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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Connie, Dublin, Virginia
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
Katera, Kentwood, LA
James 1:1-4 ESV
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the 12 tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Carrie Harper, Resaca, Georgia. “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26 NIV
Elizabeth Clevenger, Midland, Texas. Mark 9:24 b NIV
“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
Enumclaw, WA
“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)
Taunia, Rossville, GA
2 Cor 12:9
But he said unto me “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
Lee, West Michigan
Romans 8:1-2 ESV
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.”
Joshua 1:9(TLB)”Yes, be bold and strong! Banish fear and doubt! For remember, the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Mickie Gibbs, Arab, Alabama “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV
Rachel- Cumming, GA
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don’t forget to thank him for his answers. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
Megan Passarella Waupaca, WI
“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess for he who promised is faithful” ~ Hebrews 10:23 NIV
I assure you, those who listen tom my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but have already passed from death into life. JOHN 5:24 NLV
Katie, Loveland, OH
Jeremiah 10:12 – But God made the earth by His power; He founded the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.
Mary, Marion, AR
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
Lori-Anne, Exeter, CA, Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Galatians 1:10 NIV
Jonna Decker, Malibu, California
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household. Ephesian 2:10 NIV
DeKalb, Texas, Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in you, Psalms 56:3, NKJV
NICOLE GRAVES
Keller, TX
Joshua 1:8 MSG
And don’t for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you’ll get where you’re going; then you’ll succeed
Jennae, Clovis, CA (Daniel 2:20-23, NIV, in response to answered prayer) “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are His. He changes times and seasons; He sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness and light dwells with Him. I thank and praise you, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and power, You have made known to me what we asked of you, You have made known to us the dream of the king.”
Kim Crawford, Tampa, Florida
“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who reside in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 (NLT)
Robin
Fort Worth, TX
“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
I trust in you with all my heart. Don’t let me wander
Away from your commands.
Psalms 119:10
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:13
For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. (â€2 Corinthians‬ â€4‬:â€6‬ NLT)
Susan Kachler – Houston, Texas
The Lord is my light and Salvation, whom shall i fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life,
of whom shall i be afraid? “Psalm 27:1” NIV
Stephanie Skinner, Huntsville, AL “The wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good works, impartial and sincere. James 3:17, ESV
James 4:6 ESV
But He gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Jennifer Jackson Tulsa, Oklahoma “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; (â€Luke‬ â€4‬:â€18‬ NKJV)
Kay Church, Ruston, La
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?
Micah 6:8 NAS
Melissa from Vancouver, WA
Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139: 23-24
Kara, Overland Park, KS
“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
Cheryl, Everett Washington Psalm 143:6 “I reach out my hands to You. All that I am aches and yearns for You, like a dry land thirsting for rain.” The Voice
Stephanie, Tampa, FL
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7 NLT
Renee Hall – Jacksonville, Florida
“This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.” Hebrews 6:19 NLT
James 1:19 My dear brothers and sister take note of this. Everyone should be quick to listen slow to speak and show to become angry. NIV
Jennifer – Garland, TX
“Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. ”
Lamentations 3:22
NIV
1 John 4:19
We love because he first loved us.
Lowell, Michigan
Jullie New. Corpus Christi, TX. James 1:19 My dear brothers and sister take note of this. Everyone should be quick to listen slow to speak and show to become angry. NIV
1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT
The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.
Lindsey, Wichita, Kansas – “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, YOU ARE MINE. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through the fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.” Isaiah 43:1b-2 ESV
Kimberly Caulkins, Cherryvale, Ks.
When my heart is overwhelmed:lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Psalms 61:2 KJV
Crystal, Iowa City, Iowa
Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (NIV)
Donna D, Logansport, IN
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. NAS
Karen, Grandview, TX
“But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”
Romans 8:25 (NIV)
Cheryl, Linden, NC
Isaiah 43:18-19a 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?
Larissa Luck, Salisbury, Maryland
My first memory verse is Proverbs 1:33 NLT
“But all who listen to me [wisdom/God] will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm.”
I chose this verse as I feel my “word” for the whole year to guide me closer to God is “Wisdom”. I have challenged myself to read a chapter in the book of Proverbs every single dar. For all the mistakes and bad choices I have made in the past, I certainly need and want and now truly desire more Wisdom in my life.
Kyra Burton, Raleigh, NC. 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.
Jan Reed from Winthop, IA
For he who has once entered (God’s) rest also has ceased from (the weariness and pain of) human labors, just as God rested from those labors peculiarly His own. Heb. 4:10 Amp
Melissa Carnrike, Holtwood, PA
He answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind”;and, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 10:27 NIV
Tiffany Shrum , Cherryvale, Ks.
Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. Galatians 6:4 NLT