Digging a little deeper....

Hey girls! I was cleaning my house the other day, which of course is ultra boring, so I thought I'd spice things up a little bit by listening to something on my computer as I worked. I hadn't really started seriously memorizing this month's verse yet, and I was thinking about that as I logged onto my computer. The Lord reminded me of this website that Mark and Karla Reycraft (such a cute couple) showed me last year called http://www.blueletterbible.org/ - it's really, really neat! I typed 1 John 5:18 into the search bar of the Blue Letter Bible site, picked the version I was memorizing it in (New Living) and then up it came, along with a chunk of the passage it's found in. Then, I found out that if you click on the little L beside the verse, the helpful Blue Letter Bible people will list a bunch of commentaries (audio, video and text) for you to choose from on that particular verse you're looking at. (As you can see, my cleaning wasn't going too well, but I was sure learning a lot.) I ended up listening to three different preachers speaking on 1 John 5:18-20!! It was super interesting and, boy, did it bring my verse alive in my mind. Then to top it off, I phoned my friend Aunt Bet to tell her all about it and she said, "You've got to be kidding me! 1 John 5:18? I just turned off the radio from listening to Chuck Swindoll preach on that very passage today." So back I went to HIS website and got his perspective on it as well. It was really cool to dig into that Scripture a little bit and I'm a lot further along in memorizing it than I would have been otherwise.



Anyways, thought you guys might like to check it out. It's also got a feature where you can look up the text in the original language for a more precise meaning if you want to. (I think it's the letter C beside the verse.)



Now if only I could get that excited about scrubbing my kitchen floors...



Happy digging!

Steph

February verse

The verse that I am memorizing this month I have half known for a long time, but I want to really know it.

" Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matt 11:28-30 NIV)


Persevere Bluewater babes and hide God's Word in your hearts.

I am very excited that the days are getting noticeably longer. That reality combined with warm weather reminds me that eventually spring will come. The changing seasons testify to God's faithfulness. What an amazing God we have. I am so thankful for His Word. I have purchased a new book by Anne Graham Lotz called "Into the Word". It is meant for personal bible study and has 52 weeks worth of study. I got a late start on it so am just beginning chapter 2; however, it looks like it is going to spur me on in my time in the Word.

I hope all of you have found a partner with whom to recite your verses. Partners keep us accountable. Encourage your partner to use this blog. A challenge for each of us over the next few months: let's each try to teach one person how to use this blog and encourage her to memorize scripture!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Praying that you will be abundantly blessed in 2010 by our amazing God and Saviour Jesus Christ. Praying also that you love Him and His Word more in 2010 than you did in 2009.

My first verse for the new year:

Praise be to You, O Lord,
God of our Father, Israel
from everlasting to everlasting,
Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the
majesty and the splendour,
for everything in heaven and earth is Yours.
Yours, O Lord is the kingdom;
You are exalted as head over all.
Wealth and honour come from You;
You are the ruler of all things.
In Your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.
Now our God we give You thanks, and
praise Your glorious name.
(1 Chron 29: 10b-13 NIV)

I love, love, love the verses that declare things about God. These verses make my spirit and my tongue sing!!! I wait in eager anticipation to see the verses the Lord has laid on your hearts!!!!

Tis the season....to be busy???

Is it just me or do you ever get the urge to slow life down?? Life is, shall we say, "full" for most families and the Christmas season puts many over the edge as they seek to fit a plethora of activities into time that has already been consumed. Why is it that we have a frantic need to have special functions with every group and and most of the people we know in the weeks prior to Christmas? What do we fear if we pare down the overly long shopping list and suggest to some friends and relatives that gifts really aren't necessary this year?

Perhaps you are at this point quietly wondering if I am a Scrooge!!! I am not. I really do love Christmas and I love to give gifts, especially if I have the perfect surprize. However, the past few years I have slowed down the pace of the season. I suggest to friends that we have that get-together in the long dull month of January rather than now. I do not want the days to whirl past in an endless parade of activities.

Several years ago when Marcus was about eight he was setting up the nativity for me. He always has liked to do that. Marcus is a child in constant motion and he rarely slows down. I wanted him to tell me the Christmas story as he set the figures in place. He did not want to, but he gave a big sigh and he said, "Jesus came as a baby at Christmas so that he could die on the cross at Easter." That was the only story I was getting. He was off to do other things. For me Christmas is not a time to quickly tell the story and move on to other things. It is a season to pause, to reflect, to wonder at a babe in a manager who would grow to be a King and a Saviour.

DECEMBER MEMORY VERSE TIME

I have been reading a book that Trish loaned me called "Down But Not Out" (excellent) and the author has me reflecting on 2 little verses in Jude which he says are full of biblical truth that guard our minds against discouragement. The verses speak to Who God is, what God has (the word "be" in vs 25 is not in the original Greek: God already has those things) and what God can do. Powerful stuff in 2 short verses. Introduction finished, I am memorizing:

"To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy - to the only God our Saviour [be] glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forever more. Amen."
(Jude 24-25 NIV)

Happy memorizing Bluewater babes!

What Works For You?

Hi everybody! Let me just say first off how much I LOVE the stuff we're doing on this blog! It's so neat to think that we're all out there, doing our regular-life thing, all the while seeking hard after Jesus and a deeper knowledge of His Word. So, thanks for encouraging me - it's been cool being accountable to each other and hearing from other people's hearts, seeing what God's been teaching them.

Okay, so Jacqui's comment got me thinking ... I've been struggling with memorizing my verses lately, too. I don't know what it is. Hmmm...could be the fact that we're gearing up for Christmas or that I'm working more than usual OR that my son just bought and brought into my house a one-year-old rainbow boa (yes, you read that right - a boa - that is, a s-n-a-k-e.) Alright, so that's a dumb excuse, but I AM finding the whole serpent in my house thing a tad distracting.

Anyhow, I thought this might be a good time to open it up for everyone to share some strategies that have helped them with their Scripture memorization. The main purpose of this blog is to challenge and encourage one another in this very discipline, so let's roll up our sleeves and offer our sisters some practical assistance! Give us a quick description of what works for you. How do you practice? Do you write your verses out? Do you need to say them out loud? How do you handle those "hard-to-remember" parts? Any little tricks?

Spill the beans, ladies!

Can't wait to hear from you. Oh, and please don't think that your advice is silly or anything like that. If the idea works for you, it will work for someone else!


Love Steph