S.O.A.P.

{via}

Every Wednesday I go to Bible study at my church. I had never gone before so I wasn't sure what to expect.

I was nervous but because my brother was there, I quickly got over that.

Each week we are assigned a S.O.A.P. to do. It's where we take a scripture, any scripture and more or less, dissect it to understand it better.

I have a hard time reading the Bible because it's so hard for me to understand. I sometimes just get lost while reading it that by the time I'm done reading a chapter, I have no clue what I just read cause it's just so hard for me to follow.

So with this weekly assignment, I feel this helps me grasp God's word, little by little so that I don't overwhelm myself.

It's helping me and perhaps it can be a tool that would be helpful for others in avoiding spiritual dryness, per se. A method for daily devotions.

I hope you find it as helpful as I have!


S - Scripture - First relax. Be still. Be quiet. Slow down and prepare your heart. Pick a book and start at the beginning of a chapter in the Bible and read until you feel God has told you something. Then stop and think about it. This might be a passage that “makes you go, hmmm.” I usually read until God speaks to me. If He doesn’t speak in one chapter, I just keep reading. That’s ok. It’s not how much you cover, but what does God say to you? You want to write the Scripture down in your journal.


O - Observation – Be a detective. Are there certain words that are repeated? What does the verse previous and after your selected Scripture say? Who wrote the particular book that you are reading? Who was the audience? What is being said? What is emphasized? You want to write your observations down in your journal.

A - Application – How can you apply the Scripture to your life? What did it mean to the original hearers? What is the underlying timeless principle? Where or how could you practice that principle today? After you’ve discovered the principle, then you want to write out a sentence that describes a project or action you’ll take to apply the truth.

P – Prayer – Conclude your devotion time by talking to God about what He has shown you and making your requests know to Him. Ask God to help you with applying your application statement to your life on a daily basis.

A Whirlwind of a Year

I would have to say that this has probably been the most stressful year for us as of yet.

From two major events in our life (one not completely over however, today has just officially made it official). Making something officially official is big and not always in a good sense. However, we are taking life in strides and looking at things in a positive manner. In fact, things are going to be okay. Perhaps even better now!

We have each other.

We also have the good Lord who has seen us through our trials and helped us through them and made us wiser and stronger because of them.

What keeps you grounded?

Perspective...

I never like to put things on my car like stickers or anything. I just feel it makes a car not look nice, especially over time, that sticker soon fades.



I have thought about and liked the idea of getting one of the "NOTW" stickers or a Christian fish or saying to put on the window or as a license plate frame but never wanted to look like a hypocrite to others when I have a "bad" or "angry"moment and falter while driving.



Then I got to thinking yesterday while I was driving home from work.

Shouldn't it be God that I'm worried about looking like a hypocrite to? If anyone is gonna see when I falter, it's God. Whether or not I have a sticker on my car or not, I can't hide from Him.

It made me realize, I shouldn't care what other people think when I have these "bad" moments. I need to worry about God seeing me act like this.



I have been a lot better these days. I've learned to "chill" while driving which is why I started thinking "Maybe it's time since I'm behaving myself". It also made me think that my priorities weren't where they should have been either.

I'm Not Perfect, Just Human

I have a hard time expressing my feelings in words but I have a dilemma.

It's frustrating too!

I never claim to be perfect. I'm not. None of us are. Some may claim to be but in reality, it's impossible to be perfect. There's just one perfect being and that is God!

As I am working on being a better Christian, I tend to falter. I try and as much as I hate to admit, I knowingly falter in certain situations. So much anger will build up that I go off. Knowingly go off.

I have made progress over this past year. I have....but I still stumble.

I'm trying to set an example for my husband so that he can see these changes in me and want them for himself. When he sees me knowingly stumble, he says that he thinks that just because I'm a Christian and claim to not be perfect {and never will be}, that I think it's a "free ticket" to falter and stumble.

It's not fair!

I'm trying and I feel no matter what I do, I feel I have to watch my every move and absolutely be on my best behavior all the time otherwise my husband will think that I'm secretly thinking "Just real quick....here's my free pass to act like this". I'm not perfect....I'm just human!

Sure, I say I'm not perfect and will absolutely never claim to be and sure, I will knowingly mess up but I am honestly trying here. These are things that I am working on as a person. I have anger problems and they just can't be fixed over night. It's so frustrating to be told how I think when I don't think like that. I never in my mind think "I'm a Christian and I'll misbehave right now but when I'm done, I'll just pray to God and he'll forgive me." That is just NOT me. That's not what I feel OR think. It hurts!

It hurts to think that my husband may see me like that. It's just he has issues with religion and hypocrites and I try to explain to him that it's not about a religion. It's about a personal relationship with God. Also, that it's harder to be a Christian then it is to be a sinner.

God knows deep down what I feel.

I pray my husband will see this as well.

Forgiven

Have you ever heard a song that you feel could have been written for you?

Yeah.....

Me too!

*HUGS*
Kimmy