Day 47 Verses Memorized: 154 Working on: John 4:43-54
The John Squad
(Please click here to chart your own
progress!)
My Progress:
I had an extremely productive week banging out 34 verses of Jesus talking with the Samaritan woman. For some reason, this was just an easy passage to pick up on. The dialogue is still BRUTAL - It's so annoying to have everything right and then mess up on a 'said' or 'replied' or 'answered'. I have about 11 more verses until Chapter 4 is finished.
Some Thoughts:
I wish I could say that my spiritual growth was as successful as my memory this week. However, I am sad to report that this week's progress was a result of my brain and not my heart. Apparently, if you don't spend a lot of time with the Lord, He doesn't speak with you as much. I don't have any mind-blowing thoughts about this passage because I didn't take the time to sit with the Lord and ask Him to reveal things to me. So yippy skippy 34 verses... Big stinking deal. I would've rather learned 1 verse and connected with my Savior on a deeper level than memorize 34 and feel disconnected from Him. Shame on me. That will not happen again.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Week 6: Slow and Steady
Day 40 Verses Memorized: 120 Working on: John 4:1-26
The John Squad
(Please click here to chart your own progress!)
My Progress:
Oh yeah - Chapter 3!
I spent several days reviewing Chapters 1-3. It was amazing how rusty some parts of the first chapter were already, so I'm going to have to consciously slow down new memorizing in order to incorporate a little review each day. I have now begun to memorize the first couple verses of Chapter 4. This is a long conversation with the Samaritan woman. Dialogue is always a problem for me (remembering "said" vs. "replied", "answered", "declared". So I think it will be slow-going for a little while. But I am not overly concerned with deadlines - only that I am spending some quality time each day with my focus on memorizing the Word.
Some Thoughts:
I'm only in the initial stages of this passage, so I don't have any deep, theological thoughts yet. However, one thing really struck me as I began reading it over several times.
Jesus sat down by the well because He was tired. Read slowly here: Jesus was tired, so He sat down. That just blew me away. Knowing how strong, mighty and powerful Jesus is makes it hard to believe that He ever got tired at all. But after thinking more thoroughly about His "human-ness" and remembering verses about Him sleeping, or going off by Himself to rest, I realize even more how His earthly body of flesh must have been such a cage for Him. And it really blows my mind when I think about how He is infinitely stronger than we can imagine because of the fact that He allowed Himself to be so weak. That must be the strongest strength there is!
Additional Thoughts:
The John Squad
(Please click here to chart your own progress!)
My Progress:
Oh yeah - Chapter 3!
I spent several days reviewing Chapters 1-3. It was amazing how rusty some parts of the first chapter were already, so I'm going to have to consciously slow down new memorizing in order to incorporate a little review each day. I have now begun to memorize the first couple verses of Chapter 4. This is a long conversation with the Samaritan woman. Dialogue is always a problem for me (remembering "said" vs. "replied", "answered", "declared". So I think it will be slow-going for a little while. But I am not overly concerned with deadlines - only that I am spending some quality time each day with my focus on memorizing the Word.
Some Thoughts:
I'm only in the initial stages of this passage, so I don't have any deep, theological thoughts yet. However, one thing really struck me as I began reading it over several times.
Jesus sat down by the well because He was tired. Read slowly here: Jesus was tired, so He sat down. That just blew me away. Knowing how strong, mighty and powerful Jesus is makes it hard to believe that He ever got tired at all. But after thinking more thoroughly about His "human-ness" and remembering verses about Him sleeping, or going off by Himself to rest, I realize even more how His earthly body of flesh must have been such a cage for Him. And it really blows my mind when I think about how He is infinitely stronger than we can imagine because of the fact that He allowed Himself to be so weak. That must be the strongest strength there is!
Additional Thoughts:
- It finally happened. Bible verses went through the wash. I knew it was only a matter of time. But when I pulled out the laundry the other day and saw little pieces of fuzzy white balls all over our clothes, I knew immediately what had happened. My husband and I both carry our verses around in our pockets so we have them on-hand whenever a moment for study might arise. I was thankful that they were his verses and not mine. hehe
- I had to stop listening to my husband's Bible on CD because all I ended up doing was mocking the guy's voice. Leave it to my sinful, wretched self to make fun of the Bible. So I try to avoid that situation altogether now.
- My 6-year old daughter did something very out-of-character one day so I turned to her and asked, "Who are you?" She non-chalantly replied, "I am the voice of one calling in the desert 'make straight the way for the Lord.'."
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Week 5: Three Chapters Down
Day 33 Verses Memorized: 112 Working on: Finalizing Chapter 3
The John Squad
(Please click here to chart your own progress!)
My Progress:
Well Chapter 3 sure got difficult at the end! But I am happy to say that I have a strong handle on the entire chapter. I will spend a few more days going over it to make sure it's solid before I move on to Chapter 4. My overall progress has slowed down because I am using some of my memorizing time to go back and review the previous chapters. This whole experience sure would be a waste of time if I got to the end and couldn't remember the beginning! So I spend a little time each day reviewing Chapters 1 and 2.
Some Thoughts:
The John Squad
(Please click here to chart your own progress!)
My Progress:
Well Chapter 3 sure got difficult at the end! But I am happy to say that I have a strong handle on the entire chapter. I will spend a few more days going over it to make sure it's solid before I move on to Chapter 4. My overall progress has slowed down because I am using some of my memorizing time to go back and review the previous chapters. This whole experience sure would be a waste of time if I got to the end and couldn't remember the beginning! So I spend a little time each day reviewing Chapters 1 and 2.
Some Thoughts:
- I'm still struggling with Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus. I wish I knew for sure what the whole water/spirit thing meant - and why He uses the pronoun "we".
- 3:20 "Everyone who does evil hates the light." That verse sure struck me because I am certainly one who does evil!
- John the Baptist is just so darn awesome. He's gotta be one of the coolest people in the Bible, next to Jesus Himself, of course. I truly love him and the disciple John (a major part of why we named our only son John).
- How John the Baptist could be so humble and self-sacrificing is astonishing. "He must become greater; I must become less" is a verse that we should all live by.
- I love how John the Baptist mentions that the friend is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. It just reminded me of how he leaped in the womb when he heard Mary approaching. I wonder if he had been told stories about that encounter.
- Can't move on to Chapter 4 without mentioning the final verse. "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." YIKES! I don't know about you, but I don't want any of God's wrath remaining on me! I sort of wish this was the world's most famous verse - rather than 3:16. Sure, He's a lovey-dovey God, but let's not forget about His wrath!
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