I LOVE teaching my kids to memorize Scripture for so many reasons, but the powerful truth is that if we “hide God’s Word in our heart, we will not sin against Him…” also, “His Word is ALIVE and ACTIVE…” It gives me strength, joy, encouragement, HOPE, focus. It helps me to rise above my current emotion. It helps me to teach the kids TRUTH rather than rationalizing, lecturing or getting overly emotional. AND, it works. Praise God for that.
I have not been a mom forever…only 7 years and 2 months, but I am passionate about two things–Jesus & His Word, and my family (oh, and Africa)…(okay…and Chai Tea and brownies:)) I am learning as I go here, but really trying to follow Jesus in being faithful to teach my children what He desires of His children, how He wants us to live and speak and act…so the best and most effective way I’ve found is through God’s Word. All that being said…I’m sure that is the desire of many, but the practicality of it is challenging. I wanted to share a few resources and tips that I’ve used along the way. And my latest one. These are not fancy or high-tech, but the best way is to be faithful, consistent and surrendered to the Father in it all. The most amazing part is seeing how kids are able to retain God’s Word so easily–it is POWERFUL in their lives and it is lasting. You are planting ETERNAL seeds of Truth in them. How AWESOME!!
Yesterday I decided to LIVE in the WORD over these next few weeks. The challenge of course with 5 small children is HOW to do this. It is impossible for me to sit and read all day…or to listen to the Bible all day. So, the Lord graciously inspired me to simply write Scriptures on note cards and tape them on the doors (just like Deuteronomy 6 says :)) —
“The LORD our GOD the Lord is ONE. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and will all your SOUL and with all your STRENGTH. These commandments I give you today are to be upon your hearts. IMPRESS THEM ON YOUR CHILDREN. TALK about them when you sit at home and when you WALK along the road, when you LIE down and when you GET UP…Tie them as symbols…WRITE THEM ON YOUR DOORFRAMES…”
Not only have I put them on the doorframes, but also the mirrors, the windows…anywhere around the house that we frequent. It’s been so fun and amazing. Ella has already memorized the three I put on her door and now she’s on to mine :)…I’ve also picked Scriptures that are related to my individual children and their spiritual growth or difficulties right now. For example, one of my children is having a very hard time with selfishness, so I wrote out the verse from Philippians that says, “Do nothing out of selfishness or vanity, but in HUMILITY consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” WOW…that has been a convicting one this week…each time my sweet child has an issue with selfishness I ask him/her to finish the verse…I can see the pain on this one’s face, but also the gentle conviction. Today I saw moments of victory over this area…so I know God’s Word is at work!!
KEEP IT VISIBLE!! I have a white board where we can all see it from our dinner table, so EVERY MEAL we make it a habit to say our Scripture for the week. If I don’t have it up, I forget!
FOR PRESCHOOL AGE…I love this age, but wow, is it exhausting…and currently I have a one, two and three year old!! Maija is amazing at memorizing Scripture, but it’s the application of it all that I just have to PRAY PRAY PRAY for in her little heart. But here’s the best thing I’ve found to do with this age (and I’ll try to attach a document, so you can use what I’ve already created–don’t re-invent unless you have to, right!?) I used the PreSchool Curriculum from SonLight and they have an amazing Character Qualities focus for this age group. If you are desiring to focus in on your child’s character development first, this is a wonderful way to do it. Each week, you choose a Christ-like character trait to focus on. I usually begin with ATTENTIVENESS then OBEDIENCE. Again, make it visible…I make a sign that says the character trait, the definition (a simple one that your child can understand) and then a Scripture that reinforces why this character trait is so important to God.
For ATTENTIVENESS, I’ve taught my children that it means, “I will listen with my eyes, ears and heart.” This applies to how they need to be towards you as their parent, but also towards God! The Scripture that I teach with it is, “Pay attention, my Child, to what I say, listen carefully.” Proverbs 4:20
CLICK on this link below to see how I’ve done it…You are more than welcome to print it out and use what you like, change it…make it your own!! May God be glorified MORE in and through HIS Word being taught in our homes!
Character Qualities to Teach your Children…
Another FUN way is to pick a letter of the week…and memorize a Scripture that begins with that letter…CLICK below to see what I’ve typed out. These Scriptures are from SING THE WORD.ORG. It’s a little different style, but I think most kids like to sing and it aids in memorization!!
Here’s a little loving challenge…Sometimes, we need to TURN OFF the noise in our lives…get quiet. LISTEN. BE STILL. WAIT FOR HIS VOICE. But I can attest to the fact that often the noise in life causes me to hear many other voices, priorities and lies, rather than hearing God and HIS TRUTH and promises moment by moment. Turn off you t.v. Just for one day…you can do it and I bet you’ll really like it! And it is a vital discipline that our world, culture (the enemy) is stealing from our lives and it is our responsibility to model and teach this to our children!! Listen to this Scripture…
This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. Isa 30:15ALSO, if you and your kids love to LISTEN TO THE WORD, check out THE BIBLE EXPERIENCE…It is totally incredible and you can download the ENTIRE Bible!! It’s so awesome!! BE BLESSED IN THE WORD!!