I get emails often about my scripture writing plans (which I love!)
and many times the person writing asks questions.
I thought I'd post those answers here in case anyone else had those
same questions and so that I can reference it in my replies to those sweet writers!
What is the benefit to writing down Scripture?
I wrote my first scripture writing plan (and all the ones since) for several reasons. For one, it helps me memorize scripture which I so desperately want to do. In Sept 2013 I had brain surgery. In the days before and directly after my surgery I was so thankful for the scriptures I had memorized because they are what I repeated over and over and over again to myself during those scary pre-surgery and post-surgery pain-filled days. For a while after surgery I couldn't read or do anything on a computer or ipad {because it really hurt my head} and so those scriptures I had memorized comforted me. Since then I've really worked on memorizing more scripture (because you never know when the ability to open and read your Bible could be taken away) and I've found that writing them down really helps me to memorize them. Secondly, I love writing the verses down because it really helps me to think about and specifically focus on a set of scriptures. It's a great time to listen to God's voice and truly only takes a few minutes a day. He never fails to show me exactly what He has for me to learn when I'm writing scriptures and I love finding new bits of truth from a verse I may have read hundreds of times before! A sweet reader shared this quote with me and it sums up perfectly how I feel about writing scripture:
“To me, the Word of God is like music. You can listen to the same piece several times and get the melody of it. But to hear the whole sound of it, every instrument, each line, you have to listen several times and pay a lot of attention...the word of God is so beautiful, the more time you spend in it, the more you appreciate it.”I did some research and found the quote is from Marek Kaminski and is in the book A Year in the Psalms by Brenton Cox. (and Marek's story is pretty neat too!)
How do you develop the plan of which verses are for each day?
Since I started doing the plans just for myself- and then shared them with others- my approach is different depending on the month. Some months I have a specific theme (Feb. is love, November is Thanksgiving, December is Christmas) that the verses follow. Other months the verses might come from a Bible study I'm doing or a loosely based theme (like January is about beginnings and new starts). Other months are just filled with verses God put on my heart to use. I really like the theme months so I've alternated a few months between general and topical plans. I'm also working on adding more topical plans soon!
Why are some verses repeated?
I simply use the verses that God brings me to. Believe it or not I actually keep a spreadsheet of the verses that I use each month so that I do not repeat too many, too often. But because I've started doing months that are topical- there are definitely some repeats since some verses are perfect for more than one topic. Just know if you see a repeat that it's because they were PERFECT for the topic and that I felt led to use. Please feel free if you see verses that are repeated to substitute with any other verses.
How does scripture writing work?
There is no right or wrong way to write scripture. You simply copy the verses down in whatever version you prefer. I typically write mine in a notebook in two versions (NIV and the Message) since those are the two that I love. There is just something about writing the verses down that helps us to see them in a new way. I often speak the verses outloud as I write them.
If you have any other questions please leave them below and I'll be happy to answer them!