Memory Verses #21- #24

Wow!  I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted.  Thanksgiving & Christmas had me busy.  This year, we spent a lot of time making Christmas crafty projects and making family memories.  I'll be posting pictures of them soon. 


But first I have to post my Siesta Memory Verses...I didn't realize I hadn't even posted them on here.  I have logged them in on Beth Moore's Living Proof blog but forgot to do it here.


So here they are...


#21
Psalm 28:7
The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped.
My heart leaps for joy,
and I will give thanks to Him in son.


#22
Psalm 136:1
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.
His love endures forever!


#23
Proverbs 29:11
A fool gives full vent to his anger,
but a WISE (wo)man keeps him(her)self under control.


#24
Isaiah 9:6

For to us a child is born, 
   to us a son is given, 
   and the government will be on his shoulders. 
And he will be called 
   Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, 
   Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Memory Verse #20

OK, this year is just flying by...and the fact that we're up to NUMBER 20 out of 24 MEMORY VERSES is just one more sign that this year is coming to an end soon!  And that means we're just that much closer to the Siesta Scripture Memory Team Celebration!  I can't wait!  My sister & I had so much fun in January 2010 when we got to go to the first SSMT Celebration!

And it's really not too late if you have PROCRASTINATED and haven't gotten all of your memory verses posted.  Beth Moore even suggested memorizing a chapter (or two) of PSALMS that would add up to 24 verses.  When I was in graduate school in Memphis, I was a part of a Bible study group at Bellevue Baptist, and we all memorized PSALM 139.  I never thought I could memorize an entire chapter before, but I did!  And it wasn't that difficult!  And guess what?  It's exactly 24 verses!  Just a suggestion.  Until this day, it is still my favorite PSALM!  So full of God's promises...

Psalm 139

    For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

 ¹ O LORD, you have searched me 
   and you know me. 
² You know when I sit and when I rise; 
   you perceive my thoughts from afar. 
³ You discern my going out and my lying down; 
   you are familiar with all my ways. 
⁴ Before a word is on my tongue 
   you know it completely, O LORD.

 ⁵ You hem me in—behind and before; 
   you have laid your hand upon me. 
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, 
   too lofty for me to attain.

 ⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit? 
   Where can I flee from your presence? 
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there; 
   if I make my bed in the depths,^[a] you are there. 
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn, 
   if I settle on the far side of the sea, 
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me, 
   your right hand will hold me fast.

 ¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me 
   and the light become night around me,” 
¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you; 
   the night will shine like the day, 
   for darkness is as light to you.

 ¹³ For you created my inmost being; 
   you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; 
   your works are wonderful, 
   I know that full well. 
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you 
   when I was made in the secret place. 
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 
 ¹⁶ your eyes saw my unformed body. 
All the days ordained for me 
   were written in your book 
   before one of them came to be.

 ¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! 
   How vast is the sum of them! 
¹⁸ Were I to count them, 
   they would outnumber the grains of sand. 
When I awake, 
   I am still with you.

 ¹⁹ If only you would slay the wicked, O God! 
   Away from me, you bloodthirsty men! 
²⁰ They speak of you with evil intent; 
   your adversaries misuse your name. 
²¹ Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD, 
   and abhor those who rise up against you? 
²² I have nothing but hatred for them; 
   I count them my enemies.

 ²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart; 
   test me and know my anxious thoughts. 
²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me, 
   and lead me in the way everlasting.

Now to my verse for this time... I decided to use Beth Moore's suggestion from last time.  It's a great verse to keep in my prayers on a daily basis (maybe even an hourly basis some days). :)

"I continually look to the Lord for help, 

for He will free my feet from the enemy’s net.” 

Psalm 25:15 (The NET Bible)

Memory Verse #19

As I've been reading through Psalms this month, I found that Psalm 86 was a wonderful Psalm...every verse is a promise  from God.  I may have to work on memorizing the entire chapter, but for now I'm choosing verse 7...

"In the day of my trouble I will call to You, for You will answer me."  - Psalm 86:7 (NIV)

It's still not to late to join the Siesta Scripture Memory Team for the celebration in January!  Click here for more details!

Memory Verse #17

I can't believe how fast this year is passing!  It's already SEPTEMBER, and that means one month closer to the SSMT Celebration hosted by Beth Moore & her daughters, Amanda & Melissa!

September 1 came with a bang...we've had a busy week with starting our homeschool co-op in Nacogdoches & hosting a Choir party & preparing for Ethan's birthday celebration with the family...And then I got really sick in between all of that.  That put me a little behind on posting my memory verse.

"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." -Proverbs 4:23

I came across this verse on one of the blogs I read (and I can't even remember which one now) this week and thought that might be a good verse to memorize this time.

So I looked it up in my study Bible and found that I had highlighted this whole passage as some point the past.  It seems like a great passage to hide in my heart and to keep on the refrigerator for the whole family to work on!  This goes right along with the character verses we are working on in school this year.

Proverbs 4:23-27
"Above all else, guard your heart, 
for it is the wellspring of life.  
Put away perversity from your mouth; 
keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
Let your eyes look straight ahead,
fix your gaze directly before you.
Make level paths for your feet
and take only ways that are firm.
Do not swerve to the right or the left;
keep your foot from evil."

Memory Verse #16

"Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth."

1 John 3:18

I'm memorizing this with my boys as our first memory verse for the school year. I'm trying to teach them how our actions speak MUCH louder than our words.

Memory Verse #15

AUGUST...the HOTTEST month of the year for us in Texas! Today, the lady on the news said this would be HOTTEST week yet for us! How can it possibly get any hotter than 105-110 degrees???

So...I think we should all just stay inside & memorize our verses. What do you think? :)

"The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down."

Proverbs 14:1 (NIV)

I got the idea for memorizing this verse this time from a Sally Clarkson workshop that I attended this weekend at the THSC Homeschool Conference in The Woodlands. Sally (and all of the other speakers) kept teaching about how important it is for us to cultivate a GODLY HEART in our children.

She kept telling stories & teaching us that we will reap what we sow. If we get frustrated easily with our little ones, we will cultivate FRUSTRATED HEARTS. If we get impatient because our children are not getting ready quickly enough for church or school or the trip to Walmart, then we are going to cultivate IMPATIENT & RUDE HEARTS. If we have a bitter attitude toward our jobs, church, friends, or life in general, we will cultivate BITTER HEARTS.

Then, Sally Clarkson quoted Proverbs 14:1: "The WISE woman BUILDS her HOUSE, but with her OWN HANDS the FOOLISH one TEARS hers DOWN."

Wow! What a gem of a verse! I've read it many times before but it really HIT me over the head when I heard Sally say it with her kind, gentle voice! She said do we want to build up our children or tear them down? I certainly do not want to tear down my house with my own hands!

I need to keep this verse in the forefront of my mind at all times! I can't tell you how many times I snap with an impatient, unkind attitude on Sunday mornings as we are trying to get out the door! And then I want them to be happy about going to church to learn about Jesus?

So this month I am going to try my hardest to say this verse to myself every time my boys (husband and dog included) try my patience. :) Will you pray for me & hold me accountable & check back to see how I'm doing?

I'd love to hear the verse you are memorizing this time!

Finding JOY in my journey,

Kim

Memory Verse #12

We have made it HALFWAY through the year!

Beth Moore stated today on the Siesta Scripture Memory Team Blog “Hear bells and whistles and lots of music, maybe even a few beginning bars of the Hallelujah chorus: YOU MADE IT EXACTLY HALFWAY!!!! You are officially over the hump after you get this entry behind you.”

“Way to go, Sisters. Way to go! It’s a pretty good feeling, isn’t it? Don’t think for a second that the enemy didn’t try to steal away your focus and commitment. If you made it this far, you fought with him and won. This is a big victory. Celebrate it with your very faithful God.”

Here’s my verse for this time. I’m using the same one that Beth Moore chose. I was just thinking of this verse today when I was thinking about a conversation I recently had with my 12-year-old son! I’ve been telling him that verse, but then I was thinking I should have him memorize it with me. Then, I read her blog this morning & she chose 2 Timothy 2:15 too! So I decided that was a sign that I needed to memorize it with him. I memorized the King James Version as a child, but I like this one too!

2 Timothy 2:15 (NET)
Make every effort to present yourself before God as a proven worker who does not need to be ashamed, teaching the message of truth accurately.

She also asked that we summarize in one sentence what it has meant to

memorize God’s word this year. Here’s mine…

Memorizing God’s Word this year has been a JOY as I’ve worked with my sons to memorize scripture with them.

I’d love to hear your verse & what it’s meant to you to memorize scripture this year!

Please leave me a comment!

Memory Verse #10

Wow! I can't believe we are already up to our 10th verse for the year! I hope you are striving to hide God's word in your heart this year as well. I just told Evan today that we have not been practicing our verses this month as diligently as we have in the past. We better get back on track! We don't want to let that ugly devil get a foothold & trip us up! :)

So here's my verse this time...it's the 2nd verse of the passage I started last time. I'll just go ahead & post them both. They are great!

Psalm 32:7-8

7 You are my hiding place;

You protect me from trouble.

You surround me with joyful shouts of deliverance.

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

I will counsel you and watch over you.

I'd love to hear the verse that you are memorizing...will you please leave me a comment?

Memory Verse #9

Psalm 32:7 (HCSB)

You are my hiding place;

You protect me from trouble.

You surround me with joyful shouts of deliverance.

I'd love to hear what verse you are memorizing!

Memory Verse #8

This past week I had the opportunity to travel with Eric to take the Senior Adults to their Jubilee Conference in Branson and then I got to go to the Beth Moore Living Proof Live conference in Little Rock. Wow! What a spiritually uplifting week I've had!

Yesterday, I decided I needed to memorize some of the key verses from the weekend's lessons, so here goes...

I'll have to share more about the wonderful messages I heard this week from Dr. Charles Stanley, Dr. Johnny Hunt, and Beth Moore.

2 Timothy 4:5

"But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry."

Memory Verse #7

Psalm 116:1-2 (NIV)

"I love the Lord, for He heard my voice;

He heard my cry for mercy.

Because He turned His ear to me,

I will call on Him as long as I live."

Soon, I hope to get back to updating our lives...the internet is still a problem & I can't seem to upload pictures at our house...but someday we'll figure this out. :) Until then, I'll keep living life, teaching our boys, and memorizing scripture. What verses are you trying to hide in your heart? I'd love to hear them!

Memory Verse #6

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV)

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light & momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Memory Verse #5

Philippians 2:13 (NIV)

For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.

Memory Verse #4

I've been studying James and doing the Beth Moore Breaking Free Bible study, so I thought I needed to memorize a few verses from James this time. It is a pretty lengthy passage, so I'll probably split it up for the rest of this month and the beginning of next.

James 1:22-26 (NLT)

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey it, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.

Memory Verse #3

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1

We started Beth Moore's revised Breaking Free Bible study last week, and she suggested memorizing this verse to remind ourselves that we do NOT need to be burdened by our strongholds any longer!

(I tried Jenna's trick of writing the first letter of each word down, and it really helps! I think it will be a great help to memorize quicker!)

Memorizing Scripture

When I ask people to join me in memorizing scripture, I often get the comment that “I am not very good at memorizing verses.” It does take work but it’s not impossible…actually, if we truly believe God’s word, ANYTHING is possible with God. And if our goal is to memorize HIS WORD, don’t you think that He will help you do that if you truly try? It’s really a matter of discipline…taking the time to study. Just like it’s a matter of discipline to exercise, eat right, and make yourself get up and get ready to do whatever you do each day.

I’ve read 3 blogs just in the last few weeks about memorizing scripture this year.

Ann Voskamp’s “A Holy Experience” (www.aholyexperience.com) is challenging her readers to memorize the entire book of Colossians this year. She has some great tips on HOW to memorize scripture & reasons why we should.

Beth Moore has launched her second round of the “Siesta Scripture Memory Team” (blog.lproof.org). She encourages you to have a notecard spiral and to write your scriptures in the spiral & carry it everywhere you go. You can review those scriptures any time you have a few free minutes…waiting in line, waiting in the doctor’s office, waiting at a red light (probably not the safest), etc.

And if you choose to join Beth Moore and the rest of us, you can attend a wonderful celebration next January in her home church for an extremely reasonable price…the ticket is just your spiral & the ability to recite half of your scriptures to a partner during the conference! This was such a special conference last January…I can’t wait until next year!

Another way to memorize scripture is to truly meditate on it. Courtney & Angela at Good Morning Girls, (www.goodmorninggirls.org) have challenged their readers to a study on James. They are suggesting the “SOAP” method to study the entire book of James in three months, meditating on just 1-2 verses per day. This method is new to me, but I’m excited about trying it. Here’s the deal…in a spiral, you do the following each day:

1. S – write out the SCRIPTURE passage for the day.

2. O – write down 1-2 OBSERVATIONS from the passage.

3. A – write down 1-2 APPLICATIONS from the passage.

4. P – PRAY over what you learned from the day’s passage.

By the end of the 12 weeks, you will write out the entire book of James in your journal! How amazing is that!

One of my friends, Jenna, told me that she read about a tip where you write down the 1^st letter of each word of the verse to help you memorize.

For example, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” Philippians 4:13, you would write

I C D A T T C W S M

She said this really helps her. I haven’t tried it yet, but plan on writing this out on the back of each of my scripture cards in my spiral as I enter each verse this year. I think it will really help because I am such a visual learner.

So there you have it…many tips on helping you memorize scripture. Won’t you join me on my journey to “hide God’s word in my heart?”

The Bible in One Year + 23 Days!

At the beginning of 2010, I borrowed my Dad's One Year Chronological Bible to read the Bible through in a year. I really liked this version...New Living Translation...because it is written with more modern language. It was so much easier to understand and make it through those hard to read books of the law and major prophets! :)

I think I've only accomplished this feat 2 or 3 times before...it's quite an undertaking, but I really get so much out of reading the entire Bible. This Bible was also written in chronological order, so it was really neat to read about David's journeys & then read the psalms he wrote about those endeavors right along with them. It was neat to read the gospels in chronological order too. You could see which stories were recorded in all 4 gospels or just 2 or 3 of them.

It was also nice to read the copy that my Dad had read the year before...to see what he underlined as important to him, to see the dates he finished the old and new testaments (he read the new testament in its entirety 3 times in the year...he's much quicker than I am).

So...I'm excited to announce that I finally finished the entire Bible...it took 23 days longer than ONE year but I finished!

Now on to new studies for this year...right now I'm doing a study of James with the Good Morning Girls blog and I just started Beth Moore's Breaking Free with a group of ladies from our new church in Center. I'm excited to see what God has in store for me this year!

What are you studying? I'd love to hear it!

Memory Verse #2

I'm a little late in posting it here, but I made sure to get on the LPM Blog to post my verse this past weekend. We still don't have internet at home so my time with internet is extremely limited these days. :) I chose a verse this time that I read at the end of someone's email. I thought it was very poignant.

Proverbs 24:3-4

By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established;

Through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.

What verse are you working on "hiding in your heart?" I'd love to hear it!

2011 Memory Verse #1

"The Lord will work out His plans for my life--

Your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.

Don't abandon me, for You made me."

Psalm 138:8 (NLT)

I'm joining the Living Proof Siesta Scripture Memory Team again this year to memorize 24 verses in 2011. Would you like to join me? Go to blog.lproof.org for more info.

Memory Verses #23 - #24

Well, we've made it another year memorizing 2 verses per month. I have missed having the Beth Moore Siesta Scripture Memory Team as my accountability, but I made it anyway. This semester, I have worked on Romans 12 with Evan. I'm so proud that he has memorized an entire chapter of the Bible as an 11-year-old! I didn't do that until I was in graduate school...that's when I memorized Psalm 139 with a Bible study group.

So here are the last 2 verses for the year...

Verse #23

Romans 12:19-21

Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written:

"It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.

On the contrary: If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

This last verse has become one of my favorite prayers and blessings...

Verse #24

Romans 15:13

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.