Memorizing Scripture
Quarantine has me chiseling out new habits and upkeeping old ones. I started memorizing Psalm 119 before COVID struck and decided there’s no excuse to forgo it now. I also jumped into John 17—Jesus’s High Priestly Prayer—with my pal, Gia, last week.
The fruits of meditation and memorization are rich, especially during this season. Why not use your downtime to get into God’s Word and stay there?
(To help focus, I made a playlist of thematic soundtrack songs. You can find it here.)
Gardening
I spent last week shoveling, raking, planting, watering, and weeding. The sun’s been out and the soil ready. I’m thankful for time to invest in God’s earth and reap his gifts (like spinach!).
Zoom and Google Hangouts
They can’t replace face-to-face friendships, but they’re gifts nonetheless.
Ecclesiastes
I don’t think any other book of the Bible could’ve been more timely for me to study. I used Derek Kidner’s commentary, The Message of Ecclesiastes, and this quote especially struck me in light of Ecclesiastes 3:11:
“The trouble for us is not that life refuses to keep still, but that we see only a fraction of its movement and of its subtle, intricate design… We are like the desperately nearsighted, inching their way along some great tapestry… in the attempt to take it in. We see enough to recognize something of its quality, but the grand design escapes us, for we can never stand back far enough to view it as the Creator does, whole and entire, from beginning to end.”*
In cased you missed it, I made a new blog playlist this month. It’s called sehnsucht and is focused on our longing for eternity and Jesus’s kingdom. Songs like Far Kingdom and Glorious and Beyond the Sky have pulled my eyes off the world’s tumult. They’ve helped stir the embers in my heart to get me praying:
“Come soon, Lord Jesus.”
*Derek Kidner, The Message of Ecclesiastes, (InterVarsity Press: Downers Grove, IL, 1976), 38, 39
bethanyjmelton.com 
This is wonderful, Bethany! You know, I also happen to be memorizing Psalm 119. It is such an encouraging Psalm! Which verse have you gotten up to in memorizing so far? I have been connecting with friends and family virtually, which has felt kind of odd, but I am sort of getting used to it. Although this situation is crazy, I am thankful for the ways God has blessed me during this time!
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oh, i love hearing that! i’ll admit, it’s a little intimidating trying to memorize 176 verses 😉 but i’m on verse 30 and thankful for motivation to keep working. thanks for sharing, friend.
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I agree. It is a bit intimadating, but I’m chugging through. 🙂 That is great! I hope that you will be able to continue going.
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