Facebook, Yoga, the Bible, and Getting Up (2)

(Continued from here much remiss in posting this!)

 Upon looking at my habits I find myself getting out of bed and getting on Facebook more often than I got out of bed and got into the Word. Now I have taken many breaks from the big FB and don't consider myself addicted. In fact the political and ideological drama that goes on among some of my friends frequently tempts me to cancel my "membership" altogether! But for sure my priorities are skewed. So this begged another question. . .

Could I take something bad and use it for good?

I am getting distracted by socializing in the fake world. What about using the fake world of socialization (otherwise known as social media) to get deeper into the Word and develop true, deep relationship with God for myself and others?

And so the idea came about of, next semester, having a twice-weekly Bible study and prayer time. But once a week, to have it online. On Skype or Google+, or whatever we can find that works. So that we don't have to get together in person with our busy schedules.

Perhaps it will be early. Perhaps it will be late. But either way, it helps us to stay focused. Perhaps does a better job than yoga, even. ;)

Facebook, Yoga, the Bible, and Getting Up (1)

Hi, my name is Briana, and I'm a sleep-aholic.

I'm naturally more of a morning person than a night person, but I still struggle getting up. I could make excuses and say that it's different getting up at 4:30 to 5:00--that most college kids are lucky to roll out of bed by 7--but that's beside the point. What does it matter when the alarm clock goes off, if I don't get out of bed when it does?

In interests of learning to get up, I read an article the other day about how to make yourself a morning person. This particular person said that one thing that made them into an early bird was being part of a certain yoga group that met every morning at 6 a.m. In order to get to work after the yoga meeting, this person had to learn to get up early and function at that time!

So I started thinking about what would get me up early. I came up with a bunch of things that wouldn't. . .

• Not school--if I desperately have to get school done, I will get up, but with my new techniques of hitting it hard over the weekend to wipe out a good chunk of routine activities, I don't usually desperately have to get it done. 
• Not exercise--when I'm half-asleep in bed, exercise is the last thing I want to do!
• Not my animals--though animals would get me out of bed, I don't have any at the moment that really require that. 
• Not worship. Ow. But it's true. Worship does not motivate me to get up earlier. This is a problem.

A big problem.

(To be continued. . . )

for His words

sooo...how long it has been since I wrote!  ay well, nothing we can do about the past, just use it to learn for the future. :) 

so busy lately.  Just doing the same thing over and over and over and over and...well you get the idea.  Work, class, study, class, study, sleep, repeat process. 

missing spring break.  Because during spring break I got this little taste of what...of what my life with God might be able to be like.  Of what it's like to really hunger for His Word and for time with Him--to really want it, even on the bad days, maybe especially on the bad days.  And of what it might be like to start really seeing where He's put me the way He sees it.  Of having a passion for people, especially the people He has recently put in my life--or, more accurately, put me in theirs--in response to what I directly asked Him for.  I want all that back.

it can be the same.  My priorities just have to be right; I've been letting the big things slide way too often.  And what is this next month of college anyway?  A few tests, a few classes finished...what is that in comparison to the lives and hearts and souls of me and of His other children?  What can a person give in exchange for his or her soul?  Does that really mean anything to me?

i'm going to go for it.  I've got to.  I need it, they need it, maybe even He needs it.  I'm going to soak myself in His words, seek Him the little that I can, let Him do the rest. 

my prayer these next few weeks?
Lord, give me Your heart.

favorite verse this week

(sunset on the beach outside Lima, Peru)

there are two verses that meant a lot to me this week and I can't really nail down one that was particularly better than the other.  So I shall just share them both with you, and elaborate on one.

one was an old favorite--Psalm 2:8.  "Ask of Me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession."

another seemed particularly suited to college life--James 1:5.  "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given him."

the two are somewhat different, I suppose, but both mean a lot to me.  Regarding the first one, for a long time I have wanted to "be a missionary" overseas; right now I believe I'm called to missionary work here in the States.  Either way, it impresses me that God gives us people as an inheritance.  Maybe that seems a little strange, but think about it: what does God value above everything else?

His children; the people He made.  He wants them to be with Him forever.

so then, it's actually rather amazing that He would be willing to give me, to give us Christians, His children in a special sense, the privilege of sharing Him with those who are lost.  They are our inheritance.  He invites us to ask Him for them.  And as far as He can make it, the answer will be Yes.

He says so.  He will not force, so He cannot guarantee their salvation.  But when we ask, we take the key to unlock His power for them.  

And that is a powerful promise to me.

verses & tips, week 11

Another week--really?  Life has been crazily busy around here and God is good to let me keep my sanity!  :)

In case you missed it in previous posts, I have created a Google calendar for this memory project and you can click here to go to it.  This is helpful for me as I don't have to write every reference out a million times.  As a sneak peek, this week looks like verses on blessing.  Sounds great to memorize! :)

I'm going to try to go and write now about my favorite verse this week, though it'll be a little hard since there were several really great ones!

verses & tips, week 10

I can't believe I'm in the tenth week of memorizing already!  Sometime I would like to start sharing my favorite verse from each week, since so far there are several that have really affected my life or my outlook or have just been perfect for that week.  But anyway.  Here again is the calendar for March memorization; this week I'm memorizing the following verses:

• Luke 6:30
• Psalm 2:8
• James 1:5
• James 1:6
• Job 12:7, 8
• John 15:7
• Luke 11:13

And it looks like the "theme" for this week is asking and receiving.  What a great topic!  I'm definitely looking forward to these verses!

As for a tip--last week's verses had a lot of lists in them!  From the fruits of the Spirit to the characteristics of God, those lists can be hard to get in order!  So one thing I did last week was sign language/hand motions for the major words in the text.  You don't have to use "official" ASL (although it's a good excuse to learn a new language!); just come up with your own signs to help you remember.  If you're anything like me, using your whole body to learn a text will really help you embed it in your mind!

If you want to join me in Project 366 and enjoy the awesome experience of having God's Word embed itself in your heart and mind, just leave me a comment!  You can start right now and don't have to "play catch-up" at all if you don't want to.  :)

March Calendar for Project 366!

Hopefully this works...

You can access the calendar for March (soon to be updated, I hope) by clicking here in any browser...at least that's what they say. :)

Back with Verses & Tips...

Until I get the calendar working (I am dubbing last week "catch-up week" since I, for one, forgot and didn't memorize at all :-/), here are the verses I'm doing for this week. :)  Hope to get a whole calendar for March done soon!

Psalm 31:21
Nehemiah 9:17
Psalm 117:2
2 Peter 1:5, 7
Job 6:14
Galatians 5:22, 23
Joel 2:13

Verses & Tips, Week 8

For the first time this week, I forgot whether this was the eighth or ninth week of memorization!  :)  My theme for the coming week is humility.  And the verses I'm memorizing:

• Sunday: Luke 14:11--"For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
• Monday: Psalm 25:9--"The humble He guides in justice, and the humble He teaches His way."
• Tuesday: Philippians 2:8--"And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross."
• Wednesday: Romans 12:16--"Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion."
• Thursday: Psalm 149:4--"For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation."
• Friday: James 4:10--"Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up."
• Saturday: Proverbs 11:2--"When pride comes, then comes shame; but with the humble is wisdom."

Those are some beautiful promises and ideas to stick in my mind!  I'm looking forward to this week's verses!

If you'd like to join me in memorizing, please just leave a comment!  You're welcome to join at any time and don't have to "play catch-up" if you don't want to!

Verses & Tips, Week 7

Happy weekend again!  I admit I've been struggling a bit with memorization lately but God is good and I have managed to spend at least some time with each verse every day.  This week my theme is on love--rather appropriate, don't you think?  Here are the verses:

• Sunday: 1 John 12:25--"He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."
• Monday: Ephesians 5:28--"So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself."
• Tuesday: 1 John 4:7--"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God."
• Wednesday: Proverbs 19:8--"He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; he who keeps understanding will find good."
• Thursday: John 16:27--"For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God."
• Friday: Psalm 146:8--"The Lord opens the eyes of the blind; the Lord raises those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous."
• Saturday: Ecclesiastes 5:10--"He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance, with increase.  This also is vanity."

So here we have everything from what we should love as Christians, to what God loves, to what we love naturally!  A big spectrum.  Looks like interesting verses to think about!


If you'd like to join me in memorizing, just leave a comment!  You're more than welcome and you don' have to "play catch-up" if you don't want to!

Verses & Tips, Week 6

I must say that this memory project isn't the easiest thing I've ever done!  But the rewards when I actually am thinking on a verse most of the day are really great.  I wish I'd had more time to write about my favorite verses for the last couple weeks, but alas, no time 'twas granted.

The verses I'm memorizing this week have the theme of things that please God.  Of course, there are lots of things that please God, so this is just a smattering of verses!  But I think it'll be interesting memorizing.  Here goes!

• Sunday: Proverbs 16:7--"When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him."
• Monday: Mark 1:11--"Then a voice came from heaven, 'You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'"
• Tuesday: Isaiah 55:11--"So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."
• Wednesday: Psalm 40:13--"Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; O Lord, make haste to help me!"
• Thursday: 1 Samuel 12:22--"For the LORD will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you His people."
• Friday: John 8:29--"And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him."
• Saturday: 1 Corinthians 12:18--"But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased." 

Looks like some great memorizing this next week! :)  I'll be posting another tip ASAP when I get time! 

If you'd like to join me in memorizing, just leave me a comment--you'll be very welcome to join in!  You can join at any time and don't have to "play catch-up" if you don't want to!  

Verses & Tips, Week 5

Five weeks!  This memorizing thing also provides a wonderful way to count down how many weeks it's been since January started. :)

My theme for this week is prayer; here are the texts I'm memorizing:

• Sunday:  2 Chronicles 7:15--"'Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place.'"
• Monday: Jonah 2:7--"'“When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; and my prayer went up to You, into Your holy temple.'"
• Tuesday: James 5:16--"Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.'"
• Wednesday: Acts 6:4--"But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
• Thursday: Psalm 88:2--"Let my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my cry."
• Friday: Proverbs 15:29--"The Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous."
• Saturday: Philippians 4:6--"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God."

Today's tip is sticky notes!  Not all of us use books a lot, but some of us spend lots of time at one area of the house or office or wherever you spend your days . . . maybe in front of the mirror or in front of a certain window, by the kitchen stove, at a desk, or on the computer.  Any of those places is a great place to put a sticky note with today's verse on it.  And then you can add another one when tomorrow comes! Plus, by writing the verse out on the sticky, you're helping to solidify it in your memory.  One warning: sticky notes do not stick on wallpaper.  I discovered that the hard way.  So stay with mirrors and windows and computer screens and things like that.  


If you'd like to join me in memorizing, just leave a comment!  You'll be very welcome and you don't have to "play catch-up" if you don't want to.

Verses & Tips, Week 4

I can't believe I've already been doing this for four weeks!  What's more, I really can't believe I've managed to stick with it during college.  God has blessed, though, and I really enjoy being able to think about His Word all day long!

The theme this week is God's gift of courage, of not being afraid.  What a wonderful thing to memorize!  I'm definitely looking forward to these texts.

• Sunday--Joshua 1:9: "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."
• Monday--Acts 18:9-10: "Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, 'Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; ¹⁰ for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.'"
• Tuesday--Matthew 14:27: "But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.'"
• Wednesday--Luke 2:10: "Then the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.'"
• Thursday--Psalm 56:11: "In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"
• Friday--Revelation 1:17: "And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, 'Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.'"
• Saturday--Exodus 14:13: "And Moses said to the people, 'Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.'"

Looks pretty great to me! :)  I'll be back with some more tips if I get the time! 

 If you would like to join me in memorizing this year, just leave a comment!  You don't have to "play catch-up" if you don't want to, and I would love to have your company!

Verses & Tips, Week 3

"Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee."  (Psalm 119:11)

Want to be sinless?  To have a built-in guard against bad thoughts and actions?  Then hide God's Word in your heart!  I don't believe that memorizing is the only way to do this; in fact, if you just memorize the Bible like you'd memorize science definitions in grade school, it won't do you very much good.  But if you actually hide it in your heart--think of moving all the junk out of a corner of your closet, tucking in a Christmas present, and carefully covering it back up--then the Word of God is the most powerful weapon against sin and Satan.

This week my theme for memorization is God's all-knowing nature.  Again, I'm looking forward to great verses to hide in my heart!  Here's what I'm memorizing:

• Sunday--Psalm 44:21: "Would not God search this out?  For He knows the secrets of the heart."
• Monday--Nahum 1:7: "The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him."
• Tuesday--Daniel 2:22: "He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him."
• Wednesday--2 Timothy 2:19: "Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: 'The Lord knows those who are His,' and, 'Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.'
• Thursday--Psalm 37:18: "The LORD knows the days of the upright, and their inheritance shall be forever."
• Friday--Job 23:10: "But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold."
• Saturday--1 John 3:20: "For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things."

Want another tip for what to do with that blank space?  Draw pictures!  I don't have a picture of said idea, but I will try to post one soon.  Draw stick figures, simple sketches, whatever works to trigger your memory regarding the verse.  You could even combine letters and drawings to create a little "puzzle" that helps you remember the verse.  Happy memorizing!

Verses & Tips, Week 2

It's the weekend again!  I am so grateful God has given us one special day a week to spend with Him.

Yesterday I looked at the list for this week; I am on the theme of believing for the next seven days.  I'm looking forward to some challenging, inspiring texts!  Here are the verses I'm memorizing:

• Sunday--Mark 9:23: "Jesus said to him, 'If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.'"
• Monday--Habakkuk 1:5: "Look among the nations and watch--be utterly astounded!  For I will work a work in your days which you would not believe, though it were told you."
• Tuesday--Romans 10:14:  "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed?  And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?"
• Wednesday--Mark 9:24:  "Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, 'Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!'"
• Thursday--1 John 3:23:  "And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment."
• Friday--Hebrews 11:6:  "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."
• Saturday--Psalm 119:66:  "Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe Your commandments."

Now for a tip or two!  What do you do with that empty space I leave on the bookmarks?  Well, one thing is to fill it with the first letters of each word in the verse; you can also include punctuation.  This is my personal favorite way to learn and review long passages.  Here's a picture of a section from John "translated" into the first-letter-reviewing method:

You can do a similar thing (on a smaller scale) with each of these verses!  For example, here's one of last week's bookmarks with this method in use:

(Sorry my computer refused to rotate it; and yes, if you are wondering, that is Spanish, not English.)

That isn't the only thing you can do with that empty space, though.  Next week we'll discuss more things to do with it! :)

(If you want to join 366 Verses, 366 Days and join me in the delights and benefits of memorizing God's Word, just drop me a comment!  You can join at any time and don't even need to "play catch-up" if you don't want to.)

My Favorite Verse This Week

(waterfall in Wyoming)

Thought I would share my favorite memory verse from this week! :)  It's the very first one; I learned it on Sunday.

"To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:...
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance."  (Ecclesiastes 3:1,4)

These things are just good to remember sometimes.  Even as Christians, we don't have to be laughing and dancing all the time.  There is "a time for every purpose under heaven," even being sad.  I shouldn't feel somehow "less Christian" just because I'm not gleefully happy.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating pessimism or being gloomy all the time.  As Christians, we have plenty of reasons to be happy!  And we can rejoice in God and His Gift to us, Jesus Christ, even when the worst things happen.

^"11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. ¹² Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."  (Matthew 5:11, 12)

On the other hand, just a few verses up in that same chapter, Jesus reminds us:

  " ⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted." (Matthew 5:4)

As Ecclesiastes reminds us, God calls us to a balanced life.  Cry when it's time to cry; rejoice when it's time to rejoice.  But whether I'm happy or sad, I can always remember that He is there for me and I can trust Him no matter what is happening or has happened or is going to happen.  That's good news!

Verses & Tips :)

It looks like the list I'm using has "themes" for each week; that will be a fun addition! :)  This week's theme is cheerfulness and rejoicing.  Okay, so here are the verses:

• Sunday--Ecclesiastes 3:1,4:  "To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven:...A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance."
• Monday--Job 8:21:  "He will yet fill your mouth with laughing, and your lips with rejoicing."
• Tuesday--Ecclesiastes 7:3: "Sorrow is better than laughter, for by a sad countenance the heart is made better."
• Wednesday--Luke 6:21: "Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled.  Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh."
• Thursday--Genesis 21:6: "And Sarah said, 'God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me.'"
• Friday--Job 5:22: "You shall laugh at destruction and famine, and you shall not be afraid of the beasts of the earth."
• Saturday--Proverbs 31:25: "Strength and honor are her clothing; she shall rejoice in time to come."

So as you can see these verses are not that long; I'm not finding it too difficult to memorize one per day.  Now, for a few tips!

I'm using a slightly different method this time around; to accommodate my college schedule that's very busy and requires a lot of books, I'm writing each verse on a bookmark!

Just take a piece of cardstock and cut it width-wise every inch or so.  I actually used leftover paper from a small album, which makes my bookmarks a little shorter.  You could fit four verses on one bookmark if you aren't doing it in more than one language.  This lets me carry them around and review often.  Make sure to leave the extra space; next week we'll discuss ways to fill it. :)