What Is SOAP?

I'm reading The Divine Mentor before starting to SOAP. Journey mug text, "For I know the plans
I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give
you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11.

       An acronym is a word or name formed as an abbreviation from the initial components in a phrase or a word, usually individual letters and sometimes syllables.

       There are no universal standards of the multiple names for such abbreviations and of their orthographic styling. In English and most other languages, such abbreviations historically had limited use, but they became much more common in the 20th century. Acronyms are a type of word formation process, and they are viewed as a sub-type of blending.

       Modern Christians sometimes use acronyms to help them remember how to study scripture while they journal.
       
SOAP is an acronym for:

• SCRIPTURE, HOLY - (God breathed) a word derived from the Latin scriptura, and in its original sense of the same import with writing, signifying "any thing written." It is, by emphasis, however, commonly used to denote the writings of the Old and New Testaments, which are called sometimes the Scriptures, sometimes the sacred or holy Scriptures, and sometimes canonical Scriptures. These books are called the Scriptures by way of eminence, as they are the most important of all writings. They are said to be holy, or sacred, on account of the sacred doctrines which they teach; and they are termed canonical, because, when their number and authenticity were ascertained, their names were inserted in ecclesiastical cannons, to distinguish them from all other books, which, being of no godly authority.
• OBSERVATION - (see Mind) Mind; a thinking, intelligent being; otherwise called spirit, or soul. Dr. Watts has given us some admirable thoughts as to the improvement of the mind. "There are five eminent means of methods, " he observes, "whereby the mind is improved in the knowledge of things; and these are, observation, reading, instruction by lectures, conversation, and meditation; which last, in a most peculiar manner, is called study.
• APPLICATION - is used for the act whereby our Savior transfers or makes over to us what he had earned or purchased by his holy life and death. Accordingly it is by this application of the merits of Christ that we are to be justified and entitled to grace and glory. Application is also used for that part of a sermon in which the preacher brings home or applies the truth of religion to the consciences of his hearers. Application by The Believer: How do I apply scripture to my personal life?
• PRAYER - has been well defined, the offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name or through the mediation of Jesus Christ, by the help of the Holy Spirit, with a confession of our sins, and a thankful acknowledgment of his mercies.

Journaling With SOAP:

• How to Study the Bible : The SOAP Method
• How to Soap

Pastor Wayne Cordeiro talks about SOAP. 

Listen to The Divine Mentor

Tabbing The Books of The Bible

Above you can see the division of books by font, below by pattern and color.

       I tabbed the books of my note takers Bible according to the traditional division of books. (included below) This helps me to remember the purposes, authors and history of those who the scripture was transcribed through by God. When I am speaking with students, it also helps me to access sample pages quickly.

       I backed each tab with a different patterned paper/color so that I could see the divisions of the books from the backside of my Bible as well.

       Each division is also made obvious by a different font too.

Old Testament Divisions of Books:

• The First 5 Books: The first five books of the Bible are known as the Pentateuch which is Greek for "five scrolls": Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy
• The Following 12 Books are History Books: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther
• The Next 5 are referred to as The Wisdom Books: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon
• Then come the 5 Major Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel and Daniel
• Followed by the 12 Minor Prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi

New Testament Division of Books:

• The first four books are known as The Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
• The book of Acts is the History of the Apostles
• Then the following 13 books are Paul's epistles: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus and Philemon.
• The book of Hebrews is the New Testament book that scholars don't agree on the authorship of it.
• The 7 General Epistles then are as follows: James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and Jude
• The last book of the New Testament is the Book of Revelation and it is by the Apostle John.

This artist tabs her illustrated entries.

 I tab the books of the Bible because I'm a teacher. 

You can choose to tab the scripture for any purpose

that suites your needs. There is no right or wrong

way to do this procedure.

Test your art supplies...

       Before beginning, it is always advisable to test ones art supplies, whatever those may be. I also removed a blank page from an older Bible to conduct my simple research with, because I didn't want to use up any of the pages from my new Bible for the process.

       Make sure that the page you are practicing on is similar to the pages found inside your Note Takers Bible. Modern Bible papers are very thin and are very particular in their substance. If you can find a Bible to use for the purpose of practice, share it with companions so that you don't end up destroying more books than you have to. I keep a Bible that is falling apart for this purpose alone so that my students don't need to abuse any of their own volumes in order to do their experiments.

Above you can see that I chose to test the pen and pencil types that I have in my own personal collections. If you are illuminating or illustrating texts in your Bible with paints: watercolor, acrylic etc... You should conduct a similar test for those supplies to see what the after effects will be.

Above I have shown both the front and back pages on the left after using each pen or pencil type. This experiment helps me to see what the material will look like and how much "bleed through" the ink pens and pencils will leave on the flip side of the page. On the right, I have tested the sample with a Krylon acrylic coating to see if this chemical treatment would alter my materials. Remember, you should apply acrylic coating and/or fixative sealers to both the front and backside of pages after you have completed drawings. If you only treat the front of the page, the ink or pencil could still bleed on the backside if the page should get wet. I was somewhat surprised that the permanent ink was the only material to bleed, ironic.

Light In The Darkness

"Unto the godly there ariseth up light in the darkness." Lyra Apostolica.

Here my empty desk sits, waiting to be filled up with tools of my trade, waiting as I prepare for a special journey.

Light In The Darkness.
Author Unknown, 1848

Lead, Kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom,

Lead Thou me on!

The night is dark, and I am far from home --

Lead Thou me on!

Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see

The distant scene, - one step enough for me.

I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou

Shouldst lead me on.

I loved to choose and see my path; but now,

Lead Thou me on!

I loved the garish day, and spite of fears,

Pride ruled my will: remember not past years.

So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still

Will lead me on,

O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till

The night is gone;

And with the morn those Angel faces smile

Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile.

• Get Alone with God
• Jesus Teaches Us: Get Alone And Pray 
• Have a Special, Secret Place to Meet With God

Journey through the scriptures with me...

"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish for people." Matthew 4:19 (NIV)

 
   I will be receiving a King James Note Taker's Bible this Christmas in order to journal through the Bible for the year 2018. If you would like to take this journey with me, gather together your supplies and turn your hearts towards the Father of Heaven and Earth.

"Come Follow Me" hymn

 

       "Others might write a Life of Christ without seeing the Holy Land, but I could not. So in October, 1889, I embarked for that sacred country, accompanied by my wife, daughter and my friends Mr. and Mrs. Louis Klopsch, determined to see with my own eyes, and press with my own feet many of the memorable places connected with the life of the patriarchs and the ministrations of our Lord." Rev. Thomas De Witt Talmage. Read more...