brought me to a deeper realization of Who He was. Looking forward to this year! All that to say that never underestimate the force and bigness of our God!
This my first time to do this! My bible study leader sent the link to this and I’m so glad she did!!
Read some of Siesta 2013, but never really participated. Looking forward to fully participating in 2015 and committing God ‘s word to heart!! Going to put my spiral together!! Praying this will be the start of a great 2015!
Beth and team, I can’t wait to get started. For anyone who is wondering if it is worth the time I can tell you that for me it was powerful and Jesus has used it and His word to transform my walk with Him and my life. I am so glad that I participated. Thanks for giving it another go Beth. Count me in.
Hi Beth,
Is there a way that part of the celebration in Houston could be a live stream/ simulcast so that people who can’t physically attend can celebrate in spirit? That would be really fun!
Also, this is my first time, and I am so excited to see how God uses this in my life throughout the next year!
Hi Hannah, We have not been able to do this in the past, but I will surely let your suggestion be know. Glad to have you join us!
I have participated in the past but not finished the year. I’m looking forward to truly doing this in 2015 and using my time to focus on God’s word and allowing it to change me!
I’m so excited about this! I LOVED getting to go in 2014. Excited to participate next year!! Blessings and prayers for all the wonderful ladies that work on this for us and Beth for sharing powerful words. š
I’m in! Merry Christmas!
I’m so excited to be a part of this !! Can’t wait …thank you Beth and staff
Awesome! So excited about this…so encouraged to be doing this with my gal friends here. A few of us are actually going to meet once a week to pray for everyone in Siestas and to encourage our memory pulse…to make sure we are on target with our goal. Like always a pleasure girls…Beth you are a real inspiration.
I’m a newbee as well but very excited about doing this! It was nice to read some who have done it before and hear it was life changing. I’m open, I’m ready Lord, change me!!
I’m in, and very excited! Because of the Mercy Triumphs over Judgment, I memorized James, and I am so grateful to Beth Moore for that. Thank you!!!
excited to start this!
I am so looking forward to doing this again! I still carry my spiral from last time in my purse. That is so true, when I look at all the verses in the comments on posting days, it’s like a pathway of gold from my desk up to heaven! So inspiring, so uplifting, so life changing! Thank you, thank you, thank you, for doing this!
First time for me! Looking forward to really pressing into all that God has for me!
This is my first time. I am not good at memorizing but I am going to give it another try. Spiral ready to go. I am super excited!