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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Selmer
“I am the true vine and My Father is the Gardener. He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the Word I have spoken to you. Remain in Me and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.
John 15:1-4
Kris, Westbrook, ME
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Romans 12:12-13 NIV
Marilyn Leslie, Mentor on the Lake, Ohio
“Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.” Isaiah 40:26
Diana Guymon OK
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
“He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast trusting in The Lord” Psalm 112:7
Vicki Craig Nanaimo, BC, Canada
Psalms 51:10 MSG
God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Brienne in Marengo, Il
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of you faith produces steadfastness.” James 1:2-3 ESV
Diana Guymon OK
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Eph 3:20-21 NIV
“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:14, NIV
Antoinette in Menomonee Falls, WI
For it is by grace that you have been saved thru faith.
and this it your own doing it is the gift of God not a result of
Works so that no one may boast. ESV
….I am come that they might have live, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10 KJV
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 NIV
Jeremiah 15:19 NLT
The Lord replied, “If you return to me, I will restore you so you can continue to serve me. If you speak words that are worthy you will be my spokesman. You are to influence them, do not let them influence you!”
Samantha Radel Tecumseh MI
Psalms 37:23 The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way
Stacy, North Little Rock, Arkansas- “Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” Prov. 31:30 NIV
Houston,Texas
If you love me, you will obey what I command.
JOHN 14:8 NIV
Raven Williams; Conroe, Texas
They must not speak evil of anyone, and they must avoid quarreling. Instead they should be gentle and show true humility to everyone. ~ Titus 3:2
If you love me, keep my commands.
John 14:15 NIV
Isiah 26:7-8 NLT
But for those who are righteous,the way is not steep and rough.
You are a God who does what is right,and you smooth out the path ahead of them.Lord, we show our trust in you by obeying your laws;
our heart’s desire is to glorify your name.
Karen Page Maryville TN
Matthew 21:22
And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive
Michelle from Alabama—I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 1 John 5:13 (NIV).
Jessica Olachea, Lynchburg, Virginia, “Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert” Isaiah 43:19 NASB
1 Corinthians 15:58 NIV
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Gabby Kramer Pendleton, IN
Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but be an example to all believers in what you say, the way you act, the way you love, in faith, and in purity.
1 Timothy 4:12 (NLT)
Bethany Cox huntington, wv
Prov 22:6 ESV
Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
The Lord Gives strength to His people;
The Lord blesses His people with peace.
Psalm 29:11 NIV
Carol Paul Georgetown, Texas
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who who follow His instruction have good insight. His praise endures forever. Psalm 111:10 HCSB
The foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.
1 Corinthians 1:25
Syreeta Nurse Goldsboro, NC
Strength and honor are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in the time to come. She openeth her mouth with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
Proverbs 31:25-27
Michele Meadows, Cumming GA
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. (â€John‬ â€1‬:â€1-2‬ NIV)
Rachel Wright, Louisville KY. “For to set the mind on things of the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the things of the Spirit is life and peace.”
Romans 8:6 ESV
Virginia Drake, North Liberty, Iowa “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26 NIV
Houston, Tx
Romans 12:1
I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
The Lord bless you and keep you;the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26
Lynda Martin, Niagara Falls Ontario ” I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy” Psalm 116:1 NIV
2 Corinthians 12:9–10 ESV
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for kmy power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Toni Simpson, Tucson, Arizona :tie them…(God’s Word)… to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:8-9 NLT
The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” (â€Exodus‬ â€14‬:â€14‬ ESV)
Jess R, Katy, TX
Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning,
for I am trusting you.
Show me where to walk,
for I give myself to you.
-Pslam 143:8 (NLT)
Beth Smyth, Perth Aust “Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer” ESV
beginning today
Welcome to SSMT!
This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118;24 NKJV
Peggy, Southwest Ranches, FL “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32 NIV
Jacque, Norman, OK. “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
Gabby, Clovis, New Mexico
Psalm 34:17-19King James Version (KJV)
17 The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.
Goodyear, AZ. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3: 5-6 NIV
Marie Bishop, Elsmere, KY
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” Ephesians 1:3 NKJV
1 Corinthians 3:16
16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?
Marcia
Lees Summit, Mo.
Jeremiah 29:11-13
For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and hope. I those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly you will find me. NLT
San Antonio, Texas
Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion..
Psalm 103:1-4 (NIV)