September 11, 2012 ~ Heart Verses for my Heart

Keep my commandments and live,
And my teaching as the apple of your eye.
Bind them on your fingers;
Write them on the tablet of your heart.

Proverbs 7:23

Thoughts ~

Last week I wrote about the Topography of our Hearts. I suggested you start a list using the word heart with adjectives, adding scriptures to each way the word is used. I started mine but had a weekend that wasn’t as I had planned for it to go so became distracted by other things.  This will be an ongoing project for me. I am using Bible Gateway, my concordances and Biblios too, so I know the word that the original Hebrew or Greek language was referring to. I love studying and I love retaining, but I need visuals to help remind me. But most of all, I love knowing God’s word and applying it to my life. I want His word to be written on the tablet of my heart.

So far my descriptive words for heart that are slowly filling up my book are gracious, joyful, happy, cheerful, glad, kind, anxious, troubled, angry and broke, pure and wise. I found when I used the search box on Bible Gateway and entered the words, for example, joyful heart, I was able to get what I was looking for faster than simply writing the word heart. I also selected the option to pick 5 translations I liked. 

What I am hoping for is that when someone at the gym, for example, says something to me about feeling kind, I will be able to paraphrase what God says about that emotion. I am not the best word by word memorizer but I do know what God has to say. For example, if I want to refer to Proverbs 11:16 “A kindhearted woman gains honor” I am unlikely to quote it like formally but I can certainly say something like “the Bible says a kindhearted woman gains honor so it’s a good thing you are doing the honorable thing.”

Action~

As a visual reminder I am designing a large heart that looks like a map with paths that lead from one emotion to another and dead ends that lead nowhere at all. Once it’s finished I promise to show it to you but this is going to take some serious time.

Another visual you can do is to take a Styrofoam or wooden heart you buy at the craft store and hot glue large wooden beads on it.  On each bead you could use a sharpie and write the emotion and the verse. Hang it on the wall somewhere that you’ll see it.  There are probably loads of ways you could use old magazines to make a decoupage project with words cut out and the verses written underneath them. Or make a key chain out of beads to help you memorize your favorite heart verses.

I know most of my male readers are rolling their eyes over the crafty suggestions. So for you, and the non crafty women, how about using a blank journal or index cards to list your heart verses?

Whatever you do, if you need a visual for your heart project, have fun and let God’s words soak in to your own heart.

Pray~

Lord, help me to remember the verse I am listing so I am able to use them when I share with someone who is in need of lifting up. Thank you for helping me write these verses on the tablet of my heart.

Trusting in Him,

Becky