Scripture Memory Update

"I have treasured Thy words more than my necessary food." Job 23:12

Last summer I shared how our family felt led to begin memorizing large passages of Scripture, starting with the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5. Well, I thought I would give you a little update as to how things are going. I am happy to say that we have successfully completed the first 30 verses of chapter 5! (Our girls could have easily done more by now, but they've slowed down their pace so Jay and I can keep up!)

We typically add one verse a week. Each Saturday, we read and discuss the next verse to make sure we have a correct understanding of it. We then spend the rest of the week incorporating it into our main recital of the passage. Each of us recites the entire passage every day. (You might think this would get a bit much with all four of us reciting the Sermon on the Mount every day, but it actually is fun, and greatly helps the memorization process.) This has been a great spiritual project for our family that has brought us closer to the Lord and closer to one another.

However, I am ashamed to admit that about 5 verses (weeks) ago, I was starting to feel bogged down with it all. I was ready to call it quits and go back to memorizing verses by topic. (I don't do well with long term projects!) So I shared my feelings with our family expecting them to agree and move on to my next Scripture memory project. But to my amazement, they were totally opposed to us quitting. They have grown to love memorizing in large chunks and didn't want to quit. (Like I said, shame on me.) So with my family's encouragement, I now have my second wind and am purposing to finish the task. And boy am I glad they held my feet to the fire. I know it will be well worth it!

Hiding God's Word in our Hearts

For the past three years our family has been memorizing Scripture verses following the Simply Charlotte Mason Scripture Memory System, and what a blessing it has been. Recently however, the Lord has placed on my heart a strong desire to begin memorizing much larger portions of Scripture (books even) in their entirety. I was particularly inspired by Ryan Ferguson and others like him.

This upcoming homeschool year we will be studying the Gospels. So to coincide with these studies, we have decided to memorize Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5-7. (Actually, we started memorizing it this week to get a jump start on it!) Memorizing two verses a week, we hope to have it completed in a year.

Here's the interesting part, and what convinces me this is of the Lord...we have never been so excited about Scripture memory as we are with this project. In fact, we find ourselves practicing our verses throughout the day with real enthusiasm, and without any prompting. This has never happened before.

I truly believe this is a turning point in our lives that will draw us even closer to the Lord, and I am excited about it.

Agony by Leonard Ravenhill