I have heard so many people say (and I have been one of them), "I can't memorize things...I just can't." Sister, if I can, ANYONE can. But I am now convinced that we have to be passionate about what we are memorizing. I was trying to work on James (and the book was beating me alive) and then Psalms, but I just wasn't feeling it. It wasn't speaking to me, right now, where I'm at. So, I sat down recently and wrote out some passages that spoke to my current struggles and a passage out of Ephesians 6 lit up like lightning.
I have been working on memorizing it and I thought I would just share how it's going, in case any of you are interested. First, I prayed, "God, help me do this!" Second, I wrote it down (every little bitty word), laminated it, and I pull it out and read it after my quiet time, over and over and over. Thirdly, I have it bookmarked on my phone Bible app and I read it while I'm sitting in the car waiting in the pick-up line at preschool, sitting with the girls while they fall asleep, and sitting on the pot. Sorry if that's TMI. Fourthly, I try to recall it, all the time--walking around my house, eating breakfast, folding laundry, taking a shower. Again, TMI?
And, though I don't have it all down just exactly right, here's what I have. And I'm sharing because this is exciting stuff! Seriously! For months I worked on other passages and I never made it past chapter 1 of James. In about two weeks, I have just about gotten these 9 verses. I'm beyond excited. I know for some of you, this may be a very small feat, but can you just go ahead and get excited for me anyway? This is a big stinkin' deal for me. And maybe for some others out there, 9 verses seems daunting. More than anything, I'm hoping this may give someone who has been hesitant to dive into memorization to give it a try!
I think about the [horrible] movie The Book of Eli. Please hear me clearly: I am not recommending this movie. I could not watch more than a few minutes of it before realizing it was too intense and violent for me. But my man watched it all--twice--and love the story line. He can somehow look past all the beat 'em up, shoot 'em up, and kill 'em stuff. I can't. (Shudder) But, he did give me a summary, and the super skinny version is this, (stolen straight from imdb.com):
A post-apocalyptic tale, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind.
A sacred book. He is carrying the very last printed copy of the Bible. But, somewhere along his journey, the Sacred Book is taken from him. All hope seems lost. But, when the man reaches the other side of America, where he is supposed to deliver the Book to someone who can save it and share it with everyone, he begins to recite the Book, from memory, in its entirety.
I say all that to say this: I think we completely underestimate the power of our minds. The ability of our minds. The priests and prophets of old would have memorize every morsel of Divine Script, every single word that was available to them. We can do it! What if one day the printed Word is not available to us? To our children? Then it better be deep down in our hearts.
"Thy Word have I hidden in my heart..." Let's do it!!!! Spur each other on to lofty, and loftier, goals!!!
So, here is my first step in what I hope is a life-long process of deep memorization...
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you may take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rules, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the
Ok, I know that probably has a lot of mistakes, one of which--heavenly--I realized was wrong as soon as I typed it; so, here's the real real passage, copied and pasted:
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Hmmm...not as bad as I thought! I subbed a few synonyms here and there, but all in all, the meaning remained the same. YIPEEEEEEE!!!!!!!! He enables.
Are you memorizing something? If so, I'd love to know! Just for fun, share, share! I think it's encouraging to hear what others are doing. And He gets ALL the glory!!!
Thankful today for...
#24. the God-given ability to stretch our minds!
#25. some brilliant sunshine...
#26. Christian fiction...
#27. a good book that kept me up into the wee hours of the morning...
#28. incomprehensible energy today, despite my less-than-four-hours of sleep (Yeah, I know that won't last, that's why I'm so thankful for it now.)...
#29. comfy PJ's...
#30. time to myself while my big girls is at school and my babe is playing with her cousin at Nana's house...
#31. coffee...
#32. my man getting up and making coffee nearly every day before I'm even out of bed (Have I told you lately how spoiled I am?)
#33. a washer and dryer...
#34. legs to get off this couch and go fold laundry...
May the Lord make His face to shine upon you today!
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