Note-taking is my “second brain” as Tiago Forte calls it in his book Building A Second Brain.
I had a front seat at The Theology of Imagination seminar at our annual Ministry Leadership Conference when I introduced the two pastors near me how I use creativity to explore the Scriptures. We were after-all in the “imagination” seminar.
I exposed them to my Hebrew-looking stick men lined up in genealogical and chronological significance. The bearded pastor wow-ed the simple artwork “They should put this in Bible commentary.” The less-bearded pastor yeaha-ed the efforts “This is good for Sunday school. You should teach it to kids.”
Some might find my Bible discoveries valuable, others might find them childish. These cartoonish notes benefit me. For others, note-taking could look very differently. Details tracked on paper, or digital platform help us connect the dots in the Bible.
Although I am spellbound by details, I saw no point in God including all the ages in Genesis 5:6-32, I took notes without seeing their relevance.
Only some years later, inspired from Answers In Genesis I realized that I was mindlessly tracking how old Adam was when Enosh, Enoch, Lamech were born. Doing a little extra math, I figured out how long Adam could tell the next generations the Creation story, talk about the Garden of Eden, the first child being born, the mourning over Abel.
Adam could talk to Enosh 695 years
Adam could talk to Kenan 605 years
Adam could talk to Mahalalel 535 years
Adam could talk to Jared 470 years
Adam could talk to Enoch 308 years
Adam could talk to Methuselah 243 years
Adam could talk to Lamech 56 years
Adam did not talk to Noah at all, just to his father and grandfather.
“When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father of Enosh. After he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Seth lived a total of 912 years, and then he died. When Enosh had lived 90 years, he became the father of Kenan. After he became the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enosh lived a total of 905 years, and then he died…”
I have physical notebooks where I draw, chart, and keep track of unique truths. But, I see great value in digital note-taking, because it is “my second brain”. Digital notes are linkable, clickable, quotable, carry-able… because they can be accessed anywhere, and at anytime. Like during the “imagination” seminar.
I used to clump all my quotes, comments, and ideas on my classic Notes app. After reading Tiago’s book I discovered my favorite app for note-taking, Notion. It’s multi-layered, creative, resourceful, and adjustable to ones needs.
“You like to dig for gold!” Continued the pastor sitting next to me at The Theology of Imagination seminar. I whispered back “Nope. I dig for potatoes.” I confused the man.
I may not discover golden nuggets worthy of Bible commentaries. But I’m ecstatic when I find potatoes. Daily applications for my mundane tasks.
When I can picture Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, and Lamech (Noah’s dad) talking to Adam about the Creation story, it urges me to tell God’s story to the next generation. Unlike Adam, my life won’t stretch to 900 years.
No, I’m not a genius. But the Scripture is packed with genius-like saints we can access. All we need is curiosity to explore the most boring, mundane and repetitive numbers, lists, names, and omit-able details.
Exploring alone is not sufficient.
Keeping track of our observations is crucial, because “We digest more than we can absorb.”
David journals “My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.” Psalm 45:1
“Moses then wrote down everything the Lord had said.” Exodus 24:6
“The Lord said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.” Exodus 34:1
“Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and while Jeremiah dictated all the words the Lord had spoken to him, Baruch wrote them on the scroll.” Jeremiah 36:4
“Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.” Habakkuk 2:2
