Siesta Scripture Memory Team: Verse 6!

Calling all you hard working, head-filling, brain-bathing Scripture-memorizing Siestas! It's time for Verse 6! No slackers here, young ladies! Let's not be afraid of a little challenge. Did you know that memorization is one of the best ways on earth to keep our brains sharp? Yep. And I also heard a few days ago that all the multi-tasking we're doing does not work the part of our brain that requires stimulation to tap into our brilliance. (Every single one of us has brilliance.) That part of our brain requires tremendous focus on one thing for extended periods of time, pushing our thoughts a solitary direction that stretches and works it beyond its normal exercise. That's part of what Scripture memory does! Especially when you now have six verses to keep rolling around in your darling little brilliant brain.

I think it's time for some extra incentive! (Drum roll please) Next January 22-23, 2010 (Friday evening and Saturday till noon like LPL's), we at LPM have decided to throw a Siesta Scripture Memory Team Celebration Event (how's that for a mouthful?) in Houston, Texas at my home church. Perfect timing right after our year of Scripture memorization wraps up. I will do the teaching and my good buddy, Travis Cottrell, will be with us to lead us in worship...and probably a few laughs. We will not take any registrations for the event until late next Fall. It will be ONLY for those who meet the following requirements and free of charge as our love and appreciation gift for seeing our goal all the way to the finish:

*You must officially sign in with your name, city and Scripture 20 out of 24 times on our Scripture memory posts on the 1st and 15th throughout 2009. I was really tempted to require all 24 times but then I remembered that a few of you very faithful memorizers didn't know about it until the second month. The event is not for anybody out there who has memorized Scripture as much as we affirm you and cheer you on! It is for women in our Siesta community who have memorized Scripture as part of this 1st and 15th Scripture Memory Accountability Team. If you started with us late, you can double-up on your memory work several times and go back and sign in on older posts to make sure you accrue at least 20 sign-ins and verses.

*You must be able to say 10 of your 20-24 Scriptures from memory to one person during the course of the event. (Not up in front of everybody, mind you! I'll simply have you break into two's for a half hour at the event and you'll say your Scriptures to one another.) For our meditators, you'll need to paraphrase 10 of your Scriptures as closely as you can with your partner until it is clear that the Truth of it abides in you even if every word is not in a row. Remember, Siestas, if this seems hard that the purpose of the year was to memorize 24 Scriptures. We can do 10 of our choice with one another!

*You must bring your 2009 spiral with you with at least 20 memory verses recorded in it. It will be your ticket in the door. And it should look well-worn. Grin.

No exceptions to these requirements please. Please don't ask next December and get me feeling all sappy. This is the way it needs to be so the event can provide a small, temporal reward for a year of hard work. The eternal and internal rewards are immeasurable.

*There will be prizes for those who have memorized all 24 verses and can say each one of them from memory to a partner at the event. We'll make sure they feel affirmed without anybody else feeling lame. Everybody there with have accomplished something HUGE!

It will be so much fun! The smaller size of the group and the process we've all been through together will make it really intimate and special. Work hard and come! Those of you who live far away, the event will be free but you need to start saving your money for other expenses. This is a great time to start looking for flight deals!

Late next Fall many of you will know whether or not you're going to meet those requirements and we'll begin taking registrations then. My home church is Houston's First Baptist on 7401 Katy Freeway in case you want to begin looking for where you might try to stay. I don't mind saying that we have the best food and best shopping in the whole wide world and our Januarys are mild so you're probably not going to get snowed in. Melana, save your dollars and bring us Miesta Moose! Warm in Alaska, we can make you a whole lot warmer!! Canadian Siestas, fly south like a snow bird to Texas!!!

PLEASE DO THE WORK AND COME!! It will be such a blast!

OK, now for my selection for Verse 6. It's a Scripture we studied on our last night of The Inheritance Bible Study in Houston and, boy, do I need it and, boy, do I want the promise it offers. Again, you are welcome to share mine or offer your own. As usual, names, cities, and Scriptures only, please Siestas!

"Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing." 1 Peter 3:9 NIV

Here's part of what makes this special. The New Testament translates two primary Greek words as forms of "bless" or "blessed." One of them (lexical "makarios") describes a state of being. A resultant condition, so to speak, like those described in the Beatitudes and in many other parts of the NT in reference to those who belong to God through Christ. It basically means to live in the face (coram Deo) and favor of God. The second one (lexical "eulogia"/"eulogeo") is the conferring or speaking of blessing. As my NT Lexical Aids say, it means "to confer blessing upon, call down divine favor..." The former is a state of being. A beautiful thing indeed. The latter is blessing spoken. Also a beautiful thing, especially for those of us to whom words are a primary love language. It is this latter word for blessing - the one that involves something spoken - that is used in 1 Peter 3:9. The gist of the exhortation, restated from God's point of view, is this:

"When you use your mouth to bless those who have insulted you or spoken evil to you, I, Myself, will speak blessing over you that you will receive as part of your inheritance."

When we speak blessings over others who were HARD to bless, He speaks blessing over us. And, let's admit it, sometimes we're hard to bless, too.

We're going to get plenty of opportunities to practice this spiritual discipline because, as the verse clearly states, TO THIS WE WERE CALLED. We were called to manifest the Spirit of Christ through our words when someone insults us. It's a hard part of the high calling of God but to this we were called SO THAT we may inherit a blessing.

Pretty good, huh?

OK, Siestas, I'll hop off of here and let you start getting your Scriptures in.

Let me say in conclusion for all of those who prayed for the ministers' wives' event this weekend that it was one of the most meaningful weekends I've ever been part of. I will never forget it. We are preparing something for you to get a little taste of it so look for that later in the week. It will include some of those comments you (understandably) wanted to read so badly.

I love you, Dear Ones, and I am honored to be your servant. STAY IN THE WORD whether you're memorizing it or not!!