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.
AND – I COMMIT! …. yikes, I left that part out of my original post on the 1st
I commit. Stephanie from Waynesboro, MS “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and do not rely on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5 HCSB
I commit! Gayle from Blythewood, SC.
Ephesians 3:17b-18 (NIV)
“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ”
I commit. Carolyn from Bishopville, MD. Colossians 1:9 (NLV)
“So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.”
Jaclyn Kachurak from Richmond, VA
I commit! “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 NIV
I commit! Gloria from Van Alstyne, Tx: “O LORD, I give my life to you.”
â€â€Psalms‬ â€25:1‬ â€NLT
I commit! Crista-Forest, VA
Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your Name; and deliver us and forgive our sins for Your Name’s sake.
Psalm 79:9 NASB
I commit! Alissa from Spring, TX, Isaiah 58:11 (NIV)
“The Lord will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.”
I commit! Christina from Smyrna, Georgia: “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” – Romans‬ â€12:12‬ â€NIV‬‬
I COMMIT! Wendy Roncalli from Saltillo, Ms.
“To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.” Psalm 25:1 ESV.
I commit! Kelly from Parma, Michigan : May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. NIV
I commit! Laura from Spearfish, SD:
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; Psalm 1:1 ESV
I commit! Brenda Dulin from Denton, Texas “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Psalm 19:1 NIV
I commit! Tami from Westford Massachusetts: “Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for *God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 1 Peter 5:5
I commit! Lisa from Morehead, KY. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
Stephanie from Houston, TX: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6 (NIV)
Lauren Gross, Pineville, LA
“But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine.” Titus 2:1 NASB
I commit! Korinna from Apple Valley, CA: “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, Kathryn Anderson commit to this journey. Groesbeck, TX.
“Blessed is the who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.” – Revelation 1:3
I commit! Melody, from Florence, KY -Hebrews 9:1-2 Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. 2 A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand and the table with its consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place.
I commit!
JoAnn, Scottsdale, AZ
“Do not fear for I am with you;
Do not be afraid for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, I will help you;
I will hold onto you with My righteous right hand.”
Isaiah 41.10 HCSB
I commit! Heather Rocha from Midland, MI “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance & the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Romans 15:4 NIV
I commit! Charity from Bronx, NY
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 commit! Mandy from Lexington, SC. Matthew 5:3 (NIV) “Blessed are the poor in Spirit for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.”
I commit. Kathleen from Quito, Ecuador. “May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy.” Colossians 1:11 ESV
I Commit! Esther, Denver, PA Ephesians 4:1
“Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling. For you have been called by God.” (NLT)
I commit! Carol from Cabot, AR
Deut. 11:11-12
The land you are 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! Carolyn from Trumbull, CT
Sing, O barren one, who did not bear;
break forth into singing and cry aloud,
you who have not been in labor!
For the children of the desolate one will be more
than the children of her who is married,” says the Lord.
Isaiah 54:1 ESV
I commit! Diane from Little Rock, AR. 2 Corinthians‬ â€4:16 ESV
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.”
I Commit!! If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all. Isaiah 7:9 NIV
I commit! April, Weatherford, TX. “No disciple seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:11 (NIV)
Kristen from Stephenville, Texas! I COMMIT!!!!!!
“For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. – Isaiah 55:12
I commit! Julianne August from Orangeville, Ontario.
“I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. Psalm 34:1 NIV
I commit! I’m Caroline from Columbus, Georgia: “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Phillipians 3:7-8 ESV
I commit! Stephanie, College Station, TX
“Kind words are like honey—
sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.” Proverbs 16:24 NLT
I commit! Sarah Boyd- Brownwood, Texas
Romans 12:12 NIV
Be joyful in hope
Patient in affliction
Faithful in prayer
I commit. Brittany Carson from Lubbock, TX. “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18. NIV
I commit. Jane from New Castle, IN “I lift up my eyes to the mountains- where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1,2 NIV
I commit! Brit P, New York, NY.
“As you can see, I’m about to go the way we all end up going. Know this with all your heart, with everything in you, that not one detail has failed of all the good things God, your God, promised you. It has all happened. Nothing’s left undone—not so much as a word.” Joshua 23:14 MSG
I commit! Emily from Bay Village, Ohio
Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord. (â€Psalm‬ â€27‬:â€14‬ AMPC)
Bev from Lincoln I commit! In you, Lord my God, I put my trust. Psalm 25:1 NIV
I commit!
Nancilea, The Woodlands, TX
“And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul…” (Deuteronomy 10:12 ESV)
I commit! “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Roman 8:28 esv
I commit!
Jamie Ballou
Corbin,Ky
“You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your tight hand.” Psalm 16:11 NIV
I commit! Jody from Sarcoxie, Mo
I will exalt you, O Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me.
Psalm 30:1 NIV
Julie – Randolph, MS: I commit. For the Lord is righteous; He loves righteous deeds. The upright will see his face. Psalm 11:7 HCSB
I commit!
Mary, Greene, IA
“Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renewa loyal spirit within me.”
Psalm 51:10
NLT
I commit! Barbara from Atlanta
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Psalm 46:10 NIV
I commit! Kylie from Warsaw, MO. Eph. 6:10 NIV (The Armor of God) “Finally, be strong in the LORD and in His mighty power.”
I commit! Leigh from Birmingham, AL. “When I am afraid, I will trust in you.”
Psalm 56:3 NIV