WELCOME, EVERYONE, TO THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF THE 2015 SIESTA SCRIPTURE MEMORY TEAM!
WOOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!
Allow me to introduce myself to you as your fellow sojourner for the next 12 months and your official cheerleader. It will be my pleasure to remind you often that, in Christ Jesus, you most certainly CAN be victorious in this adventure of the faith, this challenge of the mind and this discipline of the Spirit.
Nothing we’ve done on this blog since its inception has seemed to attract more outrageous favor from God. We are convinced that He loves it. God never misses a single individual going to the work of memorizing His Word but imagine His delight when a huge community of tremendously diverse women in age, background, and worship tradition band together in a pilgrimage of faith. You don’t have to stop and wonder if it’s God’s will for His words to abide in you. The Word of God alive, active, and abiding in us speaks to us, shields us, warns us, strengthens us, sanctifies us, equips us in our callings, and directs us in our decision making. It sharpens our insight and improves our discernment. It makes us wiser and, let’s be bold enough to say, even smarter. Our brains were hardwired to flourish across the board when nourished by the Scriptures. Above all else, Scripture abiding and thriving in us builds up our faith, for “faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17) Â And, Girlfriend, we want to be women of faith. That faith erupts into works that were planned for each of us before the creation of the world. (Ephesians 2:10)
OK. I want to get right to it before I lose some of you so that no one will be unclear about the protocol.
The entry of your first verse is your official registration for SSMT (Siesta Scripture Memory Team). Everybody who joins us needs to start right here in a designated comment to this exact post. Even those who may jump in with us a couple of months late who are willing to work double-time to get it all done will start right here.
For a quick recap of our objective: Remember, we are committing to the memorization of 24 verses in 12 months. Two a month. We each get to select our own verses to align with our personal needs and challenges. Choosing a Scripture that resonates with you is immensely helpful in the memorization process. If you have trouble coming up with one of your own, you can always share mine or look through the other entries for ideas. You’ll find your SSMT posts right here on the blog at 8:00 AM on the 1st and 15th of every month in 2015. [Under the LINKS section listed on the right hand side of our blog home page, you will find all SSMT posts will store together for easy access. See “Scripture Memory Team 2015”.] If you haven’t had a chance to read all the instructions and hear about our end-of-year celebration, please go back and read the informational post then return to this spot. Questions unanswered here are answered there.
One of the most important things for you to know from the top is how to arrange your comment with the verse you’ve selected. We limit each comment to this information:Â
Your name, city, verse (written all the way out), reference, and translation.Â
SO, here goes mine! I’m obsessed with the Book of Ephesians right now so much of my memory work will probably come from those pages.
Beth Moore, Houston, Texas. “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.” Ephesians 2:19 ESV
We’re fellow citizens with the likes of Peter and John and James and Stephen and Paul and Timothy and Barnabas and Joanna and Susanna and Lydia and Tabitha and just try counting all the Marys. We’re fellow citizens and members of the household of Middle Eastern believers confessing Christ in hostile climates, of Chinese believers meeting in house churches, of Eastern European believers finding hope in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have brothers and sisters in Thessaloniki, in Paris, in Belfast, in Riyadh, in Copenhagen, in Calgary, and Rome. We – right here in this community – are sisters to a household of God that stretches across this globe, saved by the blood of Jesus Christ alone. By grace through faith. “It is the gift of God, not the result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) That’s what makes us family. We, beloved sister, are in gorgeous company. Let’s give our time on this planet as part of this household all we’ve got. Christ is so altogether worthy.
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! One last thing before I say Go! Don’t panic or jump the gun and post a second time if you don’t see your verse published soon. I will be moderating all these launch comments by myself because I don’t want my staff to have to work on the holiday so I beg your patience. I’ll be hard at work on it but it will take me a while to get them all posted. As a rule over the next 12 months, only post a second time if it’s been 48 hours since you left the comment and you still don’t see it.
****I noticed that some of you posted verses earlier than this post was published and they came up on the SSMT informational comments.  I should have doubly emphasized what time the posts will go up each round: 8:00 AM, each 1st and 15th. So sorry if I did not make that clear enough! If you submit your verse earlier than that, it unfortunately appears under the wrong post and, the way blog moderating works, there’s no way for us to transfer the comments over. If you left your 1st verse under any other post than this one, please add it here as well. This is the official registration post.  I know it’s a bit complicated at first! Hang with it! So sorry for your extra trouble!
Hey, I am so glad you’re doing this with us. So much love to you.
OK, GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mandy Blake, Proctor, WV
Isaiah 51:16 (NIV) “I have put my words in your mouth and covered you with the shadow of my hand – I who set the heavens in place, who laid the foundations of the earth, and who say to Zion, ‘You are my people'”.
Suzanne Little Rock, AR “Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” Psalm 46:10
Miranda Wescott; Jenks, OK: “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” – Deuteronomy 31:8 NIV
Julie, Sugar Land, TX
“Forget the former things, do not dwell on 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
“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 29:11-12
Isaiah 43:1 NIV
But now , this is what The Lord says- he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
John 15:19 NLT
The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.
Kristy Reay, Camp Verde, AZ. “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.” Ephesians 2:19 ESV
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline
2 Timothy 1:7
NIV
Out of His fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. John 1:16 NIV
Tracee from Riverside, Ca “And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. ” Luke 13:12 KJV
Alisha Howell, Bluffton, OH
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5. NIV
Micah 8:8 – He has told you, I man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you but to do justice,to love kindness,and to walk humbly with your God?
Deanna, Frisco
Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
John 15:4 (NIV)
My first and what will be my verse even for this year is from Is. 40:31 “Those who wait for the Lord shall change and renew their strength & power; they shall lift their wings & mount up (close to God) as eagles(mount to the sun)THEY SHALL RUN AND NOT BE WEARY THEY SHALL WALK AND NOT FAINT OR BECOME TIRED.
So happy to be a part of this journey with you all!!!
Cindy C, Richmond, VA – “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, BELIEVE that you have received it,and it will be yours.” Mark 11:24 ESV
Katie Atkins, Fort Worth, TX, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” Colossians 3:17 NIV
Missy Schuetzle, Pierre, SD
Philipians 3:13-14 (NLT)
No, dear brothers and sisters, I am not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.
“For I know the thoughts that 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 New King James Version
Jana Decker Washburn, MO.
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.”
Jeremiah 29:11
Dawn Bourne, Ocala, FL
Isaiah 43:19, HCSB
“Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.”
Patricia Colvin
Sedalia MO
1 Corinthians 2:9
But just as it is written, “THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM. This is the verse I am standing on for this year.
1 Thessalonians 5:16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim His greatness. 1 Chron. 16:8
Lynne Reed, Georgetown, PA-Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Matt 22:37 NIV
Gloria Scheib, Kansas Coty, MO
Isaiah 43:1 NLT
“But now, O Jacob, listen to the LORD who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.”
JoAnne
Sedona, AZ
This tax man, not the other went home made right with God. If you walk around with your nose in the air, you’re going to end up flat on your face, but if you’re content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself.
Luke 18:14 MSG
Janet Mc ~ Crystal Lake ~ IL
Romans 12:1-2 NIV
Therefore, I urge you brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be renewed 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.
Becky Roddenberry from Brunswick, GA “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 (NKJV)
Amy Brothers, Maylene, AL
May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm‬ â€19‬:â€14‬ NIV
Katherine Sellers, Weatherford, TX
Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is The Lord’s purpose that prevails.
Proverbs 19:21 NIV
“Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.”
Margie
Mounds View, Minnesota
John 12:23-26
“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 “He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. 26 “If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.
Kristin Blatz, Kettering, OH “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9(NIV)
Catherine Sanvictores – Auckland New Zealand “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.” Ephesians 2:19 ESV
1 Timothy 1:12. NIV
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service.
Psalm 139:14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.
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 NIV
Anita Gorman,Olathe,KS
Matthew 6:1 RSV
Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them; for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
Kimberly Herrig, Cleveland, TN
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be he steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as you know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
I Corinthians 15:58 KJV
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on 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 wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV
Quincy, Illinois, “Direct my footsteps according to your word let nose and roll over me”. Psalms 119:133
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Ps. 51:10, NIV.
Jennifer Lyons–Sherrill, AR
Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. – Psalm 55: 22 NAS
Marilyn Benjamin Charlotte, North Carolina
“I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” (â€Philippians‬ â€4‬:â€11‬ NIV)
Lisa Meyer, Mustang, OK “Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.” Psalm 62:8 NIV
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it,and it will be yours. Mark 11:24
Lori Murphy Otego, New York John 6:40 New International Version (NIV)
For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
Frances Coats Fresno Ca. Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. Galatians 6:4 NLT
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God Colossians 3:1