My sister is keeping me stocked up on Funny Fridays! Here’s another courtesy of Cora! She’s so punny! 🙂 “I had a happy childhood. Dad would roll me down the hill in a tire. Those were Goodyears.”
“…because they will bring you long life, good years, and peace.” Proverbs 3:2 (GW)
At my church we are doing 21 days of prayer, and as part of this the church has provided an accompanying devotional booklet taking us through the book of Ephesians. The booklet comprises of daily reading passages of Ephesians in the English Standard Version (ESV). Both of my kids are going through the booklet each day as well, and they expressed some frustrations they were having. They mentioned that they were having a hard time understanding the Bible passages in the booklet.
I explained to them a few things that are helpful when it comes to understanding the Bible. I’ve written about these before:
I had a sense that what was troubling them the most was just the translation they were reading. Therefore, I told them that first I think it’s important to read in a translation or version that makes sense and is understandable to them. I emphasized that they don’t HAVE to use the reading in the booklet and suggested that they use their own Bibles or use The Bible App where they can pick from a variety of translations or even read passages in a couple of different translations to get a better understanding. I think this helped them significantly.
Secondly, I shared that it always helps me to pray for understanding before I read (or even during my reading). There are a few verses that I turn into prayers that I have written in the front of my quiet time journal. I wrote down on an index card a couple of these verses as prayers for my kids to have to use as a prompt to pray before they read.
“God please open my mind to help me understand the scriptures.” –from Luke 24:45
“Give me understanding so I can learn.” –from Psalm 119:18, 27, 34, 73, 125, 169
Another funny find courtesy of my sister. This may be yet another bit of humor lost on some. So for some context, watch the video/song below…
“Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves.” Luke 10:3 (NLT)
Dr. B. Gee …Presumably good at helping people stay alive. I realize this humor may be lost on some (i.e. my children!), so watch the following video/song from the Bee Gees for some context. 😉
“Paul told the officer and the soldiers, “If these sailors don’t stay on the ship, you have no hope of staying alive.”” Acts 27:31 (GWT)
Today’s post is more practical in application. This past week I was just visiting with a friend who homeschools her children about some resources for note taking. I thought it might be beneficial to share some resources here as well. After all, good note taking skills aren’t just important for students in school. It’s useful in our jobs during training, meetings, conferences, and in continuing education. It’s also useful in church or for taking notes during a podcast or video message.
Some of this might be very basic or seem redundant if you already have a habit of taking notes. Nevertheless, you never know when you might be able to tweak or improve your note taking style or even get a few new ideas! If you’re NOT a note taker, revisit this post about the importance of writing things down. Basically, when you take notes, you remember the material better, plus you have something to refer back to later on.
The process of taking notes involves three phases: before, during, and after. Before taking notes you must learn effective preparation and observation methods. During the process of taking or recording your notes (i.e. actually writing something down) there are several helpful methods to make the process more effective. Lastly, after taking notes, it’s very important to review them in order to transfer the information from your short-term memory to your long-term memory and to retain the information better.
Becoming a good note-taker is a process in itself. You have to find the method or combination of methods that work best for you, and it sometimes takes practice and some trial and error. Every individual is different, so what works for you may not work for a different person. Different learning styles also come into play when deciding the most effective way of taking notes.
When considering taking notes, I think it’s important to note what the Lord told Habakkuk when he was making complaints and requests to the Lord:
“And the Lord answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.” Habakkuk 2:2 (ESV)
The Lord told Habakkuk to write down plainly the important things to be revealed (i.e. the vision and answers to his questions and complaints). He says to do this in order that “he may run who reads it”. Other versions say things like–so that the correct message can be carried to others, so it can be easily read, or so that one can read it quickly. Makes sense, right? The whole point of taking notes is to help you retain the information and have a reference to go back to and read over or study.
Our goal today will be to learn some effective and proven methods of taking notes in order to write down the correct and important information in order to retain it, record the notes in an easy and “plain” way and to make them useful for future use and review.
Hmmm…Not sure I want to use a tissue if it comes out of THAT! I don’t know if this was thought through all the way.
“Think again, you fools! When will you finally catch on?” Psalm 94:8 (NLT)
Do you ever seem to have “rare” problems or situations frequently happening to you or in your realm of influence? Then, of course you’re going to be the one to stand up and do something about it, take a stand for the right thing, or even advocate for the cause and benefit of others. Do you ever seem to be the one that is constantly having to fight the battles or go through stuff that others seem to be immune to for some reason? Or does it seem like that you are always the one having to point something out?
You can’t help but ask, “Why don’t these things happen to other people? Why am I the only one to witness or notice something which needs attention? How is it that I always have to deal with these types of people? Why do these kinds of problems always happen to me or on my watch? Why am I always the one suffering?”
This seems to happen to me quite often. It just sometimes seems like I’m frequently the one holding my ground, solving the problem, fighting the fight, seeking better communication, pointing out wrongs, and/or advocating for others, and so on.
I find myself sarcastically saying things like…
“Of course it’s my kid…”
“Of course that rare instance happened in my class…”
“I’m not surprised that I’m the only one who didn’t get that or who noticed that…”
These situations seem very rare and the fact I’m having to deal with “rare” situations quite often feels very isolating. I’m sure I’m not alone in dealing with this, but it feels that way at times (as I’m sure it does for you too). Even though these situations often result in the good and benefit of others, I can’t help but question why these kinds of things are always happening to me.
A good friend of mine frequently tells me it’s because God knows I can handle it. He knows I’m strong, and he knows that I’ll do something about it. I typically respond, “Well, why can’t he pick someone else!?” I even said the other day, “I’m just going to say that I’m not strong enough, and I can’t handle it.” To which she replied something like, “Yeah that’s the thing…you can’t fool God.”
Sometimes I would prefer that somebody else just address things or handle problems. Unfortunately for me it’s not in my nature to turn a blind eye. For some crazy reason, God built in me a problem solving, championing, crusader-like character trait. I will stand and fight for the right thing even when it’s exhausting…even when I feel ill-equipped…even when the end results don’t always go my way. Are you this way too?
Another Funny Friday for you courtesy of my sister…she’s keeping me stocked up! Have a great weekend! 🙂
“It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven.” Revelation 13:6 (NIV)
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