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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jane from Snow Camp, NC: “Do everything without grumbling or arguing” Philippians 2:14 (NIV)
***FIRST TIME***
“But you, Oh Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high.” Psalms 3:3 NLT
I posted on January 2, 2015 at 1:45 pm on the other page…Guess I should Have started on this page?
You crown the year with Your goodness,and Your paths drip with abundance. ~Psalm 65:11 (NKJV)
This is the spot, TJ! Welcome!
Deborah Meabon, Warren, PA. “Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him! Isaiah 30:18, NIV
Holly, Glendale, AZ:
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.”
Colossians 3:1 NIV
Sandra from Rock Valley, IA
Psalm 139:23
“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.” NIV
Shannon, Macomb, Oklahoma. “Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death and of faith in God,” Hebrews 6:1 NIV
Frances Poage – Pasadena TX If you don’t have all the wisdom needed for this journey, then all you have to do is ask God for it; and God will grant all that you need. He gives lavishly and never scolds you for asking. (VOICE)
Julie- Bluffton, IN “I am doing a great work, and I cannot come down” Nehemiah 6:3 (ESV)
Karen from Dallas, TX; “For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.” Psalm 86:5 ESV
So you shall observe to do just as the LORD your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right or to the left.
Deuteronomy 5:32 NAS
Laura Pilcher Marietta, GA
Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you:your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. Isaiah 26:8 NIV
Riche, Irving, TX
“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” Romans 12:3 NIV
Julie Charlton, Hermitage,TN. “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and a river in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19 ESV
Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.
Revelation 4:11 ESV
Surayyah, Alexandria, VA
May you be strengthened with all power, according to His gloriuos might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. Colossians 1:11-12 ESV
Marti Colbaugh, Loganville, Ga
“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7. so that the tested genuineness for your faith-
1 peter 1:6-7a ESV
Psalms 89:1 I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever; with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.
Glynis Cozza, Berthoud, Colorado “Lead me in the right path, O LORD, or my enemies will conquer me. Make your way plain for me to follow.” Psalm 5:8 NLT
Jacque Churchill-Forga, Savage, MN “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” 2 Timothy 1:7 ESV
Chris DelMoro, Beckley, WV
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT)
Ronnie Wood, Ostrander, Ohio ” “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not of your own doing; it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Eph. 2:8-9 ESV
She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Proverbs 31:27 KJV
Rochelle Friend, Godwin, NC
“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel.” Philippians 1:28
Jessica Cartier, Meriden, CT
This is what the LORD Almighty says: judge fairly and honestly, and show kindness to one another. 10 Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and poor people. And do not make evil plans to harm each other. Zechariah 7:9-10 NLT
But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14 NIV
Kelly Sartor, Denver, Colorado “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.” Psalm 119:9 NIV
Audrey Colbaugh, Loganville, Ga
“In this you rejoice though now for a little while, if necessary ,you have been grieved by various trials. 1 peter 1:6 ESV
Clever, MO
“And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 9:10 ESV
Psalms 27:4 One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: That I may dwellin the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to meditate in His temple. NAS
Michelle Burmah-Jones, Beaumont, Texas: “I have summoned you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned – for I am the Lord your God”. Isaiah 43:1-3 (NIV)
“Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute
you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me.” Matthew 5:11.
Lauren Bartell, Atlanta, GA. “Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.” Matt 5:15-16 MSG
Matthew 5:16
“Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
I want to make a difference in this world, by living a holy life. By being faithful, honest, trustworthy, friendly, graceful, forgiving, kind and generous may my life reflect the love of Christ in me. I pray for God’s help each day to be the person that He wants me to be.
Antoinette Krietemeijer,Hoofddorp, The Netherlands (Europe)
Maar er komt een tijd en die tijd is nu aangebroken,dat wie de Vader echt aanbidt, Hem aanbidt in geest en waarheid. De Vader zoekt mensen die Hem zo aanbidden, want God is Geest, dus wie Hem aanbidt, moet dat doen in geest en in waarheid. Johannes4:23en 24. NBV
Shannon Gann, Greensboro, NC
“Therefore let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace whenever we need help.” Hebrews 4:16 NET
Lamentations 3:22-23, “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (ESV)
Debbie – Prattville, Alabama
Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.
Proverbs 4:27
NLT
Hillary, Yucaipa,CA
Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. Isaiah 40:10 NLT
Allie, Johnstown, CO
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6 NKJV
Allison from Fort Worth, TX
Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.
Deuteronomy 7:9 (NIV)
Leslie – Effingham, IL
For All Have Sinned And Fall Short Of The Glory Of God.
Romans 3:23 NKJV
Laura, Humble,TX. ” I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws.” Psalm 119:30, NIV.
Susan Johnson, Beverly, MA
“Though He was God’s son, He learned obedience through what He suffered. Hebrews 5:8 HCSB
Kristi Law-Heb. 3:12 Make sure that none of you has a sinful heart. Do not let an unbelieving heart turn you away from the living God.
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, let your mind dwell on these things. Phillipians 4:8 (NASB)
Jessica Hahn, Katy, TX. “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.” Mark 11:24 NASB
Cheryl, Woodbridge, Virginia, We plan the way we want to live,
but only God makes us able to live it. Proverbs 16:9 MSG
Cypress, Texas
If you make the LORD your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. (â€Psalms‬ â€91‬:â€9-10‬ NLT)
God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So always do these things: Show mercy to others, be kind, humble, gentle and patient. Colossians 3:12 NCV