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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cindy; Columbia, MO;
“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” Philippians 3:12, ESV.
Jamie from Mill Spring, NC: 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. (â€Romans‬ â€15‬:â€13‬ NIV)
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Romans 8:1 (NIV)
Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.
Dawn Brown, Redford, MI
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
Romans 15:13 English Standard Version (ESV)
Beth Ramos, Houston, TX
He who dwells in the shelter of the most high will abide in the shadow of the alight.
Psalm 91:1 NASB
Kathie, Houston, TX
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. James 1:5. NIV
Jen Turner, Katy, TX “Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few.” Ecclesiastes 5:2 NAS
Hannah Hernandez, La Grange, TX “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.” Romans‬ â€15‬:â€13‬ NIV
Shaci Tillman, Aztec, New Mexico–
The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice. (â€Proverbs‬ â€12‬:â€15‬ NIV)
Sherri White, Hammond, LA
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourself in compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12 NIV
Shea Williams, Birmingham, Alabama. “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,…” Ephesians 3:14-16, ESV
Rose Corscadden, Springdale, Arkansas. “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” 1 Peter 5:10
Anna Morgan – Madison, AL – “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
(Matthew‬ â€6‬:â€21‬ NIV)
LeAnne Barnett, Jonesboro, AR
“The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him sincerely. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cries for help & rescues them.”
Psalms 145:18-19 NLT
“Cast your cares upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall.” Psalm 55:22 (NIV)
He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction. Psalm 107:20
For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. Psalms 84:11
Psalms 84:11 ESV
Anna Carol Mitchell, Tupelo, MS
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God, and He will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up.” -James 4: 7, 8, 10 (NIV
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ? NIV
Cathy – Gastonia, NC
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Micah 6:8 (ESV)
1 Corinthians 13:1. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
Metairie (suburb of New Orleans)
Isaiah 54:2-
“Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.”
Thompson Chain Reference NIV
I am believing for breakthrough!!
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. ”
Ephesians 2:10. NIV
Jenene Belcher, Christiansburg, VA
Matthew 22:37,38
Jesus said unto him, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and worn all thy soul, and worn all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment. KJV
Kim, Houston, TX
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1 NIV
Joy Wylie – College Station, TX
So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way? Acts 11:17 NIV
Linda Lee, Canton, GA
“Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.”
Hebrews 12:12-13 NKJV
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
Barbara Israel, Eagle, ID
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7 ESV
Teri Ferguson, Moulton, AL
(With Beth) 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
Sheryl Knox, Orlando, FL
Jeremiah 32:40 ESV
I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.
Ruth Shrieves, Bloxom,VA
“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.” Romans15:13 NIV
Melanie Manley Russellville Ky “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.” Isaiah 43:19 NLT
Lawrenceville, GA
“You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”
(Jeremiah‬ â€29‬:â€13‬ HCSB)
Ruth Klapwijk, Pokhara, Nepal
‘Zoals een hert naar water, zo smacht ik naar u, o God; u bent mijn leven, ik verlang naar u, o God.’
Psalm 42:2 Groot Nieuws Bijbel (Dutch)
Cathy Eden, Mobile,Al 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 hope. Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV)
Christina, Tucson, AZ
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV
Alyssa Ethington, a Chandler, Arizona
Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. (â€Psalm‬ â€143‬:â€8‬ ESV)
The pastures of the wilderness drip, and the hills gird themselves with rejoicing. The meadows are clothes with flocks, and the valleys are covered with grain. They shout for joy, yes, they sing. Psalm 65:12-13
Kristel Hines from Russellville, AR
“My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart,
Proverbs 3:1 NIV
Beverly Toney, Prosper, TX
Come let us return to The Lord,
For He has torn us, but He will heal us;
He has wounded us, but he will bandage us.
Hosea 6:1 NASB
Janice, Gilmer, Texas
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16 NIV
Pam, Dublin, VA
Let the word [spoken by] Christ (the Messiah) have its home [in your hearts and minds] and dwell in you in [all its] richness, as you teach and admonish and train one another in all insight and intelligence and wisdom [in spiritual things, and as you sing] psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody to God with [His] grace in your hearts. Colossians 3:16 AMP
Amy, Myrtle Beach, SC. “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16 NIV
Amy Walker, Benton, La: So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed (afraid), for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. ISAIAH 41:10.
Wendy Tomlinson, Pickering, ON, Canada
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Deuteronomy 6:5(NIV)
Lindsay, Tennessee “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21 NASB)
Heather Whittaker, Nashville Tn
Ecclesiastes 3:11
Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.
And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desires in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. Isaiah 58:11 ESV