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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lewisburg, Ohio
Hebrews 4:16
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Jennifer Bismarck, AR
” I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust.”
Psalm 91:2. KJV
Wendi McPike, Kennebunkport, Maine.
“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.” Ephesians 5:8 NIV
In keeping with my word “finish” for 2015: Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; Philippians 1:6 nkjv.
Debbie Todd, Mesa AZ. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17 ESV
Heather ware, Callahan fl
Trust in the lord with all your heart;and lean not to your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5
Linda Lopez, Hamilton, NJ. But if I were you, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before him. He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. – Job 5:8-9
Amy Sorrells, from Indianapolis, IN
Deuteronomy 11:8 “Therefore, be careful to obey every command I am giving you today, so you may have strength to go in and take over the land you are about to enter.”
Kelly from Lexington, KY: I chose this verse because I am reading the book “The Holy Spirit” by R.A. Torrey. John 16:7 NIV But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.
Ethel Sigmon from Lincolnton, NC
Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. (Romans12:12)
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Prov. 3:5-6, NIV
“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14 NIV
Michelle Vasquez, Hewitt, TX
“Everything is permissible” – but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible – but not everything is constructive.”
1 Corinthians 10:23 NIV 1984
Deut 30:11 Now what I am coming you is not to difficult for you or beyond your reach.
Carlene Fitch, Beaumont, Texas. “Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Psalms 103:5 NKJV
Emily Mechanicsville, VA “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” Galations 5:16 ESV
Wendy Kriegel – Panama City,FL “TRUST in The Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding;think about Him in all your ways, and He WILL guide you on the right paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6 HCSB
2 Corinthians 5:17New Living Translation (NLT)
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun
Denise Ciofani, Lexington, NC. “There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.” 1 Samuel 2:2 NIV
JoAnne from Longview WA
Ecclesiastes 3:4 NASB
A time to weep and a time to laugh.
A time to mourn and a time to dance.
Crystal Sparks, Andrews, NC – “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. 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.” Isaiah 43:18-19 ESV
Linda Cavazos, San Antonio,TX,”The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.” Psalm 23:1 NIV I am memorizing this psalm the 1st 6 weeks.
Sally Adams, Shirley, Indiana
This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24 ESV
Looking forward to 2015 with you all! God bless!!
Jennifer, Greensburg, LA, Oh Lord, You are my God, I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago. Isaiah 25:1 NIV
Elaine Regier — Langley, British Columbia (Canada)
“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38, 39 ESV
Carol Hance, Austin, Texas ”
“Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul.” Psalm 143:8. (NIV)
Nina O. Waukesha, WI
Proverbs 11:25 NIV
A generous person will prosper;
whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.
Tracey Mayfield Mt.Olive, Alabama
As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. Galatians 6:14 NLT
Danyelle
Beavercreek, OH
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)
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
Make Your ways known to me, Lord; teach me Your paths.
Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; I wait for You all day long.
Psalm 25:4-5 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Heaher Boudreaux, Snoqualmie, WA
“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
Anna Katherine Thompson, Fayette AL, “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” 1 Corinthians 13:1 ESV
Let me hear your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you.show me where to walk, for I give myself to you, Psalms 143:8 NLT
Angie Henderson, May, TX
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Yahweh is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the whole earth.
He never grows faint or weary;
there is no limit to His understanding. Isaiah 40:28 (HCSB)
DaNae Yarnell
Wamego,KS
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. Galatians 2:20
Mansfield, TX
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, Whose works are all faithful and right and Whose ways are just. And those who walk in pride He is able to abase and humble. (â€Daniel‬ â€4‬:â€37‬ AMP)
Jo Logan, Australia. Deuteronomy 28:8 (NKJV)Jo
“The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
Dana Owens, Owasso, OK
Philippians 4:6
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. NIV
Lisa Stiers, Brownsburg IN — “The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” Psalm 121:8, NIV
Jeremiah 29:11 NLT. 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 a hope.
Roseanne, Tacoma WA
For we are His workmenship,created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10 ESV
Teri in Florida
Family Restoration in 2015!
Colossians 3:12-14, ESV
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
Sandra ~ Kannapolis, NC
“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
Exodus 14:14 (NIV)
Colleen
Scranton,PA
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not onto your own understanding.”
Proverbs 3:5
Kimberly Matthews, Lubbock, Texas. “This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24 NIV. This is my first verse to read since we lost our baby 3 years ago. I’ve missed my bible! Thank you for this challenge!
Brittany Hayes, Rio Rancho,New Mexico “Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
2 Corinthians 5:17English Standard Version (ESV)
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.[a] The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
Birmingham, Alabama
Charlotte Morgan The Colony, TX “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Deut. 31:6 NIV