Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Scripture Memory - ABC Style :)

Last fall, I had a sudden awareness of how soon my son Jake will be heading off to college. A bit premature, I know (he's only 14) - but 4 years will go fast! Yikes! So I told Jake that in 2009, I wanted us to memorize 26 new verses (My thinking is that when he is in college, I can pray that the verses would come alive in his heart and in his mind when he is faced with difficult choices). Me, being the simple girl that I am, started praying over a list of 26 verses I would like Jake "to take with him" - and I wanted them to be in A to Z order. That way, when we are going over them, it will (hopefully) make it easier for the verses to build on one another. So, if we are on a walk, driving in the car, or even at the dentist - we can be going over our verses. My hope (and prayer) is that by the end of 2009, we could start at A and make it all of the way to Z with God's Truths. I figured I would e-mail or text Jake his verses (seems cooler than making him have colored note cards with stickers like his mom :)). I even bought a calendar and figured out when I would send him a new verse (every other Monday) - and the beauty of it all is that with 52 weeks in a year, it works out perfectly!!

I was sharing this with a friend on New Years Eve, and she, too, wanted to memorize more scripture in 2009, but wished someone would give her the verses to memorize. I offered to send her the same verse I pick for Jake - and she liked that idea. It made me think maybe some of my other friends might like to join us as well. I sent out an e-mail with my idea, and the response was EXCITING!! Men, women, boys and girls - young and old - all over the United States signed up! How fun is that? There is so much POWER in God's WORD ~ so to think of the many, many friends committing 2009 to the renewing of their minds is THRILLING to me! And the excitement continues...one friend e-mailed all of her old college roommates and invited them in on our A to Z journey - and so her college roommate (who now lives in CA) e-mailed me to say she is in on the challenge. One dear man (who is, let's just say, older than 70) is mentoring a young man attending the University of Michigan. They have both signed up for the A to Z challenge. And my very best childhood friend (who now lives in PA) sent me a link to her blog with her little girl Emma (who is not yet 3) saying her verse. I could go on and on with how the A to Z challenge is spreading. Isn't God fun?! :)

All of that to say, if you are interested in joining us in our memory work - I'd love to send you the verses as well. Like I shared with Jake - this is something I am SO PASSIONATE ABOUT! My life has been TOTALLY TRANSFORMED because my mind has been TOTALLY TRANSFORMED and this has come from studying and learning and memorizing God's Word. I promise the verses aren't long and difficult - and learning a new one every other week seems really doable. And you can jump it at any time ~ we're not trying to be legalistic about this ~ even if we each learned 5 new verses ~ Praise the Lord! May those 5 new verses replace 5 lies we have picked up from the world!!

Now that I have this blog, I will be posting the verses on this site (typically every other Monday ~ F will come later today). If you would like to receive the verse as an e-mail to you, I would be happy to send you a new verse every other week. How fun! Time spent memorizing and meditating on God's Word is never wasted time. So what do you think...are you in on the challenge??!





Let's pray: Dear God, I pray YOU would help us with the A to Z challenge. Open our minds and our hearts, Lord, and equip us as we commit to memory the life-changing TRUTHS from your Word. And Lord, please give us perseverance! When life gets busy (and it will), remind us of the importance of letting Your Word dwell richly in us! Thank YOU that memorizing Your WORD can be fun and exciting! May our passion for Your Word spread! For Your Glory Alone!!!! Amen!

1 comment:

jj said...

Thanks, Cindy. I love doing these verses. We have them written on notecards and review them from time to time at the kitchen table. I have another set of notecards that are split up between my kitchen window (at the sink) and my van, so I can always see a verse (I say always, because I'm ALWAYS either doing dishes or driving somewhere).

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