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Transcript

Anchored Reminder · The Holy Pause

• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: A reading from Scripture, Psalm 136, verses 1-9.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: His love endures forever.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: Give thanks to the God of gods.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: His love endures forever.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: Give thanks to the Lord of lords.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: His love endures forever.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: To Him, too, alone does great wonders.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: His love endures forever.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: Who by his understanding made the heavens, his love endures forever.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Who spread out the earth upon the waters, his love endures forever.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: Who made the great lights, his love endures forever.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: The sun to govern the day, his love endures forever.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: The moon and stars to govern the night, his love endures forever.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: I once ran an after-school program for underprivileged youth.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: It was in West Virginia,
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: so the amount of underprivileged youth qualified for the program greatly outstripped
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: the spots we had available in the program.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: So we split off a tutoring program led by church... Four times I say the word program.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: I once ran an after-school program for underprivileged youth.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: It was in West Virginia,
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: so the amount of underprivileged youth who qualified for
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: the program greatly outstripped the spots we had available.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: We split off a tutoring side hustle led by church members,
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: most of whom were retired teachers,
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: but some of which were just educated retired folks who wanted to help.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: One day I was working on invoicing and payroll in my office while one of
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: the fourth graders was being tutored.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: She must have been working on her times tables,
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: because about ten minutes into the lesson time, I began to hear chanting.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: Four times one is four.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Four times two is eight.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: Four times three is twelve.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: On and on and on.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: Curious, I poked my head out of the office door to see them standing in the middle of the room.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: As they said four, they took a step forward.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: Then a step to the right on the word times.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: A step back on the first number of the solution.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: Then a step which returned them to beginning of the box on the last number.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: They stepped through this box over and over and over again.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: By the time the lesson was over,
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: they'd stepped, and I'd overheard, the four times tables approximately 7,000 times.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: It took that many repetitions for her to remember one column on the times table.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: It took repeating over and over and over again.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's interesting to me how many times the psalmist says, God's love endures forever.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: The Bible verses for today's devotion are only the first nine verses.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: The psalm goes on for another 17 verses.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: Every one a call and response with something God has done.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: And the group response, God's love endures forever.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's like the author might be concerned people wouldn't remember God loves them
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: if it isn't repeated 114 times in a row.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe the psalmist is on to something.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus Loves Me and John 3.16 are often amongst the first things we learn
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: as children,
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: and yet it is the very first thing we seem to forget when adversity comes.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: No matter how many times we sing this song,
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: the idea that Jesus loves us never quite sings all the way into our hearts.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: Perhaps we just need to step around the Jesus Loves Me box for an hour every day,
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: or read this song each morning.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: In order to remember the truth which the entire Bible proclaims, God's love endures forever.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's time to practice.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: Set an alarm on your phone or watch for once an hour between now and bedtime.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: Every time the watch goes off, say to yourself, God's love endures forever.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: Repeat this practice as often as you need to or anytime you need a refresher.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: Join me in prayer.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: God of love, it's easy for me to forget how much you love me.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: When the day is hard or I make a mistake, my sin tells me I am unloved and have no value.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: Help me to remember in those moments when I doubt your love how much and how long you love me.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: This podcast was written and recorded by Reverend Elizabeth Troyer.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: These podcasts will always be free,
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: but if you would like to support our online ministry,
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: you can donate using the link in the bio or at wakeforestpres.org.