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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1 NIV
Sarah Hail, Friendswood, TX
Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. (â€Hebrews‬ â€10‬:â€23-25‬ NLT)
Megan, Trussville, Alabama
Isaiah 43:18-19 (New International Version)
“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.”
Debbie George, Marion, IN. ” You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.” Psalm 119:114 NIV
Traci, Birmingham, Alabama “Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart”-Proverbs 3:3 KJV
Tracey Carter, Tyler, TX
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” 1 Corinthians 9:24 NIV
Ashleigh, Terre Haute, IN: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Ephesians 4:29 NIV
Michelle, King George, VA “Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it? I’m making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands.” Isaiah 43: 18-19 The Message
Laurie, Tomball
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Phil. 4:6 ESV
Rachael Vaaden, Louisville, Kentucky. You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Isaiah 26:3 NIV
Rhonda, Moundridge, KS
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” – Galatians 2:20 NIV
Nancy Hunter, Orleans, Ontario Canada
I Corinthians 15:58 KJV “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord”
Missy, Phoenix:
Now the Lord God said, It is not good (sufficient, satisfactory) that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper (suitable, adapted, complementary) for him.
Genesis 2:18 AMP
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you, declares The Lord, plans to prosper and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. NIV
Marilyn Flaming
Philippians 1:9 (NIV)
“An this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight.
Leesa Ewen Colville, WA
For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue,
And virtue with knowledge, 2 Peter 1:5. ESV
Tara McCoy from Front Royal, VA
Proverbs 19.21 (NIV)
Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
Wendy O, Redding, CA
Psalm 119:36 (The Passion Translation)
“Cause my heart to bow before Your words of wisdom and not to the wealth of this world.”
Phil 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Kelly Merrill
Menomonie, Wisconsin
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 2 Corinthians 10:4 ESV
Donna Warren: High Island, Texas
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Phil 4:13
Susan in Grand Rapids, Michigan–
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. Romans 15:13 ESV
Jen Hackler, Monroe, La
“I love you, O Lord, my strength” Psalm 18:1 ESV
Cheryl Spann, Ponder, Tx. “For I know the plans I have for you,” says The Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
Carrie – Belvidere, IL
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)
Tammy Gillmore, Charlotte, AR
“Now Ezra had determined in his heart to study the law of the Lord, obey it, and teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel.” – Ezra 7:10 HCS
Dana Goodwin Ashland, KY “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.” Acts 4:12 ESV
Polly M,Beavercreek Twp, OH:
Philippians 4:6, NIV
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Stephanie K. Waynesboro, MS
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self discipline.”
2 Timothy 1:7 NLT
Mamie K
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. “
Kriston Ohm, Hershey, Pa. – Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. – Phillippians 4:5. NIV
Stephanie D Coventry, CT
“You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus”
2 Timothy 2:1 (ESV)
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are waling in the truth. 3 John 1:4 NIV
Jocelyn Keefer Greer, SC
For he wounds, but he binds up; he shatters, but his hands heal. Job 5:18 ESV
Becca
Birmingham, AL
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” ESV
Deborah(mom)= Habakkuk 3:18 esv; yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
Sarah(daughter 11 1/2 yrs. old)= 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 a hope and a future.”
Brenda G from Katy, Texas
“O LORD, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high:
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul…”
Psalm 131:1-2a ESV
Lisa Hall, Arp, TX
“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh” Ezekiel 36:26 KJV
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
Melissa Williams from Saylorsburg PA
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12
Poorna Diaz, Reston, Virginia. “I, Paul, together here with Silas and Timothy, send greetings to the church at Thessalonica, Christians assembled by God the Father and by the Master, Jesus Christ. God’s amazing grace be with you! God’s robust peace! Every time we think of you, we thank God for you. Day and night you’re in our prayers as we call to mind your work of faith, your labor of love, and your patience of hope in following our Master, Jesus Christ, before God our Father. It is clear to us, friends, that God not only loves you very much but also has put his hand on you for something special.” 1 Thessalonians 1.1-4 MSG
Noel Garcia, Andersonville TN, My goal for the new year; “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect”. (â€Romans‬ â€12‬:â€2‬ NASB)
Dana Arth, Lee’s Summit, Missouri. 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
Katrina Foster, Kansas City, MO
“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is [a]lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” Philippians 4:8 (NASB)
Tracy—Kountze, Texas
Praise the Lord!
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Psalm 106:1. NASB
Carol Bowen, Highlands, NC
Psalm 5:11, ESV
But let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them that those who love Your Name may exult in You.
Sarah Mann from Phoenix, Arizona
Psalm 31:14
But I trust in you, LORD. I say, “You are my God.” (NIV)
Melissa, Augusta, GA
That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
Deuteronomy 30:20, KJV
Stacey Peebles, Decatur, AL “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 strait.” Proverbs 3:5-6
Diana Aburto, Piedras Negras, Mexico Psalms 19:14, NLT “May the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” “Que las palabras de mi boca y la meditaciĂłn de mi corazĂłn
sean de tu agrado,oh Señor, mi roca y mi redentor.” Salmo 19:14