Stress-Free Scripture Memory!

If there is one legacy that I want to leave my children, it is that of hiding God's Word in their precious hearts! All the facts and knowledge in the world pale in comparison to knowing Him and His Word, and yet, it is easily forgotten among the other tasks we strive to check off on our already full checklists of things to do! As important as it is, I don't want scripture memory to become a burden, or a stressful, performance-oriented task, which it can quickly become if treated like just another school subject. I want my children to have delight in learning God's Word, don't you?

The Maxwell Family at Titus 2.com recently had a wonderful suggestion for scripture memory that our family has adopted. It is virutally effortless and stress-free! Hanging on the wall of our dining room is a wipe-off marker board on which I put the verse we are currently working on:

photo copyright 2008 Domestic Legacies

Before breakfast and lunch, just after we pray, we recite the memory verse two times before we eat. So, in one day's time, we have reviewed the verse four times. When the verse is new, to aid the children who can't yet read, I break up the verse into small segments and have the children repeat after me. After everyone is getting the hang of the verse, we all say it together two times per meal. The children hear my enthusiasm for the Word as we recite together, and it is contagious!...Remaining reverent ,we use inflection in our voices with excitement, rather than a dull, monotone voice. With little time and effort spent I have to say that THIS REALLY WORKS!! Once we've all memorized the current verses, I put them on an index card and we occasionally review the past verses to keep them fresh in our minds.

I want to stress to you that the verses children of any age are capable of learning do not have to be short and simple! As you see in the picture above, we are memorizing Titus 2: 1-5. The verses we learned a few weeks ago were Proverbs 2: 1-8 Funny thing is, my younger ones are faster at memorizing than I am! It is SO precious to hear them recite by themselves long verses of scripture (with an occasional prompt or two)! My purpose in telling you this is not to boast, but to "raise the bar" for you, so to speak.! The Lord only knows how He might use these verses later in their lives!

I really hope you'll try this method of scripture memory. It's been the fastest and most enjoyable I've found! Let us know what you think!

Copyright 2008 Domestic Legacies