December 9th, 2014 
Have you ever memorized a verse, and then years later realized it didn’t mean exactly what you thought it did? Unfortunately that happens all the time, and it can lead to frustration, disappointment with God, and a warped view of God’s plan and purpose.
I am an advocate of memorizing sequential verses in context rather than memorizing scattered verses. Think of it this way, if one of your goals is to get …
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December 5th, 2014 
I was sitting in the audience as Janet Pope was speaking. It was perfect timing, just the way the Lord does things. I’d been challenged for some time by Jackson, our 3-year-old grandson (now 4), and the way he was memorizing Scripture. In fact, our favorite Christmas gift last year was a DVD of him reciting 5 Psalms with great expression (1, 8, 19, 23, and 96, I think – he also has …
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December 2nd, 2014 
I look out the window. Another black and white day—nothing’s new, nothing’s changed. Then all of a sudden, an unexpected flutter. Out of nowhere a majestic bird appears. I marvel at its wingspan and the precision of its landing. I seize the moment to linger. My eyes refocus and follow every twitch.
Curiosity wells up inside me. What kind of bird is this? Is he looking for food? Is her nest close …
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November 4th, 2014 
Memorizing chapters and entire books inevitably leads us to verses we wouldn’t otherwise choose to memorize—lots of them. When we read the Bible we can quickly skim over difficult teachings without coming to grips with their application, but memorizing doesn’t allow us to breeze through the hard parts. An example from one of the books I’ve memorized:
“God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give …
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October 28th, 2014 
Construction near my house sends me on a convoluted detour, meandering around side streets and dodging orange cones. This squanders my time and squeezes my patience. “Why don’t they just hurry up and finish the road?”
I don’t like detours—I want to stay on the main road. Even metaphorical detours frustrate me, especially those of my own making.
Can you hear this hymn playing in the background? “Prone to wander, Lord I feel …
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