Miss Hollywood

I have wanted to write this post for a few weeks but my heart just wasn't ready to deal with the death of my grandmother. I was honored to get to go to the funeral (thanks to my dad for tickets--first class, but I won't brag) and help my mom and dad clean out her stuff and drive around where she lived and soak up the history of my family.

My grandparents lived in a small town called Montmorency, South Carolina. My Pop was a farmer and had lots of land. I spent many summers there driving tractors, jumping in bins of fresh pulled cotton, and working in the country store they had on their property. I watched as family after family came in to get their groceries, usually on their tab. I learned all about helping people in need. I watched as Pop would take groceries to single moms and to the elderly who couldn't get out. I questioned him one day why he kept letting people add to their tab when they hadn't paid in years. He would shake his head and tell me that they needed it more than he did. At that tender age, I was enamored by the big white plantation house they lived in and all the farms but I saw what was really important in the day to day activity of his life. People!

At the funeral one of the workers at Nana's home got up to tell a story. She said she had just begun working there and was sent to get a lady named "Miss Hollywood." She said she looked all over the place for someone named "Miss Hollywood" and couldn't find anyone by that name. She was confused. She finally asked who is "Miss Hollywood?" "Oh girl, that is Mrs. Flanders (my Nana) and we call her "Miss Hollywood" because she is always dressed up, has her make-up on and all her jewelry." My Nana still went to the beauty shop each week to get her hair done. I got to help my parents clean out her rooms and I can't tell you all the stuff we found. She had turned her bathtub into a closet with hangers full of clothes because the other two closets were full. She had drawers of earrings she had filled up ice cube containers with thousands of earrings. She had her lipsticks divided into colors and probably had over a hundred. She had bags and bags of cosmetics and beauty supplies. You have got to love her.

My Nana took me for the first time to buy makeup. She walked right into Dillard's and told the cosmetic lady that it was time for me to learn what to do with makeup. I got a full facial and a makeup artist to teach me how to apply the makeup. I was spending the summer with her and I am pretty sure she never asked my mom. I came home that summer all like "Miss Hollywood." My Mom recovered well but she was pretty shocked to say the least. I thought I was pretty special! The best part of it all, she charged it all to my mom's credit card. :)

The funeral was a perfect representation of her life. My Nana spent most of her life helping the fire department. She raised money for them for everything. The chief of the fire department told us that they wouldn't have a department if it wasn't for her. The fire department came to her funeral with lights flashing. They carried her casket behind the truck and walked her to her grave. She went out in style, perfect Hollywood style!

"You, Sir, are weak. You can't look evil in the eye and deal with it." -Jack Bauer

Are we dealing with our own sin? Are we truly "examining our hearts?" Jesus told us to examine our hearts before we partake of the Lord's supper. Lam. 3:40 says "Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord." The dictionary defines examine as "to inspect closely, to test the condition of, to inquire carefully, to interrogate closely, or to test by questioning in order to determine progress, fitness or knowledge." I wonder how much better off we would be if we really did this - if we truly examined our hearts and motives this way. 2 Corinthians 13:5 "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? - unless indeed you fail to meet the test!
The bible repeatedly tells us to test,examine, or evaluate our hearts and actions. What a difference we would experience in our walk with the Lord and with our relationships if we truly did this. I am thinking that our prayer life should include a request for the Lord to reveal to us our motives - ask Him to examine us even if it hurts. Confession of sin will free us to be person God has made us to be.
What is it that you need to examine? Is there an area that needs to be looked at through the power of the Holy Spirit, who reveals those things to us?

Tuesday's Token

"You Sir are weak, you can't look evil in the eye and deal with it." -Jack Bauer

Bible Reading Plan

What follows is Professor Horner's explanation of the Bible Reading System, as it appears on the Facebook page.

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"I have more wisdom than all my teachers, for thy testimonies are my meditation." Psalm 119:99, right-hand page, left-hand column, dead center of page. Many people ask me how it is that I know precisely where virtually *everything* is in my Bible. The answer: this system. I began in 1983 (adapting and tweaking the basic design of another system) as a brand-new convert; within 3 years I knew the text of my Bible very well. Twenty-five years later it is essentially imprinted on my mind and heart. I have been all over the country and have taught this system in many churches. I have done open-microphone Q&As on Bible and theology -- with 1200 people in the audience -- as well as cultural-analysis live radio shows where you have to think fast -- and it has been the "imprinting" value of this system that has helped me provide quick, clear, heavily contextualized scriptural answers (I Peter 3:15; right-hand page, right hand column, 1/3rd way down). I have no Seminary degrees, no Bible-college or Christian school education -- hey, I never even went to Sunday School (the first church I went to, just months after my conversion, threw me into Sunday School-- to teach!!! *BIG* mistake, by the way...) All I DID have was a chair, a lamp ... and my Bible.

This is *not* merely a speed-reading program, nor is it a 'study' system. Read the 1-page description provided here to see how it works. (I'd also recommend you look at my first few posts in the Discussion Board 'Starting Up' below as well, for more thoughts.) DO NOT be intimidated! I was a college drop-out, ex-heavy-druggie when I started it. If I can do it -- so can you!

TRY IT FOR A MONTH. Then tell me what is happening!

Join if you wish to try it; stay if you keep it up for one month! And make posts about your struggles, the effects it is having on your biblical understanding and discernment, and to encourage others.


HERE IT IS:

* PROFESSOR GRANT HORNER'S 'TEN LISTS BIBLE READING SYSTEM'*

Each day you will read one chapter from each list, in order. THAT'S RIGHT -- *TEN CHAPTERS PER DAY*!!! Use ten bookmarks or sticky notes with the individual lists on them to keep track of your locations. On day one, you read Matthew 1, Genesis 1, Romans 1, and so forth. On day 2, read Matthew 2, Genesis 2, etc. On day 29, you will have just finished Matthew, so go to Mark 1 on the Gospel list; you’ll also be almost to the end of 2nd Corinthians and Proverbs, you’ll be reading Psalm 29 and Genesis 29, and so forth. When you reach the last chapter of the last book in a list – start over again. Rotate all the way through all the Scriptures constantly. Since the lists vary in length, the readings begin interweaving in constantly changing ways. You will NEVER read the same set of ten chapters together again! Every year you’ll read through all the Gospels four times, the Pentateuch twice, Paul’s letters 4-5 times each, the OT wisdom literature six times, all the Psalms at least twice, all the Proverbs as well as Acts a dozen times, and all the way through the OT History and prophetic books about 1 ½ times. Since the interweaving is constantly changing, you will experience the Bible commenting *on itself* in constantly changing ways -- the Reformer's principle of 'scriptura interpretans scripturam' -- 'scripture interpreting scripture' IN ACTION!

After you’ve read any particular book once or twice, your speed in that book usually *doubles or triples* because you’re familiar with it and can move quickly and confidently -- because you are no longer merely decoding the text but thinking it through in the context of all of the scripture! Acts 20:27. Even an ‘average’ reader, if focusing on moving through the text, rather than trying to figure everything out, can usually do this in about an hour a day – 5-6 minutes per chapter. If it is taking you longer, then you are ‘reading wrong’ – stay relaxed, focus, and just keep it moving. Moderate but consistent speed is the key. This is "gross anatomy" -- looking at the whole body; you're *not* closely studying organs or systems or tissues or cells -- it is *not* microbiology. BUT
-- microbiology and the study or organs makes more sense when you know what the *whole* structure of the human body is like, and how all the parts, large and small, relate in perfect interdependence. After just a few days the reading gets *much* easier; in a month it will be a habit, and in six months you’ll wonder how you ever survived before on such a slim diet of the WORD. And then -- you'll tell others to start the system!

I began in 1983 as a new Christian and have now read (most of) the Bible hundreds and hundreds of times. You also need to get ONE Bible, keep it, and do all your reading in it, so you learn where everything is. I’ve had the same Bible since 1983 and I know it intimately. If you keep switching Bibles, you ‘lose’ this intimacy with the text. Find a translation and format you like and stick with it. THIS IS CRUCIAL.

When I was flown out by Masters for a 3-day interview/theological-grilling process, the culmination was of course being ushered in to Dr. John MacArthur's private study, which is where he asked me this one question: "Can I see your Bible?" I thought he would be horrified, because it looked like it had been through a typhoon -- it looked unloved and neglected. Something from a dumpster. It was unbound, with stringy mess and paper debris hanging out. I was so embarrassed. I thought he would chastise me and recommend I get a new study Bible if I was serious about the Word. (No doubt which study Bible he would recommend!!!) He flipped through it and handed it to his wife and said "If your Bible is falling apart, you probably aren't." I was basically hired on the spot.

Your Bible is the only thing on Earth that, as you wear it out, will actually work better and better.



THE TEN LISTS:

List 1 (89 days)
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John


List 2 (187 days)
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy


List 3 (78 days)
Romans, I&II Cor, Gal, Eph, Phil, Col, Hebrews


List 4 (65 days)
I&II Thess, I&II Tim, Titus, Philemon, James, I&II Peter, I,II&III John, Jude, Revelation


List 5 (62 days)
Job, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon


List 6 (150 days)
Psalms


List 7 (31 days)
Proverbs


List 8 (249 days)
Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I&II Samuel, I&II Kings, I&II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther


List 9 (250 days)
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah,
Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi


List 10 (28 days)
Acts



If you are wondering why you should read Acts (or Proverbs) all the way through *every single month* then
-- you've just shown that you NEED to read them that much!

*Put these instructions in your Bible and review them from time to time*

SECRETS TO SUCCESS WITH THIS SYSTEM:

• Read one chapter from each list each day, in one sitting or two. At the end of a book, go to the next book. At the end of the list – start it again. Do it in the order given above.
• Read quickly (without “speed reading”) in order to get the overall sense. Read as fast as you comfortably can with moderate retention. You’re not studying deeply or memorizing; shoot for 5-6 minutes per chapter. At the end of a chapter, move immediately to the next list.


GET THROUGH THE TEXT – no dawdling, back-reading, looking up cross-references!
• There are different ‘kinds’ of reading: super-quick skimming, careful moderate-paced, studying the text, deep meditation. You should be between the first and second kind.
• Most people decrease their time spent and increase their retention after just two-three weeks! I now read and retain the entire text of Matthew in 35 minutes, Romans in 20, Genesis in *one hour*!
• Don’t look up anything you ‘don’t get’ – real understanding will come through contextualizing by reading a LOT of scripture over time. Get through the text!
• If you miss a day or two – OK, get over it, then keep going. Don’t cover yourself in sackcloth and ashes and quit! Move the bookmarks along, to find your place(s) quickly next day.
Heb 4:12&5:11-14; Eph 5:26&6:17; Col 3:16; 2 Tim 3:16; Ps 119; Ezra 8; Prov 3: 1-2, 10:14; Dan 1

My Nana!

My Nana went to be with Jesus on Saturday. I am off to the funeral. I won't be posting but wanted to leave you with this scripture that Brad sent me today.

"For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, 3 if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. 4 For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord."

2 Cor. 5:1-7

Amen, sister! She is present with the LORD!