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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pepper Helms, Houston, Texas.
“Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of The Lord will be your rear guard.” Isaiah 58:8 NIV
Jennifer, Fort Worth, TX “As for God, his way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true.” 2 Samuel 22:31, NLT
Michelle Barnhart, Maryville, TN. “For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time–to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.” 2 Timothy 1:9 NLT
Kimberly Balles Rolling Meadows, Illinois. “But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” Hebrews 2:9 NIV
Bettina Dowell; Lorton, VA;”For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.”; Romans 1:16 (NIV)
Jessie, Chittagong, Bangladesh. “But God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7 ISV
Danielle Sears, Daegu, South Korea
“He is your praise and He is your God,
who has done for you those great and
awesome works your eyes have seen.”
Deuteronomy 10:21 NIV
Vickie McMurray, Dallas,TX-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
Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips. Psalm141:3 NKJV
Naomi, Lakeville, MN, I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called-his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.
Eva Wait, Stafford,Virginia
“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
April Moriarty, Seymour, TN ~ Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. (â€Joshua‬ â€1‬:â€8‬ NLT)
Joyce R, Fort Worth, Texas. I have set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Psalm 16:8 NIV
Frederika Myles . Spring Hill, TN. Trust in The Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding (6) in all ways submit to him, and he will make your path straight. Proverbs 3: 5-6. NIV
Lacey, Oakwood, OH
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, Eph 3:20 NKJV
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. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. (â€Jeremiah‬ â€29‬:â€11-13‬ NIV)
Erin Richardson, Birmingham, Alabama “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (â€Lamentations‬ â€3‬:â€22-23‬ ESV)
Charlene Garrett, Alabaster, AL
1 Peter 2:21 (NKJV)–For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps.
Faye Lupfer, Hanston, KS – 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
Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, therefore there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of deer, he enables me to tread on the heights. Habakkuk 3:17-18 NIV
Diane Perkins, Rockford MI. O Lord be gracious to us; we long for you. be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress. Isiah 33:2NIV
Kari Turner, Charlottesville, VA
“God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.” (Psalm‬ â€46‬:â€5‬ ESV)
Erin Marken from Highlands Ranch, CO
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. (â€Hebrews‬ â€4‬:â€16‬ ESV)
Dawn-Hilliard, Ohio “Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick tempered displays folly.” Proverbs 14:29 NIV
Elizabeth Alvarado, Galveston, TX – “whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops.” Matthew 10:27
Stephanie Bryant, Charlotte
He has told you, O man,what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness , and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8 ESV
Shannon Swain, Allen, TX
Psalm 51:10 MSG
God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Cindy Allen, Lenoir City, TN, Jesus answered him, “what I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” John 13:7 ESV
Beth Pierce, Columbia, MS. Galations 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. (KJV)
Moulton, Alabama. “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.”
Psalm 119:18 ESV
Astrid from Sugar Land Texas
Deut 31. verse 8 HCSB
The Lord is the One who will go before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.
Rebecca from San Angelo, Texas:
Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (â€Philippians‬ â€3‬:â€13-14‬ ESV)
Shana from St Louis,MO~ Behold I will do a new thing,now it shall spring forth;shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19 NKJ
Linda Hansen, Buckeye, Az. “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will
establish your plans” Proverbs 16:3 NIV
Rene, Pine River, MN
Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and light shone in the cell. He struck Peter in the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!”, he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.
Acts 12:7
Ellen Elam, Chattanooga, TN
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin which so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.
Hebrews 12:1 NLT
Emma Gallant, Kingman, AZ
But he said to me, “My Grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV
Lainey Riley, Daphne, AL
Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Colossians 4:6 NIV
Kimi Miller, Papillion, NE ~ Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:23 NIV)
Naomi, Lakeville, MN, I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called-his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. Ephesians 1:18 NLT
Jo Ann Rodgers, Aston. PA. “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.” Hebrews 13:15 NASB
Cara Shiu, Houston, Texas
2 Corinthians 5:18 GW
“God has done all this. He has restored our relationship with him through Christ, and has given us this ministry of restoring relationships.”
Michelle Slomp, Okotoks, AB, Canada
Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:12 NIV
Cyndi, Bloomdale, OH: “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from you presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing heart to sustain me.” (Psalm 51: 10-12 NIV)
Laura Aldridge. Ringgold (Peavine), GA- the book of Jude.
First verse is…
“Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to those who have been called, who are lives by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ:”
Jude 1:1 NIV
Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. (â€2 Corinthians‬ â€8‬:â€11‬ NIV)
Natalie Kitchen-Cumming, Georgia
9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. (â€Philippians‬ â€1‬:â€9-11‬ NIV)
Holly Everse, Zeeland, MI “For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. You rule throughout all generations. The Lord always keeps his promises; he is gracious in all he does.”
Psalm 145:13 NLT
Courtney, Lima, Ohio. “The LORD will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.” Isaiah‬ â€58‬:â€11‬ (NLT)
Colleen, Mae Sot, Thailand
For the Lord is righteous, he loves justice; the upright will see his face.
Psalm 11:7 NIV