In 2015 Guinness World Records awarded a certificate to seventeen-year-old Tushar Lakhanpal of India for having the largest pencil collection in the world—nearly 20,000 of them. He’s been collecting pencils since he was three, and his pencils are organized by color and showcased under glass. He should meet German’s Petra Engels. She holds the record for collecting an equal number of erasers.

Robert Dahl of Germany collects coffee pots. He has 27,390 of them. Bob Thompson owns 6,352 mugs, but he may lose his claim to fame. Charles Hubbell, 84, boasts of having more than 19,000 mugs in his barn in Culleoka, Tennessee.

Speaking of hot beverages, the largest collection of three-piece tea sets belongs to Pyrmonter Fuerstentreff of Germany. He has 999 of them—surely he can find one more. His fellow German, Ralf Schröder, owns the largest collection of sugar packets on earth, a hobby he started in 1987. But Ralf has competition too. A note on the Guinness website from a member of the French Sugar Collector Club claims many aficionados have larger collections.

Psychologists struggle to explain our sweet spot for collecting things, but the reasons are usually emotional rather than financial. We find something that piques our interest or takes us back to our childhood. We enjoy the diversion of the search and get a sense of satisfaction over each new find and sharing our treasures with others.

What do you collect?

Hey, I have an idea. How about compiling a set of resources to help you stay strong amid the stresses of life? The psalmist David once said this in Psalm 27:3 about being cool, calm, and collected: “When besieged, I’m as calm as a baby. When all hell breaks loose, I’m collected and cool” (The Message).

There’s nothing wrong with collecting pencils, sugar packets, or coffee mugs, but nothing compares to collecting spiritual resources and faith-based gems to keep us calm and strong through the seasons of life. The Bible challenges us to accumulate knowledge, wisdom, faith, and grace to use during times of trial and trouble.

Collect Scriptures

Start by collecting Scriptures. In her book, It’s My Turn, Ruth Bell Graham wrote, “People are writing and talking about collectibles. … I got to thinking. What would be the best collectible for me? Something that would increase in value; something that would make me really wealthy; something I could share that would be a cushion in case of depression and could provide comfort in case of the death of a loved one or old age. I had it! Bible verses.”¹

Ruth went on to advocate the practice of daily Scripture memory, a habit she started as a missionary child in China many years ago. You should try it too.

Collect Prayers

It’s also a good idea to collect prayers. You can begin with the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 but add to it and keep a little notebook of treasured prayers. This idea might appeal more to those from a liturgical background, but it’s a valuable idea for all of us. In 1898, the devotional writer Mary W. Tileston published a collection of prayers she had garnered from fourteen centuries of Christian history. She titled her volume, Great Souls at Prayer, and many have found it a wonderful supplement to their own devotions.

Her suggested prayer for December 14, for example, is by the Scottish pastor and hymnist George Matheson, who said: “Thou divine Spirit, let me find my strength in Thee. I need Thee, that I may be strong everywhere. I long to be independent of all circumstances…. I want a power to save me from sinking in despondency, and to rescue me from soaring in pride. I want both a pillar of fire and a pillar of cloud; a refuge from the night of adversity, and a shield from the day of prosperity. I can find them in Thee. Thou hast proved Thy power both over the night and over the day. Come into my heart, and Thy power shall be my power. I shall be victorious over all circumstances, at home in all scenes, restful in all fortunes.”²

You can find many books of collected prayers, but why not assemble your own? The Bible is full of written prayers, many of them by the psalmists and by Paul, but we also have two millennia of Christian history, each era filled with praying men and women whose words can strengthen our time in the closet of prayer.

Collect Hymns

You can also assemble your own collection of favorite hymns and songs of praise. Many churches no longer use hymnbooks, but publishers have them available to purchase for our private use, and sometimes nothing will do except a hymn. The Irish missionary Amy Carmichael told of a time in childhood when, during a family vacation on the northern Irish coast, she and her siblings had gone rowing. The tides were powerful, and the children were caught in the currents and being swept toward the open sea. Her brothers, straining at the oars, looked up at Amy in alarm and shouted, “Sing!”

“I sang at the top of my voice the first thing that came into my head,” she said. It was the hymn: “He leadeth me, O blessed thought, / O words with heavenly comfort fraught; / Whate’er I do, where’er I be, / Still ‘tis God’s hand that leadeth me!”

“It certainly wasn’t God’s hand that led us out into forbidden waters,” Amy later wrote, “but it was He who caused the coastguard men to hear that song and row quickly to the rescue; so we weren’t swept over the bar.”³

It’s easy to learn the words to the great hymns of the faith. We simply sing them over and over, and their rhyme and rhythm embed the words into our minds like nails. I encourage you to devote a cupboard of your mind to storing away some of your favorite songs of faith.

Collect Wisdom

It’s also a good idea to collect proverbs, quotes, wise sayings, and uplifting sentences. Many Turning Points readers are fans of Jan Karon’s series of books about Father Timothy, the fictional priest whose commonsense ministry proved a blessing to those around him. One of Karon’s books, A Continual Feast, purports to be Father Tim’s own personal collection—his journal—of collected quotes by others. One such saying is by Francis of Assisi: “Start by doing what’s necessary, then what’s possible, and suddenly you’ll be doing the impossible.” Here’s another: “Storms make oaks take deeper roots”—George Herbert. And this gem by Mr. Anonymous: “In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.”⁴

You don’t need Father Tim’s journal, Mary Tileston’s book of prayers, a publisher’s hymnal, or a friend’s scripture cards. Just develop your own. You can do it on a computer, of course, but maybe a notebook would be better. Whatever your age or stage in life, become a collector. Search out, write down, and learn by heart some truths to keep you cool, calm, and collected in life. A quote on one page, a prayer on the next, a hymn on the next, and, most of all, verses to learn, review, and store away in the secret corners of your heart and mind.

I’m sure you know that a lot of celebrities are collectors; they have the money for it. Victoria Beckham owns more than 100 Birkin bags, each costing between $10,000 and $150,000. Shaquille O’Neal collects Superman memorabilia. Tom Hanks is into vintage typewriters, and Jay Leno famously collects expensive vehicles. Sitting in his garage are 130 cars and 93 motorcycles.

None of them have so rich and valuable a collection as you’ll have as you gather, store, and use the spiritual resources God has provided for you.

Become a faith collector. You may never be listed in Guinness, but you’ll be blessed by God.

Sources:

¹Ruth Bell Graham, It’s My Turn (Old Tappan, NJ: Revell, 1982), 172.

²Mary W. Tileston, Great Souls at Prayer (London: James Bowden, 1898), 349.

³Frank L. Houghton, Amy Carmichael of Dohnavur (Fort Washington, PA: Christian Literature Crusade, 2000), 27.

⁴Jan Karon, A Continual Feast (NY: Viking Press, 2005), passim.