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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rachel Johnston, Lakewood, WA “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” Lamentations 3:24 ESV
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
Lindsey A, Murphy TX. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6 NIV
Yancey, Savannah, GA
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10 NIV
Isaiah 30:21 (NIV)
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
Patti Miller, Gaffney, SC
And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Colossians 3:17 NKJV
Karen – Greer, SC: “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)
Paula Smith, Lancaster, PA
“When You said, ‘Seek My face,’
My heart said to You, ‘Your face, LORD, I will seek.'”
Psalm 27:8, NKJV
Danielle Smith, Litchfield, MN
And He saith unto them,”Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. Matthew 8:26 KJV
Deb Fasano, Quincy,IL “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
Tracy Pace, Hernando, MS
“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” Romans 8:32 ESV
We’ve been given Christ which Himself is sufficient…and yet God also promises more… “all things” ..isn’t it just like God to go above and beyond!
Isaiah 43:18 – Message
Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV
Jeanmarie Eberhart, Archbald, PA
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. I Peter 3: 15, NIV 1984
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
(Matthew 6:34 NIV)
Kathy in Canton, Illinois
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption to whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
Romans 8:14-17 NKJV
Sarah F – College Station, TX – “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18
Paula Hoff, Stewartstown,PA 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. (â€Isaiah‬ â€43‬:â€19‬ NIV)
Cathy, Chesapeake Beach, MD
James, a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings. James 1:1 NIV
Kelly Copelan, Starr, SC
But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (â€Philippians‬ â€3‬:â€13-14‬ NIV)
LeighAnn McCullough, Oxford, Alabama, God of peace, fill us with all joy and peace as we trust in you, so we may overflow with hope by the power of your Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
My sheep listen to My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. John 10:27 NET
“Thus says the Lord of Hosts. “Consider your ways”. Haggia 1:7 NKJV
Samantha Blasio Independence Oregon
Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV
Because of the Lord ’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
heather crawford; minneapolis, mn; “we have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” hebrews 6:19 NIV
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet[a] no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
Ecclesiastes 3:11
Dawndra in Minneapolis, MN
Sherri Zingarelli, Galena, OH:
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 43:19, NIV
Robin, Elk River, MN
Romans 12:1-2 ESV
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Candice Henderson. Mayo, SC
The Lord your God is in your midst—a warrior bringing victory. He will create calm with his love; he will rejoice over you with singing. (â€Zephaniah‬ â€3‬:â€17‬ CEB)
Kimberly Trautman – Garner, NC –
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”
– Philippians 2:3
Alicia Cromwell, Trenton, Ontario
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
Galations 5:22-23 KJV
Abigail H. , Great Falls, MT
Isaiah 43:1-3 ESV
1 But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
3 For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
Psalm 31:3 NIV
Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me.
Megan Strain, Alexandria, LA
A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24 (NIV 84)
Middlebourne WV
“Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings..” Psalms 63:7 TNIV
Debbie Hansen, East Helena, Montana
“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” Proverbs 17:17, NIV
Sara Fretheim, Vancouver, Canada. “See, I am doing something new; it’s springing up – can’t you see it? I am making a road in the desert, rivers in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:19, CJB.
Joy Jordan, Canon, Ga., ” Search me,O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalms 139:23-24, NKJV.
Missy Poole, Grand Lake, LA
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31
Beth Ingram, West Des Moines, IA
I lift up my eyes to you, to you who sit enthroned in heaven.
As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he shows us his mercy.
Psalm 123:1-2 NIV
James 2:1-3
Hannah Broeckelman
Tribune, KS
1 Peter 1:3-4 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.
Mary/Lilburn ,GA. Isaiah 12:2. Surely God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord. , the Lord, is my strength and my song: he has become my salvation. NIV
Dee Dee Estes, Gurnee, Illinois. May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm 19:14, NIV)
April, roanoke, va
II Corinthians 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;(kjv)
Kerry Babb, Houston, TX
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7 (ESV)
“You turned my wailing into dancing; You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to You and not be silent.” -Psalm 30:11-12 NIV
Caitlyn Benefiel, Pineville, KY
Isaiah 40:31 NIV
but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Megan Bethel, O’Fallon Missouri: My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever Plasm 73:26 NLT
Kerri Morris, il. 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. (â€Isaiah‬ â€43‬:â€19‬ NLT)