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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? 1 Corinthians 6:19, NIV
Emily Menard, New Orleans, LA “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.” Ephesians 2:19-20 NIV
Irina Petrache Bucharest, România “But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering;he speaks to them in their affliction. ” Job 36:15 NIV
Donna, Hendersonville, TN
Ephesians 4:1-4
Therefore I, the prisoner for the Lord urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility and gentleness with patience, accepting one another in love, diligently keeping the unity of the Spirit with the peace that binds us.
Rayna Barker, Laramie, WY- “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” – Psalm 63:1, ESV
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.
Kayla, Edmond, OK
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened.” Matthew 7:7 (ESV)
Beth Hudson
Rocky Mount, VA
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me.” John 14:1
The is my first verse because I need to live it and be intentional in my trust.
so excited
Judy, Tampa, FL
“For nothing will be impossible with God”
Luke 1:37 ESV
Ermithe Marcelin, Orlando, Florida. “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
Laura Beth, Lisbon, North Dakota
Joshua 24:15 (NIV)
But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.
Becky, Springfield, MO “So then, we must pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another.” Romans 14:19 HCSB
“Create in me a a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10 NIV
Erin from Houston
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV)
Be Kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32 NIV
Kim, Mary Esther, FL
Ps 27:4 (ESV) — “One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.”
Here is the Spanish version I’m memorizing. Next time I’ll put them both in one post.
Psalmo 27:4 (RV1960) Una cosa he demandado a Jehová, Ă©sta buscarĂ©; Que estĂ© yo en la casa de Jehová todos los dĂas de mi vida, para contemplar la hermosura de Jehová, y para inquirir en su templo.
Amy, Fort Worth, Texas
then man prays to God, and he accepts him; he sees his face with a shout of joy, and he restores to man his righteousness.
job.33.26.esv
Question: May I post mine in Spanish as well? That’s how I’ll be memorizing them.
Of course!! How beautiful!
Merry Ashley, Alameda, CA
Micah 6:8 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? English Standard Version (ESV)
Hebrews 1:11 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
Bailey, Keller, TX.
Hebrews 1:11
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
New international version
Ashley Davis, Joplin, MO:
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV
Carrie Skufca, Colorado Springs, CO
Psalm 86:5 ESV
For you, oh Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.
Shelley, Georgetown, KY. “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7 (NIV)
Angie Jimenez — Avilla, Indiana
[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.
Isaiah 40:31 NIV
Nitsa, Eugene, OR. “For You have been my hope, O Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth”. Psalm 71:5 NIV
But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold.
Job 23:10 NLT
🙂
Cheryl, Fredericksburg, Texas
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23 KJV
Rochelle, Louisville, KY
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.
Hebrews 1:1 ESV
Abi Moore, Apopka, FL
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21, NIV
Dee, from Charleston. “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
Stephanie, Loganville, GA
“But he who practices truth comes out into the Light; so that his works may be plainly shown to be what they are–wrought with God.”
John 3:21,AMP
Wendy, Greensboro, NC John 1:14
From His fullness, we have all received grace upon grace.
Charity Jordan from Douglasville, Georgia: “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39 NASB
He has told you, oh man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, love kindness and to walk humbly with your God? Malachi 6:8 NASB
From Georgetown SC Hebrews 10:35 NIV So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.
Melissa
Midlothian, VA
“Give thanks in all circumstances; for thismismthe will of God for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV
Roberta Turner, Inkom, ID:
Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called children of God.
Matt. 5:9, NRSV
April Hartwell,Havelock North Carolina
Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord. Psalm 31 verse24. (NIV)
This verse is very important to me since the lost of my child Carina, I have had to put full trust in The Lord and be strong to keep my heart full of the hope he promises us.
Malvern, PA
2 Samuel 24:24 (NIV)
But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them.
Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)
13 I can do all things through Christ[a] who strengthens me.
Beth, Cumming, GA
I Thessalonians 5:24 NIV ‘The one who calls you is faithful and He will do it.’
Susie Price says:
He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous; But they are on the throne with kings, For He has seated them forever, And they are exalted. Job 36:7 NKJV
Nani – Jacksonville,NC
” Even there thy hand shall lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.”
Psalms 139:10 (KJV)
Tulsa, OK!
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Matthew 9:36 ESV
Molly Findlay, Ohio
Psalm 28:7New Life Version (NLV)
7 The Lord is my strength and my safe cover. My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. So my heart is full of joy. I will thank Him with my song.
“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty (Whose power no foe can withstand).” Psalm 91:1 Amplified
Anja Drenth, Hoofddorp, The Netherlands (Europe)
Johannes 15:7 Bijbel in gewone taal
Jullie moeten dus met mij verbonden blijven, en naar mijn woorden luisteren.Dan zal alles wat je vraagt gebeuren.
Shelly M., Eufaula, AL
Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Psalm 103:1 KJV