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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“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
Isaiah 41:13
“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.” NIV
Holly, Ridgefield, WA
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings
James 1:1 NIV
Sorry, forgot location.
Hineston, LA
Diane LeJeune, Fairview, TN.
“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.” Jeremiah 29:11-13 NIV
Karen from Clearwater ~ Psalm 28:7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; and him my heart trust and in him I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. ESV
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8: 38-39 NIV
“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
Tina Young, Virginia Beach, VA
Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
Proverbs 19:21 NIV
Peggy Butry, Killeen Texas
Psalm 37:5 Commit your path to the Eternal; let Him direct you. Put your confidence in Him, and He will follow through with you. The Voice
Valerie Rosenthal, Alta, IA
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing, and perfect will.” Romans 12:2 NIV
Pepper Edwards , midland, tx. ” Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm51:10
Valerie, Alexandria, Louisiana
Wait on the Lord: be of good courage and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord. Psalm 27:14, KJ
Chaundel Holladay, Lake Forest, CA – Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16, NIV
Megan, San Antonio, TX
Ephesians 1:4 AMP
Even as [in His love] He chose us [actually picked us out for Himself as His own] in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy (consecrated and set apart for Him) and blameless in His sight, even above reproach, before Him in love.
2 Kings 3:18
This is an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord.
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. Jer. 29:1 NIV
Val in Oskaloosa, Iowa: “We pray that our God will make you fit for what He’s called you to be, pray that He’ll fill your good ideas and acts of faith with His own energy so that it all amounts to something. If your life honors the Name of Jesus, He will honor you.” 2 Thessalonians 1: 11-12 (The Message)
Jan Voci, Tucson Isaiah 43:18 & 19a NIV
Forget the former things, do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!
For nothing is impossible with God.
Luke 1:37
“For from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace ” John 1:16 ESV
Jeanie Beeson, Kanorado, Ks
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
Psalm 46:10, NIV
Isaiah 1:17Amplified Bible (AMP)
17Â Learn to do right! Seek justice, relieve the oppressed, and correct the oppressor. Defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.
Paula Lawson, Huxley, Tx. The Lord is my strength and my salvation, of whom shall I fear.
Psalms 29:1
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
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God- this is you spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern if this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing, and perfect will.” Romans 12:2 NIV
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. (Matthew 6:33)
Trust in God at all times, my people. Tell him all your troubles, for he is our refuge. Psalm 62:8 ESV
Patti Schrage, Billings, MT. “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer” Psalms 19:14. NASB
Melodie
BC, Canada
“You have kept count of my wanderings, put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me.”
Lucy, Bridge City, TX
“I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for.” Jeremiah 29:11 GNT
Lauren Shaw, Paducah, Kentucky, “Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!” Psalms 31:24 ESV
Becky, Canton, MI
Isaiah 43:19 NIV
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.
Noemi – Fairview, Pa
Proverbs 30:5 (NIV) “Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in him.”
Odessa, Florida
Jeremiah 29:11
“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.” NIV
JennaLee-Mountain Lake, MN:
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;
Philippians 2:3 NASB.
Carlyn Greene, Tucker, GA. Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.James 1:22 HCSB This is a goal of mine for the year, to be a doer of the word.
Guide me in your truth and teach me,for you are my God my Savior, and my Hope is in you all day long. Psalms 25:5
Kristye – Karnack Texas – Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. (â€Isaiah‬ â€41‬:â€10‬ NLT)
Tori Treat, Tulsa Oklahoma
“Walk in wisdom towards outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”
-Colossians 4:5-6
Andrea Pierpoint from Old Hickory, TN – Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (â€Romans‬ â€12‬:â€2‬ NLT)
Ann Kelley, San Antonio, TX. “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
He has told you, o man, what is good and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8 ESV
Lynchburg, VA
Brielle, Denver, CO
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.
â€Romans‬ â€12‬:â€2‬, ESV
Haydee Lebron
Peoria, AZ
PSALMS 34:18
The Angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them.
HCSB
Tori Wehunt, Rison, AR
“Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.” 2 Corinthians 7:1 ESV
Psalm 90:12 (esv) so teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.
John 3:16
Julie, Wagner, SD
“For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. (1 Thessalonians 2:3-4 NIV)
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6
Kelly Watson
Fargo, ND