Friday, May 25, 2012

Memorizing God's Word

I've been working on memorizing more the past two years... I've always memorized my kid's AWANA verses with them as a motivator for them to work on them and help "poor old Mom" get it down... but I've been convicted of the need to memorize whole passages more often.   My first attempt was to get Psalm 103 memorized and I started on bedrest with my 3rd pregnancy.  I didn't achieve word perfect memorization, but I did achieve conceptual memorization and most importantly-- I found personal value in ABIDING in HIM through His Word. 

Personal Story (skip this if you want just the facts or don't like needle discussions) When they had trouble getting my spinal in so they could do a c-section, I was nervously sitting on the operating table, and supposed to be perfectly still.   In my other two experiences, this was a five minute or less process.  This time the Doctor struggled and I was there for over 40 minutes (and he called for a 2nd Doctor), as fear and worry crept in, I realized that God was in control and started reciting the concepts from Psalm 103.  As soon as I did this, my body relaxed and the same doctor easily slipped the needle into my spine!  God's Word brought strength and comfort to me and even the anesthesiologist was amazed that he was successful. 

I was humbled when asked to share resources and tips for memorizing God's Word at Iron Sharpens Iron, a conference for church leaders, at Emmaus Bible College.   I am by no means an expert, but I aspire to this spiritual discipline, and pulling all the 21st century tools together is definitely in my skill set!

Here is a Memorizing God's Word livebinder (an online 3 ring binder where you have tabs, subtabs, and can see websites or documents, all in one place, and I can even add comments to describe the artifacts.)  You can copy the binder and edit it yourself, or just visit this link for my most updated resources on memorizing God's Word.  

What is your favorite way to memorize scripture? any tips? any successes to celebrate?  tools? please share!

4 comments:

  1. "I didn't achieve word perfect memorization, but I did achieve conceptual memorization and most importantly-- I found personal value in ABIDING in HIM through His Word."

    Amen. This is what it's all about. This is what I seek when I memorize, too.

    I love your C-section story. I've also used memory verses when I'm at the dentist, at the doctor's office, can't get back to sleep at night, etc. God's Word is powerful, wherever we are, and having it at ready access in our minds--not just in our book--is invaluable.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lisa, I am glad you appreciate my thinking. My oldest son, we tease memorizes in his own translation, he comprehends and rephrases words, and then says those when he says a verse.... but it is his words, not the exact translation. I'm fine with it, but we've had to work with kids' club leaders to understand that he is memorizing, and he consistently says it one way, but it is a bit different. But when we force him to be word perfect, he doesn't really learn it. When we let him make it his own, he can still quote it months later without re-learning. Something a lot of us can't do!!

      I took a risk sharing my c-section story but it was a pivotal point where I saw so quickly the power of the spoken Word of God in my life.

      Delete
  2. Wow!! Your livebinder is amazing! So many resources there, it was a bit overwhelming to me. I am going to have to come back and look through it when I have time. Thanks for sharing it. You already have my new method, Memverse. Scripture memory is something that has been on my heart for years. I have attempted to learn many verses over the years. I start off strong and then lose momentum and quit altogether. Memverse has helped me keep up with my verses for the last 2 months or so. Also, I have memorized verses with my kids using Sing the Word cds. Thanks again for posting all your resources, so excited to see them and find your blog!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Merri-- I pinned most of the resources over several months and then created the binder a few weeks ago, my favorite part of the livebinder is I can add to it as often as I want and anyone who has the link will see it as I do!

      are the cds you mention from the Harrow family? I see one on amazon...

      My goal was to give people who want to memorize a one stop resource for options for personal, family, or church use!!

      Delete