Philippians 4:19 - Eggplant Moments

 (Eggplant photo (c)Anna; at: farm7.static.flickr.com/6010/5916955058_b3664358ed_z.jpg)

As I contemplated what I want my first blog to be about I knew that I wanted it to “set the tone” for my website.  To express how I feel about God, His Word and how that relates to me (and I hope to you, the reader).  As you will see from reading my posts (should you continue to follow me), I love the Word of God and strive to apply it to all aspects of my life.  So, today, I wanted to talk about Eggplant Moments.

You may think – Eggplant Moments??? – that doesn’t make sense to me (I mean really, does Kathy love eating eggplants or what?).  It isn’t about the eggplant so much as about the vibrant purple color of the eggplant.  So, as you read this feel free to insert a color that you think is vibrant and beautiful.

In Philippians 4:19 says, “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.”  (new living translation).  I love this scripture and the knowledge that my Father in Heaven has all my needs taken care of, provided for, and met.  But, I will be honest and say that I have certain expectations as to “how” God will meet my needs and “what” He is going to “give” me.  But, I have found that most of the time my visual picture is based on my finite mind’s capacity to visualize that blessing – that my heart has faith in a means and fulfilling my needs as a black and white moment.   Something that is great and meets my needs, but it is black and white (Sorta like Kansas is at the beginning of The Wizard of Oz).  Then God steps in a fulfills my need and it is so far above the scope of what my finite mind hoped for  - it is an Eggplant Moment!  Because you see – even though I have served God for many years – I am still blown away when He answers my prayers.  I forget that while I think and dream with a finite mind, MY God is the God of infinite possibilities – He is the God of Eggplant Moments!!!!

I have also seen in recent weeks that sometimes those Eggplant Moments don’t happen in Kathy Time.  They happen in God Time.  While sometimes (ok, a lot of the time) it is so discouraging when things happen in God Time (because I am always so sure Kathy Time is the right time!), I have noticed that God sometimes uses mini-Eggplant Moments to give me assurance that He has the situation under control and that HIS Eggplant Moment is on the way.  Here is an example – I have a close friend, who I will call Martha.  Now Martha is the sweetest Christian lady you will ever meet, but she is facing a significant battle within her family that seems to have no end.  Martha is trusting God to meet her needs, but so far Martha Time and God Time aren’t the same.  Many days it is hard for Martha to remember that God is going to provide an answer to her need, much less a Eggplant Moment.  Then just yesterday, God gave Martha a mini-Eggplant Moment to provide her assurance that He DID indeed have a plan and that the plan would be fulfilled in His time, in God Time.  A friend of Martha’s surprised her with a gift, a beautiful Eggplant Purple Candle.  Funny thing, eggplant purple isn’t Martha’s favorite color, so there was no real reason for the friend to have purchased a candle in that specific color – but God knew that as soon as Martha saw that Eggplant Purple Candle that she (Martha) would know that He had heard her and that He had everything under control --- and most importantly --- that in God Time Martha would have her Eggplant Moment.  

So, today, I encourage you to trust God to not only supply your needs, but to supply them with Eggplant Moments.  And, if you are like Martha and you are trusting God for your needs to be met, but God Time hasn’t happened yet – then watch for a mini-Eggplant Moment, because God sends them to us all the time!

Practical Examples for Memorizing

As I have previously said, I am a visual learner.  I need to be able to “see” the scripture to learn it.  So here are some examples of scriptures and how you could make them more visual:

Index Cards – you can’t ever go wrong with writing your scripture on an index card.  To make your card more interesting, try cutting out letters from a magazine to add emphasis to your scripture.  As you learn your scripture, make a second index card with just those highlighted letters.  

Making your own Scripture Pages – always feel free to copy the any of the ones that I have made.  But if you would like to make your own –here are some ideas.

Let’s look at John 3:30 first (“He must become greater; I must become less.”).  Now what do you notice about this scripture?  Well I notice that the scripture is telling me that as God is growing, becoming greater; that I should be getting less, or smaller.  So I take a piece of paper, and write down that mental picture that I have --- God bigger, me smaller.  It might look something like this:

 

Let me show you another example.  Remember, as I learn scriptures, I use whatever it is about that scripture that appeals to me, and make a picture about that.  A scripture about having power to tread on snakes is going to have a picture of a snake with it; a scripture about casting my burdens on Him would have a person with their arm in a cast (focus on CAST); a scripture about teach me your ways might have a teacher with it.

When I first looked at Jeremiah 31:3 (“I have loved you with an everlasting love, I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.”) I focused on the word Drawn.  Now I know that this scripture is really telling me that God wants to me to be drawn closer to Him, that is what He wants; but my FIRST mental picture was God drawing me! So, here is what I made to help me remember this scripture.

Remember, the key is to take whatever is the KEY part of the scripture to you – and putting it into a visual format.  Use magazines, scrapbook paper, drawings and photos.  Let your inner creative person come out.  It doesn’t really matter how perfect or great it looks – it only matters if it has meaning to you!

Make Your Own Scripture Page Book

A Scripture Page book is simply a small album of the scripture you are learning and the ones you have learnt.  Having a Scripture Page book is a good way to help in memorizing your scripture.  They should be small enough to carry in your purse, in your car, in your briefcase or with your Bible.  They are easy to make and even easier to give as gifts.

~ Start with Scripture pages – I print mine off on 4 x 6 photo paper, but you can use any size paper, print however you want.

~ Go to your local discount or dollar store and purchase an inexpensive photo album or brag book.  Something like this (you can often find these for $1 or $2):

~ Put your favorite Scripture Page on the front of the book

 

Or make yourself a custom cover that says this is your Scripture Page book

~ Now start filling it up.  My book is always a “work in progress”.  As the year progresses, it gets fuller and fuller.  4 or 5 Scriptures is a good start.  For that matter one Scripture Page is a start!

~ Keep filling your book over time with scriptures you are memorizing, have memorized or have meaning to you.

~ If it’s a gift, select scriptures that you want to bless someone with.  Add them to the book, then tie it with a cute bow.  Its all ready now!

~ Finally, if you have been following my blog and would love to have a Scripture Page book of your very own --- email me!  (khart228@gmail.com) I will send a custom Scripture Page book with 6 – 7 “starter” verses in it to the first 10 people who email me with their name and address asking for a book.  These are free!!!!  So get yours now! (When you email me, give me your preference as to which type of Scripture Pages you would like included:  Variety, Encouragement, Healing or a Specific Theme.)

About Me

I am a wife, mother, and grandmother, but foremost (and definitely most important), I am a daughter of the King.  Having grown up in the church, God and His Word have always been a part of my life.  When I was in my teens, we would often have contests to see who could memorize the most.  I always won, or if I didn’t win, I was one of the top memorizers.  My ability to memorizing the Word was something I always took pride in.  But as I became an adult, a mother, and a busy women; memorizing the Word took a “back seat” to all the busyness of life. 

Then a little over two years ago, I came to the realization that if my walk with the Lord was going to continue to grow that I needed to regain my focus to remember God’s Word.  I wish I could say that the minute God started dealing with me about focusing on memorizing/remembering His Word that I just jumped right in and did it.  But the truth is, I was busy, I was older, and I simply made excuses.  Memorizing wasn’t as easy as it had been when I was fifteen.  My mind didn’t work the same way, my life was more complicated.  But God kept dealing with me.  So, finally I started working on memorizing/remembering the Word.  At first it was very hard and I struggled.  There were times that I started to quit; then one day I stumbled on a solution of sorts for me.  If I saw the Scripture all the time it was easier to memorize.  So, I found pretty pictures and made myself screen savers for my computer with the scripture.  Then I realized that if the picture and the scripture coordinated, if together they “told a story”, that I could memorize better.  That is when the concept of making Scripture Pages started for me.  I shared my pages with my sisters and close friends who were also memorizing scriptures.  They started sending me their verses and having me make Scripture Pages for them.  I now happily share Scripture Pages with many friends and family. 

My goal for this blog is to share some of these Scripture Pages with you, you the reader.  In addition to sharing the Scripture Page, I will be telling you what the page means to me, what it means to a friend of mine or something I have read that is relevant to the scripture.  Please feel free to download any Scripture Page you see on this blog.

And … if you are one of those inquisitive souls like me … here is a little more about me.  I am the wife to a wonderful man named Leland.  He is an educator, a firefighter, and the best husband a woman could ask for.  Our blended family has 4 adult children, all of which live in the West Texas area, except for my oldest daughter … she is privileged to live in Heaven.  Another of our daughters is married and has four little boys.  We also have three dogs and live in Midland, Texas.  We are blessed to have an awesome home church, wonderful friends and a big extended family.

Tips for Remembering Scriptures

For me, memorizing or remembering scripture is all about the process in which I learn more about God.  For me learning about God comes from Studying His Word, Learning His Word and finally Remembering His Word.

Let’s focus on how we can better remember the Word we have learned. A little over two years ago, I came to the realization that if my walk with the Lord was going to continue to grow that I needed to focus more on remembering His Word.  For me that meant a commitment to memorize/remember scriptures.  I would like to share a little bit with you about remembering the Word.  I hope this will challenge you.  But, for those of you that aren’t sure if this is the direction for you – let me be honest and tell you that God dealt with me for a year before I actually started doing it.  I have been actively focusing on memorizing/remembering scripture for two years, but God had been talking to me about this much longer than two years!  During the last two years, I have discovered ways to memorize/remember the Word that are working for me and I am being successful.  That’s what I want to share with you. 

I break down memorizing/remembering scriptures into Four Steps:  Choosing the scripture, Choosing the translation to learn it in; Choosing the method I will use to learn; and Understanding the scripture I am learning.

Step #1 – How do you choose a scripture?

First and foremost – the scripture you choose to memorize must have meaning to you, to be relevant to you.  Memorizing a scripture that isn’t relevant to me is HARD.  For me, I need to “want” to memorize this scripture.  I suggest you ask yourself some questions.  By answering these questions, you will know what scripture God is leading you to memorize. 

What are you going through?  Do you need a scripture to help you with a struggle?  If you answer is yes, then select a scripture that is specific to your need.  (I often use a Bible search tool like an app on my cell phone or www.biblegateway.com to find the specific scripture I need.  I search for the scripture based on topic.  For instance, I am seeking direction about decision making – I might look up scriptures for direction.  That search would lead me to Job 34:32, “Teach me what I cannot see; if I have done wrong, I will not do so again.”)

Have you recently read a scripture that you want to remember?  Do you have a favorite scripture that you have never memorized?  Did Pastor preach a sermon that “stepped on your toes”?  I often choose to memorize a scripture from that sermon.  If it “stepped on my toes”, then it is obviously about a topic that God is wanting to speak to me. For me, the scripture that was in Pastor’s message is often also the scripture I need to help me with whatever I am going through.

Step #2 – How do you choose a translation?

Understanding what you are learning is key!  Contrary to what many believe, the King James Version is not the only translation of the Bible.  Does you even know what the word Yea means? (Psalm 23:4, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of death…”)   I don’t!  (FYI – according to Webster’s -  yea–adverb 1. yes (used in affirmation or assent); 2. indeed: Yea, and he did come; 3. not only this but even: a good, yea, a noble man. )

Ask your friends what translation they like.  Make sure YOU can understand all of the words in the passage that you are memorizing.  Don’t be afraid of using more than one translation.  I use New International Version most often.  But sometimes I use other version – I use the translation that helps me have the best understanding of the passage.  Still not sure about what translation to use?  Visit you local Bible bookstore, pick out a few translations, find a comfortable spot in the store, then simply look at the translations, reading passages, looking for what you understand – that’s the translation you should use.

Step #3 – How do you choose a method for learning?

Focus on REMEMBERING – not memorizing.  Starting to memorize/remember scripture should be like starting an exercise program.  Someone out of shape does start by running 10 miles (they would fail miserably on their first attempt!).  They start by walking around the block.  Start memorizing short, easy to learn scriptures.

Understanding HOW you learn is also key.  Are you a visual learner?  Do you learn by hearing best?  Do you learn by writing something over and over again?  I am a visual learner – that is why I take a scripture and put a meaningful picture with it.  By seeing the scripture in a visual manner, I am able to memorize it.  If you learn by hearing, turn the scripture into a “song”.  (Didn’t we all learn the ABC’s by that cute little song in kindergarten?).  Or try writing it over and over. 

Concentrate on getting the Word in your heart and soul.  If memorizing is hard for you, try meditating on the scripture.

Step #4 – How do you learn what the scripture means?

The final part about learning scriptures is UNDERSTANDING what you are learning.  It will do you no good to simply memorize words if you don’t understand what they mean.  Take time to look up the meanings of words you aren’t sure about.  Try reading the scriptures before and after the scripture you are memorizing.  Reading it in context often clarifies what the scripture is saying.  Try reading a commentary about the scripture.  (Again, try the local Bible bookstore or the internet for commentaries.)  And definitely ask God to show you the meaning of the scripture and how it applies to you.

Remember to focus on REMEMBERING – not memorizing.  Starting to memorize/remember scripture should be like starting an exercise program.  Start by learning short scriptures, then build up to longer scriptures.  Don't get discouraged.  Take as long as you need to learn the scripture - this is about YOU learning!  You are not in a contest to see how many scriptures you can learn - you are on a journey to get to know God better!

For more about Remembering Scriptures; see also Practical Examples for Memorizing posted 7/31/11. 

Contact Me

My email address is khart228@gmail.com.  I would love to hear from you!!