Wednesday, July 1, 2009

scripture power.

i will be the first to admit that my scripture reading skills leave something to be desired. i am not the best at reading everyday. im not the best at searching the scriptures and pondering them in my heart. im not the best at even knowing where my scriptures are sometimes. but i love the scriptures! i know that they are important, i know that they are true. i know that i should be better and do better at studying them, looking to them for guidance and answers. when i used to read my scriptures, back in the day, (again, not everyday), i found myself closing them at the end of reading and realizing i had gotten nothing out of them. i was none the better for reading. every now and then i would come across a scripture and think to myself, wow, what a great scripture, i will definitely remember that one. and by the end of the day, no matter how hard i searched, i couldn't seem to be able to relocate that scripture ever again. well, one day i thought to myself, i should really do something about this, come up with some sort of way to remember better what i have read and go back and find it again. well, not long after i made the best purchase of my life, a scripture marker ... but not just any scripture marker! it has about eight colors in just one scripture marker!!! it is practically the most amazing thing ever invented. i decided to set up a color scheme to help me understand my scriptures better. so if you ever look in my scriptures, different colors mean different things, i wasnt just pleased with the pretty colors and wanted to use them all, but it actually means something. here is the color scheme i worked up for myself:

scriptures in red are scriptures that were read in institute or church or firesides, etc ... that i liked or thought were important. i call these church general.
scriptures in blue are scriptures that i have read while personally studying the scriptures that i liked or thought were important. i call these personal general.
scriptures in orange are scriptures that i read and noticed were scriptures where other people are commanded to do things, or told what things to do to make their lives better and happier and in turn are scriptures where if i do what they say, my life will be better and happier. i call these things to do.
scriptures in green are scriptures that i read and they blow me away! and i find myself consumed by them, and so strengthened in my testimony that even i cant believe it. i call these my favorites.
scriptures in pink are scriptures that i read and think to myself, _____ would really benefit from that scripture, or that scripture reminds me exactly of _____. i call these for or about others.
scriptures in yellow are scriptures that i read and are scripture mastery scriptures (from seminary) and dont really fit any other category, so they get yellow. i call these scripture mastery.
and last, scriptures in brown are scriptures i read and find myself liking, but not seeing them fit into any category that i have set out, but i want to mark them, i just dont know what color, these scriptures get brown. i call these other.

now, you may be asking yourself, yes, but what if you have one scripture, but it fits more than one category? well simple, just mark the different parts of the scripture different colors. i have some scriptures where just one verse is two or more colors! also, i found myself marking one verse completely one color, or even two colors, and then going back and reading it days, weeks, or months later and thinking, i really wish i had marked this with a little ____ too. well, have no fear! i also came up with a way to fix this problem. i found these clear little circle stickers that come in different colors. they are called stick-its. they are the perfect size to put around the verse number and they came in all of the colors i needed except brown! so for the stick-its i just substitute purple for brown and i am good to go. so now i have some scriptures that have two or more colors and then also have a colored stick-it over the number so that i know, hey, i liked it for this reason too!. it has worked out so amazingly for me! i love flipping through my scriptures and know exactly what each verse means to me!! it has blessed my life so much and has made me enjoy scripture reading. there is never a time now that i dont get something out of reading my scriptures! and when i am looking back for a scripture i can almost always find it because i just remember, what did it mean to me? what did it say? what color would i have made it?, and then i just look for those colors, and it is so easy to find it! i feel like i truly have scripture power! here is an example of what one scripture looks like in my scriptures!

this scripture is in Second Nephi. it is chapter 32 verse 3:
3 Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.

now you may be thinking to yourself, great! ... why are you telling me this?, well, i will tell you why. since i am now putting a scripture of the day at the end of each of my blogs i have decided to type them out using my color scheme and you can interpret them and see what the scripture means to me! and ... if you like ... you can try it out for yourself! i know that it will enhance your scripture reading and help you remember what it is that you got/get out of your scriptures!!!

scripture of the day:
Alma 5 : 14, 26
14 And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received His image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts? 
26 And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now? 

things i am grateful for:
* a brother who knows how to, and is willing to, do my taxes.
* the scriptures and the blessing that they are in my life.
* telephones and the ability they give us to get immediate answers to problems and questions we have, even with people who are hundreds of miles away.
* food and the fact that it is tastee and delicious and helps us to function.
* t.v. shows that teach good morals and values, even if they are for little kids!
* agency and the ability that i have to know that all of the good things i have gotten out of life were because i chose the right and was able to have those things in my life, and also the ability that i have to know that the consequences of my actions come from wrong decisions i make in my life. to know that they come because of me, and that they can also be removed, and changed, and fixed by me, and by choices i make.

<3.

3 comments:

Dianne said...

Wow. You've got a system going and that's half the battle. I have a hard time marking my scriptures because I can't decide how to categorize them (or I misplace my colored pencils). I like the idea of posting a scripture on your blog everyday. Perhaps you could include your code in the sidebar of your blog so those of us, like me, who are memory impared could refer to it quickly. Please. Love you!

Janaya L. Johnson said...

i would love too! but there is just one problem. i dont know how. you may think, hey, shes young, shes computer savy, but not so, i get as confused as the next old person, hehe. <3.

Dianne said...

Thank you!