Teaching Our Children the Importance of Memorizing God's Word

Welcome friends, to Week 2 of our Proverbs Summer Bible Study with the Good Morning Girls! Today we are in Proverbs 6.

The cry of my mother's heart jumped out at me as I read verses 20-22. Here's the best piece of parenting instruction we can give our kids:

My son, keep your father's command, and do not forsake 

the law of your mother. Bind them continually upon your heart;

tie them around your neck. When you roam, they will lead you;

when you sleep, they will keep you; and when you awake, 

they will speak with you. ~ Proverbs 6:20-22

Teaching our children the importance of memorizing God's Word is one of the most valuable tools we can equip them with in their personal walk with the Lord. In our home we have tried to lead by example, the importance of God's Word, by spending daily quiet time in the Word as well as time of family devotions in the Word of God. We've taught our children to memorize verses in the Bible that they can use in times of trouble, fear, or doubt as well as verses of thanksgiving and praise. We've always stressed how the Bible has every answer to anything we may face in this life.

This spiritual discipline will reap a harvest of spiritual fruit in the life of our children as truths from God's Word are brought back to their remembrance throughout their adult lives. My daughter, who is now a married woman with a child of her own, just shared with me the other day how Scriptures that she had hidden in her heart as a young girl continue to come to her mind today and help her in the season of life she is now living. Praise the Lord!

Teaching our children the importance of memorizing God's Word will ensure that our children can take God with them anywhere as they journey through life. They will be ready for the spiritual battles of this life that can only be conquered by the sword of the Spirit! 

Let's get to equipping them now! Here are some fun ideas that we have used to make memorizing Scripture fun!

7 Ways to Make Memorizing Scripture Fun!

1. Use hand motions/sign language.
2. Write the verse down on slips of paper. Fold each piece of paper and place them individually inside balloons. Blow up the balloons and tie with the Scriptures inside. Let your children stomp the balloons to pop them. Gather the pieces of paper and put them in the correct order of the verse. Say the Scripture verse together.
3. Use a dry erase board to write the verse on. Say the verse together and then pick a word of the verse to erase. Say the verse again, filling in the missing word. Repeat until the entire verse has been erased and your children are saying it from memory.
4. Have your children write the verse on an index card and place it on their bedroom or bathroom mirror so they will see it each morning. Recite the verse while getting dressed or brushing their teeth.
5. Buy pretty journals for your children to keep their Scripture memory verses in. Each day they can write their memory verse. At the end of the week, the verse should be well hidden in their hearts!
6. Scripture Release is a wonderful website that puts Scripture verses to music! Let your children pick out the Scripture verse they want to memorize and download it for them so they can listen to it throughout the day. It won't be long before they'll be walking around the house singing their Bible verses!
7. Godstruck Ministries for Kids is a Christian family who have produced a curriculum using music and motions to help children memorize God's Word. I had the privilege of meeting them at our local homeschool conference two years ago. They asked me to write a review of their products which I was more than happy to do (Scripture Songs for Kids)!

I hope these ideas will inspire you to help your children memorize God's Word! After all, teaching our children the importance of memorizing God's word is a valuable tool that they will be able to carry with them well into their adult lives. That's right...you and I still need to keep this spiritual discipline in our lives so that we can pray God's Word back to Him as we journey through this life!

We see in verse 22 how God's Word leads us, keeps us, and speaks to us. Time spent in God's Word and memorizing God's Word will never return void as we carry it with us in our hearts.

Walking in His Grace, 

Laurie

I'm Blogging Through the Bible with Courtney Joseph and other Good Morning Girls! Click on the image below every Friday to read other posts from more sweet friends who are BTTB too!

Scripture Songs for Kids

Are you a parent like me who wants to help your kids to hide God's Word in their hearts? While I was at our local homeschool conference this past May, I had the joy of meeting the family behind Godstruck Ministries 4 Kids. This family is dedicated to helping families like us in our efforts to help our kids hide God's Word and His principles in their hearts through music. I am excited to partner with them to help get the word out about their mission! I was given Sing God's Word - Psalms in Tune Companion Curriculum and music CD #1 and Sing God's Word - Way to Praise Companion Curriculum and music CD #2 in exchange for my review which I bring to you today.

You can connect with Godstruck Ministries 4 Kids on the following social media outlets: Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. Stay up-to-date with their nicely designed, family-oriented monthly newsletter with sections like Blessings Blog, Family Activity, and Living the Word. You'll definitely want to subscribe to their newseltter so you don't miss out on product updates and new product announcements such as the movement guides and video tutorials for CD #2 that are currently in production.

Companion Curriculum Guides

You're going to love the easy-to-follow format in the curriculum guide! There are seven elements to every lesson included in the curriculum guides. A devotional theme at the beginning of each Scripture lesson is given that tells the main idea you'll be discussing throughout the lesson that is based on the Scripture verse your kids will be memorizing.

Take a quick look at each of the seven elements included for every lesson:

1. Needs: A handy list of items needed either for the activity/object lesson or during your commentary that make great visuals to drive home the key point of the Scripture verse.
2. Listen to: Lists the devotional tracks and Scripture song you'll be covering in the lesson.
3. Activity/Object Lesson: Gives instructions on how to use the handy list of items needed for your lesson.
4. Commentary: I love this part that gives you specific wording to use for your lesson so you're sure not to omit any key points necessary to the Scripture explanation.
5. Coloring Page: Lists the title of the coloring page to use for the lesson. Their website has all of the coloring pages available as PDF downloads. These are absolutely free!
6. Bible Passage: A Scripture passage in the Bible or recommended pages from My First Study Bible are listed that support the Scripture verse to be memorized. You can certainly use both to help your kids gain a better understanding of how to apply the Scripture verse to their lives.
7. Listen to the Song Again: Lists the track number of the Scripture song on the CD to listen to again with your kids. Movement suggestions are included here as well to help enhance learning and memorization of the Scripture song.

Age Range of Product

The recommended age range for use of this Scripture memory program is any Sunday school class with a mixed age group of children or for early elementary school classes. This program can be used in Sunday School, Kid's Church, your homeschool, and/or as family devotions.

Price List for Companion Curriculum Guides and CDs

The price for the Sing God's Word - Psalms in Tune Companion Curriculum Guide is $11.99. It is available as a PDF download for $7.99. The price for CD #1 is $9.99, and the MP3 price is $8.99.

The price for the Sing God's Word - Way to Praise Companion Curriculum Guide is $13.99. It is available as a PDF download for $9.99. The price of CD #2 is $9.99, and the MP3 price is $8.99.

Godstruck Ministries is currently working on producing movement guides and video tutorials for all the Scripture songs included in Sing God's Word - Way to Praise. Once all the tutorials are completed, they will be available for download on the website to anyone who purchases this particular curriculum guide. The difference in price of the two curriculum guides is due to the fact that this second publication contains extended content, plus the movement guides and video tutorials that come with it. The price is still very affordable considering all of the work that has gone into the production of these two excellent and helpful resources for CD #2.

I received completed movement guides and video tutorials for three of the songs on CD #2 to review as well. Be patient with the video tutorial download time because they are totally worth it! The movement guides are Microsoft Word documents that give step-by-step direction for the motions to the songs on CD #2. You'll want to make sure you preview the video tutorial and movement guide in order to learn and feel comfortable with all the motions before trying to teach your children. The motions are simple enough and it shouldn't take you long to learn them yourself so that you will have no trouble teaching the movements to your children.

You will also find free lyric sheets for both CDs on the Godstruck Ministries website that you can use with your kids while learning the Scripture songs.

I love the musical characters Godstruck Ministries 4 Kids have developed to help your children to hide God's Word in their hearts. You can go to their website to meet these loveable and fun musical characters! 

My Experience and Opinion

I used these Scripture song products with the kids in our Children's Ministry at our church. My husband is the Children's Pastor of our church and I assist him each Sunday as we teach the children ages 4 through 5th grade in Kid's Church. I took a few Sundays to lead the children in memorizing Psalm 138:8

"The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;
    your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.
    Do not forsake the work of your hands."

The first Sunday, I taught the lesson in the Sing God's Word - Way to Praise Companion Curriculum Guide for this Scripture verse titled,  "The Lord Will Fulfill". The night before church, I read over the entire lesson, printed the lyrics for the Scripture song, and gathered the items from the "Needs" list that was provided in the guide. The kids loved the devotional track on the CD that was a part of our lesson and the Scripture song! The song was an amazing way to get this nugget of Truth into their hearts that God has a purpose for their life and that His steadfast love endures forever!

The next couple of weeks we spent time learning the song. This Scripture song is one from CD #2 that they have been able to produce the movement guide and video tutorial for, which I learned first and then taught to the children. Having motions to go along with the words to the song really helps cement the words for the children! I used the coloring page the following week as a break between practicing the Scripture song. There are also games for CD #1 that you can download and make copies of for the kids to use as practice breaks. The answer key is provided for you on the website as well. The coloring pages and games are available for free on their website.

The children and I had so much fun with these Scripture song resources from Godstruck Ministries 4 Kids! What a joy it was for me to watch these kids interact with the Scripture verses through music and motion! How rewarding it was to plant Psalm 138:8 into their hearts that they will remember always!

If you are looking for help to get Scripture into the hearts of your children in your home or in your church or both, then you will definitely want to give these products from Godstruck Ministries 4 Kids a try. I know you will be just as thrilled with them as I have been!

Walking in His Grace, 

Laurie

*Disclaimer: The products I received for this review were free of charge to me in exchange for my review. I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

 

Hiding God's Word

 As the rain and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
    so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
     so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:10-11

I believe memorizing God's Word is very important in the life of a disciple of Jesus. It's a discipline necessary to defeat the flaming arrows of our enemy. It's power in a believer's prayer life as we can speak the promises of God back to Him, knowing He will be faithful and true to answer His Word!

We find in Hebrews 4:12 that God's Word is "alive and powerful, sharper than a 2-edged sword". When we speak and pray God's Word we are coming into agreement with Him and releasing His power to answer our prayers according to His will. Scripture memorization allows us to be able to do this.

I am so thankful for the scriptures I have already committed to heart! I am using those scriptures in my prayers over a particular situation going on in my life right now. And as God tells me in Isaiah 55:11, His Word will not return void, but will accomplish what He desires and achieve the purpose for which He sent it. For that I am thankful!

This morning as I was preparing for an upcoming Bible study with Good Morning Girls, I found a link to Do Not Depart, a blog about abiding in God's Word. While at Do Not Depart, I discovered they are leading a Bible Memory Challenge. Beginning January 13, I will join the challenge in memorizing one to two verses a week of Psalm 71. I am very excited to have found this blog and to be able to join other women who share my desire to hide God's Word in our hearts.

If hiding God's Word in your heart is a desire you share, I invite you to head over to Do Not Depart where you can sign up today to join us in hiding Psalm 71 in our hearts. It's a discipline that will not return void...I promise!

Walking in His Grace, 
Laurie