Do you take notes? How many times have you half-way remembered something but you have no way of getting the entire thought? It is one reason why I am always writing things down. I may never see the paper again but the process of writing it down helps me to remember it.
For the car I have a small recorder to record my thoughts. I may never get back to them but it helps me remember. Often when I do get back to them I realize that they were worth forgetting, but occasionally I am really glad I grabbed the moment.
It is a valuable habit to take notes on a sermon. I never write what I am told. You know how the preacher will say, “This is important, write it in the margin of your Bible.” No way. Just because he thinks it is important doesn’t mean I am going to write it down. I like to listen to a different voice. It’s not so much writing down what the preacher says as writing down what the Holy Spirit says as you are listening.
Understand the dynamic. Often what the preacher says is not what you hear. You know how this works in conversations. It is the source of much confusion. Allow the Holy Spirit to turn this into an asset. When your mind starts to wander, enjoy the moment. It could be the Holy Spirit bringing something to mind that you have been ignoring and this is the time for you to follow it. Obviously if all you are doing is thinking about asking out the girl in the row in front of you it is probably not from God. This is true specially if your wife is sitting next to you. But if you begin to think about something that happened from a comment someone made, follow it. If a Bible verse comes to mind turn to it.
A wandering mind can be a wonderful thing. Or is this better, a wondering mind is a wandering thing? Take your pick.
homo unius libri
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Comments are welcome. Feel free to agree or disagree but keep it clean, courteous and short. I heard some shorthand on a podcast: TLDR, Too long, didn't read.