Happy New Year!

Ladies, still working out the details of our celebration.  Stay tuned.  Will finalize everything by Monday, January 5.

Check back then!

Sisters in Scripture Verse Twenty

Woo hoo!  You did it!  We did it!  Hallelujah!  Sisters, let's take a moment and thank our loving Father for helping us on this journey.

Father, we praise you Lord for Your love, Your care, and for Your Word.  We thank you for calling us to this challenge and walking with us on this journey.  We know it is Your equipping and Your Spirit that has kept us faithful.  We pray that all of our efforts have been to Your Glory!  We love You and pray always through Jesus.  Amen.

Sisters, it's time to celebrate!  I know that there are some of you that have been memorizing but not registering your verses on the blog each month.  That's okay - it counts too.  My hope is that you're reading this though...need to reach those Sisters somehow.  So, whether or not you've registered your verses each month or not, please plan to join us for a reception in January to commemorate this fantastic journey.  The details of that reception will be finalized in the next few weeks so come back to the blog on January 1 for an announcement with all the information.

But, wait...still need to post our 20th verse!  Here's mine.

Julie, "The Lord will protect your coming and going both now and forever." Psalm 121:8

Merry Christmas Sisters!

Sisters in Scripture Verse Nineteen

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  As we approach our goal, I have a brief article to share from Rick Warren on the importance of memorizing Scripture.  It's a convicting article that stresses this spiritual discipline as necessary for spiritual maturity.  I've included it below.

Sisters, we are so close to the finish line!  I know you've worked so hard on this thing and we can be assured that God will bless your efforts.  Give yourself a smile :)  You've done good!

Here's my 19th (wow!!!) verse:

Julie, "The Lord will protect you from all harm; He will protect your life."  Psalm 121:7

Now, it's your turn!

“Whoever looks intently into the perfect law … and continues in it — not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it — they will be blessed in what they do.” (James 1:25 NIV)

If you’re serious about being spiritually strong and mature, the greatest habit you can develop is memorizing Scripture. In fact, the Bible says in James 1:25 that it’s one of four habits that leads to a blessed life: “Whoever looks intently into the perfect law … and continues in it — not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it — they will be blessed in what they do” (NIV).

• Read your Bible. “Whoever looks intently …”
• Review the Bible. “… continues in it …”
• Remember the Bible. “… not forgetting what they have heard …”
• Respond to the Bible. “ … but doing it …”

You don’t want to be a spiritual baby anymore. It’s time to grow up and live the blessed life you’re meant to live. Hiding God’s Word in your heart is an important way to start.

You may not think you have a good memory, but you remember what’s important to you. You remember the phone numbers and dates that you care about. I’ve heard people say they can’t memorize anything, but they can quote songs from the 1960s and rattle off the statistics of their favorite baseball players.

Memory is a skill you can learn. It’s a muscle you can strengthen. In fact, memorizing Scripture will cause your brain to have a stronger memory in other areas. I guarantee it. Study after study has shown this.

Why is it important to memorize Scripture?

• You’ll always have God’s Word with you. When you’re tempted, you don’t have a Bible open or by your side. When you’re witnessing to someone who doesn’t know Jesus, is under stress, needs comfort, or is in a crisis, there’s usually not a Bible around. You need God’s Word in your mind so you can remember it and review it right when you need it.

• You can meditate on Scripture wherever you go. You can’t review God’s Word unless you remember it. If you’ve memorized Scripture, you can think about it when you get into bed at night or as you drive to an appointment. You can think about the Bible because you’ve memorized it. That’s called meditation. The only promise of prosperity and success that God gives us in the Bible says that meditating on his Word is the key (Joshua 1:8).

Start memorizing Scripture today. Pick a verse a week. In a year, you’ll have memorized 52 verses. In two years, you’ll have memorized more than 100 verses.

Talk It Over

• What changes do you need to make so that you are regularly reading and studying the Bible?
• You already know the ways you learn and memorize best. What tools, tactics, or people can help you memorize Scripture?
• How do you respond when God brings Scripture to mind in certain situations? How should you respond?

Sisters in Scripture Verse Eighteen

I did it again.  Sorry for the delay in getting my post up.  I am so excited to reach this number...we are so close to 20 Scriptures in 2014!  Praise God for His faithfulness in seeing us this far.  He will take us to the finish if we just lean on Him.  I'm praying that He helps us all find time in our busy lives to practice our verses and then to provide ways for us to share them.  Praying we follow Psalm 96:3,  "Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples."

Julie, "The sun will not strike you by day or the moon at night."  Psalm 121:6  HCSB

Happy Thanksgiving Sisters!

Sisters in Scripture Verse Seventeen

Only three more scriptures and we will have met our goal!  However, if you're like me, anticipating the quickened pace of the holiday season gives me reason to be concerned about staying on track with this challenge and making sure I make the time to practice.

Sisters, we can be sure that our Heavenly Father is rooting for us to have a strong finish and will give us exactly what we need to stay strong with this challenge.  "And my God will supply your every need according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus."

I hope this video testimony brings you encouragement!

My seventeenth verse:

Julie, "The Lord protects you; the Lord is a shelter right by your side."  Psalms 121:5

Your turn!

Sisters in Scripture Verse Sixteen

Sisters, my apologies!  If you came to the blog yesterday to post, you noticed that I hadn't blogged yet.  I thought about it several times yesterday, but was not able to carve out enough time to get over here.  Again, I'm sorry.  

It's the middle of the month though so let's proceed with our next verse.

Julie, "Indeed, the Protector of Israel does not slumber or sleep."  Psalm 121:4 HCSB

Keep at this Sisters!  I know how tough it is to fit in practice time each day or even a couple times a week, but we're so close to a very worthwhile goal.  Within a very short amount of time, we will be equipped with 20 Scriptures from God's Word - embedded, stored, and rooted down deep in our hearts.  No one can take that from us!  Keep on!

Sisters in Scripture Verse Fifteen

Good morning Sisters!  

Yesterday in the women's Bible study I'm participating in, Beth Moore spoke to the issue of spiritual maturity and shared a verse from Colossians. Paul is encouraging the Colossians and letting them know that he has been praying for them to, "be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God."  Colossians 1:9-10

Convicting! Aren't these the very reasons why we're participating in this challenge? Seeking God's will, seeking spiritual wisdom and understanding, seeking to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, seeking to please Him fully, seeking to bear fruit in every good work, and seeking to increase in the knowledge of God. Yes! Not on our own effort but through the strength, power, and leading of the Holy Spirit. Praise God for what's possible through Him!

So, onward we go! Here's my 15th scripture:

Julie, "He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber." Psalm 121:3

Your turn - see you back here on October 15.