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) 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:
Your name, city, verse (written all the way out), reference, and translation.
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Michelle McLean
Perth Australia
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land ye dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua 24:15
1st Century King James Version
Jennifer Colbaugh, Gainesville, GA
All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking,correcting and training in righteousness , so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 timothy 3:16-17, NIV
Donna Curbow; Springfield, Missouri; And now dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:8 (NLT)
Jennifer from Montgomery, AL – “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:31 NIV Oops! It is 10:31.
Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. ~Eph 6:11-12 (NLT)
Jill,Newport, Tennessee: Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16 NASB
Brianna Jones, Aurora, Ohio. “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:1 ESV
Sheryl, Taft, CA
Don’t worry about anything. Instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done. Philippians 4:6 NLT
Julie Passman, McKinney, TX
Psalm 5:3. NIV
In the morning O Lord you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.
Thus says The Lord, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: “I am The Lord your God, Who teaches you to profit, Who leads you by the way you should go.” Isaiah 48:17 (NKJV)
Harrisonburg, VA.
2 Corinthians 5: 17 ESV
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold, the new has come.
Cay; Amarillo, TX
John15:11
These things I have spoken to you, that my joy maybe in you and that your joy maybe full.
Isaiah 40:31
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. (NIV)
Psalm 42:1 KJV As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
Barbara, Fisherville, KY: Our pastor challendged us to pray for one word to guide us in the new year. Mine was obedience. Thus, I picked this verse: “You have declared this day that the Lord is your God and that you will walk in obedience to him, that you will keep his decrees, commands and laws–that you will listen to him.” Deut. 26:17 NIV.
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. (Matthew 22:37-38 NIV)
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)
Cathy, Houston. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5 (ESV).
Kim Howell- Houston, TX
For a Job interview:
God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of Power, Love and Confidence. 2 Timothy 1:7
Jennifer Ogle, Knoxville, TN
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in his law he meditates both day and night. Psalm 1:1-2 NKJ
Jennifer Edwards Wetumpka
The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5 NIV
Kate G. from Chattanooga, TN
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2 (ESV)
Christy Wheeler, Norman Ok. Deutoronomy 31:8 NIV. The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.
Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs that you started fast in one spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel. Philippians 1:27. NKJ
Without wood a fire goes out, without gossip a quarrel dies down Proverbs 26:20
Sharon Lang, Playas del Coco, Costa Rica
“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.” Psalm 139:13 NLT
“For this God is our God for ever and ever;
he will be our guide even to the end.”
Psalm 48:14 (NIV)
I love that He is always with me.
Tera Cox, Land O Lakes, FL
“You are my God,and I will praise you ! Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good ! His faithful love endures forever.”
Psalm 118: 28-29
NLT
Renea Teninty – Moorpark, CA
“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.”
Joshua 1:9 NIV
Nancy Mt Pleasant SC 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV)
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Lesley, Steamboat Springs, CO. “The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.” Deuteronomy 30:6 NIV
For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. 1 Timothy 3:8, NIV
Anita Hayes, Justin,TX Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you. He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. Psalm 55:22 NIV
Troy, OH
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:5 NIV
Beth B., Murfreesboro, TN
“Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.””
In 2013 I came across this verse and I can’t quit reflecting on it, so its got to be my verse!
Proverbs 4:23
Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.
Nancy, The Woodlands, TX
“Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.” 2 Thess 3:16 NIV
Jennifer Jones from Coweta, OK
“Let your conversation be always full of grace,seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Colossians 4:6 NIV
Teresa Dubyoski, Upperco, Maryland “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 and to seek him in his temple.” Psalm 27:4 NIV
Bev, Glasgow, KY. Micah 6:8. He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. NIV
Jennifer, Otisville MI
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you. NIV Matt 7:12
Melody Stevens, Whiteland ,Indiana . Psalm 138:8New Living Translation (NLT)
The Lord will work out his plans for my life—
for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.
Don’t abandon me, for you made me.
Joan Schroeder, Moon Township, PA. I Thessalonians 5:16-18. “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” NIV.
16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. -John 1:16
Emily, Lugoff, SC
Seek the Lord and his strength;
seek his presence continually!
Psalm 105:4 ESV
For from his fullness we have all received,grace upon grace.
John 1:16 ESV
Micah 6:8 (NASB)
He has told you, O Man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, the shall walk and not be weary and they shall run and not faint. Isaiah 40:31
Smyrna, TN
Psalms 90:17 NLT “And may the Lord our God show us his approval and make our efforts successful. Yes, make or efforts successful!”
Emily F, Logansport, IN
“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)