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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stephanie Easton, Maine ‘Forget the former things, don’t 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
I posted mine on facebook yesterday – oops!
From Alexandria VA.
Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you, you would see Gods glory if you believe?”
John 11:40 NLT
Philippians 4:4″Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again; Rejoice. “
Nancy Denver
“Wait and hope for and expect the LORD;
Be brave and of good courage and
Let your heart be stout and enduring;
Yes! Wait and hope for and expect the LORD!” Psalm 27:14
Amplified Version
Allison Walton, Charlotte, NC.
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Colossians 2:6-7 NIV
Wimberley, Atlanta, Georgia.
“No one has ever seen God. The One and Only Son – the One who is at the Father’s side – He has revealed Him.”
John 1:18, HCSB
Kim SaintVincent – Mineral, VA
“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life”. Psalm 143:8 NIV
Nicole Dunn, Draper, Utah. “For God gave us not a spirit of fearfulness; but of power and love and discipline.” 1 Timothy 1:7, ASV
Rhonda, MN
“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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Cor. 12:9
Lisa Moore, Daegu, South Korea
I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. Romans 7:18 NIV
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. Psalm 25:1 NASB
Kimberly Taylor- LaGrange, N.C
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” – English standard version
Cathy Stephens, Lebanon, OH. “O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.” Psalm 139:1 NLT
Robin, Cleveland, Ohio. Proverbs 31:27, NIV “She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.”
Shelly, Rochester, MN
Look to the LORD and His strength; Seek His face always. Remember the wonders He has done.
Psalm 105:4-5a NIV
Isaiah 33:6
He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure.
maeghan cranford: Atlanta, Georgia: you have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:11 NIV
“Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will — to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” Ephesians 1:1-6
Rhonda Patterson, Niles, MI
“Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him.” Psalm 62:5 NIV
Angie LeBlanc, Lockport, Louisiana
For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses. (â€Isaiah‬ â€44‬:â€3-4‬ KJV)
Jeremiah 21:11
Cindy Strong, DIberville, MS
For I am persuaded that not even death or life, angels or rulers, things present or things to come, hostile powers,
Romans 8:38 HCSB
John 14:27New International Version (NIV)
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Carolyn R, Palm Beach Gardens, FL
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship”(Romans 12:1 NRSV).
Isaiah 58:11 NLT. 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.
Sue Fitzpatrick, Mohnton, PA
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23, NIV
Diane, Delaware, Ohio Joshua 1:9 NIV
“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”.
Psalms 62:8 ESV
Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.
Julia Friedl (age 9-mom approves), Beaver Dam, WI
“Look, I am with you and will watch over you and I will bring you back to this land for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Genesis 28:15
Dallas TX Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (â€Colossians‬ â€3‬:â€23-24‬ NIV)
Christi Hudson, Newnan,GA
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
Ann Basile, Lilburn, Georgia.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
John 1:1, RSV
Stacy Thomas, New York, NY
“Praise the LORD!
How blessed is the man who fears the LORD,
Who greatly delights in His commandments.”
-Psalm 112:1 (NASB)
Laura Blackman, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Isaiah 43:18 NIV
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.
Kathryn from Norcross, GA:
“I have sought the Lord and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.” Psalm 34: 4 NIV
Karen Roberts, Brighton, CO
Isaiah 25:9, ESV
It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
Jacki Brown,, Jamestown, NC. “forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Jesus, is calling us.”
Phill 3:13-14( unknown translation)
Love the LORD your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him. For the LORD is your life. Deuteronomy 30:20 (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 dessert and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8 NIV
Alicia Toole, WHitehouse, Tx, “And we know that ALL things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 NKJV
Patti, Chandler, AZ,
“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
Ephesians 4:20 NIV
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
Stephanie Drabek, Saint Augustine, FL
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely. And may your spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 CSB
I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ who lives in me. The life I live in the bod, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Karen Nevins, Stonewall, TX
“…we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.” Romans 5:3-5, NIV
Sarah Tarr, Nashville TN
“I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” -John 15:5 NIV
Jana Tatum, Newton, Texas Psalm 119:133
“Establish my footsteps in Your word and do not let any iniquity have dominion over me.” (NASB)
Kortney from Des Plaines, IL
“And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.” Hebrews 11:12
Crystal Parrott:Everett, Ontario “For the rest,brethren whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever I lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things (fix your minds on them)” Philippians 4:8 Amplified version