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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
in all circumstances give thanks for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus 1 Thessalonions 5:18 rsv
Connie Blaut from Amarillo TX
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
Houston, TX
O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago. Isaiah 25:1
Melissa Droegemueller, San Antonio, TX:
YOu hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Psalm 139:5 ESV
Terry – Snellville, Ga
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a lamp unto my path.” Psalms 119:105, KJV
Darlene, Hollywood, SC Psalm 147:11 “But the Lord is pleased with those who fear him,with those who depend on his gracious love.”
International Standard Version (ISV)
Amanda Hart, Jefferson City, Missouri
“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.” 1 Corinthians 13:4 (ESV)
Tammy Adams, Murfreesboro, TN
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV
Psalms 31:7-8. I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy, for You have considered my trouble; You have known my soul in adversities, and have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy; You have set my feet in a wide place.
Karen,Souderton,PA.
“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)
Do not conform any longer 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
Amber from Chattanooga, TN:
“Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men.” Colossians 3:23 Holman
Alicia, Dallas, TX – 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
Melody West, Ringgold,GA “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” Romans15:13 KJV
Kristine, Trumbull, CT
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Lil McKean, Lakewood, Co
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. Romans8:26 NIV
Lisa, Indian Harbour Beach, FL. “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” Hebrews 6:19 NIV
Susan Toney, Raymond, MS ~ Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Romans 12:9-10 NIV
Sandy from Cedar Rapids,Iowa
Acts 1:8 …but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.
Isaiah 53:5 He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities: the punishment that brought us peace was on him and by his wounds we are healed.
Diann Davis, Fernandina Beach, FL. “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)
Cami Jones, Cebu, Philippines
II Thess. 2:16 (NIV)
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.
Carolyn West,Ringgold,GA “For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.” Isaiah 41:13
Shanen Pankrez; Grapevine, Tx
“Whatever youdo, work at it with all your heart, as for the Lord, not for human masters,” Colossians 3:23
Tammy and Maya Ortega from Albuquerque, NM
“For I the LORD your God will hold your right hand, saying to you, Fear not; I will help you” NIV
Ephesians 6:19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words maybe given me so that I will fearlessly make know the mystery of the gospel. Life Application NIV
Sandra Slovacek, East Dundee, IL
Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. John 8:36 NKJ
Cheryl, Oregon, WI “In him was life,and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:4-5
Karen Irwin, Dickson, TN
“Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19 NKJV
Wendy B., Douglasville, GA: “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 lift up my soul.” Psalm 143:8 (NIV)
Daneen Kelsey, Olathe, Kansas. “Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.” Proverbs 31:30 NKJV
Tammi, Virginia Beach
But Thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. KJV
Debra, Many, La
But He said to me “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weakness, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. 1 Corinthians 12:9 (HCSB)
Ephesians 3:14-19 NASB For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
Jill Greenfield, Smyrna, TN “James, a bond servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes that are scattered abroad: Greetings. My, Brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.” James 1:1-3 NKJV
Deborah Westbury – Orangeburg, SC
The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever. Psalm 119:160 ESV
Lora Lovin Osburn, Morristown, TN
“You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.” Psalm 65:11 NLT
Beth Kressin, Lizella, GA “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, for the anger of man does not produce the righteous of God.” James 1:19 ESV
Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. 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.
B. J. Fennell, Minter City, MS
“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:18
Lisa,Northern Maine
“But you, as a person dedicated to God, keep away from all that. Instead pursue righteousness, godliness, faithfulness, love, endurance, and gentleness.”
1 Tim 6:11, NET
Jayne Cash, Washington, NC, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” Revelation 4:11 KJV
Vikki Bobb, Merritt Island, FL. “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” 2 Timothy 1:7 esv.
Danielle Taylor, Oak Grove, KY
Ephesians 4:2
Be completely humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Kim Hayden Riesel, TX. Do not conform any longer 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. Romans12:2 NIV
Kim, Woodstock, GA, “And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive” Matthew 22:12
Rhonda Boyd, Bowie, MD
So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten,
The crawling locust,
The consuming locust,
And the chewing locust,
My great army which I sent among you.
You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
And praise the name of the Lord your God,
Who has dealt wondrously with you;
And My people shall never be put to shame. Joel 2:25-26 NKJV
Kristin Johnson, Jacksonville, AL.
“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
Sandy Finley, Aberdeen, Maryland
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Philippians 4:8, ESV
Sarah G – Appleton, WI
Will You not revive us again,
That Your people may rejoice in You?
Psalm 85:6, NKJV