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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Psalm 34:8
All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Hebrews 12:11 NASB Topeka, KS
Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the HOLY Spirit who is in you,whom you have from God,and you are not your own 1 Corinthians6;19
Rhonda Hill, Little Rock, AR: “but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” Psalm 1:2, ESV
Becky Denton- Houston,Texas “Create in me a clean heart, O God; And renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10
Lauren Sledge from Bowling Green, KY
“But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.” Malachi 4:2 ESV
Fayetteville, NC
“Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.” Psalm 90:12 NLT
“From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised!” Psalm 113:3 ESV
Heather – Boulder, CO
“For we walk by Faith, not by sight.” 2 Cor 5:7 NIV
Vicky M., Longwood, FL “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
Diana Mercer, Tucson AZ Isaiah 55:13
Why spend money on what is not bread and labor on what does not satisfy? Listen to me and eat what is good and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. NIV
M’Lissa from Keller, TX
John 14:1-3 (ESV)
Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also.
Cindi from Fairbanks, Alaska.
“Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free.”
Ephesians 6:5-8 (NASB)
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews‬ â€4‬:â€16‬ ESV
Alison, Norman OK
I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live again and return home to your own land. Then you will know that I, the lord, have spoken, and I have done what I said. Yes, the lord has spoken! Ezekiel 37:14
Susie; Fergus Falls, MN.
“My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.” Proverbs 3:1-2 NIV
Andrea, Tulsa: You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise up. Deuteronomy 11:19 NKJV
Tomi Taulbee, Des Moines, Iowa. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”” Romans 1:16&17 NKJV
Sarah DeLeo, Flemington, NJ
“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. (â€Isaiah‬ â€43‬:â€19‬ NASB)
Sarah B.
Bonaire, GA
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)
Emily Smith, Dubuque, Iowa.
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2 NIV
Jessica; Wyoming Mi
“So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old ha passed away; see, everything has become new!” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NRSV)
Liz Kester, Keller, Texas
“My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” James 1:19 (NIV)
The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. Acts 16:22 NIV ~ Mindy Stewart, Alabama
Vicki Bolton, Lubbock, TX
“We have also obtained access through Him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” Romans 5:2 HCSB
Dawn, New Providence, IA
“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3 (NIV)
“For no one is abandoned by the Lord forever. Though He brings grief, He also shows compassion because of the greatness of his unfailing love. For age does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow.” Lamentations 31-33 NLT
O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
Isaiah 25:1, ESV
Ashley Reed – Austin, TX – “My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all boldness, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death.” – Phil. 1:20 (HCSB)
Jane Marks, Loganville, GA
Galatians 6:9New International Version (NIV)
9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Tracey, King George, VA
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV
Kay W., Buhler, Kansas
“With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.” Mark 15:37 niv
Renee Farmer, Rural Hall, NC. “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18 NIV
Ashley Williams, macungie, PA “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another l, even as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32
2 Corinthians 4:6-7 (NIV)
6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”[a] made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
Carmen Ocean Springs, MS.
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. Romans 7:18 ESV
The Reluctant Baptist, USA
“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me.” John 17:25 NIV
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” (â€Lamentations‬ â€3‬:â€22-24‬ ESV)
Tanya Muckelrath, North Canton, Ohio. “In you, Lord my God, I put my trust.” Psalm 25: 1 (NIV)
Jeanette Mercado, Wasco CA. He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1 KJV
John 3:16-17
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
Mary Hayden, Blythewood SC- Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. (Psalm 63:3, 4 NIV)
Lucy Wagenbach, Tremont, IL
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” Isaiah 26:3 KJV
Sharon Andreasen, Fresno, CA
“Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; Help us to spend them as we should.”
Psalm 90:12 TLB
Cindy, Graceville, FL
Ps 126:2 NIV
Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.”
Madeline Johnson, Warner Robins, Ga.
I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
Matthew 28:20 (NKJV)
Shelly Brown, Bolivar, Missouri
“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)
Deena Collins, Westerville, Ohio
I pray that God, the source of all hope, will infuse your lives with an abundance of joy and peace in the midst of your faith so that your hope will overflow through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13 (Voice)
Renee C. Edgewater, FL
Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:30-31 NLT
Ecclesiastes 4:12 Living Bible
And one standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer; three is even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.