Siesta Scripture Memory Team 2015 Instructions and Spiral Information!

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:

siesta_5x3_final_new

5×3
6×4

 

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

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9,767 Responses to “Siesta Scripture Memory Team 2015 Instructions and Spiral Information!”

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Comments:

  1. 2451

    Brittany Goodman from Nashville TN, ” AH, sovereign Lord, you have made the Jeavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.” Jeremiah32:7 NIV

  2. 2452
    Jami Owen says:

    Jami Owen Columbia,MS
    Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
    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.

  3. 2453
    Cyndi says:

    Cyndi in Tijeras, NM Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)
    But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

  4. 2454
    Carla says:

    Deu 31:6. NIV Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you, he will never leave you nor forsake you.

  5. 2455
    Martina says:

    Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding. HCSB

  6. 2456
    Krystal says:

    Krystal Andrews (West Columbia, SC)

    Deuteronomy 6:5 (NIV): “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”

  7. 2457
    Denise, Walters, Ok says:

    God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. Habakkuk 3:19

  8. 2458
    Jamie says:

    Isaiah 43:19 Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. (ESV)

  9. 2459
    Linda says:

    Psalm 51:10 (KJV)

    Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

  10. 2460
    Stephanie Johnson says:

    Stephanie Johnson

    Blaine, MN

    Ephesians 1:18

    I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

  11. 2461
    Donna Roberts says:

    Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12: 2

  12. 2462
    Sue says:

    Gal. 6:10 NIV

  13. 2463
    Kathy says:

    Kathy from OKC, OK:
    Romans 2:4 (Message) – God is kind, but He’s not soft. In kindness He takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life change.

  14. 2464

    Karen Bransgrove, Littleton, Colorado

    “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this.” Psalm 37:4-5 NIV

  15. 2465
    Cindy says:

    Cindy from Citrus Heights, CA – Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.I will strengthen you and help you.I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. Isaiah 41:10 NLT

  16. 2466
    candy fontenot says:

    Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod & your staff, they comfort me. Psalms 23:4 (niv) candy fontenot Moss Bluff, LA

  17. 2467
    Peggy Berney says:

    Peggy from San Diego, “For the Word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12, NIV

  18. 2468
    Teresa says:

    Teresa from Long Beach, MS

    “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 6:22-23 Holman CSB

  19. 2469
    Gwen Corwin says:

    “Forget the former things; do not remember the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43: 18-19 (NIV)

  20. 2470
    Tammy says:

    God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him. Eccles 2:26 NLT
    Tammy Price, Myrtle Beach, SC

  21. 2471
    Joanna says:

    Joanna,Arcanum,Ohio,
    Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your path. ESV Proverbs 3:5,6

  22. 2472
    Carol Miracle says:

    Carol Miracle, Wills Point, Texas. Psalm 139:14 – I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. NIV

  23. 2473
    Shelby says:

    I am leaving you with a gift–peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. (John 14:27 NLT)

  24. 2474
    Malia Bennett says:

    Malia Bennett, Libby, Montana
    Hebrews 4:16 KJV Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
    Thanks Tammy Burch for the verse idea. It is just what I need right now.

  25. 2475
    Karen says:

    Give thanks to The Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Ps 118:29

  26. 2476
    Sharon Miller says:

    Psalm 5:3 NIV In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.

  27. 2477
    Doris Ann Barnes says:

    Doris Ann Barnes of Manchester, GA. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1 KJV

  28. 2478
    Jamei Kramer says:

    Jamei in Pendleton, IN Jeremiah 29:11(NIV)

    For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

  29. 2479
    Janet says:

    Janet, Lexington SC, John 10:27 (NIV) ” My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

  30. 2480
    Staci Kennedy says:

    Saci Kennedy in Garden City, Kansas.
    Isaiah 43:19 NKJV. Behold I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

  31. 2481
    Leslie from Orange Park says:

    Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure everything out on you own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to god! Run from evil! Your body will glow with health. Your very bones will vibrate with life! Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best. Proverbs 3:5-9 MSG

  32. 2482
    MaryBeth Burkes says:

    Hebrews 5:7

    7 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.

  33. 2483
    Bobbie Jo says:

    Radium Springs, NM 1 Cor 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? NKJ

  34. 2484
    Melinda Pierce says:

    Melinda
    Deville, LA
    Hebrews 12:2 NIV
    ” 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.”

  35. 2485
    Ashlea says:

    Ashlea Nichols, Fort Worth, TX

    “The Lord is my light and my salvation-whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life-of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1 NIV

  36. 2486
    Kim says:

    Kim in Texas going to live a joyous 2015… Heb 12:2 NIV “fixing our eyes on Jesus…for the joy set before Him, He endured the cross…”

  37. 2487
    Yvette Palmer says:

    Yvette Palmer
    Mesa, Arizona

    Joshua 1:9 JKV
    Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoeever thou goest.

  38. 2488
    Leilani Schrock says:

    I sought the Lord and He answered me He delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34:4

  39. 2489
    Janna says:

    janna-Midlothian, Tx. “For I know the plans I have made 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

  40. 2490
    Laurie Rhode Island says:

    Jeremiah 9:24 amp But let him who glories glory in this: that he understands and know ME, that I am the LORD, WHO proactives loving-kindness, judgement, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the Lord.

  41. 2491
    Jo Carolyn says:

    Jo Carolyn in Dime Box, Texas
    The Lord your God is in your midst, a might One Who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17 ESV

  42. 2492
    Katelyn Kraft says:

    Katelyn Kraft, Columbus, OH
    “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by pray and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” -Philippians 4:6 (NIV)

  43. 2493
    Jeanine says:

    Jeanine Coats, Cabot AR
    1 Corinthians 13:4 (AB)
    Love endures long as is patient and kind: love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.

  44. 2494
    Teresa Hill says:

    Lake Butler,Florida…..God showed how much he loved us by spending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life. I John 4:9 NLT.

  45. 2495
    Karolee Klaus says:

    Karolee Klaus, Santa Rosa, CA… “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29‬:‭13‬ NIV)

  46. 2496
    Rhonda says:

    Rhonda in Gainesville, GA
    Psalm 121:3-4 NIV
    He will not let your foot slip-he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

  47. 2497
    Tammy P says:

    Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) 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.

  48. 2498
    Nelda says:

    Philippians 2:13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

  49. 2499
    Tara says:

    Tara Canton, GA. Habakkuk 3:19 ESV

    GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on high places.

  50. 2500
    Sally says:

    Luke 1:45 (NIV) says:

    Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!

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