Category Archives: About Me And My Family
West Rim of the Grand Canyon
Reposting this again BECAUSE I just saw a news video on TODAY NEWS that there was a 4th death this year at the Grand Canyon!
This past Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2013 I was in Las Vegas and booked a tour to Grand Canyon West. But because of the partial government shutdown, the Grand Canyon National Parks were not open until this past Saturday, Oct. 12! It so happens that we lucky tourists could go to the Grand Canyon West. This section of the Grand Canyon is owned and operated by the Hualapai Tribe which is independent of the U.S. National Park system and is located on their Indian reservation.
It was SO COLD there, around the very low 50’s; the day was overcast so I didn’t get great photos! But the place was teeming with busloads of tourists. Some tourists came unprepared for the cold temperature and bought Indian blankets from the gift shop to wrap themselves in! The best thing for me was having a cup of hot cocoa with whipped…
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Memorizing The Word of God This Year
Start today.
ALOHA, to all of my viewers!
Memorizing Bible Verses in 2019
No, this is not a late post. I know it’s now April and I did start memorizing scriptures when we came into the New Year of 2019! In fact, I determined that this would be the year that I would make a serious effort to commit scriptures to memory. I was not aware that there are tons of books to help Christians memorize the Word of God, but I had no help whatsoever except the Holy Spirit Himself guiding me. Besides, I wanted to make my own choice of scriptures to memorize.
I know how important Bible verses are to grow our faith and to be strong in the Lord, and that there are many blessings and promises of God for those who trust and believe in Him. And so, every time a new year rolled around I had a good intention to commit scriptures to memory, but this intention usually ended up as a passing thought as the months swiftly went by!
This is not to say that I cannot recall or paraphrase my favorite scriptures, but then sometimes I could not cite the reference by book, chapter and verse. Yet by flipping through my Bible I would find the side of the page the verse was on!
What has kept me from memorizing scriptures?
Is it lack of discipline to learn the Word of God or a fading memory that comes with age?! I don’t think so. You see, anytime I needed help with a scripture or Bible references for my edification, or if I was preparing a teaching or even a sermon, I could depend on my ‘Walking Bible’. That is what Wyman, my husband, was called by pastor friends during our 13 years we did mission work in the Philippines. Wyman aka as Drgold is my biggest crutch and is always accessible to me. He is by far the best Bible teacher that I know of. Maybe some of you may be familiar with his blog site where since June 2012 he has shared ‘God’s Hidden Nuggets for the Endtimes’. He knows by memory and can recite over 500 scriptures, single ones and passages, not including 40 Psalms, many of which have been put to music that we both sing together. Some of the whole passage verses he knows are Psalms 1, 8, 19, 23, 91, 117, 150; Mt 5, 11:28; John 1, 14; Rom 8:16-19; 1Cor 13; Isaiah 43 and more.
According to my husband, translations other than the King James Version do not have the syntax, rhythm or word patterns and repetition that makes for easy memorization. My Bible studies often included other Bible translations and even modern paraphrase editions/additions to God’s Word. So with my simplifying and paraphrasing of the KJV, I often eliminated the pronouns thy, thee, thou, and thine. I would prefer then to not using King James English such as in Psalm 121:1, ‘I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. . .’
My way of learning scriptures
I decided to see if what my husband said about memorizing from a KJV Bible would work for me. I think it did, but only after I could ‘visualize’ the text especially for Psalm 23 and Psalm 121. It took much meditation on the verses to start to remember the verses in their order. I looked for continuity and flow of who and what the psalm was about. It seemed to me that there was indeed brevity (conciseness of word usage), syntax (deliberate word selection and phrasing), and sufficient repetition of words that made the words flow in a rhythmic way.
Special blessings that came from memorizing Psalms 121 and 103
Although it may seem that it took me a very long time to memorize the verses, I was not in a rush to learn them. My morning and evening routine of studying Psalms 121, then 103 consisted of getting into bed meditating on the scriptures and waking up in the morning to meditate on them again. I began to pray the Psalms for my family and friends and others God placed upon my heart.
During the special times with God’s Word, God revealed who He was for me and for all who trust and believe in Him. In Psalm 121, He is my LORD, my helper, my keeper, my shade/protector on my right hand/at my side. He is alert 24/7 and takes no breaks for rest or sleep! Praise the LORD!
In Psalm 103:1-6 we are reminded to praise His Holy Name, REVERENCE GOD and REMEMBER that we have MANY BENEFITS. See if you can recognize what our benefits are:
GOD BLESS ALL OF YOU!!! And if you haven’t started memorizing scriptures,START TODAY! \o/
