Saturday, January 07, 2012

Study, Study, Study



"Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." .. 2 Timothy 2:15



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Oh, we get into such ruts in our thinking. These brains of ours can be so limiting. Dense.

I mean, consider the verse, above. We read it and always translate it into, "Study the Bible so you won't be embarrassed either here or in Heaven." And yes! It does mean that.

Yes. It. Does. Ok?

But is that all it means? For me, 'the word of truth' extends to all facets of my life, my whole being. To me, Jesus is the word of truth and He's a huge part of who I am. He wants to be, anyway.

So for me, there's more study involved so that I can become more like Him. As in, "Debra, study how to write more clearly and succinctly and maybe more people of more ages will be reached. Helped. Inspired to study for themselves."

And, "Study how to make your marriage better so that it will remain strong and an example to others who may be struggling. Study how to become more loving toward everyone."

"Study ways to decorate creatively so to make your home a delight, an inspiration to others and perhaps an open door through which you may walk and help some more."

"Study health, how to care for this body God's given you, so that you'll be healthy enough for Him to use you to in future years."

"Study ways to save money, use coupons, make money, give money away so to make the most of your finances. So that you can keep reaping and sowing good things."

"Study gardening so to grow some of your own food. Study cooking so to cook well. Study art to become more creative. Study autobiographies for inspirational ways to live and be."

Whew! That's a whole lot of study--and that's only a partial list of possibilities.

Must I always use books? Nah. It's also possible to learn from conversations and from movies, travel, songs, televised teachings, 'field trips', documentaries and our own experiences. And of course, the Internet--oh my!

And oh, so many other places. And actually? It should be a delight to study what delights us, personally. Well, shouldn't it?  ツ




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The photos? Our intense sunset last night taken from my library window.


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Speaking of studying coupons and cooking, I used part of my amazon.com Christmas gift card to buy the book, How I Feed My Family on $16 A Week. Whole decades ago I used to check it out from the library and greatly enjoyed the coupon tips and all the recipes. An oldie, but an inspirational goodie.


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"One person's method of study may be another person's method of torture."   ツ


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4 comments:

Thickethouse.wordpress said...

What a beautiful sunset! And what a great picture you got of it....

I love to study, though I can be too desultory, too hopping from one subject to another. But learning is one of the joys of life, one of God's blessings! How lucky we all are.

Anonymous said...

So long as we can, I think too, we are to continue learning...because I also think that will be a big part of the next life. How can one become better without learning? And you are right...so many ways to learn. When my children were in 4-H their motto was to "learn by doing." And it is a fun way to learn!! I read that if you want your brain to be as strong as possible while aging, to do things like Sudoku (which hubby and I find great fun) and puzzles, etc. Once he retires (in a few months) our next big thing is we hope to learn another language (hopeful that we CAN!!) We want to be able to read the Scriptures in original so much as possible!!
Elizabeth in NC

Anonymous said...

Your kidding! I got my copy of that book out just last week and reread it. I first heard about her from an article in Family Circle or Women's Day. I have the article. I wonder what she is doing these days? Was this her only book? I never checked that out either. I love to reread it for inspiration like I do The tight Wad Gazzett newsletters I got for years. You never quit learning. Knowledge is everywhere....Ya just have to keep your eyes and ears open. I used to take this book out of the library often too. Last time it came with child's scribbling in it and after I returned it they never had it again. I was so excited when I found a used copy. Love the old homemaking books too. Sarah

Elizabeth said...

Beautiful photo Debra ! We should learn something new everyday!