*I feel that God has called me on a deeper level of consecration in saying No to more things and not desiring certain things I used to. Stop dwelling on the victim “why God” questions because that’s asking the wrong question. I need to be careful what questions I’m asking because it reveals what I’m longing for and so I need to question/confront my own questions and instead ask/analyze if it aligns with God or if it’s just a shallow question that really doesn’t matter if I get it or not. Getting honest with God about how I feel about certain things no …EVERY THING!

Questions 1 what version is this? 2 what is the biggest Takeaway from this text? 3 what does it look like to guard your heart and your mind? 4 what’s the theme of this text? Is there more than one? 5 what was the most overlooked in this time? Observations 1 there were lots of determinator/quantifier words like always all & every 2 we = brother and sisters in the body of Christ 3 the use of a : and Shakespeare often functions as a breath mark for actors, signaling a short pause/a shift in energy it highlights the following word, which in this case is rejoice. 4 there are no metaphors 5 promise of peace!

Solomon 1 King Solomon wrote these books 2 The Song of Solomon, linked to King Solomon around the 10th century BCE, was written during a prosperous time in ancient Israel. It focuses on love, beauty, and relationships, standing out as a poetic celebration of romance unlike other biblical books. 3 takeaways: Wisest ruler Israel, ever had, and there are three books in the Hebrew scriptures connected through him, proverbs Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs! The fully understand and appreciate the story of Solomon. We have to go back to the garden of Eden, where God made humanity, male, and female, Adam and Eve. In order to rule you have to be wise and the humans had a choice. Option one live by God wisdom = Life or wise in their own eyes through the forbidden fruit =intimacy was broken. It led to division and death. But the story holds out hope for a future human who will make the right choice and live by God‘s wisdom JESUS! King Solomon prayed for knowledge to know good from bad so that he could lead with wisdom which led to abundance and everyone in Israel sat under peace under their own “fruit tree” but then Solomon fails because he married hundreds of women from different nations and is deceived to follow their Gods. We can learn from is success & fails. Proverbs = teaches us how to live by Gods wisdom. Living by God’s wisdom and not your own “the fear of the Lord.” Solomon tells them to pursue God‘s wisdom which is symbolized as an elegant woman ( garden of Eden the man and the woman’s intimacy was violated by their failed search for wisdom but the humans in proverbs redeemed Adam and Eve’s failure it was restored proverbs is saying we all stand before the tree with our own choice to make. Ecclesiastes talks about how life is a vapor & life outside of the “garden” is confusing but at the end of the book Solomon says we should strive to live by wisdom in the fear of the Lord just with more realistic expectations. Song of Song is a love poem between a man & a woman. This book is a little opposite from proverbs. It’s now the woman searching and longing for her lover it’s Lady wisdom seeking after us. Which is why the story ends with a man and a woman under a fruit tree. (Symbolism)

After the class I found myself resonating with the complaining spirit when things go “wrong” I’ve been learning how to navigate through this process much better than before and reframe this complaining spirit to more of a grateful spirit. Or even just asking myself ok this hurt me but what can I gain from this experience and apply to the future. Or just not reacting right away & taking time to digest & even that’s a better mindset than complaining.

*My pattern of Biblical study has changed a little bit throughout the year but most recently I’ve been reading my 2 devotionals as soon as I wake up and sharing them on my socials which has been very fruitful to others as well. I’ve been doing Bible plans through the Holy Bible app which has been keeping me accountable to get the word in at the start of my day. I’ve had Bible studies with friends which have also helped widen my understanding and focus. This might sound funny, but when I don’t understand a verse or even a chapter fully and I want a deeper understanding, I’ll ask AI to explain the verse I’m reading and then I’ll go one step further into breaking it down in my own words and asking myself “how I can apply this?” These things have been a huge part of my routine and helped me not get too, overwhelmed the process and the logistics of it all.