This is not a sponsored post. Just one of those “I like this. I think my readers might too” kind of things.
Full disclosure: I stink at Bible memorization.
Besides John 3:16, I pretty much couldn’t recite chapter and verse to you if you held a gun to my head. It’s not pretty. I’m not proud of it. But it’s the truth and I don’t want to paint a picture here that isn’t honest.
But I know how important it is.
To have God’s word hidden in your heart. A balm to your soul when you need it.
And I’d like to be better about it. And I certainly want my kids to be better about it than I am.
Because isn’t that so often what we do as parents? Try to give better for our kids than we have or are?
Back when I was still pregnant with Henry, I was the nursery director at our church, and was lucky enough to be sent to a children’s ministry conference put on by Bethlehem Baptist Church…you know, the church that is pastored by John Piper. NBD.
They had this little set of cards there.
Simple. Even a little hokey.
Dorky black and white line drawings with corresponding Bible verses on the back.
Kept together by a single binder ring.
A fat stack of verses. For PRESCHOOLERS. As in, ages 2-5.
I remember thinking: “Preschoolers can hardly tell you their names, there’s no way they can rattle back verses with chapter citations. This is insane.”
Until I walked into a Sunday School class and watched as the teacher pointed to larger versions of the drawings and the ENTIRE CLASS of itty bitty kids who probably still need help wiping their bottoms recited verses without hesitation.
Boom.
I was a believer.
So I bought a stack of verses for five bucks. Swore I would do them with my yet to be born babe.
Returned home and promptly forgot all about it.
Until I recently found the card set buried in the closet. Never too late to start they say.
You know, for me.
It’s a simple system. Low key. No pressure.
I copy the drawing on our chalkboard and write out the verse underneath it. We do one verse a week.
Sometimes I get bogged down by wanting things to be super fun and cute and Pin-worthy.
I actually put this whole thing off for a week because I wanted to look up fun examples of chalkboard art and try to replicate it.
But then I realized that it doesn’t matter.
Not to my kids. Not to God.
Sometimes blogging messes with your head too much. You get too wrapped up in what things look like…that you miss the forest for the trees.
So my everyday handwriting will have to suffice.
We practice over meals. While I’m bustling around the kitchen making lunches. In the car.
I don’t make it a big “thing”. We don’t sit down and get all official about it. It just is.
It’s not something on my to-do list. It just happens organically. You know, because it’s written on a giant 5′ tall chalkboard in the middle of my kitchen. You kinda can’t miss it.
So far I am SO impressed by how quickly Henry is picking it up. Lucy is getting it but at 3 years old, needs help. Jill hears it recited over and over. She may not be able to say it back, but I know it’s nestling itself in her little head.
Oh, and this mama is totally learning verses too. Alongside her littles. Which is pretty cool too.
You obviously don’t need to buy cards to work on verses with your kids. But for me, I get overwhelmed. Where do I start? Which verses do I use? How long is too long? What translation?
I like having things laid out for me sometimes. Or else I’ll just end up researching it to death and never actually get around to DOING it. Story of my life.
The folks at Desiring God Ministries sell these card sets for $5. The Foundation Verses are geared for Preschoolers (2-5) and the Fighter Verses are for the rest of us (6-150). They also have an iPhone and Android app if you want to be all techy about it.
You don’t have to actually buy the cards or the app though…they have charts with all of it laid out for you. You could just look it up online every week or make your own (less dorky) set of cards. And then send me a set. Because it kinda drives me crazy that the artwork is not cute.
Because I have me some great priorities.
I decided to video Henry doing his verses (with a cameo by Jill). Feel free to skip this if you’re not a grandma. (And yes I know he goofed up on the last part of the third verse, but I didn’t have the heart to correct him on tape.)
Do you do Bible memorization with your kids? What do you use?
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What a great idea! We talk about God and my kids know the story of Jesus and other bible stories like the back of their hands, but we rarely read the bible with them. What a huge miss for us as parents! I definitely want to do this!!
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This grandma thanks you for that!
OMGosh! This is great! I just bought a little person’s set and the Fighter set for me! Thank you!
Very cool! Thanks for sharing! I just purchased two. My kids are older than the age group, but think this will be a great starting point for ALL of us! My chalkboard has hooks, so I will be able to hang the verses right on it! Thanks again for sharing!
Wow, I love the simplicity of this system. I am so guilty of “over researching” a project on Pinterest only to come to the conclusion that I have overcomplicated something that should have been a simple chalk board! It was very refreshing, and also perfect timing for the post I had planned on writing today, to see someone else struggle with worrying about the “pin-worthy-ness” (I love to make up words) of something.
Thanks for sharing this fun tool! I am going to use their chart system and implement this TODAY!
-Erika
What a great idea…especially for preschoolers! I’ll pass it on for sure. We have two guys (16 and 19) and we have learned full Bible chapters through music. I just break the verses into 1-4 and then put a easy (sometimes cheesy) tune to them. We sing them just like they are written. We’ve learned John 14-17, Psalm 91, Ezekiel 1, Romans 8:26-38 and Ephesians 1:15-23. We also learned Rev. 4 and Psalm 145 by just praying them out loud everyday without trying to memorize them. I think by connecting them to a song or picture, it’s a great way to help the brain to remember them. Using hand gestures along with saying them would be great for preschoolers too. Oh, once we have them memorized by song, we just pray them out loud but use the tune to help remind us if we forget them. I would just use the voice recorder on our computer to record the tunes. If singing isn’t your thing, then finding some scripture tunes on cd would be a great idea too. However it’s done, it will be a huge treasure for them to have the Word hidden in their hearts! Great post!
Nancy at livininthegreen.blogspot.com
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THis is great info to keep tucked away for when my Clara gets a little older. SHe’s 5 months now. I STINK at Bible memorization. Really stink. I hear ya on the John 3:15 thing. Ugh. Maybe I can order the cards for myself so that by the time Clara is ready I’ll have a few under my belt?? :)
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We started out with the Foundations verses but now we use a couple different approaches. The most effect is the Rizers, a band that uses verses as lyrics. Picture 4 year old boy punching as he sings, Fight! The good faith of the faith. :)
We also started memorizing John 1 as a family. Everyday we practice the next verse and do it together. Just 2-3 minutes a day. We’re pretty far along too. I heard a speaker once say that all God asks of us is “long faithfulness in the same direction.” Doesn’t have to fancy!
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Yeah, I’m going to need a set of these. Oh, and GO HENRY!! And your kids are adorable. The end.
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