Memorizing God's Word

This is an email I sent to my sisters in faith at TOC:

Dear Hearts

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer." Psalm 19:14  "Thy word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against Thee."  These two verses speak of a healthy spirit. I want this to be true in my life.  But wanting is the easiest part...doing is harder.  If you feel the same way, read on ---

*  I need a memorizing method.

*  If I make it too difficult, I will give up before I begin

*  Gini, begin with easy to memorize verses, and verses that have special meaning in your life.

   ex.  I am often anxious - Psalm 27:1 answers this. "The Lord is my light & my salvation.  

   Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life. Whom shall I dread?  Members of my

   family have favorite verses.  I often memorize these.  Here are two more special to me: John

  14:27 "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives I give to you.  Let

   not your heart be troubled. Nor let it be fearful." and Psalm 94:19  "When my anxious

   thoughts multiply within me, thy consolations delight my soul"

*  How do I relate to God.  Do I think of Him as personal? Psalm 119:105 "Your word is a  

   lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path."  majestic? Proverbs 21:30 "There is no

   wisdom, no understanding and no counsel against the Lord."

*  My method - 3x5 cards easy to carry with me.  When I write it, I try to write it in easy to

   memorize phrases.  Ex Galations 5:22, 23

   "The fruit of the spirit is

    love, joy, peace

    patience, kindness, goodness

    faithfulness, gentleness and self-control

    Against such things there is no law."

    It is easy for me to remember when I can visualize 3 groups of 3.  There are 9.  I work on

    each and add it to the next when I am comfortable with it.

*   Last, choose a translation you are comfortable with.  A paraphrase can be good for helping

    to understand difficult passages and can be good for sharing with unbelievers. 

    Ex.  Ephesians 3:20 NAS  "Now to Him who is able to do exceeding, abundantly, beyond all

    that we ask or think according to the power within."  Here it is in The Message: "God can do

    anything, you know--far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your

    wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, His Spirit

    deeply and gently within us."  I prefer the NAS because I'm not a real fan of modern...but it

    has its place.

So, there you have it!  Gini's recipe for memorizing His Word to keep your spirit healthy.

                                                      To your good health - cheers!  Gini

GENESIS STUDY

                                     GENESIS STUDY

Reading the creation account, when done slowly and intentionally brings awe and wonder about our GREAT CREATOR - GOD

As this new year begins, 2019, with all its tragedy and darkness, I want to remember the words in Genesis 1 regarding the Spirit of God hovering over the formless and void earth.  We now have form - round and blue and we are no longer void of life.  But we are quickly and deliberately turning away from the Creator of all life.  I want to take this blog and worship and praise God...only God, creator of all.  TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

Feeling lost

 I wrote the following on Facebook when I was 71...My negative feelings about driving has increased


Gini Walker I am 71 years old. I don't suffer from dementia but I do have an issue with directions (North, South, East, West, left and right.) I've had this all my life. As an educator, my mother used to tell me that my lack of crawling as a baby had an affect on my learning. Who knows. But as I have read some posts here, I realize there are unlabeled issues some of us have. Struggling with directions has been frightening and frustrating for me. Before Charlie and I married, one time I was to pick him up at LAX. I ended up in Costa Mesa. Even as recently as this year, I got so lost and had NO idea which way home was. When I leave an office, trying to figure out if I go left or right to exit the building is more challenging than I ever reveal. Driving is something I dislike very much. So, unless I am going some where close or some where I've frequently driven to, I can't go. I think about friends and loved ones with dementia and it seems they have totally lost their way in their mind. This causes me great sadness. It is so frightening to be lost. 

Stress related to needs of seniors

Our friend Per Larssen moved into Town and Country this past weekend.  It was difficult for Charlie to get him convinced to do it.

I read the following deeply stress filled remarks on Facebook about someone dealing with their aged mother--- "So many thoughts right now, so many decisions to make, so many changes, so much stress, what happens next? One niece flew in Saturday to see my mother (her grandmother) then flew back to Oregon in the evening. Another niece (a great granddaughter) drove from Monterey last night and is heading back home right now. She was asking me questions that i don't want to answer, or decisions I'm not ready to face right now. But things I know I should be considering. Home for a few minutes before heading back to the hospital. They plan to move her (my mother) to an rehab/extended care facility tomorrow. A decision I must make as to where..."

We are deeply grateful to God for His guidance and help in Per's move.

Advent 2018

Indeed, gratitude and thanksgiving continues through Advent.  I am grateful for God's serendipity "style" of relating to us.  He has often surprised me along my journey.  And, His faithful presence, although sometimes unseen, on other occasions has been evident.  For me, His essence has been a wonder-about-concept.  I wrote the following in my gratitude journal: "God is exceedingly, abundantly beyond beyond x a zillion. And these few words don't even begin to describe His essence - INFINITY - no beginning and no end.  As a writer, I often experience frustration with words - those I can't find in my word-box...my thesaurus often helps me, but not this time. And I am so glad!  I will never find the words to describe the awe and wonder and majesty of God.  He knew before time began on this planet that I would in stumbling, incorrect grammar and sentence structure write this...He knew every sinful thought and action of my life.  Yet HE came as a baby, lived sinless and died in my place to restore me to this essence of love I can't describe.  I am totally astounded."  As we wait together in this Advent season I hope each of you will know His unending love for you, even in the clamor and busyness.  Blessings of Peace.  Gini

PRAYER FOR PERSECUTED CHURCH

May the Lord of Hosts who commands His angelic armies be a wall of protection for these persecuted believers. May the prayers of His people increase as their intercession engages the spiritual battle waging over that area. Lord, be their victory and deliverance! Spare their lives! Give wisdom and courage to the pastors who are helping lead their flock through this time of great crisis. In the Name above all names we pray!
“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints…” Eph. 6:18

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