Lately, my oldest Doodlebug has
been encouraged by his Sunday school teachers to memorize scripture verses.
Each week he comes home with a new verse and a craft and worksheets to
complete. It’s so funny because we are also a part of a homeschool learning
co-op that greatly focuses on memorization and the ability of young kids to
learn great amounts of information…especially to the tune of a song.
This program, Classical
Conversations, has greatly challenged my thinking of the capacity of young
children to learn all sorts of information (history facts, math laws, new
languages, etc.). I was delighted when his Sunday school teachers applied this
same concept to learning the Bible. When I think about it, I still remember the
ABC bible verses that I learned back when I was in elementary school….A: All have sinned and fallen short of the
glory of God. Romans 3:23 B: Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. Acts 16:31 C: Children obey your parents in the Lord for
this is right. Ephesians 6:1…The list goes on and on…all the way to Z.
The funny thing is that I found the
challenge of memorizing these verses fun when I was a little sprout. I would
proudly recite my verses for a sticker or a trip to the blessing box during children’s
church. I had no idea that some of these very scriptures that I learned as a
child would end up being a life line for me as I reached adult-hood. The older
I got, the more these verses came alive to me in not just my head, but also my
heart.
The best gift we can give our children
is a knowledge of who the Lord is (and how to have a personal relationship with
Him) and a knowledge of His word. I want to encourage you as fellow moms to
teach Scripture to your children. Help them commit God’s truth to memory. At
our house, we use silly hand motions and dramatic gestures to help our children
retain this valuable information. To my surprise, while we were teaching these
movements to our six year old, our wee little ones were storing this
information also and reciting it for family. What a beautiful sight!
My biggest advice would be to have
fun with it, plant the seed of His word in your child’s heart, and watch God
make it grow. J
Verses to consider:
Teach them
to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when
you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Deuteronomy 11:19
Come, my children, listen to me; I
will teach you the fear of the LORD. Psalm 34:11
Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.
Proverbs 22:6
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