Do you ever get into one of those funks? You’re stuck, run down, and short tempered? I know I’ve felt that a time or two. I know as a busy Christian mom of three I’m feeling, the kids are feeling it, and let’s throw in the husband and dogs in for that matter too. So, how do we fix this? Glad you asked! I’m giving you three Bible verses for an attitude adjustment. First, let’s memorize Philippians 2:14 in minutes.
CLICK TO PLAY EPISODE 78
Backstory
These three verses are built into the Anchored Attitude Mini Series where we’re memorizing scripture to focus our attitude, mindset, and effort on God. Here are the bible verses we’re covering:
- EP 78: Philippians 2:14 (attitude) “Do everything without complaining and arguing.”
- EP 79: Romans 12:12 (attitude)
- EP 80: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (attitude)
Before we dive into our 3 bible verse for an attitude adjustment, I want to remind you of the free workbook that goes right along with these 9 episodes in the Anchored Attitude Mini Series. It’s got every verse we’re covering and each verse has a few interactive pages to help you memorize the scripture. It’s the perfect way to round out this mini series.
If you’re committed to learning these bible verses, grab this free workbook. Head to brookecollier.com and enter your email where prompted. The workbook will roll out to you this upcoming Monday as these 9 episodes are released. Are you listening in the future and missed the free workbook? Email me at [email protected] or message me on Instagram @busychristianmom and let me know your request for a free copy.
Ep 78: Philippians 2:14
In episode 78, we’re discussing Philippians 2:14. Keep in mind that we’re working on our attitude in particular. I’ll read Philippians 2:14 in the NLT, then we’ll work on memorizing it together. Ready? It’s short and sweet:
“Do everything without complaining and arguing”
Philippians 2:14
Verse Context Breakdown
See? It’s a shortie this week! We can definitely memorize Philippians 2:14 in minutes. What I’ll do at the beginning of each of our 3 bible verses for an attitude adjustment is to give you some context around the verse. A little context can go a long way and help us find deeper meaning in scripture. Here are some quick facts:
- This verse was penned by Paul (episode 5)
- Timothy was a co-seder of this letter
- This letter is addressed to the church at Philipi
- Paul wrote this while in a roman prison
- He was arrested for telling others about Jesus
First of all, Paul is in full on prison because he was trying to point people to Christ. I know for some of us Americans, that sounds almost preposterous. Yet, for our missionary friends around the world, this is a real scenario that can happen (or worse for that matter). Side note: We currently have a BCM insider who has recently relocated their entire family to a third world country to spread the gospel. Pray for missionaries! We want them to do everything without complaining and arguing, and we want to do that for ourselves here at home base too!
Second, Paul wrote encouragement to other believers, while being in this prison environment. It was not rainbows and sunshine, yet he still chose to inspire others. His choice of words are absolutely perfect here. “Do everything without complaining and arguing.” Classic. If it were me writing this I know my in between the lines wouldn’t be so kind… It would be more like, “Y’all listen here. I am in full on prison, and do you see me complaining? No. So, y’all need to suck it up buttercup.”
Kudos to you, Paul. When I get to heaven I’ll have to ask about how you kept your attitude in check.
Memorize Philippians 2:14
Now, let’s walk through some ways to memorize Philippians 2:14, “Do everything without complaining an arguing.” First, grab that free workbook. In it you’ll have this verse to trace, repeat write, verse map, action plan, and utilize cute cutouts perfect for your car, your book, and your mirror.
We’ve discussed the context. Paul is in a roman prison, and he’s writing to the church at Philipi, and motivating them to do everything without complaining and arguing. And, at this point in the episode, you have heard this verse five times already. If you stopped listening to this episode at this exact moment you would have already heard our memory verse this week five times.
If you pause now and began to work on your workbook, you’ll have listened, read, or written the verse about 20 times. Look at you go! I bet you can even say the verse! Go ahead, try it! Yep, “Do everything without complaining and arguing.” Good job! Now we’re at 6 times you hearing this verse!
Strategy Technique
But let’s add another strategy cheery on top of memorizing Philippians 2:14, “Do everything without complaining or arguing.” The trickiest part to memorize are the words complaining and arguing. Think about this. Do you know someone in your life who is a constant whiner? What about someone who is always trying to poke the bear or get a rise out of people?
Maybe it’s the coworker, maybe it’s your toddler, maybe it’s you when you’re loading up the back of your vehicle for an all day summer track meet in the 100 degree Texas weather (me talking to myself about whining). Ew. What’s coming out of their complaining or arguing mouth is a big EW. No one wants to hear it. Nobody enjoys being around a whiner or someone who is constantly picking fights and provoking others. It’s unhelpful, and unproductive.
Here’s how to remember this complaining and arguing part, plus, a little bilingual lesson for you. Complaining starts with a C, and Arguing starts with an A. The sound CA. In Spanish, the word “caca” means poop.” CACA complaining, arguing, complaining, arguing. A whole bunch of caca. And all that caca is coming out of your mouth when you’re complaining and arguing. Ew. Next time someone is complaining and arguing, imagine all those words turning into caca.
Now, let’s try to say the verse again from memory. “Do everything without complaining and arguing.” Because nobody likes a poop mouth. Y’all, I will be doing this scripture memorization with my kids this summer, and I know they’re going to be rolling on the floor belly laughing when we get to talk about poop mouths and caca.
We’ll remember Philippians 2:14 because we can tie it back to Paul in prison writing to the Philippians about poop. Paul, prison, Philippians, poop. All start with the letter P. We’re talking about poop and P today geeze loueeze. Let me just pause and say, these strategies are only dumb if they don’t work. BUT THEY DO WORK, and that’s also why I made the free workbook for you and why you can also listen to episode 24 for additional tips to memorizing scripture. I’ll link it in the show notes.
So, we remember Philippians (Paul, prison, Philippians, poop). Now we can remember the number 2…for obvious poop joke reasons, but also because Paul and Timothy co-wrote this, the two of them. 14, you’re just going to have to remember that it’s written to the church of Philippi, so there’s got to at least be 14 people attending that church. There you have it, Philippians 2:14. Let’s say the verse again, just to make sure it’s still in our brains, and we’re not wilding out on too many poop jokes.
“Do everything without complaining and arguing”
Philippians 2:14
Live It Out
Here’s how you can live out this verse. This originally started as a family joke over 15 years ago. Backstory, the girls in my family go Black Friday shopping every year. Yes, we are those people, but not the crazy ones. It’s more of a dedicated time where the husbands take over all the kids, while the girls in the family have a sleepover together. We wake up the next day, and score great deals for Christmas gifts for everyone.
I am not a shopper. It’s just not in me. So, when we go on this hours long shopping day, I need frequent snack breaks. Once the we girls noticed this pattern of me not doing everything without complaining and arguing, they realized, “Oh, Brooke. You just need a snack and a shopping break.”
You may just see me chilling being the person holding the spot in the line, sipping on a Dr. Pepper with my Auntie Annie’s pretzel. It’s my role, and my sister in law picks out all the cute things for me because, again, I’m am not the stylish, shoppy type. Give some athleisure and a snack and I’m am set for life.
It’s tradition on the Black Friday girls sleepover and shop day, you must be 10 years old before you can come have the girls day. Why? Because there can only be one person who is the designated complainer and arguer. Any guesses who? It’s me! Under 10s don’t have that kind of shopping endurance. It’s a joke now, and I’ve learned to build up my shopping endurance.
I’m happy to announce that now I’ve been promoted to designated snack duty. No complaining and arguing over here anymore! And, if the youngers get hungry, they know to come to me with their complaints, and I’ll be cover for them and be the whiney one who needs another snack. Wins all around.
Since then, my immediate family has adapted this rule, and we designate the “complainer” of the group. Hint: for this to work, pick someone who isn’t going to whine. For example, when we went to Disney, I was the designated whiner. Why? Because it’s the happiest place in the world, and I would never complain there. Or, when we hiked trails in Colorado, Morgan was the designated complainer because he’s totally in his element and would never whine about it. When out kids piped up about a complaint, we’d just say, “We’ll, dad’s the only one who can whine, so tough luck, kid.”
Another hint: do this often enough in low risk moments, so it becomes a funny joke, and complaining in that situation would just be so ridiculous. That way when you get to stuff you want your kids to appreciate, they go in with the humor of the joke and gratitude comes more naturally.
This has now been a thing I’ve started doing when training my athletes. If it’s a million degrees outside I’ll say, “Just a heads up, Coach Faren is the only one allowed to whine about the weather.” Ironically, the kids will joke back and say things like, “Well, good thing it’s pretty chilly out, so I think we’ll be good today.” Hint: I also try to say the designated complainer is an authority adult that isn’t me. Because it also let’s the kids know that I’m not allowerd to complain either. Works like a charm.
Podcast Recap
Did you memorize Philippians 2:14 in minutes? Quick check! Can you say this week’s memory verse already? My hint to you: poop and pee jokes. Take a second to think. Okay. Try right now. Yep, “Do everything without complaining and arguing.” Philippians 2:14. You did it! Now you can spend the next few days working in your free workbook. Don’t have it yet? Remember to head to the website and enter your email where prompted. The workbook will come to you on Monday. One last time for the road. Let’s say our verse of the week that will help us anchor our attitude towards how God wants us to respond.
“Do everything without complaining and arguing”
Philippians 2:14
Links from the Show
- Anchored Attitude Mini Series
- EP 24: Tips to Memorize Scripture
- Etsy Shop: Busy Christian Mom
- Busy Christian Mom Podcast (Apple Podcasts)
- Pinterest: Brooke Collier BCM
- Busy Christian Mom Instagram
