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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Amy jones from Bluff Dale, TX
Romans 12:2
Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
Holman apologetics study bible
Melanie
Lubbock, TX
The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.
Nahum 1:7
Brooke Walburg, Grand Rapids MI:
Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved. Psalms 55:22 ESV
Kathleen Conrad, Shenandoah, TX – “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26, NIV
Angie Brown, Taylors, SC “My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” John 14:27 NASB
Wendy, Lakewood,NY, For everything in the world — the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does — comes not from the Father but from the world. 1 John 2:16 (NIV)
“Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history.
Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it?
Isaiah 43:18 the Message
Rebecca Oaks, Bluffton, OH. James 1:2-3 (NIV). “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.”
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18 NIV
Trust in The Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding.Prov.3:5
Kara from Macungie, PA: “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” Ephesians 4:2
Deidra K. Vanderheiden, Wichita, KS “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation by prayer and petition, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)
Rachel Lamfers, Sioux Falls, SD: “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Colossians 3:12-14 NIV
Becky Baskin, San Antonio, TX: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Gal. 2:20 ESV
Kristi-Ypsilanti, Mi:
Isaiah 43:19 (New Living Translation
“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.”
Lora from Findlay,OH – “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptabke to You, Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14 HCSB
Janice Beeker, Pembroke Pines, FL
But Jesus said, “it should be done, for we MUST carry out ALL that God requires.” So John agreed to baptize Him. Matthew 3:15 NLT
Sarah Wiley, Sterling, CO. “The Lord and King gives me strength. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer. He helps me walk on the highest places.” NIRV
Sharon Hamilton, Mactaquac, N.B.
Psalms 121: 1,2 NIV
I lift my eyes to the mountains- where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. Psalm 28 : 7 NIV
Laura from Jefferson, Maine
1 Corinthians 13:4 NIV “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.”
I’m working on loving better, and this verse will set the tone for 2015!
Barbara Fetter, Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20 NIV
Donna, Mertztown,PA
James1:4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. NIV
Lynn Smith, Moberly, MO, “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)
Anita, Huntsville, AL “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 NASB
Melissa Durham, NC “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8: 38-39 KJV
Now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy on His sight, without blemish and free from accusation. Col. 1:22 NIV
Sam Jordt, Hillcrest, South Africa. Submit to God and be at peace with Him; in this way prosperity will come to you. Job 22:21
Gilbert, AZ “The Lord is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid? Psalms 27:1 NIV
Cheryl from Denton, Texas. “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.” Isaiah‬ â€40‬:â€31‬ NIV
Here is my 1st memory verse!
2 Chronicles 7:14
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (NIV)
Cheryl Meritt
Jax, FL
3 Praise the Lord’s greatness with me.
Let us highly honor his name together.
4 I went to the Lord for help.
He answered me and rescued me from all my fears.
Psalm 34:3 (GW)
Leslie G-Warner Robins, GA
Romans 12:12 NIV
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction.”
Sherri Roe Cleveland, TN “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.” 2 Corinthians 10:4 ESV
Gina, Dallas, TX, Habakkuk 3:18
yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.(NIV)
Liza, Monmouth Junction, NJ — “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Hebrews 12:12 (NIV)
Cause me to hear thy loving kindness in the morning; for in the do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.
Psalms 143:8 KJV
Dottie Granbury, Tx. Behold I am doing a new thing; now it springs fourth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert . IIsaiah 43:19
Cindy, Valdosta, GA, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” Proverbs 3:5-6, NKJV
Darcie West, Seffner, FL. “He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.” I Thes. 5:24 NKJV
Kaylee Vida, Anderson, IN
Careful planning puts you ahead in the long run; hurry and scurry puts you further behind. Proverbs 21:5, Msg.
Marcia Kellenberger, Elgin, IL. “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 a hope and a future.” Jer. 29:11 (NIV)
Jennifer Havens
Otway, Oh
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.
Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV
Teresa, Spring Hill, TN
“How then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.” Romans 10: 14-15 NIV
Kirsten Manhattan “above all love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8
April Woodard, IL
For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. Proverbs 23:7
Thank you GOD for a new year for me and just a new day in your eyes.
Aligning our heart to be in one accord with GOD’s Holy Spirit is necessary when we feed on GOD’s Word. Our thought process will affect our outcome in life. So our priority fellow servants is to make sure to digest our intake slowly with the right foods(spiritual) not foods(carnal) that destroy the mind, heart, and soul. When our positive thoughts are with GOD in mind we are able to have a barrier in place to keep the plague out the enemy puts there at times.
Corning, NY “Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and out stretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you” Jeremiah 32:17 NIV
Lorin Killgrove, Farmington Hills, MI for Infertility-
“Sing o barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married,” says the LORD. Isaiah 54:1 ESV
Natalie Bryn. Cumming, GA
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. Proverbs 3:27
Anne Meester from Clear Lake, Iowa: “”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 NIV