Tag: Word Study

Sticks and Stones

Published on by Brandi4 Comments

“Are you stupid?”

“You can’t do it.”

“Don’t give up.”

“No one cares.”

“I love you.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“It’s going to be okay.”

 

Yes, these are kind of lame examples, but words are powerful. Yet we throw them around like they’re weightless.  How often do you see a parent snap harshly at their child and watch as the child completely shuts down? How often do you see a kid give up because no one tells him he can do it – or they tell him that he can’t? How often do you see someone’s day take a turn for the better because someone says a kind word?

Our words are not empty, they are full of impact, whether for good or bad.

In Genesis 1, God speaks creation into existence.

In Matthew 8, Jesus drives out demons and calms a raging storm with His words.

In Colossians 3, Paul says to rid yourself of anger, rage, spite, slander, and *abusive language.

In Ephesians 4, Paul says not to let unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up.

Words have impact. It is up to us to choose whether or not we use our words to help or to wound others. Speak love.

Also, Jeff Bethke coincidentally did a youtube video on a similar subject this week! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzHxJUcnvb0

By the way, this is a cool topic for a **word study.

Until next time, lovelies.

 

 

 

* NIV – “filthy language”

** https://wordssweeterthanhoney.com/2015/10/24/why-word-study-is-the-new-definition-of-cool/

 
Photo Credit: Joshua Fuller
 

 

 

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January 2016

Published on by BrandiLeave a comment

Hello lovely people of cyberspace! Last month I randomly decided to do a recap of the month and I decided that I really liked the idea.  So here is a recap of my first month of 2016!

  • I started the second semester of my sophomore year of college (I’m almost halfway done with my Bachelor’s degree!).
  • My best friend tried on wedding dresses for the first time and I only teared up a lot.
  • I started recycling.
  • I started eating healthier and working out.
  • I started a prayer journal in this super cool journal my boyfriend got me for Christmas.
  • I finished my first Bible journal – today actually (Here’s a throwback post: Bible Journaling).
  • I started a jar on January 1 where every time I finish a book I put the name of the book on a slip of paper (with my typewriter, of course) and put it in the jar. Then, at the end of the year I can look and see all the books I’ve read this year – I am so excited for this!
  • I learned that my mini golf skills have only improved on a small scale since I last played when I was 14 (at least I didn’t hit a lady with a golf ball this time).
  • I finished Jesus > Religion by Jefferson Bethke which is a seriously amazing book.
  • I learned not to despise small beginnings; you have to start somewhere.

 

January felt like it flew by, but looking back I can see a lot has happened in my life this month, I’ve seen God move in multiple areas of my life and it is such a blessing to reflect like this.  A lot of these things may seem like they were New Year’s resolutions, but actually none of them were.  They were things that happened because God placed them in my heart.  Other things are just really random things that happened that give you a glimpse of what my life is like.

So what to expect for February: I’m going to start weekly posts on Wednesdays (hint: this week’s post has me really wanting to watch Peter Pan) and I’m expecting God to do big things in my life.  Until next time, lovelies!

Photo Credit: Annie Spratt

Why “Word Study” is the New Definition of “Cool”

Published on by Brandi4 Comments

I have a half cork board, half chalkboard thing hanging on a wall in my room. Yesterday I decided I was going to use it for more than writing random things on it so it isn’t empty.  I decided that every week I would pick a word to focus on, pray about, study in the Bible, and try to really live out.  I wrote the word “Humility.”  I then proceeded to go to Books-a-Million and buy a journal that I would use for word studies. I started my word study tonight and I just wanted to share with y’all how things are going so far and why I find this so neat.

I started with the definition of the word and its synonyms.  I then proceeded to get out my NIV study Bible and I flipped to the dictionary/concordance and found “humility.”  Then I got out another NIV Bible and my VOICE Bible for translation comparisons and found verses about humility in the concordance and writing them in the journal. As I was going along, I noticed a lot of common themes about humility – for example, humility and wisdom go hand in hand – and wrote those in, too. Next, I’m going to look into verses linked to the word “humble” and add those.

So that’s the “how things are going so far” part, now to the “why I find word studies so neat” part.  We often read the Bible a book at a time – I’m currently in Job.  We’ll read different books and notice that the Bible talks about “patience” or “kindness” or “insert word here,” but it’s really cool when you do it backwards and take a word and then see how it is spread across the Bible. You get to see how one word can relate in so many different ways and you get a fuller view of the word.  Also, that one word can lead to many different words, i.e. wisdom, which starts a whole other study in itself! Which. Is. So. Cool.

So I encourage you to take the time to do a word study and see where it takes you and see what God shows you through it. God’s Word is powerful.

Photo Credit: Cathy Mü