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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tammy Childress Newbern,Tn
An offended brother is harder to reach than a fortified city, and quarrels are like the bars of a fortress. Proverbs 18:19
Lauren, Arizona: As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise You more and more. Psalm 71:14 NIV
Rita Ford, The Woodlands, Texas, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Psalm 19:1 NIV84
Donna Thomas, Healdsburg, CA, Psalm 125:2, NIV
As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forevermore.
“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
Kim Banz, Bethany, OK
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” Colossians 3:1
Kathi Goetz, Houston TX “19 Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19 ESV
Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. King James Version
Debbie DeLeo, Shoreline, Washington
“If I should say, ‘My foot has slipped,’ Your lovingkindness, O LORD, will hold me up. When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul.” Psalm 94:18-19 NASB
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, Holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.
Colossians 3:12 ESV
Sarah Greenberg
Lewistown, MT
Gwen Hanna, Centennial,CO
For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. (â€2 Corinthians‬ â€1‬:â€5‬ NIV)
Stacy ~ Imperial, Nebraska ~ 20 Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield.
21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name. Psalm 33:20,21 NKJ
Martha Roberts, Chattanooga, TN
But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory and the lifter of my head. Psalms 3:3 ESV
Judy Moldenhauer, Boerne TX, “Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always”. Psalm 105:4
Psalm 51:18-19a
“Make Zion the place you delight in,
Repair Jerusalem’s broken down walls.
Then you’ll get real worship from is,
Acts of worship small and large…”
Kay Guerrero, Deer Park, TX
“17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!”
Psalm 139: 17 ESV
Denise Tindall, Friedens,PA: You are my God, and I will give thanks to You; You are my God; I will extol You. Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever! Psalm 118:28-29, ESV
Janessa, Cookeville, Tennessee “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom to the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn.” Isaiah 61:1-2 NIV
Brenda Hayden, Auburn, WA.
“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.”
Proverbs 31:30. ESV
Melanie – Decatur, AL
Psalm 1:1-2 NIV
1 How happy is the(one)
who does not follow the advice of the wicked
or take the path of sinners
or join a group of mockers!
2 Instead,(her)delight is in the LORD’s instruction,
and(she)meditates on it day and night.
Miyuki Wood, Peoria, AZ
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. — Romans 8:28 NIV
Allyson Holland, Coppell,Texas
For my determined purpose is that I may know Him that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding
the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly, and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection which it exerts over believers, and that I may so share in His sufferings as to be continually transformed in spirit into His likeness, even to His death. Philippians 3:10 (Amplified)
Kari Thurman, Wentzville, MO
“But seek first of all His kingdom and His righteousness, and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.” Matthew 6:33 (amplified)
Alaska
Acts 2:25-26
“David said about him: “‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices:my body also will rest in hope…” (NIV)
Rosemary Forney,Texas “If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.” James 1:22 KJV.
In you, O LORD, do I take refuge;Â Â let me never be put to shame;Â Â in your righteousness deliver me! Psalm 31:1 ESV
Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. (â€Psalms‬ â€51‬:â€12‬ NLT)
Lily Prado, San Diego, Ca.
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” Joshua 1:9 NIV
Bitsy, Smyrna TN, Deuteronomy 8:1-2
Remember the Lord Your God
​“The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers. And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.
Dana Duckworth Tuscaloosaha, AL 1/1 This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24 NIV
Julie, Simi Valley, CA “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 ESV
Kary Delgado, Irvine, California.
“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 wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.”
Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV
See I’m doing a new thing in you;now it springs up;do you perceive it. IS 43:19
Britt Janz, British Columbia, Canada
Joshua 1:8 NIV
Keep this Book of law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Kelli Hull, Bossier City, La. Haggai 2:8- The gold is mine and the silver is mine. This is a reminder to always have God as our 1st priority and not material things. All blessings in our life should be used to serve God, not take his place. In the end everything is his.
Phil 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
“In the path of righteousness there is life, in walking its path there is no death.”
Proverbs 12:28
Debbie from Clarksville, TN Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. (â€Philippians‬ â€4‬:â€8-9‬ NKJV)
Joann Morgan, Salem, Indiana. Stand in awe of Our God. “Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. Ecclesiastes 5:2
Leah Lemley, Ozark, AR
For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. (â€Jeremiah‬ â€29‬:â€11‬ NLT)
Colossians 9-10: And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.
Belinda Beasley, Lincoln AR
“Submit yourself therefore to God. Resist the devil (stand firm against him),and he will flee from you. James 4:7 KJV,(AMP)
I was taught to memorize in the KJV but sometimes I like a little more definition.
Marsha Galyardt, Everett, WA
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8 NIV
Diane Wehunt Athens GA
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not
Depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do and He will show you which path to take. ”
Proverbs 3:5-6. NLT
Donna Richmond, Tioga La
Restore the joy of Your salvation to me, and give me a willing spirit. Psalm 51:12 HCSB
Emily….Houston, Texas
Romans 12:1 (NIV) 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 your spiritual act of worship.
Veronica S., Auburn, CA
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Kellie Aamodt, Laguna Niguel, CA
For surely you know the plans I have for your, says the LORD, plans for your welfare
and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Jer 29:11
Nicole Oury Lakewood, Washington “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.” Ezekiel 36:26 NLT
Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)
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 wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
Kasi Walker – Tacoma, WA