Loretta Gjeltema Home

March 2018 Scripture Memory Challenge

My father loves me. He created me to be just the woman He wanted me to be. So, why do I have trouble believing this truth some days? I feel like I don’t measure up. That I’m not smart enough, funny enough, pretty enough or good enough.

Every year, He sends me flowers for my birthday! I’m born in March you see and here in Tennessee the buttercups have been blooming for a week. My pear tree is white and frothy, the forsythia is stunning and my neighbor’s tulip tree is in full bloom. That’s a lot of flowers. I enjoy them in the yard, and I cut them to bring indoors. I let myself be delighted in my Father’s love. Even if you aren’t born in March, He loves you just as much you know. We are all His favorites!

This month, I thought we should look at who God created us to be. What He has to say about us. He is our biggest fan! He’s gone to great lengths to show us his love and win our hearts for eternity.

Psalm 139:14-18
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!
I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!

Now, don’t panic, I will not suggest You learn all four verses the first week, I just wanted to give you the big picture on who God says we are. Yep, me and you! He made us purposefully. He laid out our lives, even the days that are boring beyond words, and he thinks about us all the time! So, hear this, you are not too messed up for God! You are loved.

Week 1

Psalm 149:16
You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

God created us each uniquely. And He loves what he created. If you are like me, you find things about yourself to criticize, things that make you unhappy. I’m short and round. Not the body I’d have chosen, but God chose it especially for me and He loves the way I look in this body. He loves to hear my voice that’s a bit higher pitched than most. In fact, he tunes his ear, waiting for me to speak to Him!

As the creator and planner of my days, all before I my birth, He knows in advance the challenges I will face today and He listens for me to call out, show me the path today Lord! Show me where to be careful and where to run free. He knows everything about me, nothing surprises Him and he loves me as He made me! I’m getting excited just typing this! It is so encouraging to know my life is not random. Nothing happens to me that God has not allowed. And He has a plan to walk with me and see me through.

Week 2

Ephesians 2:10
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago. 

We aren’t meant to sit around doing nothing. God has a plan for the work we do, how we spend our days. Yes, we get off the plan, but God saw that coming too, and He’s worked out the details. But the greatest blessings are found on the path my friend so listen close to his plan and don’t be so quick to run off on your own. You will find peace in God’s path for you, why? Because it’s consistent with who you really are. Peace doesn’t necessarily equal happiness although you are likely to find moments of happiness. His plan for you is not focused on “stuff” nor is it focused on pleasing others. But as Christ-followers we are called to love others and serve others so your true path will head straight through this territory. It won’t be boring either if you are listening to Him and living the life you were created to live.

God gave us work as a training ground of our hearts and a place to meet and influence others for Him. A place to live lives that show how His love can transform a life.

Week 3

Psalm 56:8

You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.

Will you find times of heart ache and sorrow along your path? Probably so. But the best news about this part of the path is how close our Lord walks with us. We are told He keeps all our tears in a bottle. To be catching every tear says that He is very close. I think He’s there with His arm around my shoulder wiping away the tears and trying to steer me in the right direction when I’m the one who’s ventured down a painful path He did not intend me to walk.

Week 4

Isaiah 46:4
I will be your God throughout your lifetime—until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.

If you know me in real life, or you have seen my picture, you can see I’m there! I am that woman with white hair. I can testify, God has been faithful. I met Him when I was twelve years old and He’s faithfully walked with me through good choices and painful choicesfor nearly 50 years. Yes, sometimes He has had to shove me down a path or throw a barrier in my way. Always, He has saved me!

The last months have held some challenges for my husband and I. God has allowed trials to enter our lives but He has also faithfully provided peace after I’ve let go of my temper tantrums. I’m determined to trust Him because He has promised, He will save me. Who else could keep such a promise? I know of no one! Many will try, others will claim they can, but only my God can deliver!

Now you don’t have to be a woman of my age for this promise to hold true! I’m just here, in this place to let you know I have tested this promise and found it is authentic. If you are at a different place, I want you to know, this promise has a lifetime (an eternal lifetime) guarantee!

Memory Tips

Here’s the tip of the week, write out your verses. There is something about writing words with your own hand that cements thoughts into your mind. There have even been scientific studies show that writing beats typing to get things into your memory. (http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797614524581)

So, write your verse, doodle your verse, do what you can to hang onto the verses God has given us to embrace the wonder of the life He’s created for us.

A final note dear friends, this week my husband John will be having a major surgery. We have high hopes for the outcome but we would ask if you think of us, especially on Friday.  Pray for the surgeon and the medical staff caring for him, and pray that he would regain much of what he’s lost since last fall if it is God’s will for him. Pray for the daughters and myself as we sit in the waiting room and lift our own prayers for this surgery.

Link to Printable Memory Cards for March

Link to this week’s Picture/Verse

If you have stumbled onto this page and aren’t a member of the Challenge group please be sure to sign up. Members get a weekly email with the picture verse and other encouraging information.

All scriptures are from the New Living Testament translation of the Bible.

Sharing this week at:

Trekking Thru 

Lyli Dunbar Fuel for a Wild Fire Faith