by Amy | Sep 24, 2014 | Blog, Devotional, The Art of Faith
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I’ve been thinking about fruit. Maybe because the weather has taken taken on those cool, fall overtones and I’m craving apples and all things made from apples {cider, pie, turn overs, crisp…} But as I think about fruit it’s hard for me not to also think of Scripture. It’s all over the place. Discussions of fruit trees, parables about fruit, fruit of the Spirit. Fruit, fruit, fruit.
And I, for one, think this is the perfect time to take a moment to think about fruit. The year is winding down, fall is settling in and winter is right on its heels. It’s a good time to assess. We tend to think that the best time for assessment is around the New Year, but I disagree. That time of year is too busy and chaotic for me to get very self reflective. Maybe a little–between food comas and dashing from gathering to gathering. Maybe I can find a few minutes in there…but more often than not, when I get a moment to myself around the holidays I’d rather just sink into the couch and listen to some Bing Crosby.
The Bible gives us a very good measure for self assessment. Look at the fruit.
Over and over the Bible talks about good fruit, bearing fruit and the fruit produced. That’s the measure. To the dismay of many, faith is not completely invisible. We see it through the fruit our faith produces. Tangible evidence of what you believe, where your heart is, what matters most. Fruit in our lives can look like a variety of things. The Bible tells us that the fruit of our belief can be shown through works or deeds, by glorifying the Lord, by bearing witness to the world, and by possessing the qualities listed in the fruit of the spirit.
Colossians tells us that a life worthy and pleasing to the Lord, means a life that bears fruit through good works–and grows in the knowledge of God. {Verse here.}
Jesus says a good tree will bear good fruit and a bad tree will bear bad fruit…a tree is recognized by it’s fruit. {Verse here.} This seems like a no brainer…and I guess, it is. That’s probably why there are so many references to it in Scripture. It’s easy to understand and easy to imagine.
The trees that would be considered “good” would be those healthy, and heavy laden with good, juicy fruit. The kind of tree you’d take an apple from and eat it on the spot because it looks so good.
Jesus says that in order to bear good fruit {and lots of it} we must remain in Him and Him in us. We won’t bear the fruit He desires for us when we are separated from Him. He tells us God is glorified when we produce good fruit and prove ourselves to be His disciples. {Verses here.}
Like most things in life, the whole fruit bearing thing takes choice and effort. A choice and effort that can be hard to make in the midst of busy lives and Facebook and TV and meetings and work. A choice, like most important choices we make, that may require sacrifice and intentionality.
Tomorrow I’ll be finishing up this little discussion on fruit, by taking a moment to discuss bad apples. Take time today to think about the fruit you are bearing and pray that God will show you how you can bear even more.
by Amy | Sep 18, 2014 | Blog, Devotional, The Art of Faith, The Art of Living
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I feel like I hear the same sentiment all the time. I have felt it, and you probably have too. I feel like it’s especially prevalent among the millennial generation. Our post high school years were filled with computers, technology and recession. Jobs were few and far between when we left college. Things were tight enough that living at home until mid-twenties became a norm, as did staying on mom and dad’s insurance.
“I just have no idea what to do with myself.”
I hear it from high school teens as they enter their senior year or as they exit their school years and step into a greater unknown chock full of choices. I hear it from college students. I hear it from peers–even as we inch in on 30, still we feel like there’s something missing….something we should be doing. A calling, a fulfillment, a purpose–missing.
I blame some of it on the Internet. We know so much now. We know about quirky, niche jobs that we otherwise would have no way of seeing. It’s easy to track down jobs and lifestyles we think would be amazing…”if only.”
If only I’d majored in something different.
If only I’d gone to college.
If only I lived in there instead of here.
If only I had a better job, then I’d have savings and I could…
If only I was married, then I’d be totally happy.
For me, it’s usually in the depths of this type of wallowing that leads me to scroll through my Facebook feed. There I can what everyone in my graduating class is up to–and it always looks cooler and more put together than what we’ve got going on. There is always someone with an awesome vacation, promotion, or adorable family portraits cropping up in the News Feed. There’s always someone who looks like they love their job, make great money, have an awesome life…are totally happy.
So I got thinking today, maybe a major part of mastering the Art of Living has to do with finding contentment. I’m usually pretty happy. Which lots of people don’t understand, because I live in Practically Canada in a town that isn’t exactly on par with New York, NY. My husband has to work a lot. His work makes us move. I’m constantly shifting jobs, friends, homes…just trying to make it work. But somehow–like the cockroach that just won’t die–I remain joyful.
And I think it’s because I work very hard at being content.
Once the choice to strive for contentment–satisfaction in our station, not throwing in the towel on dreams, not hating on where we are–joy and happiness soon follows. Like lots of things, it is a choice. Like lots of choices it can be a hard one to make and even harder to follow through.
Instead of striving for perfection, take inventory of your heart and your life. See what is keeping you from contentment. Is it too many far-fetched comparisons? Step away from social media. Is it that you hate were you live? Find a way to get involved or an activity to pursue that you are passionate about. Is it relationships that squelch your dreams and self-worth, and feed a negative attitude? Put yourself out there and seek a positive circle.
Find a way to step toward contentment and joy will follow.
by Amy | Sep 15, 2014 | Blog, Devotional, The Art of Faith
“We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts.”
–1 Thessalonians 1:4b
It’s so very easy to get caught up in the people pleasing game. Especially if you are a yesser like me. You know, the kind of person who says “yes” to just about everything. The kind never really had birthday parties growing up because she was too stressed over the possibility of hurt feelings if someone felt left out. The kind who has spent a few of her 20-somethings curled up in an anxious ball because she doesn’t have a “real job.”
Maybe that’s not your story exactly, but chances are there has been a time or two when you have longed to please people.
Every time we move I get direly caught up in pleasing people. I so want friends, want to fit in, want to be liked that I can fall into a trap. I’m not good at being anything but myself. So I don’t easily fall into a trap of forsaking my true self, or my faith in the name of finding friends and fitting in. My heart and spirit, however is easily torn to bits when I just don’t feel like I fit in…like no one will ever get me, and I’ll spend the next few years totally friendless.
I hate that my joy can be so easily sucked up by the thoughts and opinions of people. People! After all I’ve been through. After all the times I’ve seen God moved in huge ways…you’d think that I’d know better than to let my happiness hinge on something as trivial as mere mortals. I serve the God who made them, after all. But, sadly sometimes it does.
Luckily, humanity has been around for quite some time now, and the struggles we face today are not new or unique {at least, not most of them…not this one.} Paul spent lots of time evangelizing to Gentile nations. I’m sure his time wasn’t all warm welcomes and high fives. In fact, we know it wasn’t. He was tossed in jail and beaten to a pulp on more than one occasion. But he kept at it. He loved those people, believed in the truth and importance of his message, and was fueled by unrelenting faith.
In 1 Thessalonians 2:2-6 he says :
We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition. For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority.
We are called to grow God’s kingdom in all that we do. To be good representatives of Him on Earth. To act as the body, who does the will of the Head.
We do that best when we remember to keep our eyes set on the Lord, and do not let ourselves become consumed with the pleasing people. So next time you feel like doing something to please a person, or feel crushed because you just can’t seem to please everyone…remember who we are really trying to please. People will only ever see our actions, but God knows our intentions and tests our hearts. Work to please Him. Focus on pleasing Him.
by Amy | Sep 2, 2014 | Blog, The Art of Faith
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It’s time I tell you a story. The ending isn’t finished yet, but I’ll tell you what I know up to this point. At the end of the post you might think I’m crazy, or a wishful thinker, or an exaggerator. But I don’t think any of those are true {well…not in regard to this any way.}
On August 13th I had an appointment with the neurosurgeon who performed my microdiscectomy. I was out from surgery about seven weeks. To give you a point of reference, I was placed on restricted activity to recover fully for 12 weeks, then would go on to 12 more weeks of physical therapy before being deemed “healed.” So this appointment was more than half way–and I felt terrible.
Seriously, I’ve had some dark times lately, but this was the worst. I was in constant pain. Unrelenting, awful pain. More {much more} than before the surgery, when the disc was out of place. I was simply, miserable. Everyday I’d find my face leaking. I call it that because I wasn’t meaning to cry, or even conscious of it half the time. The misery I was feeling just leaked out in tears, at least once every day. I wasn’t sleeping, the pain made me lose my appetite, I was dependent on pain killers just to function through the day, the whole thing lent itself to very sad spirits.
Naturally, like any 21st century patient, in the days leading up to my much-anticipated doctor’s appointment I turned to Dr. Google for answers. And I found all kinds of things. Scary stats on how many miscrodiscectomy patients have “failed surgery syndrome” and are left in chronic pain for-ev-er. Studies that show that many people re-herniate their disc and are never the same. Testimony pieces from folks who never recovered and their ability to walk was permanently impaired. By the time the appointment rolled around I was terrified. I felt sure that this was my new life, impaired and miserable. But I was also eager to get some answers from a real live person, who had actually touched my spine and knew my case.
I explained my symptoms and pain to the nurse. When the doctor came in he told me he was concerned. Then things got really vague. He didn’t really want to talk about what would happen if things didn’t improve, other than blurry references to more surgery. I pressed him and he did tell me that out of the 500 of these surgeries he does every year, about five fail. Maybe I was one of the five. He wanted to give it six more weeks before taking action. If things weren’t better, we’d get an MRI and discuss what surgical options were available to correct things.
As you might imagine, that was not the answer I wanted. I wanted relief. I wanted to feel better. I didn’t want to wait any more. There was nothing else to do, but go get the new pain meds and cry.
To make everything just a little bit worse, Derek has to work out of a base in South Dakota for a while, while the runway in Minot is repaved. The loneliness added insult to injury. Not only was I miserable, but I was alone. And if Derek wasn’t there, that’s how I preferred to be–no one likes to be a depressed mess in front of friends.
That night when Derek and I talked on the phone I told him everything and cried and cried while wailing that this was how I was going to be forever and ever. I mourned the fact that my life in shambles, since I couldn’t do anything that I loved doing. I also hated myself for being the reason we could no longer do things that we loved doing together: biking, hiking, swimming, boating, anything active–none of that is possible when you are chronically messed up.
Instead of giving in to my pity party–which is what I wanted him to do–Derek told me that we could chose to view this situation another way. We could look at it as an opportunity to grow in an area of our faith that is a little lacking: prayer. Instead of trusting doctors and science, we could earnestly pray, call on prayer partners, and seek God in this trial. We decided to pray that God be glorified through this dark season. If that meant He would show His power through healing–awesome. If that meant He would change my heart and give me the peace and joy to proclaim Him, despite the pain and lifestyle change–awesome.
Friends, I’ve never been witness to a medical miracle–let alone had one take place in me–but that is the only way I can describe what happened next. It took me a couple days to cope and draw the courage to choose to proclaim my God as good no matter what. I prayed that to start me off, God would give me a certain message that things would be okay. That night I ended up at the Sanctus Real concert. They sang this song, which I’d never heard before–but the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart, telling me to put my trouble on Him, that things would be fine. Then, He opened my eyes to His amazing grace {see this post.} Finally, I called some faithful partners who are gifted with a fervent zeal for prayer.
Three days after my appointment I felt a supernatural peace and joy return. I felt better. I was able to stand long enough to take a shower {really, it was that bad.} I could walk. I was sleeping. I stopped taking pain pills. Cold turkey. All together just quit. I didn’t need them. And I haven’t taken another since. It’s been about three weeks since that appointment and I feel that my healing has been put back on track.
I still get tired and have some pain in my legs at times…it mostly feels like cramped muscles in my hamstrings. It’s tolerable and made much better by stretching out. Every day walking becomes more comfortable, every day I feel a little more like myself. Not only is my health being restored, my future is as well. A month ago, as I looked ahead I saw a never ending road of misery, self-hatred and pain. Now I see the possibility of a return to activity, fitness and strength.
I can honestly only describe what has happened as a miracle. There is no explanation for such a sudden shift in my condition, only that something impossible happened. I can tell you that God is a healer, a restorer of peace, the source of joy. My hope is that you will, as I have, see this as a real-world example of the power held in prayer and intercession.
I understand that not every story will end like this, but for whatever reason mine did. I cannot guarantee that healing will always look the way we want it to, but I can tell you that if you earnestly seek to glorify God, He will provide a way for you to do that. Through choosing to glorify Him healing, restoration, peace and joy will return.
xo
Amy
by Amy | Aug 25, 2014 | Blog, Devotional, The Art of Faith
Those of you who have worked with me or close to me {especially in my early self-employment years} know that I’m not opposed to taking unusual payment. I guess in that sense I’m very old fashioned. The kind of girl who could accept a dozen eggs for an hour of cow milking. Okay, so–maybe that exact deal never happened anywhere. Ever.
But I have been known to accept the world’s greatest chocolate chip cookies, meals, banquet tickets, and {recently} a Muppet-esque puppet made to my likeness. {It’s not quite done but I promise I’ll show it to you when I get it.}
My most recent barter was exchanging some graphic design for two tickets to a local positive music festival called Rock the Leaves. If you live here in Practically Canada you should check them out. They put a second event on in the spring called Beardstock, which I’ve heard had a pretty cool promo in the Rock the Leaves program.
You got me. I made that. To be fair–I genuinely do think it looks cool.
As part of my payment I got a VIP experience with this year’s headliner: Sanctus Real. I took a friend and together with the other VIP ticket holders we got to hear Santus Real play two songs from their new album acoustically followed by a question and answer time, followed by photo and autograph time.
Something they said in response to one audience question really stood out to me. A man asked what the best part of their job is as a touring band. In response, lead singer, Matt Hammitt, told us that the absolute best part is when they meet up with people from the audience who share how God has used their music to speak to them. He told us that he uses song writing as a way to cope with hard times and turn to God. He said he loves learning how God has used the words He inspired to work in others’ lives.
I love that. So what I’ve been mulling over is the idea that we all have songs and music running through our lives. Maybe not literally–believe me, no one wants me to write a song, much less sing it. But our struggles, the way we move in times of hardship, our testimonies, the stories we share, the words we use…these comprise our song. The same way God can use their music to reach someone, help them, pick them up, direct them, affirm them–He can use our lives’ songs to do the same to all the people we see and interact with.
It’s a ripple effect and I believe most of us will never know just how far our ripples have spread. Hard times are…well…hard, but if we use our free will to choose to continue to proclaim the goodness of the Lord, He will carry our song far and wide. The strain of a trial and the victory found afterward become our song, a song that can speak volumes to an unknown mass.
by Amy | Aug 20, 2014 | Blog, Context, The Art of Faith
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As I’ve been memorizing Colossians there have been a few verses that have really stood out to me. Tonight I want to tell you about one that has haunted me {in a good way, not a weird-creepy way} for weeks now.
It’s Colossians 1:2.
To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
On first glance it might not look like too much. Just your average biblical greeting from Paul. But God has taught me so much recently through the second half of this verse. Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
Like I told you in my update about memorizing the book, one thing that I’m learning is that every single word in the Bible is important. Right down to the order the words fall in and what words have been chosen, it’s a divine and living book. In this instance let’s look at the words GRACE and PEACE.
Upon first read you may, like I did, not think it matters which comes first. Peace, or grace…who really cares? They are nice words to start a letter with. A nice well-wish. And all that would be true for any other book. But not the Bible.
The Bible tells us that peace is part of a Christian’s inheritance. That doesn’t mean that we will live forever in a fuzzy daze of joy, not feeling the stings of mortality in a fallen world. However, it does mean that the peace that passes all understanding is ours to claim and enjoy. Peace that comes when we trust in the Lord and make a choice to proclaim that He is a good God, a God who loves us and knows what He is doing.
Often Satan tries to steal this peace from me. He nabs it away and replaces it with lies and uncertainty. For me, he convinces me to examine myself and do a lot of self-hating. I look at my struggles and my hurt and can always trace the cause back to my shortcomings.
A week ago I was physically and emotionally miserable. I was in terrible pain, more pain than before I underwent surgery. I was sure that something had gone terribly wrong in my back, sure I had reherniated the disc that was just operated on. I’ll save the details for another time, but I’ll tell you this now: I saw no way out. As I looked ahead it was just a hopeless mess of pain. My heart raced and I was sinking in panic. I laid on the couch and thought of a million reasons to be mad at myself. Consciously, I know God is good and loving and perfect. So I’m never mad at Him–instead, I mirror all my emotion onto myself.
If I had been more careful I never would have hurt my back to begin with.
If I wasn’t so active this wouldn’t have happened.
Was it from the gym? If I could have a little more self control in the kitchen I wouldn’t have pushed it so hard.
Maybe I should have been doing something different post-op.
I should have prayed more before surgery, what if this wasn’t even God’s plan?
Eventually I decided that I could live with the pain {maybe} if I could just have some peace. So I cried out to God…and He replied with Colossians 1:2b–Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
Grace comes first.
The order is important. In order to redeem our coupon for peace we must first accept the gift of grace. Grace isn’t something we earn through works or prayer or living well. It’s not something we deserve. That’s grace. God offering us love and life through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. A deed that allows us to reenter communion with Him, even though there is no way to pay Him back for it–other than committing our lives to glorifying Him.
We must accept God’s grace before we receive His peace.
In essence I was dragging His grace through the mud and demanding that I get some peace in return. I was buying in to the lie that my shortcomings were {are} bigger than the grace He offers. Bigger than the God I serve. I had bought into the lie that this problem was too small, that I was too insignificant, that there were bigger and better things to pray about–and that I should deal on my own instead of bothering God with me. Maybe you have bought into similar lies at some point?
If you are there, or have been there, or know someone who is…chill for a second. Take a breath and repeat after me: Grace and peace.
Find a way to let go of the lies and embrace the grace God is holding out. Then, cash in on that peace.
xo
Amy
by Amy | Aug 8, 2014 | Bible Reading, Blog, The Art of Faith
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Remember when I told you I was going to memorize the book of Colossians? I’m happy to report that I’m still going strong. And Derek is too. I think everything is more fun if we do it together. This included. Especially since there have been days when I wasn’t in the mood and he pushed me to memorize the day’s verse…and vice versa.
We are just a few verses shy of having memorized the first chapter. I was going to hold off on telling you about it until I’d gotten through the first chapter, but I am simply too excited to wait. I am so thoroughly enjoying this process I don’t know if I’ll ever quit. Here’s a quick list of why I’ve loved memorizing such a big chunk of Scripture all at once.
1. Every word counts. I know I kind of said this before I started, but now that I’m knee deep in this memorization game I’m really getting it. Repeating the words day after day has really forced me to realize how significant every single word is. Every word choice, it’s placement, the structure of the sentence….it all holds a deep meaning. Meaning that I have never realized before when I simply read through a chapter at a time.
2. I’m constantly meditating on the Word. No matter how much quiet time or Bible study I’ve done in the past, nothing has helped me stay focused on God’s words for us as much as this bout of memorization. Because I don’t want to forget the verses I’ve learned, throughout the day I find myself thinking about yesterday’s verse, reciting the whole passage, and mulling over the meaning in the verses I know. Since I add more each day there is always something fresh in my mind to meditate on. And in the meditation has caused me to…..
3. Gain a deeper understanding of the Lord. I feel closer to Him, even though lately I’ve been struggling with bad attitudes and small bouts of the down-and-outs. I feel like I’m gleaning an understanding of Christ’s nature with every verse I tack on.
4. I’ve learned new prayers. Paul writes this letter to folks in Colossians, even though he has never met them. Now, if you are familiar with Paul, you might have noticed that his introductions and opening statements can be somewhat lengthy. In the past I’ve tended to skip over these parts, which I considered frilly filler {tsk, tsk.} But now that I’m memorizing, I have been forced to look deeply at the meaning tucked inside the intro.
Paul is a great intercessor and a spectacular prayer warrior. He offers a real teaching moment in the beginning of this letter by telling the Colossians how he prays for them, what he says in those prayers and why. I have basically started to copy his words verbatim when praying for fellow believers. {Especially the sweet teenage girls I have the privilege of mentoring.} Where I used to get stuck and tongue tied, not knowing what exactly to ask or say–now I use Paul’s very powerful template for intercession.
“We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience.”
5. I’m banking money verses. What’s a money verse, you ask. A “money verse” is a key verse, one that defends your believe or is extremely usable in conversation, teaching, etc with the world. Colossians is jam packed with money verses and I’m learning them word-for-word and finding them really easy to interject into regular conversations.
I’m also tucking them away for days when my beliefs may be challenged. Then I’ll be able to pull out things like: Christ is the image of the invisible God…; by Him all things were created…all things were created by Him and for Him; God was pleased for all of His fullness to dwell in Him {Christ}–as in Christ was fully God in mortal form.
6. Scripture is coming up in conversations. Since I’m comitted to memorizing the whole book of Colossians it’s really easy to throw it into a conversation–even with a nonbeliever. When someone asks, “What have you been up to lately?” It’s the perfect opportunity to chat them up about how amazing the Word of God is and all the things I’m learning.
7. I’m on pace with the commentary. If you know me at all, you know I l-o-v-e reading commentary on Scripture. I like knowing the original Greek, I like knowing the cultural state and the political climate of the times. The New Testament has so much commentary it’s a huge undertaking to read it alongside a whole chapter at a time…since there may be several pages dedicated to two or three verses alone. Taking Colossians slowly, one verse a day, has made reading the commentary doable. Not overwhelming.
That’s my quick list. I’ll give you another update in a month or so. But really, you should start memorizing. It’s so worth it. Stop waiting and just start. The first day is really easy. Pinky swear. You won’t regret it.
Amy
by Amy | Jul 16, 2014 | Bible Reading, Blog, The Art of Faith
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I know I mentioned before that this is the Summer of Yes. At the time it was declared, back in the beginning of June, I was feeling like that was a great idea. I couldn’t wait to see what I could say “yes” to.
Then I had surgery. And the yeses in my life became very restricted. There have been a lot of forced no’s lately. No, I can’t pick that up. No, I can’t walk that far. No, I’m not allowed to carry that. No, I can’t…I have to rest for a while.
You see, as much as I had hoped to jump right back to my regular life {they say you can go back to “normal daily activities” as soon as you feel ready} I really haven’t been able to. When I went to my post-op the surgeon explained how the disc herniation was worse than they thought, since the bulge wasn’t off to the left or right–it was right in the center. He then went into detail about how in order to complete the surgery, he had to stretch and move all of the nerves running through my spinal cord. All of them. Stretched like rubber bands. It makes me queasy to think about it. And apparently, that kind of nerve manipulation will leave you sidelined for quite some time. Bummer. Especially, since my normal daily activities include tearing down walls, building things, tramping through fields on photo shoots, and jostling smiles out of stubborn children.
Okay. There’s that. When I started to thinking of something I could Yes my brain was taken back to a conversation I had had with a friend a few days before surgery. She told me that her 12-year-old cousin had recently memorized an entire book of the Bible. A whole book! 12! I put it off and tried not to think about it. I wanted a different Yes to happen. But this one kept gnawing at me. Could I do that? Would I? Should I?
You know the answer to that. After all, this is the Summer of Yes.
So, finally I gave in and began trying. I even researched a technique for memorizing large chunks of Scripture. If all goes according to plan, I’ll be able to recite an entire book of the Bible by October 13th.
You might be wondering why I said yes to this of all things. It sounds kind of boring, a little tedious, and definitely difficult. Lots of reasons. Let me enlighten you.
First of all, the Bible is the Living Word of God. The more time we spend with it, the more we are opening ourselves up to a deep communion with Him, the easier it is to hear His voice, and understand the possibility He has for us.
Second, Scripture wasn’t written verse by verse. Okay, so in a sense it was. I mean every book is, in a way, is written sentence by sentence. The books of the Bible, like most books, were written–usually–to a specific group of people, to convey a specific message, address an issue, explain something, etc. The content of a book flows, it makes a case, a broad point. Isolating a single verse can be dangerous since a verse’s true meaning often hinges on its context.
It’s easy to take a single verse and quote it and force it’s application to all kinds of circumstances. It’s a better practice to look at a verse in context by reading around it, to understand what is really being said.
And thirdly, when we commit something to memory we root it deeply in ourselves. I still remember the lyrics to songs from a musical I was in in 5th grade. I can recall facts I had to memorize for a science presentation in 6th grade. While those things are useless…memorizing–gaining a deep understanding–of a big chunk of Scripture isn’t. I believe that the more we understand our own beliefs, they easier they are to share with others, they easier they are to explain. I don’t like to spout of a “I think it says in the Bible somewhere–but I don’t know where…” when I’m in a conversation with someone looking for advice. I’d rather really {really} know what I’m talking about…and I think memorizing a book is a good place to start.
Oh, and this is the exciting part. I spent days thinking and praying over which book to choose. I finally settled on Colossians. I’m currently only two days in, but I figure, if I tell you guys it holds me more accountable. I’m using this method…in case any of you would like to try a big passage {doesn’t even have to be a whole book, maybe just a chapter} alongside me. And look–so far I can quote two verses. I pinky swear I’m going to type this next paragraph without looking at a source. Honor code.
1:1 I, Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God and our brother Timothy. 1:2 To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ in Colosse. Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
Don’t be too impressed, I have a long way to go.
xo
Amy
