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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Shirley from Tracy, CA
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:11-13 NIV
Letitia Hart, Zephyrhills, FL “Teach me to do your will for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.” (NLT)
Psalm 143:10
Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. Colossians 8:16
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
King James Version
Sondra Crawford, Colorado. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Ephesians 3:19 NLT
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV
Stacey C, Amarillo TX, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26 NIV1984
Amanda, Monahans, TX
So continue encouraging each other and building each other up, just like you are doing already. 1 Thessalonians 5:11
Chrissy, San Tan Valley Arizona
“Be JOYFUL always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
John 11:33New International Version (NIV)
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.
Sandy from Xenia, OH. But our citizenship is in heaven.And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christmas Phil 3:20
Bella Vista, AR
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
Lansdale, PA
I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Jeremiah 31:33b NKJV
Shaunna, Andrews,TX. ” So teach us to number our days, that we may present to you a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12 NASB
“Scoffers set a city aflame, but wise men turn away wrath.” Proverbs 29:8
Lorraine Moen, Surrey, BC
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
I Corinthians 2:9 (NKJV)
Kate Becker, Eugene, OR. “Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.” (â€1 John‬ â€3‬:â€18‬ NLT)
Rowena, Gulfport, MS – Trust in Him at all times, O people, pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge, Psalm 62:8 NIV
Debbie Lane Louisville, Ky. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. (â€Jeremiah‬ â€29‬:â€13‬ NLT)
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
Robbin Majors, Corryton,TN. “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. REV Easy-to-Read version
Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Connie Kirstein – Ocean City, MD
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 NASB
Joanne in Deltona, Florida.
Proverbs 3:5-6. Trust in The Lord with all your heart and do not lean to your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will direct your path.
Psalm 46:10. Be still and know that I am God.
Patti Klasing, Houston, Texas
“Do not conform any longer 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
James 1:2-3 – Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
Leah Nagel, Litchfield, Minnesota, “Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.” (â€Isaiah‬ â€1‬:â€17‬ NLT)
Zeph 3:17 NJB
Yaweh you God is there with you, the warror-Savior. He will rejoice over you with happy song, He will renew you by His love, He will dance with shouts of joy for you.
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess for He who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23
With God all things are possible. Matthew 19:26b NIV
MariAnne, the Netherlands, near Rotterdam:
Joshua 1:8 NIV:
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips;
meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.
Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Mary, Corpus Christi, Texas. “Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him, and He will help you.” Psalm 37:5 (NLT)
Suzanne Landry, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.” Psalm 136:1 NIV
Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
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.
Hershey, PA
Becky Hart Madera Ca.
“Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.” 1Peter 3:9
Kseniya Bondarenko, Zhitomir – Ukraine, “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! ” John 5:39-40 NLT
Rhonda from Chillicothe Ohio, Isaiah 40:31 But those who trust in the LORD will find newstrength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. they will walk and not faint. nlt
Julie Lair, Stanford, KY
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 NIV
Melissa, Michigan,”And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to hid life.” Matthew 6:27, NIV
“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring
It’s own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”
Matthew 6:34
Carla, Allen, TX, 1 John 4:12
No man has at any time seen God. But, if we love one another, God abides in us and His love is brought to completion in us.
Kim Worosher, Glen Allen, VA “I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.” Psalm 119:10 NIV
“My soul, praise the Lord! Lord my God, you are very great; you are clothed with majesty and splendor.”. Psalm 104:1
Jennifer Hernandez, Highlands Ranch, Colorado. “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6 (NKJV).
Sheryl Gray, Pampa, Texas
“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou shall prosper and be in health,even as thy soul prosper.”
3 John 2
Linda Garretson, Corinth, Texas. “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.” Isaiah 40:28-31 NASB
Amanda Grasza, Calgary, AB
“To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Thessalonians 2:14 ESV
Jaimie. Fennville, MI. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Gal 5:14 (NIV)
Mackenzie Willis, Oakdale, LA
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9
Ugh…sorry. Christine Satterlee, Fall City, Washington