Running head: FALLING IN LOVE 1
Falling in Love with God’s Word
Myeshia Napier
Liberty University Online
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Falling in Love with God’s Word
Growing up, I was just introduced to the Bible on Wednesdays when I went to Awana and
on Sundays when I went to church with my grandmother. We were asked to memorize scriptures
at Awana in the expectation that it will take hold in our hearts and, hopefully, in our lives, to
memorize the old and new testament chapters in order. Sunday school and church camp services
stressed scripture memorization. My solution to this bribe for memorization was to prepare as
little as possible to prevent the humiliation of forgetting or, worse, making it all wrong, and to
ensure that I did not jumble all my words together. I do not think I would have taken the effort to
memorize or comprehend those Bible verses if it had not been for Awana. There is an
explanation for this, and the secret is discovered in Keith Ferrin's (2003) novel, Falling in Love
with God's Word, in reading, listening, hearing, and living what we want to remember.
As an adult, my viewpoint has altered profoundly. I have been more ashamed to not know
what I need to know when asked about Biblical values or convictions, and I also "get it all
wrong" at times. The book in this review showed me that reading scripture or even chapters of
scripture once and then passing on is not quite as effective as reading entire chapters up to ten
times before moving on, contemplating, applying the teachings to my life, sharing it with others,
and falling in love with the promises.
The word inductive means to connect (Merriam – Webster, 2015); the idea of this book is
to take God's word and relate it to our lives, but about understanding God's word and therefore
relating it in a real way, as well as recalling the message for those moments that we don't have a
Bible, we should follow the steps outlined. Ferrin (2003) compares falling in love with God's
word to the method of construction. He continues with the fundamentals. We would collapse if
we do not have a strong framework, and our system will break apart when our experience and
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witness are most important. Ferrin (2003) further discusses how we can use the construction
method to take notes, journal, or be imaginative in recalling what we have learned; making
sketches of broken-down pieces to be elaborated on or discussed later. The framing comes next.
The framing process defines the skeletal structure to which our application processes can
conform. Then comes the finishing job, in which we take what we have seen, research it ever
more thoroughly, and fall in love with the Word ever more deeply.
The method of designing a mission statement has been separated into four stages, each of
which is more in-depth than the one before it. Phase one is to “study the book at least ten times”
(Ferrin, 2002.pg 61); step two is to summarize what the author is saying; step three is to read for
five more days; and step four is to revisit step three and finalize the intention argument (the focus
of the book). Ferrin (2002, p. 139) concludes with three points that we, the readers, should avoid
doing when internalizing the scriptures: 1. Don't lose track of the message; 2. Don't care about
breaking down the chapters/verses until you know the words; and 3. Don't attempt to internalize
what you do not know or comprehend. He also explains how we should internalize and recall
stuff by using sticky notes, the Bible on tape/CD, reading with your eyes closed and finally
closing your Bible, and using the same literal and physical Bible you began with, among other
concepts.
In general, I like the idea of reading a whole story in one sitting rather than bits and
pieces that could get lost in the shuffle of daily life. The book's values necessitate a dedication,
and in people's hectic lives, time set aside will be essential for progress. I do not read much, and I
just read for school and work; but not everyone is like me, and many people read for fun because
they love reading. This may be a huge obstacle to myself and those who do not want to read if
we want to know the Bible more thoroughly, which takes long periods of time and could give up
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before they even begin, let alone finish Ferrin's book! To be honest, the outline of this book was
easy to follow and read, so I do not think most people like me might have minded reading it, but
those who enjoy reading would have considered his outline to be very dull.
It also occurred to me that Ferrin's approach is time-consuming. I work a full-time job
and devote hours a day on schoolwork. I would like to give this method a shot. I am a very
structured person, but the depth Ferrin goes through with making study notes and keeping track
of what we've studied was very refreshing, and the Bible is one book that it never hurts for all of
us to pick up and read from time to time.
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References
Ferrin, K. (2002). Falling in Love with God’s Word. Kirkland, Wa: That You May Know.
Merriam – Webster. (2015). Inducitive Definition. Consulté le March 24, 2015, sur
Merriam – Webster Dictionary: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inductive
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