Hey, Everybody! Drumroll please! Welcome to the 2017 Siesta Scripture Memory Team! The entry of your Verse 1 selection acts as your registration. Please read this brief post before you leave your comment so you’ll know exactly how to do it. We are not legalistic about much around here but I am a drill sergeant about the precise way we accept comments for SSMT verse entries. One perusal through the first several hundred comments and you’ll understand why. It’s such a powerful sight you will almost want to cry. Or shout. Or throw your head back and howl your loudest hallelujah. It just all depends on how you process a fresh glimpse of divine revelation. You’ll have before you a feast spread out lavishly on a huge banqueting table.  Keeping the comments to the bare minimum makes Scripture itself stand out on the page. If we add a lot of other verbiage to the comment, the verse is more likely to get lost in it.
Not only will your soul be fed by the entries of others, you’ll discover verses you didn’t even know existed and get ideas for future selections. Any time you can’t decide what verse to memorize, jump on the comments and see what resonates with you. Any time you feel bone-dry or downcast or distracted or discouraged or just plain directionless, open up the comments on any SSMT post and behold the words of the Lord. It’s so powerful I could slap my desk thinking about it.
OK, this is how the information should appear in your comment:
Name (first is fine), city: verse, reference, Bible translation.
(Don’t forget your translation! People love knowing exactly which translation your selection came from.)
So you’ll have a paradigm for how it looks, here is my entry for Verse 1 and you’ll see at the end of the post where I made a slight little addition to add some soul-deep conviction if you wish:
Beth Moore from Houston Texas: “Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our beloved fellow worker.” Philemon 1 ESV
You get to choose your own verse according to what you need most right now, what resonates with you in your present circumstances or what God just simply seems to land you on. This year I feel like He’s leading me to use my 24 entries to memorize the one-chapter book of Philemon. It contains 25 verses but the last one is easy so I’ll throw it in with my 24th verse as my final entry. I’ve done stacks of spirals full of unrelated Scriptures for my memory work in previous years. Other times I’ve done several different chunks or one solid chapter. There is no wrong way to do it. It just all depends on what the Holy Spirit seems to be energizing us to do. If something about chipping away at one chapter through the course of the year rings your bell, you are so welcome to join me or you can look through the Scriptures and choose a different chapter of similar length. I so loved memorizing Psalm 25 several years ago. I recited it as recently as yesterday. It has 22 verses ready to go if you’d like to consider it. You’d only need to tag on 2 separate verses after you memorized the psalm to fulfill your 24-verse goal. Jude is another one-chapter book I memorized. It contains 25 verses but I will warn you in advance, take that one on only if you like a challenge. It is pretty wordy.
Let’s just add two little words this time to the front of the entry of our first verse: I commit! And go right ahead and add that exclamation mark at the end of it for the sake of some very appropriate enthusiasm. What you’re about to do bears FRUIT. God’s Word does not return empty. He sends it forth with accomplishing power and divine purpose. That’s worth anticipating with excitement. (In fact, Isaiah 55:11 is a fabulous Scripture to memorize if you’re still searching for a great launch verse.) I think we ought to add those two little words because I keep reading how allergic we’re growing culturally to making commitments of almost any kind. I’m sure you’ve read the same thing. But here’s the deal. We will never be mighty servants of Jesus Christ, alive and awake in the Holy Spirit, bringing glory to God the Father all while standing against evil rulers, powers and principalities without commitment.
Ain’t happenin’.
Nothing was tentative to those early New Testament believers about following Jesus. They didn’t fulfill their callings by being scared of commitment. They gave Him their lives. They bore His name. They testified to the death. Let’s do this thing, Sisters. Let’s do it deliberately. We’re not destined to be weak-willed women. We’re called to be stunningly strong willed about God’s will. So, here’s my official entry for verse 1 of the Siesta Scripture Memory Team challenge of 2017!
I commit! Beth Moore from Houston Texas: “Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our beloved fellow worker.” Philemon 1 ESV
Your turn, sisters! Try to make each of your entries within 24-48 hours after the posts go up around the 1st and the 15th of each month. Also remember not to worry if you don’t see your comment posted for a day or so. Wait a while before you post the same verse a second time. We moderate all comments to filter through spam and trash and general nastiness so the process can take a little time. Here we go! I’m beside myself with joy. Thank you for the privilege to store up the very words of God with you. They are life and breath to us. Iron in our blood. Steel in our bones. So much love to you.
I commit!
Katherine
Colleyville, TX
“She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.”
Proverbs 32:25
NIV
Gabriella from Harleysville, PA
I commit! “Even there your hand will guide me; your right hand will hold me fast.” Psalm 139:10 NIV
I commit! Debbie from Colorado Springs, Colorado
” he (God) saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” Titus 3:5 NIV
I commit! Gina Kelll Spehn from Rochester, Michigan. “I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me.” Psalm 77:1
I commit! Paula from O’Fallon Missouri
He turns a wilderness into a pool of water, and a dry land into springs of water. And He makes the hungry dwell there, that they may prepare a city of habitation
Psalm 107:35-36 RcV
I commit! Hannah Hancock from Winter Haven, FL
“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”
Psalm 34:1 (NKJV)
I commit!! Becky Douglas from Houston, TX
“However it is written; No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him-”
1 Corinthians 2:9 NIV
I commit! Chelsea Maielli from Bossier City, Louisiana
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Psalm 18:2 NKJV
I commit! Natashia Tiel from Calgary, Alberta.
“Study this Book of the Law continually. Meditate on it day and night so you may be sure to obey all that is written in it. Only then will you succeed.”
Joshua 1:8, NLT
I commit! Shona from Cornelia, Georgia: 5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3: 5&6, KJV
I commit! Jennifer from Center Point, IA
The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. Psalm 23:1 NIV
I commit! Julie from McAllen, TX
” In all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:6 KJV
I commit! Kristy McIntyre, Eugene, Oregon – Ephesians 1:1 NIV
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus.
I commit! Debbie Fitzpatrick, Bossier City, LA
Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. Lamentations 3:21-22 NIV
Suzanne
Tenaha, TX
Proverbs 4:20 NIV
My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Proverbs 4:20
Janet Daytona Beach
Send out your light and your truth;
let them guide me.
Let them lead me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you live. Psalm 43:3 (NLT)
I commit! Kristen from Liberty, MO: “The Lord is my strength and shield; my heart trusts in him and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.” Psalm 28:7 NIV
I commit! Jenny Smith from Adairsville, GA Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory. 1 Timothy 3:16 NIV
I commit !
I have asked the Lord for one thing-this is what I desire ! I want to live in the Lord’s house all the days of my life so I can gaze at the splendor of the Lord, and contemplate in his temple.
Psalm 27:4 NET
8 Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. 9 Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. 10 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. 11 Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. (â€1 Chronicles‬ â€16‬:â€8-11‬ NIV)
Natalie Wales NSW Australia
Be alert, stand firm in the faith, be brave, be strong.
1 Corinthians 13
GNT
I commit! Susan from Fishers, IN: 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. NIV
I commit! Cathy Wright from Portage Lakes, Ohio.
“You thrill me Lord, with all you have done for me!I sing for joy because of what you have done.” Psalm 92:4 NLT
I commit! Dacia Edmonson from Bullard, Texas:
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7 NIV
I commit! Jackie Noblesville, IN He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy. Job 8:21 NLT
Kimberly Isaacs, Batavia, Ohio
Joshua 1:9 NIV
I Commit!
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
I commit (holding my nose and diving in)! Anita Ward, Wilmington, NC:
Deuteronomy 11:11-12 (NIV)
“But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven. It is a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end.”
I commit! Jacque from Chesnee, South Carolina. Isaiah 53:1 “Who has delivered what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed.” ESV
I commit. Wendy Williams from McKinney. Humble yourselves therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:6-8 NIV
I commit! Denise from Gilroy, CA
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)
I commit! Brandy Whitaker from East Bend North Carolina
“Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV
I commit. Beverly from Pearland TX “Trust God from the bottom of your heart,
Don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
He’s the One who will keep you on track.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 The Message
I commit! Melanie Grace, Greenbrier, TN
Isaiah 43:16(TLB)
I am the Lord, who opened a way through the waters, making a path right through the sea.
I commit! Janice from Milford, IL
I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Phil. 3:12-14 NLT
I commit!
Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.
I commit!! Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. NIV
I committ! Lisa Curtis, Jackson, MO
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 NIV
I commit!
Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.
Isaiah 64:8 NIV
I commit! Amy Storms, Joplin, MO:
Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 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 14:1-2, NIV)
Lauren, Asheville, NC Isaiah 40:8 ESV “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”
â€â€Isaiah‬ â€40:8‬ â€
I commit! Deborah Johnson from Odessa, Texas “so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11 NIV
Teresa, Wilson, NC.
I commit!!!
But when the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all the Truth. For He will not speak His own message, but will speak whatever He hears [from the Father, He will give the message that has been given to Him] and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come [that will happen in t b e future]. John 16:13 (Amp)
I commit! Sandy, Dodge City, KS
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV
I commit. Julie Young from Murfreesboro, TN Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, Matthew 5:1 NIV
I commit! LaDonna Hagler from Waxahachie, TX: “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
I Commit! Jennifer, Asheville, NC: “I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience as my ancestors did, when I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day. Remembering your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy, clearly recalling your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois, then in you mother Eunice, and that I am convinced is in you also.” 2 Tim 1:3-5 HCSB
I commit! Marguerite Wood from Surrey BC
To everything there is a season,A time for every purpose under heaven.
NKJV Ecc.3:1
I commit! Jennifer Caldwell from Cambridge, Ontario: ‘Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!’ Psalm 141:3 ESV
I commit! Melody from Borden, IN. “so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11. NIV
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according
To the power that worketh in us. KJV