 The last two weeks I've spent a little extra time with my kids after our bedtime story. No, it's not more snuggles or prayers or conversations. We've been memorizing Scripture. It's not as spiritual as it sounds. I have some Scriptures on sticky notes, we stick it to their headboards and start reading. My son and I memorized Proverbs 16:24, "Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones." I thought this would be a good one for a brother with a big sister to know. There are lots of times a pleasant word isn't the first response! He made up his own motions to help us remember it--including blowing a kiss for "pleasant" and smacking his arms as hard as he can for "bones". He loves loves loves this extra 3 minutes with Mommy before bed and demands we say our verse even if it is waaaay past bedtime. Every night for about a week, we said this verse with the motions and now he can quote it like he's known it for years. His ability to recall and quote so quickly and easily surprised me. And that surprise stopped me in my tracks. I know kids are little sponges when it comes to memorization. I know that 90% of the verses I know were memorized when I was a kid! It made me realize all the time I was wasting. Not in a you're-not-doing-enough-do-better-mama, but in a it-only-takes-three-minutes-and-it-can-change-your-kids-life! Teaching our kids to memorize Scripture is not just a thing we should do as Christian parents. God's Word is alive, it's ready to do what God has planned for it to do. When we help our kids memorize these life-giving, double-edged sword words, we are equipping them to do big things for God. Imagine a generation of kids who have been living and breathing God's Word for their whole lives. When they meet people far from God, struggling in life or broken in heart and spirit, their first response will be to point them to God's Word. Children filled with God's Word will have a bright light illuminating their path--so bright they will be a beacon for those living in darkness! Since this little idea has been so successful, I've been scrambling to come up with some more verses that his little heart needs. I'm sharing a few of my favorites with you--great lists of Scriptures for kids including lots of free printables so you can download them and stick them on your kids' headboard! 100 Scriptures I Want My Children To Learn Scripture Stickies (pre-printed post-its!) ABC Scripture Cards (free printable!) Seasonal Scriptures for Kids (free printable!) I AM Sayings Printable (lots of awesome ideas here!) Scripture on God's Mission 70 Verses to Pray From Scripture from Missional Women Topical Memory Verses from Missional Women  About Amanda Amanda White is a stay-at-home mom of two who blogs at ohAmanda.com and is the author of Truth in the Tinsel: An Advent Experience for Little Hands. In her former life, Amanda was a Children’s Pastor — overseeing, organizing and developing ministry for kids in nursery through middle school, but now that she is a mom, her “skills” are used up on her kids! If you'd like to read more from this contributor, type her name in the search box on the top right.
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2 Comments
4/4/2015 11:10:15 am
What a beautiful idea to shore up our kids with God's word. I did not do this with my own kids and did not have this with my ow parents. I pray that more and more parents will take the time to do this with their children. Blessed you shared this at The Weekend Brew. 4/8/2015 02:32:07 am
I was completely amazed with my now 3yr old, then 2.5yr old. We did a simplified Truth in the Tinsel over Christmas. She was repeating phrases back to me...months later. Never too young to start. :) Leave a Reply. |
