In mid-November Sarah and I will be going to participate as competitors in the 2013 Bible Bee Nationals in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee! We are very excited at this opportunity to study Ephesians and memorize 750 more verses over the next few months, as well as being able to spend a few days in the fellowship of hundreds of families from all over America who have been studying not only God's word like we have been, but the same parts of God's word!
Some of those who follow our blog may have noticed that we have not been as faithful in posting every couple of weeks. This will probably continue be the case until after November. We apologize, but, –still recovering from extreme suspense followed by extreme excitement– we do not feel as regretful as we might.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Why Memorize?
Well, Megan keeps saying it's my turn to write a post, so I'm taking her word for it. Since the Bible Bee is quite close now, I thought I'd write about why I like to memorize scripture, specifically large portions of scripture such as an entire book. There are lots of general reasons, like the fact that the verses you've memorized are often the ones that God will bring to mind when you need them, but I am going to stick more with personal reasons, since this is a blog, not a sermon.
I have been memorizing scripture since before I can remember, but the first long sections I memorized where Romans 6, and then Matthew 5. This gave me the first clue on how fun memorizing was, but I really started to get serious about it four years ago when the Bible Bee started. There is a certain thrill connected with remembering a large chunk of text for a certain period of time. So Reason #1 to Memorize: It is fun!
Be warned that this does assume some level of enjoyment in using your brain. Which leads directly into the second reason: Reason #2 to Memorize: It is challenging. I like challenges, but even if you don't usually, they are still good for you. If you are not intimidated enough by an "easy" book like 2 Timothy or 1 John, you could always opt for something longer, like Romans, or John. I don't know how common this is, but I have a plan for my Bible memorization over the next 5 years.
Finish Romans (by the end of this year)
Proverbs
Isaiah
Genesis
Acts
I think that Genesis and Acts will actually be fairly quick (maybe a year for each) because there is so much narrative. I found Jonah to be pretty easy because of this. I don't know what I'll memorize after these, and they may get switched around a bit (I was very tempted to add John, and I may still memorize that before some of the others...) but that is the general plan.
Finally, the most serious reason; Reason #3 to Memorize: Spiritual Warfare. I wasn't exactly sure what to call this reason, and it is a bit hard to explain, but basically, memorizing or reciting memorized scripture is one of the best methods I have found for controlling negative or angry thoughts, etc. It also helps me calm down when I'm nervous.
These are just a few of my personal reasons for memorizing, above and beyond the Biblical ones, but I hope they will encourage others to memorize more as well.
God bless.
I have been memorizing scripture since before I can remember, but the first long sections I memorized where Romans 6, and then Matthew 5. This gave me the first clue on how fun memorizing was, but I really started to get serious about it four years ago when the Bible Bee started. There is a certain thrill connected with remembering a large chunk of text for a certain period of time. So Reason #1 to Memorize: It is fun!
Be warned that this does assume some level of enjoyment in using your brain. Which leads directly into the second reason: Reason #2 to Memorize: It is challenging. I like challenges, but even if you don't usually, they are still good for you. If you are not intimidated enough by an "easy" book like 2 Timothy or 1 John, you could always opt for something longer, like Romans, or John. I don't know how common this is, but I have a plan for my Bible memorization over the next 5 years.
Finish Romans (by the end of this year)
Proverbs
Isaiah
Genesis
Acts
I think that Genesis and Acts will actually be fairly quick (maybe a year for each) because there is so much narrative. I found Jonah to be pretty easy because of this. I don't know what I'll memorize after these, and they may get switched around a bit (I was very tempted to add John, and I may still memorize that before some of the others...) but that is the general plan.
Finally, the most serious reason; Reason #3 to Memorize: Spiritual Warfare. I wasn't exactly sure what to call this reason, and it is a bit hard to explain, but basically, memorizing or reciting memorized scripture is one of the best methods I have found for controlling negative or angry thoughts, etc. It also helps me calm down when I'm nervous.
These are just a few of my personal reasons for memorizing, above and beyond the Biblical ones, but I hope they will encourage others to memorize more as well.
God bless.
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