Memorizing Books of the Bible and Reciting them out loud.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Gyx8NocMag

Revelation was the first longish book of the Bible I decided to Memorize.  I listened to some kids reciting Romans 8 and felt the Holy Spirit call me back into memorizing.  I wanted to do a big book, and felt the Holy Spirit leading me to Revelation.  I, maybe like you, didn't really like Revelation.  I told myself that I would give myself the whole decade, starting at the beginning of 2020 that I would complete it by 2030.  It took me about a year and a half.  Because I have struggled in the past to keep the books in my head, I decided to to what Andy Davis says in a small book of his about Scripture Memory, to recite Revelation every day for 100 days.  That was rough, but the light at the end of the tunnel is that I feel that I actually understand the good news of Revelation, the good news of the Lamb, in a way that I did not before.  Not that I understand all of Revelation, but the good news seems to be the missing piece that no one talks about.  

P.O.W.E.R. Bible Study

P.O.W.E.R. Bible Study

This method of Bible Study is developed from Robert Traina’s Methodical Bible Study, both in the book itself and from the videos from ThriveU Asbury Theological Seminary, and most important for my purposes, from his student and co-laborer, David Bauer, who was my professor during my time at Asbury.  While the original steps are:

I.            Pray

II.           Observe and Ask

III.         Answer questions (Interpret)

IV.       Evaluate and Apply

V.         Coorrelate

I find these steps to be lacking, not in the content of what they are – NO!  But lacking in my ability to remember them for myself, and also for helping others to remember them.  Although Robert Traina is no longer with us, but is with the Lord, I believe that he would encourage, in fact, did encourage, all of us to use and adapt these steps and methods for those whom we teach and minister to.  I also believe, were my professor David Bauer to read through this P.O.W.E.R. Bible study method, that though he would certainly find errors and inconsistancies, he would be pleased at my attempt, or any of his students’ attempts, at teaching people to study the Bible.

P.O.W.E.R. Bible Study is a Bible study method with 5 steps.  This is not copyrighted or owned by anyone but our Good Lord, so feel free to use this – in fact, I hope that it could be used over and over again.

1. Pray – come to the One who inspired the very Scripture that you are reading.  Talk to Him.  Listen to Him.  Ask for help.  “Open my eyes to see, Lord.”

2.  Observe – try to notice things like a birdwatcher notices a bird.  “It’s flying south.”  “It flies in a bouncy up and down way.”  “It has a thick bill.”  Begin to notice things from what you read – not noticing what others have told you about the text, but from what you yourself observe.

3. Who? What? When? Where? Why? – asking these questions turns us into children again.  Do not assume you know it all – ask questions.  If it is hard to ask these kind of questions, ask a child for help.  “Who is the Christ?”  What does the term Christ mean?”  “Why did the Christ have to suffer?”

4.  Explain – Begin to try to explain the answers to these questions from the text itself.  This may necessitate more of steps 1-3.  “Christ means Anointed One.”  The eplanations may lead to more questions.  “What does Anointed One mean?”  Eventually this can lead to being able to explain the passage – even better, the book as a whole.

5.  Relate – Relate the explanations to life here and now.  In what ways to the explanations relate to our life today?  This is truly the hope of Bible Study – that it would be for us the word of God today, and that it could be our food.

Pray

Observe

Who? What? When? Where? Why?

Explain

Relate

What Color is Your Parachute? A Quality Job Hunting Approach

For each Christian family one thing that is needed is a job.  The traditional approach to get a job is to make a resume, to go through an agency, or look in the ads (whether that be in the newspaper or places like indeed.com or monster,com).

Richard Bolles presents a different approach which has been updated as many times as years I have lived.  Richard Bolles story began as he was fired from his job as a minister in the Episcopalian church.  He shares that story here.

My story with What Color is Your Parachute? is that when I graduated from college a Christian businessman whom I respected told me to read it.  I read it and it helped me 1.  figure out what job I really wanted.  2. get that job.

you can find out more information about his philosophy and his book from this website:

http://www.jobhuntersbible.com/for-job-hunters

http://www.jobhuntersbible.com/for-job-hunters

I have also been using this approach in helping men who have addictions get a job.  This approach is not a "sit back and wait" approach, but rather must be applied by the job hunter doing serious work.  But if you 1.  Do not know what you want to do.  2.  Do not know how to get a job doing that, then this book is for you.

I almost guarantee that you do not have to buy this book, as it would be at a public library, but if you want to buy it, you could buy it here, this is the 2016 edition, if you are reading this later and Richard Bolles is still alive, then get the newest edition.

http://www.amazon.com/What-Color-Your-Parachute-2016/dp/160774662X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1440772431&sr=1-1&keywords=what+color+is+your+parachute

If you are soon to be a college graduate and need help in finding a job like I did, one idea is to read this book.

Christian Music #3 Summer's Best Two Weeks

Continuing my posts on Christian Music I was heavily influenced by Summer Camp Music.  The Summer camp I went to was called Summer's Best Two Weeks.  We sand songs to Jesus.  We sang YMCA while washing the tables.  We cheered.  This is when Christian Music came alive to me and that I found something out that many have not.  Partying with drugs will only go so far.  Partying with Jesus Christ (without drugs) has no limit.  

Even though no campers are here, I still remember Kent when I was a camper.  Takes me back....

Speed Scrabble

This is a game that is also learning.  Speed scrabble does not require a board, and you could even make your own pieces out of cardboard.  If you want to play in a language other than English, and you are willing to make your own pieces, the possibilities are limitless.  I think I may go and make myself Hebrew pieces to play Hebrew Speed Scrabble.
How do you play Speed Scrabble?
Everyone gets 7 pieces.
"GO."
When someone makes words with all of their 7 pieces in front of them they say,
"GO." and everyone takes one more piece, to make 8 pieces.

When someone makes words with all of their 8 pieces in front of them they say,
"GO." and everyone takes one more piece, and that makes 9 pieces.
You go on playing that way until you run out of pieces and the person to make something of all the letters says,
"DONE."
Then you count up all your letters how many times they are used and subtract the letters you did not use.
That's how we play it.
Have fun.

Learning Hebrew

It all starts with the alphabet, or actually the aleph bet.  Why learn Hebrew?  So you can understand God's word better, and thus know God better.  Can we know God without knowing Hebrew?  Of course.  Can we know Hebrew and not know God?  Of course.  But will knowing Hebrew hurt?  I don't think so.

Hebrew is from right to left, not left to right, and it was around before English, so if you say it is backwards, keep in mind that is only in reference to our understanding, not in terms of the history of Language.

The letters that have more than one type show the form at the beginning and middle of the word, and the second type is the final form, the way the letter is at the end of the word.  Sin and Shin (the second to last letter) are distinguished by a dot at the top.  You can learn that eventually.

Kids can learn the aleph bet the same way as the alphabet, but saying it over and over again.

Reading Books

When I was a kid television was called books - says the grandpa in The Princess Bride.  I heard it said once that just having books in your house makes you smarter - you don't even have to read them.  But reading them is a good thing.  So what books to read as a christian family?  I could give you lots of ideas that I like but you might not like.  For instance, there are kids books on a lot of adult-ish subjects that you as parents may want to share with your kids.  I like astronomy, so when my kids were very little I got them a cool kids book about the constellations, the big dipper, orion, the bull, pegasus, etc.  So what do you like?  My wife was searching for this one sunflower book for a long time and finally found it.  It is called The Sunflower Garden by Janice May Udry.  One of my all time favorite children's books is Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Suess.  We are currently reading Little House on the Prairie, which I have mixed feelings about.  One time we usually read is right when the kids get in bed for the night.  We read and their imaginations swirl with the words coming from the book.  They have taken adventures with Lucy and Edmund, Eustace and Jill, and we can't forget Shasta and Avaris (I think that's her name) in the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.  They have cried (okay, they saw me cry) over Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein.  Another great book to read is the Bible, all sixty six books of it.  So what books do you like?  What are your favorite books to read to your kids?

How does your Child learn?

Listen to this story of four kids in a classroom whose names are Tyler Talk, Barbie Book, Danny Do, and Isabel Idea.  These four children learn in four different ways.  Tyler Talk goes to the teacher and hugs him, and is always wanting to have conversations.  Tyler Talk loves to talk on and on and on.  In fact, this is how he learns.  Barbie Book learns how teachers teach.  Barbie Book likes books, and she takes pride in getting her spelling papers right, and thrives on the teacher giving information to the students.  Most schools were designed for Barbie Book.  Danny Do wants to do something or make something, and cannot sit still. That is what the teacher always says –“Danny Do, you cannot sit still.”  Danny Do does not learn by sitting still.  He learns by doing.  Isabel Idea has 231 ideas every day, and is crazy enough to try them.  She likes change, and is ready to start change.  Isabel Idea had an idea to rearrange the chairs to make the class more homey, but the teacher did not like the new arrangement.  Isabel got in trouble.  Isabel has lots of ideas, and needs options to learn.

I got the ideas of these four students from a book called Learning Styles by Marlene LeFever.  She talks about these four ways of learning, the Imaginitive Learner (Tyler Talk), the Analytical Learner (Barbie Book), the Hands On Learner (Danny Do), and the Dynamic Learner (Isabel Idea).  She talks about a way of teaching to all four Learning Styles.  She herself got her ideas from Dr. Bernice McCarthy, designer of the 4MAT System. 

For information on the 4MAT Learning Styles, click http://www.aboutlearning.com/what-is-4mat/what-is-4mat?start=3

For Marlene LeFever’s book, click http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Styles-Marlene-LeFever/dp/B004IEA2VG

Just because your child doesn’t do well in school does not mean they are not smart.  If you think of your child as a type of tree, ask yourself what kind of soil would be best for your child to grow and bear fruit.  Does your child need lots of watering?  Does your child need acidic soil?  Does your child need plenty of room for roots to grow?  Does your child need extra sunlight?  In a Christian family we are always learning, and even in a hundred lifetimes, there would always be something new to learn about our own family.  

Archaeology Dig in Israel

Some of the ideas I post we are doing while other ideas are dreams.  So here is my dream.  I take my wife and our four kids to Israel for 10 weeks and do an archaeological dig.  Not so much to find something amazing like the Dead Sea Scrolls or a ossuary box with one of Jesus's brothers or the head of John the Baptist, but rather to join pretty much every favorite thing of mine at once.  You see I love my kids.  They are so special to me, and I can't imagine going on a trip with cooler people than them.  Also my wife is like myself, and in the words of Taylor Swift, I say to my wife, "I'm only me when I'm with you."  Also I love road trips, and there is no road trip like leaving the road and getting in a plane.  I also like climates that naturally grow bananas.  I also like being in warmer climates.  I also love learning, and since I know very little about archaeology, I could learn with my family about it.  I also like learning in a group.  I also like digging in the ground.  And yes, there is this God who became man and came to earth, and he came to Israel, and for me to put my face to the earth again in that place is sheer joy.  So that is my dream, to take my whole family to Israel on an archaeological dig.  I admit that I am more excited about the idea than anyone else.  But I am excited enough for all six of us.

The Forgotten Dime

I was helping my son with a math problem that was asking if the person in the story could estimate to see if they had enough money to buy two things.  One thing cost $11.95 and another cost $3.95.  Could they estimate how much it cost and be certain that they had enough money?  My son said no, and I told him it was yes, because you could round up, and if you had at least $16 then you could be certain that you had enough.  The person who wrote the math problem agreed with me.  My son then explained to me that if the person had $15.50 or $15.55 for that matter, they should not be certain by estimating.  I realized that my son was right, and that I and the math problem writer were wrong.  How would you respond? 

It was one of the happiest moments of my life, to see my son finding flaws in my own logic and the logic of the math expert.  I told him so.  Our children will continue to find forgotten dimes, and those forgotten dimes may be ignored by us or celebrated by us.  I hope that today's Christian family children find forgotten dimes in our logic, in our ethics, in our theology, and that we have the wisdom to celebrate them.

The Ides of March

When I was in college some guys from my dorm really celebrated the Ides of March, which is from the Shakespearean play Julius Caesar.  Why not do this as a family.  Dress up in togas, and have the different family members play different parts, acting out scenes, or even a scene, from this play on this date.  You don't even have to do it exactly as the play does, but have fun with acting out Caesar's death on the Ides of March.  My kids love to act out Star Wars with their light sabers, killing the droids, etc.  Let the kids use their energy to learn about Shakespeare by acting it out.  Some kids don't learn by being told things.  Some kids only learn by doing things.  Often, those kids change the world.  So if your kid is not learning well in a model of sitting at a desk and taking tests, why not act out Julius Caesar this day of all days.  Beware, the Ides of March!

Theo's Holiday

This is an idea from the Cosby Show, our family's favorite TV show.  You may already know the episode, but if you don't, here is how it goes.  Theo thinks he can make it in the real world, so when he comes home his family has a surprise for him.  Theo is given a certain amount of money (monopoly money) and has to rent his own apartment, buy his own furniture, have his own job, etc, etc.  Basically, he is supposed to do life on his own.  His room is empty.
My family likes this idea for our kids when they turn a certain age.  Although this will be "pretend", we will also take it seriously.  So when the young adult comes home, they will be treated like a young adult.  "So I hear you want to rent an apartment?"  They figure out their job, their spending, their life, etc, etc, for 24 hours.

The two goals for this event "Theo's holiday" are the same as they were in the show.  1.  For fun.  2.  For "Theo" to learn about the REAL WORLD.Theo's Holiday

Kid Birding

Some of you know what birding is; some of you don't.  It is looking for birds and getting to know the different kinds of birds.  I am not that advanced of a birder, but I get my kids into birding.  They know what a lot of birds are like cardinals, house sparrows, and european starlings.  They are getting to know killdeer, chickadees, and nuthatches.  How can birding be fun for kids?  Good question.  My ten year old reminded me how he remembers this one tree because I was looking at my first yellow warbler (and my first warbler).  So learn about a few birds and show your kids.  Learn their calls and songs.  It can be fun for kids.

Star Names

In our house we each have a star name.  Abraham was told to look up and count the stars, and that was how many descendants he would have.  Biblically, as descendants of Abraham, we have a symbolic connection to the stars.  Some people pay a couple of hundred bucks to have a star named after them or someone they love.  That star is almost always one that you can either barley see, or only see with a telescope.  There are lots of stars with names.  I tell my kids, "That is your star.  That is your star name."  Many places list the top 20 or 50 brightest stars.  I am not going to tell you what our star names are, but here are a few cool stars to pick from. 
Sirius, Arcturus, Vega, Castor, Pollux, Betelguese, Rigel, Rigel Kent, Acrux, Canopus, Fomalhaut, Aldebaran, Antares, Mira, Saiph, Capella, Polaris, Dubhe, Deneb, Altair.
The trick is finding them without your iphone ap.

Writing the Bible

In our house we have went back about a thousand years and started writing the Bible together.  Our children are in the midst of learning to write and read and spell, and it seems that there is no better idea in my mind than to write the Bible together.  Each person takes a book and starts to write that book.  And so each person may write 11 books average in our family of six.  As we complete a certain number of books as a family, we get a reward.  When we finish the whole Bible as a family, and all 66 books are written, we get a big reward - a trip somewhere everyone likes.  That's what we are doing.  We are scribes.  May we not in writing the Bible miss He who it speaks about.  Bless this project for your glory Jesus Christ.