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) Ā 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 ofĀ 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 areĀ 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:Ā
Your name, city, verse (written all the way out), reference, and translation.Ā
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 citizensĀ with the saints and members of the household of God.”Ā 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 householdĀ all we’ve got. Christ is so altogether worthy.
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! One last thing before I say Go!Ā 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 upĀ on the SSMT informational comments. Ā 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. Ā I know it’s a bit complicated at first! Hang with it!Ā So sorry for your extra trouble!
Hey, I am so glad you’re doing this with us. So much love to you.
OK, GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kandi Sullivan, Tallahassee, FL
Keep this Book of the 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. Joshua 1:8 NIV
Kelly Penn, Farmington, AR
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NLV)
Michelle, North Little Rock, AR
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (Oh praise Him for the sound mind!) 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)
1 Peter 1: 24-25
All men are like grass and their glory like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall but the word of the Lord stands forever.
Now, therefore, ye are more strangers and sojourners, but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God. Ephesians 2:19 KJV
Jessica Baker Cumming, GA
Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior, and my hope is in you all day long”
Psalm 25:4-5 NIV
Arielle Bacon, Chesapeake, Virginia ||
“If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants.” 1 Kings 12:7 (NIV)
Jami Bumgarner, Shelby, NC
“For I know the thoughts I think toward you, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV
Lisa Smallwood, Rockville, Virginia
“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being…” Ephesians 3:16, NIV
201 S. Cherry Street
Susie-Wellington, Florida. Theme verse for 2015
“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you…….Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.” Ps. 63:1,3 (ESV)
Jennifer Tribbie, Columbus, Ohio
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” Colossians 3:12
Be as Jesus would be – this is how I want to live life – in 2015 and beyond!
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid for the Lord your God goes with you. He will never leave you or forsake you. Deut. 31:6
Andie Menchaca; San Antonio,TX
I will fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all my heart; as I consider what great things He has done for me.
1Samuel 12:24. NASB
Lafayette, LA
Numbers 6: 24-26 NKJV
“The LORD bless you and keep; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”
Terri Quella, Mosinee, WI “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.” Hebrews 4:16 (ESV)
Isaiah 58:10 “and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.”
Christy Higginbotham, Prescott, AR
And if I have prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:2 NET
I pray that the God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Romans 15:13
Alicia Casady, Columbia, MO
“One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord & to seek Him in His temple.” Psalm 27:4, NIV
fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10 ESV
Sheila Hildebrandt, Mitchell, MB, Canada
Romans 5:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (NIV)
Marita Harrell, Frisco TX
Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God- what is good and acceptable and perfect.
-Romans 12:2 NRSV
Dori Young, Burleson, Texas
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Romans 12:12 NIV
Isaiah 32:17-18 The fruit of righteous will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever. My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed place of rest. (NIV)
Jordan Watkins , cary NC and I fell asleep thanks to NyQuil before I posted this verse. My husbands fav. š Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.
Becky Sanchez, Fort Collins, CO
“Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.”
Colossians 3:16
God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So always do these things: show mercy to others, be kind, humble, gentle, and patient. Get along with each other, and forgive each other. If someone does wrong to you, forgive that person because the Lord forgave you. Do all these things; but most important, love each other. Love is what holds you all together in perfect unity. Let the peace that Christ gives control your thinking, because you are all called together in one body to have peace. Always be thankful. Let the teaching of Christ live in you richly. Colossians 3:12-16 NCV
Rachel Martin, NorthAttleboro, MA. “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.” (āPsalmā¬ ā130ā¬:ā5-6ā¬ ESV)
Meggie, Winnipeg, Canada
I will exalt you, my God and King, and praise your name forever and ever. I will praise you every day; yes, I will praise you forever. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness. Psalm 145:1-3 NLT
Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matt 11:28
Ami, Douglasville, Georgia “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matt 6:25 NIV
AS A MOTHER COMFORTS HER CHILD, SO WILL I COMFORT YOU. ISAIAH 66:13
GOD BLESS YOU ALL THIS NEW YEAR.
IN THE ARMS OF JESUS
Brenda Voydatch, Meredith, NH
“he is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and going astray since he himself is subject to weakness.” Hebrews 5:2 (NIV)
We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.
Romans 3:22 (NLV)
Beth Beatty, Columbus, Ohio
Romans 15:13 NIV
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Summer Lee from Memphis, TN. “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.” (Isaiahā¬ ā43ā¬:ā19ā¬ ESV)
Temple, Oklahoma Ephesians 3:18 And I pray that you being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.
Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
Psalm 27:14(ESV)
Ezekiel 37:4-6 Then He told me to speak to the bones and say: “O dry bones, listen to the words of God, for the Lord God says, See! I am going to make you live and breathe again! I will replace the flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin, I will put breath into you, and you shall live and know I am the Lord.
Kristin Dial // Cartersville, Georgia
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7
Leah from Athens, GA:
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.”
Romans 8:1-2 (ESV)
Tammy Galligher Pensacola, Florida Romans 12:2 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 isāhis good, pleasing and perfect will. NIV
Gaye Krzoski Mount Vernon Ohio For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 3: 12 NKJV
From there you will search again for The Lord your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him. Deuteronomy 4:29. The New Living Translation
Michelle W, Raytown, MO–Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house.
Provwrbs 24:27, ESV
Philippians 1:9-11
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christāto the glory and praise of God.
NIV
Sarah Longing, Chicago, IL
But as for me, I look to the Lord for help. I wait confidently for God to save me, and my God will certainly hear me.
Micah 7:7 New Living Translation
Michelle W, Raytown, MO–Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house.
Proverbs 24:27, ESV
Hebrews 11:8 – By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.