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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Katherine Kuder, San Angelo, TX
1Peter 4:8
Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
Tracy
Las Cruces, NM
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 NIV
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (â€Hebrews‬ â€12‬:â€11‬ NIV)
Psalm 103:1-5
1
Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2
Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5
who satisfies your desires with good things
Mysti from Springfield, IL
Ezekiel 36:26 And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. NLT
Melanie, Spartanburg, SC. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be
given to you as well. Matthew 6:33
Cybil Hill, Pittsburgh, PA. Ecclesiastes 4:12 NIV Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Michelle Alosa
Concord, New Hampshire
2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
You,Lord,are close to the brokenhearted and save those who are crushed by the spirit. Psalm 34:18
Perkinston, MS
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. (â€Proverbs‬ â€3‬:â€5-6‬ NIV)
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun. 2nd Corinthians 5:17 NLT
Ruby, Water Valley, AB
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. 3 John 1:4 KJV
Betsy Roberts – Antwerp, OH
“You crown the year with your blessings and you leave abundance in your wake.”
Psa 65:11 (ESV)
Sabrina, Oran, Missouri, “For we are the product of His hand, heaven’s poetry etched on lives, created in the Anointed, Jesus, to accomplish the good works God arranged long ago.” Ephesians 2:10 (The Voice Bible)
Psalm 3:3. NIV
But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
Kathy Sanford, Lake Jackson, Texas
I am working on the Parable of the Lost Sheep
Luke 15:3-4 (HCSB)
So He told them this parable:
“What man among you, who has 100 sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the 99 in the open field and go after the lost one until he finds it?”
phillipians 3:13-14
Brothers and sisters I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it, but one thing I do: forgetting what’s behind and straining toward what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Diane Lamain Harrow, Ontario, Canada
Hebrews 13 NIV
Keep on loving others as brothers.
Billie, Franklin, TN
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
Isaiah 60:1 ESV
danae | lafayette, in
love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. — romans 12:9 [msg]
Donna Marion,NC 2Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. KJV
Debbie Emberson-Shawnee Kansas
May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice. Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips. Psalm 141:2-3 NIV
Terri Sickles, Richmond, MO,
When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” John 5:6, ESV
Nicole Mattox Wilmington, NC
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Deuteronomy 6:4-7, NIV
January 1
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you will judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Matthew 7:1-2
Aubrey
Columbia, MO
Whom have I in Heaven but you? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psalm 73:25-26 (NASB)
Kara
Tulsa, OK
So God has given both His promise and His oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to Him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.
Hebrews 6:18 (NLT)
Mary, Wahoo, Ne
“Awake, awake O Zion, clothe yourself with strength. Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, the Holy City. The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again. Shake off your dust: rise up, sit enthroned, O Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, O captive Daughter of Zion.”
Isaiah 52:1-2 NIV
Stacie B
Mansfield, TX
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10 (NIV)
Simone, Oceanside, CA: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge”. Proverbs 1:7(a), NKJV
Martha from Warrensburg, MO
“Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.” Psalm‬ â€86‬:â€11‬ ESV
Burbank, CA
Phillipians 3:13-14
Brothers and sisters I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it, but one thing I do: forgetting what’s behind and straining toward what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ,for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes,for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith,as it is written the just shall live by faith. Rom 1:16,17-NKJV
Donna Duvall, Virginia Beach, VA I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sign against you. Psalm 119:11 NIV
Janet
Pinson, AL
Galatians 6:9 NIV
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Debbie D. O’Fallon Mo.
The lord is near to those who have a
broken heart, and saves such as have
a contrite spirit
Psalms 34:18
Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. (â€Psalm‬ â€37‬:â€4‬ ESV)
Trish Kittrell, Shelby, NC
“Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way.” 2 Thessalonians 3:16a
Season Henry, Knoxville, Tennessee. “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Philippians 4:4-6 ESV
blessed is the man who walks not in the counselof the ungodly psalm 1
Joanne Verzi Austin, TX “Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, For wisdom and power belong to Him.” Daniel 2:20 NASB
Kodi BeVelle Jackson, MO Proverbs 3: 5-6 NIV
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6 NIV
Raye Bauer, O’Fallon, Missouri “With every prayer and request pray at all times in the Spirit, and stay alert in this, with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.” Eph. 6:18 Holman Study Bible
Toni (age: 9)
New Waverly, TX
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.”
Brandi, Knoxville, TN
“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; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV
Marsha Householder
Murrells Inlet, SC
“Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.”
Psalm 9:10
NIV
Gwen, Houston, TX –
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV
Pittsburgh, PA
For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you & not harm you, plans to give you hope & future.
Jer. 29:11
Janet Anderson, Edmond, OK
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.
John 1:1 (NKJV)