Take it with you

The verse that struck me as I was meditating on Romans 5 this morning.

I have long understood that one of the ways to take our morning devotions into the rest of our day is to write down something we want to meditate on during the day. I generally write a portion of a verse or an aphorism on a small card and stick it in my pocket. Several of my students have mentioned that they have taken to putting their verse on the the lock screen of their phone. Recently I have been experimenting with both. I write it on a card and then snap a picture of it and put it on my phone, where I see it several times each day.

Here is something from our book Discovering Lectio Divina on "taking it with you."

"After you have taken it in, you will want to keep it with you. You might want to end your time with a particular prayer. Pause and offer a prayer of thanks for the opportunity to sit in God's presence with his word on your lap. Ask what you should take with you into the day ahead. Spiritual writer Madame Guyon (1648-1717) spoke of ending a time of meditation by plucking a "spiritual nosegay" (a fragrant corsage) from the text to carry and refresh oneself periodically through the day. For example, you might want to write a verse on a card to put in your pocket and to read here and there through the day. Others establish times like lunch and dinner to review and ponder a portion. Find your own simple way to take the Scripture with you. Remember member the call of Psalm 1 to meditate day and night. This is what we are trying to build in our lives. Generally a through-the-day the-day focus on Scripture comes only when we plan to do it and follow through on that plan."

James C. Wilhoit & Evan B. Howard. Discovering Lectio Divina: Bringing Scripture into Ordinary Life (Kindle Locations 841-847). Kindle Edition.