In the 1980’s the Geodex Planner System notebook was the norm for every supervisor or manager at Hewlett Packard. They even offered a day long class to teach the system to its users. When I first heard about it, I immediately signed up for the class and at the end of the day, proudly walked out of the conference room with a spiffy new brown leather notebook in hand! I had (and have) always been interested in self-help and time saving information, books and classes, so my new planner made me smile from ear to ear!
In the ‘90’s, most management personnel switched over to the new and upcoming electronic PDA’s, but I had so incorporated every aspect of my life involving work, ministry and family into the system, that I was not about to let go of it… so I simply integrated parts of both systems to fit my unique needs. And while it has been delegated mainly to note taking, I continue to use my Geodex notebook today!
My first brown leather notebook lasted a few years before it wore out through all the use it received… as it literally went just about everywhere with me! I had noticed other managers carrying notebooks of varying colors, so when the time came, I ordered a beautiful dark green leather cover set. Much to my dismay though, after only a few weeks, one of the metal rivets that attaches the ring binder clip to the cover popped free.
I mentioned my dilemma to one of the machinists who worked for me and he very nonchalantly told me to go to stores (the supplies area of the shop) and pick up a container of two-part Super-Glue… for he assured me that it would fix anything! I was a little dubious of Larry’s suggestion, but he was a good guy and a long-term machinist and quite mechanically inclined. So, I figured what could it hurt to try it and I did… and low-and-behold it worked! And it held together for years until I finally replaced that cover-set with a new black leather one!
In some respects, I guess you could say, like in many other areas of my life, that I was PASSIONATE concerning the use of that system. Even when my sister and brother in-laws tried their best to convince me on a family vacation, to switch to the system they used (Franklin, I think), I would not budge. The Geodex system worked well for me. It was integrated into every area of my life and… I even liked the physical style, weight and size of the notebook and the way it fit in my hand! People may have even thought that it was glued to my hand as they hardly ever saw me without it in my possession!
The Psalmist declared in Psalm 119:69 that:
“Proud boasters make up lies about me because I am PASSIONATE to FOLLOW all that you say.” (TPT)
I talked about the importance of being PASSIONATE in our lives in our last post*, but today I wanted to take a quick look at what it means to FOLLOW something, someone, a cause or a personal belief. The King James Version uses the word “KEEP” in place of FOLLOW in the more modern translation of this verse.
Brown-Driver-Briggs’ Hebrew Definitions explains to “KEEP” as “to guard with fidelity.” And “FIDELITY” in the Oxford Online Dictionary is defined as “faithfulness to a person, cause, or belief as demonstrated by continuing loyalty and support.” Dictionary.Com describes it as “adherence to fact or detail; conjugal faithfulness, loyalty.”
The idea of “conjugal faithfulness” caught my attention in that last definition. That term, according to the dictionary is “relating to or the characteristics of (a healthy) marriage and the relationship between marriage partners.”** So… it is pretty evident that the Psalmist, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is teaching us that the practice or demonstration of being PASSIONATE in FOLLOWING all that God says in His Word, is identical to the way a husband and wife should be PASSIONATE in their loyalty and support of each other
My immediate thought when I read those definitions this morning, was what Moses wrote about concerning the relationship between and husband and a wife, where he stated that:
“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall CLEAVE unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” (KJV)
And with this verse, my long-winded, introductory story of my Geodex usage comes full circle. Come to find out, that the word translated “CLEAVE” is defined in the original languages as “to cling or adhere, to closely join one's self to another, or to GLUE together, cement or fasten together.”***
It is increasingly interesting to me, to learn how much of our personal relationship with God and His Son Jesus Christ is patterned or explained in the Bible, in similar terms as the workings of a healthy Christian marriage. No wonder the Christian family unit is under such vicious attack in today’s worldly society!
The idea of being GLUED together was very evident in Piper’s and my marriage. It is not that we had to be together all the time as I had my jobs outside the home and she homeschooled our kids. But one could say that we were permanently GLUED together in the way that we loved and honored each other. When it came to our Christian faith, we were very much in agreement and unity with each other’s beliefs. In fact, we were pretty much in unity about most things.
I knew her better than I knew myself… and the same with her toward me. When she got sick and lost her ability to communicate, I knew her well enough both inside and out, in order to be able to respond to what she needed or wanted… simply by the expressions in her eyes, on her face, her movements and by the interactions of our spirits together! In many respects, as Moses wrote, we had become as one!
I’d like to think that over the years of our relationship, that God and I have become the same… or at least, that I am continually working toward that goal… because, like my wife… I know that it is exactly what He desires of me!
How about you? How are your relationships? Have you used any Super-Glue (I actually prefer Gorilla Glue nowadays…) lately?
What more can I say… just think about it and be encouraged in knowing that God strongly desires to be Super-Glued to you as well!
* http://pjberruto.blogspot.com/2022/07/passion-and-italian-man.html
**Dictionary.Com
***Strong’s and Thayer’s
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