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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pattie Self San Angelo, TX
So I say to you; Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
Luke 11:9 NIV
Kelly, Corona, CA
Psalm 90:15 Amplified : ” Make us glad in proportion to the days in which You have afflicted us and to the years in which we have suffered evil”
This is the stone which was rejected by you builders,which has become the chief cornerstone. Nor is there salvation in any other,for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Acts 4:11-12 NKJ
Michelle, Tigerville, SC “The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil.” Proverbs 15:28 NIV
Bev from Salem, OR
Natasha Kinder, Licking Mo
John 3:16 King James Version
Hereby perceive we the loveof God, because he
laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay
down our lives for the brethren.
So glad you are taking the challenge to. I thoroughly enjoyed the verse you chose:)
Paula from Dalhart, Texas “By day the LORD directs his love, at night His song is with me – a prayer to the God of my life.” Psalms 42:8 NIV
Amanda, Clinton, MO
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 NIV
Rachel Randall, Fort Worth, TX
I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? Jeremaiah 32:27 niv
Dawn, Pampa, TX
Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” John 13:7 NIV
Natalie, Houston TX
“The Lord is my light and my salvation–whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life–of whom shall I be afraid?”
Psalm 27:1 NIV
Emily Warsaw, IN
Let my words and my thoughts be pleasing to you, Lord, because you are my mighty rock and my protector.
Psalm 19:14 CEV
I would like to memorize Philipians 4: 4 – 9. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be make known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things. The things which you received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
This is A LOT for me to memorize!! I haven’t memorized scripture in so long!! But I do want God’s word to be part of me so I am joining the Siesta Scripture Memory Team!!
I just left Phil. 4:4 – 9 and I believe that is the NIV version. Thanks! 🙂
Rebecca, Houston TX
“Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
1 Peter 1:8-9 NIV
Sara O’Dell, Sugar Land, TX
Keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Matthew 7:7-8
Kami, Fort Worth, Texas “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, KJV
Kim, North Bend, WA
I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:11
Bev Salem, OR
Message Bible Isaiah 43:1-4
Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you. I’ve called your name. You’re mine. When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you. When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down. When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end- Because I am God, your personal God, … your Savior. I paid a huge price for you…That’s how much you mean to me! That’s how much I love you.
Tina, Cincinnati, OH – So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. NLT Hebrews 4:16
Look, I AM about to do something new. Now it begins to happen! Do you not recognize it? Yes, I will make a road in the desert and paths in the wilderness.
Isaiah 43:19 NET
Carrie Hardin, Pleasant Hill, MO.
(ESV)
Isaiah 43:19
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 rivers in the desert.
Shelly, College Station, TX
“Those of steadfast mind you keep in peace – in peace because they trust in you.” Isaiah 26:3
Nanci, Albuquerque, Eph 2:8-10: (verse 10 is the new part for me) For we are His workmanship in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. ESV.
Elizabeth,Elysian Fields, Tex.
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. John 15:4 ESV
Julie
Grand Rapids, Michigan
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
– Philippians 3:14 ESV
Meredith Perez
Newland, North Carolina
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” ESV
Canta, Mandeville, LA His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us. II Peter 1:3 NIV
Fawn, San Antonio, TX Hosea 6:3 NLT
Oh, that we might know the LORD! Let us press on to know Him! He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.
Misty, Roanoke, VA 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (esv) Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Grace, Pandora, OH – James 4:7 “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” NIV
Gabrielle, Michigan
Is 43:19 Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall be brought forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
Colossians 1-27. TO THEM GOD HAS CHOSEN TO MAKE KNOWN AMONG THE GENTILES THE GLORIOUS RICHES OF THIS MYSTERY, WHICH IS CHRIST IN YOU, THE HOPE OF GLORY.
knowing the holy spirit lives in me gives me the peace that passes understanding.
Holly San Diego, CA.
Exodus 33:14 (MSG)
“My presence will go with you. I will see the journey to the end.”
Desi, Hiawassee, Ga. “Now glory be to God! By His mighty power at work within us, He is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope.” Ephesians 3:20 NLT
Amanda Pisciotta, Athens, Georgia. “Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always.” 1 Chronicles 16:11 NIV
Lori, San Antonio, TX
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 NASB
Jan Henderson, Portland, Tx. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 NIV
Mildren, Byron Center, MI
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
Tammy, Hemingway, SC – 2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
JoKaren M, Hayward, WI
Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Sheila, Houston, TX
Romans 5: 3b-4: … we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Kenora, ON, Canada
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.
Eph 3:20-21 NASB
Proverbs 2:6-9 ” For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity. He guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to him. Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go.”
Megan, South Lyon, MI — Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”
Janelle Hartsfield, Dallas, TX “O Lord, be gracious to me; I long for You. Be my strength every morning, my salvation in time of distress.” Isaiah 33:2 NIV
Sue, Monument, CO
By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life Prov 22:4 NKJ
Sandra, Fort Worth, TX, Psalm 119:50 “this is my comfort in affliction, that Your Word has revived me and given me life.” NASB
Krista, Round Rock, TX
NLT. “I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.”
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