My son's latest post title made me read it (besides the fact I love to read whatever my kids write. You moms can relate.) The post is a charge to memorize scripture, believe it or not. Reading it has reminded me again of the value of memorizing scripture, something I used to be faithful in doing. Question: if you're currently finding a certain method of memorization helpful, please let me know. My age has really been a factor in the difficulty level of this spiritual discipline.
As far as quoting myself, I seldom think of it the way Stephen put it. Once in a great while someone will remind me of something I said so long ago that I've forgotten. (That's a scary thought in itself.) Just yesterday, for example, a friend at church was telling me about how she is going to decorate her table for the Ladies' Christmas Breakfast. (There are usually about 25-30 tables in all, each one decorated by a different woman of the church. It's gorgeous and I love the creativity.) This friend told me that I had remarked last year that there was not a single nativity scene on any of the tables at the Ladies' Christmas Breakfast. Plenty of snowmen, but no Jesus. She said the comment made such an impact that she has purposed to put a nativity scene on her table this year.
I don't say that in any way to cause guilt; I've been decorating a table for this annual church occasion for probably 8-10 years and have never put a creche on it. For one thing, they tend to be one-sided, and so half the guests would be staring at the backside of a stable. Or worse: the backside of a donkey. I've been on the prowl for many years for an open nativity set where Jesus looks Jewish and so do his parents. I would love to find one where Mary's hair and complexion have that blotchy "just gave birth" look, Joseph appears bedraggled and is holding an empty wallet in one hand, a mug of coffee in the other. Mary holds a colicky baby nervously at her sore, bulging breast. (The baby would be a battery-operated Jesus that has no "off" switch. I mean, Jesus was, after all, a human baby.) And though He created the "aroma" of fresh country air, shall we say, I doubt His infant lungs appreciated a steady whiff of it while he was trying to nurse. Once again, I'm mystified by the why of His choice to come to earth and subject himself to that. It was least of the all the stenches He would endure in his tenure on earth.
My point is--if I had one--oh, yeah, I did!--is that what we say can stick with others a lot longer than it sticks with us. Lord, may those words be ones that keep pointing people to you, not away from you. Remind me to be quoting You, Father, to myself and to others. May your Word never have an "off" switch in my thinking.
3 comments:
Zo, Jason just brought home the "fighter verses" that are available through Piper's Desiring God ministries. I want to start it with the kids soon, so I'll let you know if they work well. I really like the format of the program. you can probably get a more detailed look on their website.
I have never had as much success with any memorization method as I've had with the one Piper recommends in "When I Don't Desire God"--it's "An Approach to the Extended Memorization of Scripture" by a pastor in North Carolina. I blogged about it just last week, with a link to the method. To give you an idea--I used it to memorize Romans 8 two years ago and I can still recite the whole chapter very easily. I've never had that kind of long-term retention before. If you can discipline yourself to do the very simple memory work daily (it's not very demanding--but the discipline is hard nonetheless, at least for me)...it totally works.
Mrs. Laurie,
The CDS started using the Fighter Verses last year, and I thought they were very helpful. They have sections in the mini-binder for review, so you can stick the cards you plan to remember back there for quick accessibility. I still remember quite a few passage from those Fighter Verses, so I definitely recommend them.
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