Our pastor recommended that we make an effort to read at the same time and in the same place each day, as part of the way we establish the routine. I agree with him. I’ve had a spot and a time (chair in my bedroom, first thing in the morning) for the past couple of years. I move out to the deck when the weather cooperates and I start as many days this way as I possibly can.
But I have kids.
Three kids.
Kids who, on occasion, wake up way too early, or wake up sick, or wake up cranky. I also have been known to hit cancel instead of snooze on the alarm and for some reason, the kids never wake up early on those days and then I go into full blown tornado mode.
Tornado mode does not include me curling up in my chair with a cup of coffee and the Word. Tornado mode looks more like me praying “Jesus, help me not strangle anyone” as I race around the house, tossing lunches into boxes, pulling shirts over little torsos, and cramming shoes onto tiny feet.
Needless to say, tornado mornings often roll into frantic days where the chair and the Word, while longed for, just aren’t going to happen.
Which is where the YouVersion Eat this Book app has saved the day!
We are on Day 9 and I’ve already done some of my reading everywhere from the car to the bathroom. (TMI? Sorry. I have three kids, remember. Sometimes the bathroom is the only place I can get any peace. At least until they find me and stand outside the door, banging on it, begging for water, or sliding fingers under the door and asking if I’m in there…)
I’m convinced that technology, while full of pitfalls and time-suckers (Pinterest, anyone?), can also be one of our greatest assets as we seek to put on the full armor of God.
Which is why I’m ridiculously excited to be joining The Romans Project, hosted by Ann Voskamp and available for free through Scripture Typer and on her website, A Holy Experience.
Ann Voskamp challenged her readers to memorize the Sermon on the Mount last year and, frankly, I thought she was nuts. I’ve memorized a lot of Scripture, but the vast majority of it was as a child in Christian school and AWANA. My recent attempts have been feeble and unsuccessful. The odds of me memorizing three whole chapters were negative to nonexistent.
Of course, she makes very compelling arguments about why we need to be hiding the Word in our hearts. Arguments I could not refute. Arguments that had been tumbling around in my heart for a while, but I’d refused to give the time of day.
So this year, when she mentioned memorizing three chapters of Romans, I thought it might be worth considering.
To my intense surprise, I am having a blast!
You’ve got to check out Scripture Typer for yourself. You can join a group, such as The Romans Project, or set it up to help you memorize any verses you choose. Then, you type them over and over, to help you get them in your brain. You can set it up so you type the entire word, or just the first letter of the word if spelling’s not your thing. ~wink~
There’s also a Scripture Typer app which is not free, but is worth every one of the 599 pennies it will cost you, especially if you’re like me and are finding you spend way more time with your iPad than your laptop.
(By the way - if paper is still your thing, and goodness knows I do love a new journal - Ann Voskamp has some lovely free printables so you can make a little notebook of the memory verses and dive right in. Imagine, learning off-line. It can be done!).
With The Romans Project, we are learning two verses a week, which is quite manageable (and you could catch up in no time if you’d like to join in!).
I know you’re busy.
You are NOT too busy for this.
