No, not THAT kind. :-)
Every Sunday our church provides us a little sheet of paper with a sermon outline. And it’s great, until the little slips of paper start filling up your Bible and falling out in your car and curling around the edges.
So I went to Walmart, bought a little plastic binder that’s the size of the sheets – and voila – instant sermon journal.
In the front I keep the outlines, in chronogical order, of course (would you expect anything less from this OCD girl?)
In the back I have blank notebook paper – because sometimes we don’t get outlines when we have a guest speaker and because I typically need more room than those little outlines allow.
In the front pocket I keep my Scripture index cards, a pen, and maybe an outline or two that need reinforcements over the holes or that I want to look over again.
And then, in the back pocket, I keep a notepad with my name on it. We go to a big church, and if I find myself in a conversation with a visitor or in a meeting with people I don’t know very well, the personalized notepad enables me to jot down whatever information they need from me – and prevents them from having to wonder, “Hey, who was that woman who wrote down the chicken and wild rice casserole recipe for me?”
But my favorite thing about my little black book? It’s something we can pass down to the little man one day – all sorts of Biblical wisdom in one convenient little notebook.
And that most definitely works for me.
Good idea. I started taking sermon notes in a journal a few years ago b/c I didn’t like the looseleaf pages either. Too bad I didn’t have your blog to read back then!
Something I’ve also done is start using Sunday’s sermon in my devotions on MOnday. Really helps me to focus on what was said and take the time to think about actions I may need to take.
Great ideas, Boomama & Dianne!
Very cool.
I like the black book idea. I have aspirations of being that organized, but I always end up with a bunch of different notebooks – one for journaling (big, so I can write a lot), one for prayer requests (small, so I can carry it with me in the diaper bag), one for To-Do lists and random things I need to remember(Small so I can carry it, but not in the prayer journal), another journal (because I always misplace one or the other). I end up not using any of them consistently because there are so many!
Maybe if I get better at consolidating, I’ll be more consistent. I really like the idea of keeping my notes/journal as something to pass on to Abigail. I’ve never really thought of it that way – maybe that’s the inspiration I need to make it work for me!
Great idea!
This is so simple, I love it! And the last part, about it being passed down to the little man? I loved that even more:) I’m borrowing this one!
Awesome idea! I find when I take notes I pay attention better and it somehow sinks in better! I have a million bulletins in my bible with notes scribbled all over them. I heading to Wallymart now!
That’s a really great idea! Thanks for sharing it!
Great idea!! Such a sweet gift for your little man!
Never thought of that one. Good idea. The best part is about passing it down.
I do this too!!! Except my binder is blue. Ha ha
We don’t get sermon outlines. If we want them, we have to write them down ourselves. This is a really good idea if I ever have the opportunity and need to use it. :-)
Would that happen to be the comforter in the background that the “stunt pillows” match? ;)
Diane – that’s funny. It’s a tapestry thing on my dining room table. Sister has one, too – Mama gave them to us. So no coordinating stunt pillows – at least in this instance. :-)
What a great idea! I love it.
DANG GIRL! I am lucky if I can get out of the house with my BIBLE let aloong another notebooks! You are more organized that you even thought!
That is a great idea! And it would make a great gift too.
I thought *I* was OCD :)
This is super. I need to get to walmart. Post haste.
You are organized like the Bible Sword Drill Sargent. I remember going to church with Kyle Pace and we would have to play a game of who could find the verse the fastest. Of course I could never find it and they would raise their hand in just a matter of seconds. They would laugh and laugh at me because I could never find the verse. I did not go back to SBBC.
No, Emma Kate is the one who would kick ALL our tails in a Bible Drill (or Diane – I bet Diane was REAL good in Bible Drill). I can remember having to do Bible Drill at SBBC when we were growing up (Mrs. Mayo used to run it), and Amanda and the Easom girls would just FLY through the pages, and I’d sit there trying to sing the little books of the Bible song we learned at PSDUMC. I never even got NEAR where I was supposed to be. :-)
I was about 9 or 10 and went home complaining about how they all laughed at me. Mother of course said I have no business going up there.
I used to carry a Daytimer to keep up with my sermon notes, but now I’m doing good to get out of the house with my Bible.
My former pastor uses a fill-in-the-blanks format, which I don’t find as compelling as a basic outline. It makes it too easy not to pay attention. Our new pastor doesn’t even put the scripture reference in the bulletin, so if you want to remember it you gotta write it down. I like that. I also like that he doesn’t use PowerPoint during his sermons so that we have to actually open our Bibles to follow along.
I love the idea of passing down the notebook to Alex someday. Diane at Partners in Prayer for our prodigals mentioned yesterday using her grandmother’s Bible and gleaning much wisdom from her notes in the margins. What a treasure!
OCD indeed, but I LOVE it!
Actually, I WAS pretty good at Bible Drill. ;) When I taught the Youth class, we still did BD. They don’t do it now, that I know of, but they would certainly benefit from it. It really helped me learn my books of the Bible. And I never learned the song with the books of the Bible. Somehow missed it, and I don’t know it now. :-)
Well, hello there, kindred spirit of the notebook. :) Mine even has dividers in pretty colors! Oh dear. I’m really off in the deep end, aren’t I?
Great idea! I love it!
I love, love, love this idea! I especially love the idea of passing it down to your little guy one day!
I posted a WFMW tip as well. Stop by and take a peek. :)
Wow-way organized! I love it!
Sweet, I use to keep ours then I think our church got too big and stopped giving outlines. So now I have a Bible highlighter and I try to use that instead. Good WFMW!
Hi,
I found your blog through Lisa Whelch, through In the Mist of it, and as a stay at home mommy to a 13 month old, I love your blog, it makes me giggle all the way from California.
I love your sermon journal idea, it is great! I am left with bits of paper everywhere, and often the entire bulletin as I often write all over that! Not that I have had a chance to take notes recently….
By the way, what is your recipe for wild rice and chicken casserole?????
Blessings to you!
Kristy
Kristy –
Boil 4 or 5 chicken breasts (or one whole chicken – or you can use a rotissierie chicken) in seasonings of your choice. Reserve broth.
When chicken is done and cooling, cook 2 boxes of Uncle Ben’s Original Wild Rice in appropriate amount of chicken broth.
In a saucepan, saute’ 1 diced onion in butter or canola oil. Once onion is transparent, add 1 can of drained sliced water chestnuts and heat through.
In a big ole bowl, combine diced chicken, cooked wild rice, onion / water chestnut mixture, 2 cans cr. of mushroom soup, 1 1/2 cups sour cream, 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper.
Pour into buttered casserole dish and top with crushed, buttered Ritz crackers. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes.
Oooooh, I’m gonna copy and paste that to my notepad to try later. It sounds delicious, BooMama! I can’t wait to try it. :-)
Fabulous idea! I’m gonna steal it, okay? :-)
Kristy and Diane – A can of drained French seasoned green beans is good in that casserole, too. Gives it a little color, as do a couple of tablespoons of diced pimento. As you can tell, I never make it the same way twice. :-)
Thanks Boomama, you are a gem to share with us!
Kristy