Verse 24

We made it! (Well, some of us did, anyway...)

This didn't really go as well as I had hoped. I guess when you start with such a small group, there's a danger that it will shrink down too much over time. However, I've definitely enjoyed and needed the accountability. I can't say I can quote all of my verses, but my heart and mind have been altered by a year of the Word. It has strengthened and sustained me.

I know we're all busy and some of us are not local to the Birmingham area. I would still be willing to plan a celebration for sometime in January if anyone is interested. Just text, facebook, or email me at JameyLynne at gmail.com and let me know...

Jamey - Morris, AL
My last verse is Proverbs 19:21:
"Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand."

Verse 23

We're almost there!!!

I'm changing mine up this time because of Beth Moore's excellent new study...

Jamey - Morris, AL
"Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God."
James 1:19-20 (ESV)

Verse 22

Mine seems a little random, but remember - I'm working on a whole chapter... And since I lack discipline, I'll probably be working on it throughout 2012 also!

Jamey - Morris, AL
"who forsake the paths of uprightness
To walk in the ways of darkness,
who rejoice in doing evil
And delight in the perverseness of evil,"
Proverbs 2:13-14

Verse 21

I'm early this time... In fact, it's Sunday night, and as I look ahead to my week, I am earnestly trying to get off on the right foot so that I don't fall behind in all of the things on the to-do list. We'll see how long this lasts! haha

I'm still working on Proverbs 2. Or, at least, I'm thinking about it. I'm about to write it out on big sticky notes and attach it to my bathroom mirror. I think that really helps me.

And remember in the beginning when I said we would have a celebration at the end of this? I was serious. It's still on. Of course, I won't exclude anyone just because they may have fallen off the verse wagon. But there may be prizes for people who can quote the most. (We can include people on Skype too - *cough, cough... Twana!!!) I have a few ideas... Get excited. :)

Beth Moore's new study on James will officially be released on Tuesday. I'm pumped because I could definitely use a refreshing change and some added discipline with my time in the Word.

Oh, and if you haven't yet heard "Grace is Sufficient" from Shane and Shane's newest cd - go download it now. Thank you, and goodnight.

Jamey - Morris, AL
"discretion will watch over you,
understanding will guard you,
delivering you from the way of evil,
from men of perverted speech,"
Proverbs 2:11-12

Verse 20

"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." Hebrews 4:12

Only four verses left to go after this to fulfill our commitment! Post your verse as a comment here, and remember to come back to check out everyone else's verses... We're in this together 'til the end! :)

Jamey - Morris, AL
"Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;"
Proverbs 2:9-10 ESV

Verse 19

Jamey - Morris, AL

"He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
guarding the paths of justice
and watching over the way of his saints."
Proverbs 2:7-8 (ESV)

Verse 18

Jamey - Morris, AL
"Then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
For the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding."
Proverbs 2:5-6 (ESV)

Verse 17

Too much to do... NOT ENOUGH TIME!

Sorry I've almost missed posting this on the first day of the month. (Thanks, Twana, for the reminder!!!)

Jamey - Morris, AL
"Yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures,"
Proverbs 2:3-4 ESV

Verse 16

I'm actually about to break the original rules a little bit... School starts tomorrow, and my deepest prayer for the upcoming year is for wisdom. I feel like that is something I was greatly lacking last year, so I am desperate for it... Because of that, I want to begin to memorize and meditate on Scripture about wisdom - perhaps for the entire school year, even after this blog concludes in December. To begin, I want to memorize all of Proverbs 2. I hope that if I can do it a little at a time, maybe I will stick with it and get it all... That's a hard commitment to make when the most captivating verses are not at the very beginning of the chapter, but I know it will be worth it to memorize a group of verses in their context.

"My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding,"
Proverbs 2:1-2 ESV
(See? That's not even a complete thought! Haha...)

Love y'all! Can't wait to read the Scripture that the Lord places on your heart this time!

Verse 15

Jamey - Morris, AL

"For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control."
2 Timothy 1:7 ESV

Verse 14

Hey ladies! I actually haven't chosen a verse yet, but today's the 15th - so I wanted to open this up for anyone who is more prepared than me!!!

I'll log on again soon an add a comment with my verse.

Love y'all! :)

Verse 13

(I actually found this verse and wrote this June 26th... I just couldn't wait until the 1st!!!)

Don't y'all just love how the Holy Spirit is so personal and so faithful to speak to us through Scripture? I'm doing a study workbook that I picked up at Lifeway at the beginning of the summer called The Living Room Series - Ruth: Loss, Love, & Legacy by Kelly Minter. I had heard of her through Beth Moore's blog and another study called No Other Gods (which I fully intend to do at some point...). However, this one pretty much jumped off the shelf at me and I am completely confident that the Lord was guiding me to select it because He had a good work to do in me through it... It's one of those that seems to hit me exactly where I need it every single time I sit down with it. The part I love most about that is that I tend to be a little inconsistent, and yet it's all still perfectly timed. For example, there are some weeks when I spend time working on it each day. There are others, like the most recent, when for one reason or another, I seem to put it off for a few days. I've reached the part where Ruth goes to the threshing floor at Naomi's direction. This week I just wasn't feeling up for it. I didn't want to read about Ruth making a bold move and how Boaz responded... I wasn't interested in the love story. And yet, this morning, I made myself jump back into it... You know what? At least for today's lesson, it wasn't at all what I expected. It was about how Ruth had to take off her mourning garments and let go of her past in order to prepare herself for the next thing God was doing in her life. Yikes. Hit me right between the eyes. So all that to say, that's where my newest verse is coming from. It was included in my study today, and it was just what I know I need right now. I know that in isolation from the rest of the passage, it's a bit out of context - but I really just feel like the Lord knew I needed it. I love the power in the promise at the end... To make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert is like making something out of nothing. Sometimes I feel like that is what God is going to have to do in my life. Yet it's no coincidence that we love and serve a God who specializes in doing that very thing. :)

Jamey - Morris, AL

"Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert."

Isaiah 43:18-19 (ESV)

Verse 12

Just as I thought, my last "verse" was not so much a success with memorization. However, that could be because my index card spiral spent a lot of time in my purse and not a lot of time in front of my face. Why didn't anyone tell me that 5 grad school summer classes would be a lot of work???

Oh wait.

And just to add to my lacking effort, I'm not even going to type this week's encouragement. I'm going to copy and paste it directly from Beth Moore's Scripture memory blog from this morning... I'm thinking that's okay though. She probably has better things to say than I do anyway! :)

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.

My new verse is definitely needed by my spirit these days...
Jamey - Morris, AL
"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

Verse 11

Yikes... Only 4 comments on the Verse 10 post. Isn't it ironic how Scripture memory seemed like a daunting task for some of us, and yet one of the greater challenges has been the busy-ness of our schedules and the difficulty in remembering to just log on to the blog! You know, some of these weeks have been easier than others. There have been months where I just "got it" a little more than other months. I'm glad that my heavenly Father's love for me is not conditional on my performance or my memory... He is not more pleased with me on a day when I remember to post my verse without the need for a gentle reminder from a friend.

And I'm thankful that He is understanding that my newest selection may be more for meditation than memorization!

Jamey - Morris, AL
"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldy passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works."
Titus 2:11-14 (ESV)

Love y'all! :)

Verse 10

Jamey - Morris, AL
"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work."
2 Corinthians 9:8 (ESV)

Verse 9

My new verse is in response to the tragedy and devastation all around us here in Alabama...


Jamey - Morris, AL
"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."
Revelation 21:4 (ESV)

Also, I just made a list of all the lovely ladies who have commented in our community. We definitely don't have as many now as in the very beginning. I'm going to try to reach out to the ones who haven't been participating lately, but I also want to recognize the ones who have been most consistent:
Charli
Twana
Megan
Jenny
Angela

I just want you to know that I am praising the Lord today for your faithfulness and I know He is doing a good work in all of us through His word! :)

Verse 8

It's the middle of April, and we're on verse 8 out of 24... Doesn't that mean the year is 1/3 over already? WOW.

I'm still loving this process even though it's been full of ups and downs over these four months. Some weeks, I'm dedicated and disciplined and can't get enough of the Word. Some weeks, I'm distracted.

I'm glad God is faithful even when we're not...

You know what else? Last week, my roommate and I chose the same verse... (Actually, they weren't exactly the same, but they overlapped. Close enough.) Isn't that awesome?!?! I love knowing that my life doesn't happen by coincidence. :)

Jamey - Morris, AL
"Whoever keeps a command will know no evil thing, and the wise heart will know the proper time and the just way."
Ecclesiastes 8:5 (ESV)

Verse 7

Failure!

I chose my newest verse earlier this week, but the post totally slipped my mind until tonight... I'm sorry friends! :)

Jamey - Morris, AL
"But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in him.'"
Lamentations 3:21-24

Verse 6

I'm going to Honduras tomorrow. For anyone who did not really know me or follow my journey last year, it is probably hard to understand the weight of this visit. I am overjoyed at the thought of being reconnected with friends and students. However, I am also anxious for various reasons. That's why I chose this verse... (I thought about doing Philippians 4:6, but I feel like I already know that one, and I've been slacking with some easy ones lately...)

Jamey - Morris, AL
"Fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
Isaiah 41:10 ESV

Verse 5

Hello, and welcome to March... :)

Jamey - Morris, AL
"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
Psalm 73:26 (ESV)

I could use some suggestions on the best ways to remember to study these consistently. When do y'all do it? Do you have notecards on the bathroom mirror or just pull out your notebook with your quiet time stuff? Have you been working diligently on this? Or has it been a struggle?

Verse 4

Oh my goodness! I just realized that tomorrow is the 15th... With all the hoopla that elementary school teachers still go through for Valentine's Day, I guess that's what I've been caught up with. (I hope it's okay that I technically seem to post my verses a day early... I just CAN'T get up early enough on a school day to do it on the real day!)

Anyway... I'll confess that I haven't been very disciplined lately, so I'm glad my last verse was an easy one so I haven't really fallen behind or grown discouraged. I'm thankful for a fresh start tomorrow... :)

I just read an incredible book called Crazy Love by Francis Chan, and I am feeling inspired by it along with some conversations that I've had recently. A very wise woman told me a couple of days ago that in ministry and in trying to live a life that is poured out for others, it is essential that we follow the Great Commandment first and foremost, before we ever try to love and serve our neighbors... So that's my verse:

Jamey - Morris, AL
"And he said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." Matthew 22:37 (ESV)

I'm just realizing in a new and deeper way that everything has to start there and flow out of my love for Him...

Verse 3

I think January must have felt like a long month, because part of me is struggling to believe that we are only on our third verse of the year... I hope that all of you are doing well and are making the memorization a priority. This is a new discipline for me, but I think that I'm already improving with it. My first verse about fighting this warfare with spiritual weapons that have divine power to destroy strongholds has come in handy more times than I can even count over the last few weeks... I'm so thankful to be able to refer back to it at any time!

I'm going short and sweet for this next one...

Jamey - Morris, AL
"Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!" Psalm 105:4 ESV

Verse 2

In some ways, I can't believe that tomorrow is the 15th already... In other ways, this has been a very LONG two weeks!

Thank you so much for joining together and sharing your verses last time. I hope you have enjoyed reading them just as much as I have.

Remember, as we start the second verse (which I hope you're writing down on index cards or in a small notebook), it's time to continue to review the first one as you learn another. Don't let your first verse go to make room for a new one!

Okay, mine is "And he said to all, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.'" Luke 9:23 (ESV)

The words "deny himself" are jumping off the page. That's why I want to memorize this one.

Your turn!