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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kim Kobayashi
Monroe, Washington
“I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.”
Isaiah 41:18 ESV
(And of course I didn’t do this right the first time…)
Lauren Prattville, AL: [For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly]… Philippians 3:10a The Amplified Bible
Andi
Lincoln NE
“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 a hope and a future”.
Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
Kami – Kalispell, MT
“For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” Isaiah 43:19 NLT
Holly, Bowling Green, KY “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
Carol Cottrell Tucker, Georgia
Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.Psalm 25:5 NIV
Leah Buskirk, Alliance, Nebraska:
“He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Colossians 1:17 NIV
Psalm 91:1-4
Anne Wood
Spokane, Wa
Ps. 67:2 ESV
“That Your way may be known on the earth, Your saving power among all nations.”
Shawna Jones, Carthage, MS I can do all things through christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13
Kim, Shivers, Ms.
Psalms 139:23-24. Search me, O God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.(NLT)
Emily – Jefferson City, MO
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”
John 1:1 ESV
Hillary Ellis-Platteville, CO
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” Isaiah 41:10 ESV
Allisen Shawver- Menominee, MI
Psalm 18:16-19 NIV
He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.
Sarah, St. Joseph, MO:
“Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within me, bless his holy name.” Psalm 103:1 NRSV
Morrilton, AR
“I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked if him.”
Samuel 1:27
New International Version
Annie McGuire, Harrisonville, MO.
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do,
forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things
which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the
high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14, KJV
K-Mac, Cypress, TX
Rom 15:13 ESV “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. 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. Isaiah 43:18 & 19 ESV
Sherri
Highlands Ranch, CO
You, Lord, give perfect peace
to those who keep their purpose firm
and put their trust in you
Isaiah 26:3Good News Translation (GNT
My flesh and my heart may fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalms 73:26
I like your verse I may steal it for number 2!
Margie Willis, Misawa, Japan. “that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Chrst.” 1John 1:3 ESV
Elizabeth Donnelly
Memphis, TN
“Let us then with confidence draw near to the thone of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16 (ESV)
Nell, Gallatin
John 1:1,4,14 ESV
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God…in Him was life, and the life was the light of all people… And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s only son, full of grace and truth.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart
And lean not on your own
Understanding. In all your ways
Acknowledge HIM and HE will
Make your paths straight.”
Proverbs 3:5-6
Liana Wester, Fort Worth, TX
“If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ and yet you do not give them what i s necessary for their body, what use is that?” James 2:15-16 NASB
Marion Weaver, Southaven, MS
Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy;
Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the Lord, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.
Hosea 10:12 NKJV
For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. 1Corinthians 3:9 Michele Durrance, Nine Mile Falls, WA
Michele Durrance, Nine Mile Falls, WA
I’m so sorry- I’ll get the hang of this… been sick with a head cold;)
Larose, Louisiana
“Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you.
Psalm 143:8 ESV
Karen Matthews, Denver, Colorado
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (âHebrews⏠â4âŹ:â16⏠ESV)
Lorraine Davis of Pella, IA (but always *from* FL đ I want to quit the self-degrading thoughts this year:
“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” ~ Philippians 4:8 NLT
Heather Foster, Margate, Florida “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.” (âIsaiah⏠â41âŹ:â13⏠NIV)
Sarah; Metairie, LA; 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.
Cassandra Plymouth, MA
Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, and a light on my path. NIV
Katie Davila, Tomball, TX
2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
Kim Patocka, Owasso, OK
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8 NIV
Linda Clark, Houston, Texas
“I am the vine, you are the branches; he that abides in Me, and I in Him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me, you can do nothing. John 15:5 NASB
Mary Martin, Palmyra, VA, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” Romans 12:12, ESV
Lauren Chou- Durham, NC: “you will be a crown of splendor in the LORD’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God.” NIV
Romans 12:12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. NIV
Susan Santaniello, Edwards, CO: No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their righteousness is from Me,â
Says the Lord. Isaiah 54:17 NKJ
Annie McF, ShowLow, AZ. “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.â Acts 4:12, ESV
Amanda Anderson White House, TN
“Therefore you are inexcusable O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself: for you who judge practice the same things.” Romans 2:1 NKJV
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. NIV
My flesh and my heart may fail; but God is my strength and my portion forever. Psalms 73:26
Alycia Kirk – Southaven, MS
âO Lord, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.â Isaiah 33:2 NIV
i can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13 King James Version
Studying “What Are You Afraid Of?” By Dr. David Jeremiah, so my post is, “The LORD, He is the one who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear or be dismayed”. (Deuteronomy 31:8 NKJV)
Amanda K., Bastrop Tx
Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.
1 Chronicles 16:11 NIV
Deuteronomy 30:19 (NIV)
19Â This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live. Wilsonville, Alabama