The Benefit of Scripture Memory at its Finest!

For Easter, Calvin received the My ABC Bible Verses book that I had mentioned on my Building Our {Faith} Library wish list! Well, as he is not quite yet able to memorize scripture, Max and I totally usurped his gift and started last week with Letter A:

I do give a little breakdown of our memorization process below; however, my main purpose here is to recount not only how quickly he was able to retain this verse, but also how immediately it impacted our daily life. On Monday and Tuesday, I started slow by just introducing the verse (and coinciding story). On Wednesday, I asked, “Max should we work on our memory verse?” I was fully expecting to have to go through the same motions as on the previous days; instead, I said the whole verse and he repeated the whole thing back to me, including the reference!

I am not exaggerating when I say that, in my personal parenting journey, this was quite possibly my proudest moment to date! The words crossed his lips and I was elated…my heart started racing, I teared up, laughed, and cheered all at the same time. I am passionate about God’s Word and desperately want for His beautiful, life-giving instructions to be my children’s go-to guidance on character development, behavior and obedience. So hearing my 26 month old excitedly say his memory verse over and over for me, Daddy, and anyone else who would listen, overwhelmed me with a passion for God and this little boy. It also reminded me of a few very important points:

1. These little people are SMART; simply repeat a sentence a few times and they commit it to memory!
2. If our children can remember things so easily, are we giving them anything worth remembering? I want mine remembering Christ…His Words, His Heart, His Actions, His Leadership, and His Character!
3. In order for children to be in tune with living a life for Christ and remembering His Word, we must lead by example. Not only should I memorize these verses with him, but remind us about them throughout our days and constantly be seeking God to grow my own character in order to model what I desire for my children.

Which brings me to a little anecdote about just how IMMEDIATELY beneficial this memory work is!

After a delightful morning running errands together, out came the reality a 2-year old’s multiple personalities. We were sitting at the table for lunch and Max started to get a little snippy (not listening, asking for new cups, pushing his fork across the table, etc.); I was growing more and more frustrated and things got especially heated when he launched his yogurt off the table, it dropped to the floor, and splattered across the wall. Charming, I know! Well, after both of us loudly wrestled through a couple of timeouts, I felt this gentle nudge:

A soft answer turns away wrath. – Proverbs 15 :1 (yes, the reference went through my head as well).

I sat down in front of Max and calmly said the verse a couple times and he quickly clambered onto my lap. I whispered it again and gently explained that we need to use kind words in order to avoid fighting and anger. What could have been the perfect storm of mass meltdowns until nap time instead turned into an intimate moment of teaching and humility. In turn, we both apologized and were instantaneously back on track for a much more pleasant afternoon!

This memory work clearly does not just become buried in a child’s heart but in the adult’s as well and grows everyone’s character. In the heat of the moment, in the midst of chaos and disobedience, scripture granted an immediate benefit for BOTH of us! What a powerful experience to spur me on in this pursuit!

{If interested, our scripture memory process is below}

Note: The book we’re using is intended for a little bit older of an audience; however, my current intention is to simply enjoy learning the verses together. We will work through all 26 (letters/verses/weeks) and this coming Fall/Winter when we delve into some preschool level learning, we will work through it again but maximize reading the stories and adding on more structured crafts and activities!

Monday – Read the scripture verse, citation & the coinciding story. Using additional adjectives, describe what the verse means and say prayers that we would live according to God’s Word and apply this verse to our lives. The point today is not to memorize but simply become familiar. Remember to say the previous week’s verses as well!

Tuesday – Again, read the scripture verse, citation, the coinciding story and say prayers. This time, recite small sections of the verse and ask child(ren) to repeat them. Cite the verse (Proverbs 15:1), then say the first half of the verse (have child repeat), say the second half of the verse (have child repeat) and conclude by again referencing the cite (have child repeat).

Wednesday – Friday: Say full verse and ask child to repeat, read coinciding story and say prayers. Say the verse multiple times throughout the day, talk about what those words mean and pray that we would remember these words in our heart and act accordingly!

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Becca V

Creator at Milk & Honey Living

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