7 Things I Learned This Spring

1 Corinthians 10:31 What I Learned About Free Time

May 30

~ Today’s Scripture Art and Bible blog post were designed to share the things I learned this spring – and to help you write God’s Word on your heart. ~

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Once a quarter, I look forward to reading Emily Freeman’s “What We Learned” series. I am fascinated with the premise not only because I like to learn (especially from the Bible – as you have probably figured out by now) but because it makes me sit back and take stock.

Emily always includes the most interesting things and I learn several new things from her post every time! So – you guessed it – I am joining in! And I hope you will learn something new from me today. Life-long learning here we come!

Without further ado, and in no particular order, here are 7 completely random (but all Bible-related) things I learned this spring.

Of course, seven!

1 – More Free Time Than Ever

Have you heard the news? They say we have more free time than any generation before ours.

Seriously?

I would venture to guess that most of us feel the opposite — that we never seem to have enough time and that things are getting busier. Valorie Burton did some research and wrote a very interesting blog post about it.

So why do we feel like we have less free time when, in fact, we have more?

Valorie says, “The truth is, we’re technology rich and time poor. With all the advances over the last several decades, we’ve saved an enormous amount of time. Housework is faster. Communication is almost instant. But with all of this technology comes the belief that we can do more, do it faster and that we should.”

Hmm. Should we?

God’s Word tells us to look carefully at how we spend our time.

Ephesians 5:15-16 (ESV): Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

So let’s take a minute. Look carefully at all we do. And never forget that the Bible is our manual for life. It tells us exactly how God wants us to spend our time.

1 Corinthians 10:31 (ESV): So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

2 – How to Slice a Tomato With Ease

Well, I was about to say that this one had nothing to do with the Bible, but I just looked it up and … leave it to The Message …

Job 8:11-12 (MSG): Can mighty pine trees grow tall without soil? Can luscious tomatoes flourish without water? Blossoming flowers look great before they’re cut or picked, but without soil or water they wither more quickly than grass.

How about that? Tomatoes teaching us to stay in the Word – if you want to be luscious, that is.

Anyway, here’s what I learned before that … My sister-in-law gave me the coolest gift – this tomato knife. I didn’t even know such a thing existed, but boy am I glad to know now! It glides right through tomato skin without a thought. And for this price, it’s definitely worth a try. I promise – you’ll never mind slicing tomatoes again.

3 – Use Alexa for the Glory of God

This is a nice feature! Just say, “Alexa, open You Version Bible.” You can even teach your kids to say, “Alexa, open You Version Kids Bible.” And if you have Google Assistant, just say, “Ok Google, talk to You Version Bible.” You can read more details here.

4 – What God Taught Me

What new thing did God teach you this Spring? (If you can’t answer that, then definitely consider #5 below.) For me, He taught me two big things from one small, familiar verse …

2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT): For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

I shared the detailed version of what God taught me from 2 Timothy 1:7 here. If you’d like a hint before heading over to read it, I learned two “Hows” … How to activate God’s power to work within you and How to develop bigger faith in order to do so.

Don’t you just love when God shows you new insights? It’s my favorite thing.

5 – Nothing Like A New Journal

I’m not talking about an ordinary, everyday journal. Oh no. This journal (like everything else at WriteThemOnMyHeart) is designed to help and encourage you to spend more time in God’s Word than you are currently. That’s right, we need more! And you may not even realize it until you experience more of it. When you do, you will never want to go back to your old 2 minute devotion time. Go ahead. Try it. I dare ya.

6 – Read Faster Than You Talk

Did you know we are capable of reading as fast as we think? But most of us only read as fast as we can talk. That means we hear a voice in our head saying each word as we read. That’s how the majority of us were taught to read – out loud.

If you are interested in reading faster, you have to learn to minimize that voice in your head (subvocalization). It’s easier said than done, but this blog post is a good place to start.

But keep in mind, that subvocalization can sometimes be useful … like when we are memorizing or meditating on Scripture.

7 – An Easier Way to Memorize Scripture

This spring I made a cool tool to help me (and you) memorize Scripture that really works! See the step by step tutorial here. If you make one, I want to hear all about it – especially how it’s helping you memorize!

Well, there you have it – seven things I learned this Spring.

I keep a running list during each quarter, and it’s fun to see what random things show up. I learned some helpful things this time and I hope you learned something new and useful too!