OUR ANSWER FOR MEMORIZING SCRIPTURES

This last year we have emphasized Bible memorization in our daily morning Bible time and discovered a method that is working tremendously well for us. I’ve tried straight read-and-repeat memorization, but it was slow going and the children quickly forgot. We’ve also purchased CDs of Scriptures set to music (original tunes, written by the singers)--but that didn’t work for us either.

The girls and I needed to memorize Proverbs 31, and it wasn’t happening—so in desperation, I decided to set it to music that we already knew (hymns, Christmas songs), and in no time we had all memorized this chapter. I became sold on this method!

I began setting other Scriptures to music we all knew, and last school year we learned Psalm 33, Psalm 103, and Psalm 145. The children learned these passages so easily and didn’t forget them when we moved on to other verses.

I have decided to be a little more ambitious and tackle an entire book: the book of Philippians. By using dozens of familiar tunes, from “I’ve been working on the Railroad” to “Edelweiss”--from “Frosty the Snowman” to “Come thou Fount of Every Blessing”--we were able to learn the whole book of Philippians in two months. This was a blast!

We all enjoyed our quick progress. And what a joy to hear our children singing the Word of God as they went about their household routines.

Next, we all decided to take on Colossians, and again it took us two months.  I absolutely love the challenge of finding just the right tune to “fit” each portion/paragraph of Scripture, and I clearly sense the Lord’s guidance on song selections.

Even our two-year-old now knows pages and pages of Scripture—she can sing every word right along with us. She can also say (without singing) most of the words.

So much of what fills our days is open to question about how valuable it truly is—but in the moments when we are learning God’s word, I know with all my heart that we are doing precisely what we’re supposed to be doing.

I allot 30 minutes for our daily school Bible time, and only about 10 minutes of this is spent on Bible memory, so it really doesn’t take that long. The rest of the time we’re systematically reading through the Bible, one chapter a day, alternating reading a whole Old Testament book and then a New Testament book. We have just finished Joshua and are now into Romans.

We review memorized Scriptures regularly also, challenging each other to say (speaking, not singing) various passages.

It is the joy of my life to plant these truths within my children’s hearts—and trust the Lord for the harvest in their lives.

COBEY HALEY

Ph: (806) 687-1581

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