I had the great honor of speaking at a women's retreat this past weekend
and it was such a sweet and precious time.
As an added bonus one of my college roommates is the women's ministry director
for the church so it was a fun time getting to visit and catch up with her.
Her church is full of some sweet, precious, and FUN ladies who
love the Lord and each other and we had such a great weekend!
The theme for the weekend was Anchored and one of the topics
I spoke on was being Anchored to God's word.
I truly believe that God's word anchors us to Him and is what
directs us to fulfill our purpose in life.
It is God himself that gives His word power,
and it is in and through His word that we encounter Him.
Reading and meditating on God's word builds our relationship with Him stronger.
Several years ago after my brain surgery, I had a few weeks where reading
or listing to anything was very difficult for me.
Not being able to read my Bible truly changed me and
made me want to read and memorize as much scripture as I possibly could-
in case that were ever to happen again.
In America we have such amazing access to God's word-
(I personally have 15 bibles in my house and access on my computer, phone, iPad, etc.)
but that is not always the case and who knows when that access could be taken away.
The Bible tells us over and over and over again the importance of God's word.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9:
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
Psalm 119:15-18
I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word. Be good to your servant while I live, that I may obey your word. Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.
John 1: 1-5James 1: 22-24
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
He wants us to know Him, focus our hearts, souls and all our might on loving Him and He uses His word to encourage us, affirm us, love us, and be our stronghold and anchor.
We simply must hear it, read it, learn it, and obey it.
Doing so allows us to focus on what is true
and reminds us of the promise in 1 Peter 1:25 which says.....
I shared with the ladies last weekend a few ways that I work to hide God's word in my heart
and thought I would share them with you too!
If you have any other suggestions please comment below and I will add them to the list!
•Read
the word daily
•Study
the word daily
•Print
verses out and frame them
•Print
verses out & hang in bathrooms, cabinets, doors, fridge, etc.
•Print
verses out and post them in your office
•Save
a print as a lock screen for your phone or computer (this is great for memorizing a particular verse!)
•Print
them out to share with friends
•Color
a bible verse coloring page (tons can be found free on Pinterest!)
Make
a scripture ring & keep it in your purse or tote
•Wear scripture
(jewelry or shirts)
•Write
out bible verses in notebooks or notecards
•Make
a prayer journal & write verses out inside
•Listen
to the word: podcasts, apps, sermons online
•Pray
scriptures out loud
•Scripturewriting plans: rewrite scripture
•Memorize
scripture using apps: Bible Minded, Verses, Scripture Typer (I'm going to blog about these next week)
•Use a
bible verse as your password to an account you have to log into daily
•Create
a scripture album on your phone
Most of these I do regularly but one I didn't try till this week and I was so glad I did!
It was: Use a bible verse as your password to an account you have to log into daily
I took my own advice and when I had to change my work password late Tuesday
I changed it to a Bible verse and y'all I LOVE it!
Every single one of the 18 times I logged in the next day (it was a busy, meeting filled day)-
typing that verse calmed and centered me in the midst of what was a crazy day!
Such a sweet reminder of WHAT IS!
“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.”
- Marek Kaminski from A Year in the Psalms by Brenton Cox