Fresh Territory
April 4, 2007
Today we have one of those guest bloggers I promised. Cynthia Ruchti is a critique partner of mine, friend, and a fun, fantastic writer. Recently she made a comment to me that I asked her to expand on. Take it away, Cynthia!
As a child growing up in the Midwest, a fresh snowfall meant new territory. A long, sparkling stretch of white, unmarked by evidence of human interference . . . until my booted feet marked paths and designs through the pristine surface. Untouched snow was like a new canvas for my imagination.
A similar but much deeper thrill overwhelms me now when I purchase a new Bible.
I own a zillion Bibles. One of those who enjoys studying many different translations and paraphrases, I’m also a person who can’t read my Bible productively without a pen or colored pencil in hand. Always marking. In fact, if I see a pristine, unmarked page in my Bible, I know in an instant I haven’t read that page. How can I be so sure? Because God speaks to my heart somehow, some way, on every page. If nothing is marked, it’s a tell-tale sign that I haven’t been over that territory.
Many people feel uncomfortable, downright sacrilegious about the idea of marking in their Bibles. Although I can respect their reverence for the physical book itself, to me it is the words of that holy Book that deserve our deepest respect. And those words come alive for me when I have a pen or pencil in hand. When I mark in my Bible, I’m interacting with the Word and by association with the Lord Himself. I don’t know what my family will do if I die first and they search for my Bible to gain insights into what was important to me in order to include “a little something” in the funeral sermon. They’ll find a shelf full of Bibles marked with exclamation points and heavy underlining and notes in the margins with dates and specific crises to which God applied a particular Scripture as a balm for my heart. They’ll find little musical notes beside all the verses I know have been made into worship songs. They’ll discover tracks on the snowy pages that reveal the path of my faith in the God Who speaks to us through His Word.
This morning, I opened my pocket-sized Bible to a passage in Jeremiah. Nothing marked. A fresh snowfall. Time to make tracks!
Cynthia blogs at Splashing in the Deep End.
Comments
8 Responses to “Fresh Territory”
Okay, Cynthia, it snowed here today! Thankfully not nearly enough to make tracks, though.
By the way, I mark Bible verses made into songs, too. Didn’t know anyone else who did that!
I’ve done a couple different studies by Kay Arthur. She recommends all sorts of Bible markings. A triangle to represent any reference to the Trinity and pitchfork to represent satan are just a couple. It’s a great way to study.
I’ll have to try the musical notes for songs!! Good post!
Julie, that’s what I do, a little music note.
Oh Cynthia! I do love the way you think! Don’t you love a marked up bible that is obedient, too. Opening right up to the passage you were looking for?
I’m one of those people who like to mark and like to collect bibles.
I think the “newness” of a translation or fresh bible somehow draws me in more frequently.
Sometimes I want to buy a new bible and feel I’m supposed to not, because I have enough at home already…
I’ve resisted for about a year and a half so far.
One thing I wonder is what to do with all these bibles I (like you) have collected. They’re like journals– I don’t want just to give them away, but I don’t use them the way I did before I found Biblegateway.com ;o)
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My favorite thing about marking is “grazing” later: feeling tired or wanting only to be reminded of God’s voice, not dig for “new” information, I’ll go along just reading what I have underlined.
It is a very encouraging exercise.
Amy Jane, I love going back over old markings, too. It can be so encouraging when you’re just emotionally worn out. And I forget what God’s done too easily. It’s great to see it written in the margin and dated for my little old brain!
Oh, ,man. That’s me. A bunch of Bibles, and I ALWAYS still get excited by a new one, all clean and crisp and fresh and ready for me to start jotting away.
I love those superfine artist pens you can get at Art Stores, the German ones. Teeny-tiny points. They let you make notes even BETWEEN verses. So cool. I first used one when I was 15, and I was sold. At 47, highlighting pencils in multi-colors and those skinny pointed black ink pens are still my fave note-making tools.
And I have a brand new Bible to mess with–the Archaeological Study Bible.
Thanks.
Mir
I do believe I’ve found a soul sister!
Love it! I cannot study without pens and highlighters in hand. And I love, love, love going back through the pages months or years later and being reminded of specific times in my life by the markings in my Bible. From henceforth and forever after, I will begin to think of them as tracks in the snow!