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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cindy Geile, Wheatland, WY.
“For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground;
I will pour my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your offspring”
Isaiah 44:3
Amy Bell
Moore, SC
“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
Romans 10:17 (ESV)
Brandi O’Steen, Houston, TX
Zephaniah 3:17New International Version (NIV)
“The Lord your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”
Shannon Clark, Daviston, Alabama. “My Father’s house has many rooms. If that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?” John 14:22 NIV
Diane Hart, Pittsburgh, PA, James 1:22 “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” NIV
Dale, Tullahoma, TN
Proverbs 16:1 The plans of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.
Gwendolyn Egbert, Colorado Springs, Colorado, “Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: ‘Hallelujah! For the Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!'” Rlevelation 19:6-7 NIV
D. Wallace, Germany “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 NLT
Call upon me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things that you know not. Jeremiah 33:3 KJV
Debbie Kennedy
Brunswick, GA
and if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
Proverbs 2: 3 – 5 NIV
Jeremiah 3:33 ESV,Call to me and I will answer you,and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.
Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV
[5] Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; [6] 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight …
Julianne August, Orangeville, Ontario. “Then David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the Lord God, even my God, is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished. 1 Chronicles‬ â€28‬:â€20‬ ESV
Jodell, Frankfort, “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Luke 1:46-47 NIV
Teresa, Orange City.
How lovely is the place where you live, O LORD who rules over all! I desperately want to be in the courts of the LORD’s temple. My heart and my entire being shout for joy to the living God. Psalm 84:1-2 (NET)
Bebe Major, Washington, NC “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
Cheryl Luecke. Houston,TX.
Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Colossians 4:6 NIV
Cathy Sherman, Montgomery, AL “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4 NIV
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (â€1 Thessalonians‬ â€5‬:â€23‬ NIV)
Heidi from Nampa, Idaho
Job 32:8 (The MSG)
“….it’s God’s Spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty One, that makes wise human insight possible…”
Sheryl from Houston, Texas Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Ephesians 4:29 (NIV)
Tami, Austin, TX “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.” Prov 3:5-6 NKJV
Kimberly from Littleton,NH
Romans 12:12 NIV
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction,
faithful in prayer.
Romans 12:12 NIV
…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
Lexington, Ky
Janet Nelson, Indiahoma, OK. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesian 2:10, NIV
Chrystal M – Wichita Falls, TX
“You have circled this mountain long enough. Now turn north.” Deuteronomy 2:3 (NASB)
Angie – Georgetown, Texas – Therefore as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Col 3:12 (NIV)
Christy Dunning, Blanchard, OK
“Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.” Psalm 125:1 NKJV
Isaiah 43:19
For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
Holton, KS
Romans 12:2 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. NIV
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 entrust my life. Ps 143:8
Ann Castro- Fresno, CA
2 Cor.3:18
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lords glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. NIV
Ephesians 3:7
I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power.
Blessed are those who act justly, who always do what is right. Psalm 106:3 (NIV)
Verna Hornbaker – Riverdale, CA
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
Joanna Fridlund, Portland OR “For I am about to so something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” Isaiah 43:19 NLT
Caitlin Forslof Bellingham, WA
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 desert and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19
Jocelyn Covington, Fairport NY – Psalm 104:33 NIV – I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
Jennifer, Marana, AZ. “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 11:19 NIV
Dawn DeYoung
Dorr Mi
I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength.
Phillipians 4:13 NLT
Phyllis Burchett, Longview, WA. James 1:2 ~ Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
From Houston Galatians 5:1 NIV
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then and do not let yourselves be burdened again by ayoke of slavery.
I Chronicles 4:9-10
Melissa Salyards, Gibson City, Illinois
I will say of the Lord, “He is my fortress, my God,
In whom I trust.”
Psalm 91:2 ( NIV )
Candice from Wallingford, PA “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
Oak Hill, West Virginia
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1. (NIV)
Isaiah 12:2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.
Courtney Dougan, Gainesville, GA “For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV
Stacy, Savannah, GA
“For 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 NIV