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. 2651
    Sharon Prince says:

    Sharon from Arlington, Texas
    Yahweh my Lord is my strength. He makes my feet like those of a deer and enables me to walk on mountain heights.
    Habakkuh 3:19. HCSB

  2. 2652
    Kay says:

    My daughter is doing this and just invited me. Their group is thinking of doing II Cor 4.

  3. 2653
    Christine McInnes says:

    Christine from Pembroke, Ontario

    “For I know the thoughts I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV

  4. 2654
    Shelly says:

    Shelly from Aledo, IL

    “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

    John 14:27

  5. 2655

    Luke 1:45 (NIV)
    Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

  6. 2656
    Amy Andrews says:

    Amy from Edmond, Oklahoma
    “But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. NKJV

  7. 2657
    Linda says:

    Linda from York Haven, PA
    But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. Hebrews 3:13 NIV

  8. 2658
    Jennifer, Mesa Az says:

    Ephesians 1:18 (NIV)

    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.

  9. 2659
    Savannah says:

    Savannah Armstrong, Birmingham Alabama
    “Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and song. And He has become my salvation.
    Isaiah 12:2 NASB

  10. 2660
    Mary Witte says:

    Mary Witte, Grand Rapids, MN

    Jeremiah 29:11 NLT. “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

  11. 2661
    Misty says:

    Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. Proverbs 3:5(KJV)

  12. 2662
    Brenda riley says:

    brenda from PA.

    I know you can do anything, and your plans can not be impeded

    Job 42:2

  13. 2663
    Candy Cervenka says:

    Candy from Elkhorn, WI

    Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21 NIV

  14. 2664
    Vicki Gipson says:

    Lamentations 3:22
    Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. ( Reminder we are never alone.)

  15. 2665
    Jen says:

    Jen Cedarburg, WI -“Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.”. Colossians 3:16

  16. 2666
    La Chiel-Portland, Tn says:

    “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing?”

    Matthew 6:25 NET

  17. 2667
    Jennie says:

    Isaiah 40:31 (niv?) those who wait upon The Lord will renew their strength they will soar on wings as eagles they will run and not grow weary they will walk and not faint

  18. 2668
    Diane Seltzer says:

    Diane from Chesapeake, VA

    Habakkuk 3:17-18 NIV

    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.

  19. 2669
    Nani says:

    Nani from Jacksonville, NC: ” Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.” Psalms 139:10 (KJV)

  20. 2670
    Barbara says:

    Gods word in heart

  21. 2671
    Angie says:

    1 Corinthians 14:33 KJV
    For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

  22. 2672
    Ann Kuehnel says:

    Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged,for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

    Isaiah 41:10 NLT

  23. 2673
    Jaime Cornelius says:

    Jaime Tyler,Texas-
    “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” I Corinthians 6:19-20

  24. 2674
    Monique Meadows says:

    Monique Meadows, Auburn, AL. “Overflowing joy comes to those who follow God’s ways.” “They will stand firm Like a flourishing tree planted by God’s design, Deeply rooted by the brook of bliss, Bearing fruit in every season of their lives. They are never dry, never fainting, Ever blessed, ever plentiful,” Psalm 1:1,3 (The Passion Translation)

  25. 2675
    Staci Adams says:

    Staci Adams, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.”Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wages war against your soul.” 1 Peter 2:11NIV

  26. 2676
    kristi says:

    Kristi, Mansfield,Louisiana ” She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.” Proverbs 31:26 KJV

  27. 2677
    Debbie says:

    Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but wise making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15 ESV

  28. 2678
    Allison Bayles says:

    It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
    Galatians 5:1, NIV

  29. 2679
    Melisss says:

    Restore to me the joy of your a salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Ps 51:12 My prayer for 2015.

  30. 2680
    Lisa says:

    Lisa from Yakima, WA: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come; The old has gone, the new is here.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV

  31. 2681
    Teresa says:

    From Fuquay Varina, NC. Psalms 51:10 – Create in me a “clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. ESV

  32. 2682
    Deirdre Denise McClain says:

    Deirdre Denise McClain sings, “The 7th Angel sounds the Trumpet, & there are Radiant Voices in Heaven Singing, The kingdom of the world has been transformed into the KINGDOM of OUR LORD & of HIS CHRIST! The TRINITY REIGNS FOREVER & ETERNALLY!” * REVELATION 11:15 * Houston, TX

  33. 2683
    gayle says:

    Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV
    So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.

  34. 2684
    Judy Malandruccolo says:

    Judy Malandruccolo, Plano, Tx. “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

  35. 2685
    Gwynn Smithdeal says:

    Gwynn Smithdeal Advance, North Carolina
    “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:19 NIV

  36. 2686
    Kristi says:

    Kristi, Forsyth, MO
    Proverbs 15:1 – A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

  37. 2687
    Deby says:

    Dont Fall in love with this corrupt world or worship the things it can offer.Those who love its corrupt ways dont have the fathers love living within them. 1John 2:15 ( The Voice)

  38. 2688
    Lorri says:

    Lorri, Phenix City AL. Psalm 37:5 The Living Bible
    Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him to help you do it, and he will.

  39. 2689
    Kim Kennedy says:

    Kim from Ontario, Canada
    We are adopting and this verse speaks to me. “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God , the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” James 1:27 (ESV)

  40. 2690
    Michelle from Chino,Ca says:

    James 1:2-4
    2-Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,a whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3-because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4-let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

  41. 2691
    kelly says:

    Kelly, PA….”For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” 2 timothy 1:7 (Kjv)

  42. 2692
    Donna Miller says:

    Isaiah 40:31New Living Translation (NLT)

    31
    But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
    They will soar high on wings like eagles.
    They will run and not grow weary.
    They will walk and not faint.

  43. 2693
    Christy says:

    Christy, Segars, Monroe, GA:
    “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
    Rom. 12:12
    2015 = HOPE

  44. 2694
    Joyce says:

    Joyce – Susanville, Ca.
    Isaiah 43:19 NASB
    “Behold, I will do something new. Now it will spring forth. Will you not be aware of it?

  45. 2695
    mallory jenkins says:

    Mallory from Peoria,Il: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:23&24 (NAS)

  46. 2696
    Sandra Gaffney says:

    Galatians 6:14 As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross,c my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died.

  47. 2697
    Jan Clifton says:

    Jan Clifton in Clinton, MS. “And let the beauty & delightfulness & favor of the Lord our God be upon us: confirm & establish the work of our hands – yes, the work of our hands, confirm & establish it.” Psalm 90:17 Amplified Bible

  48. 2698
    Lakin says:

    “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1

  49. 2699
    Stacy says:

    Stacy Bledsoe, Jonesborough, TN: After hearing my Stage IV melanoma tumor has shrunk, I chose: “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song.” Psalm 28:7 NIV

  50. 2700
    Jacqueline- Downsville, Louisiana says:

    Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Philippians 4:6 NLT

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