Memory Verses

It all started back in April when Aria learned Galatians 5:22 for FX night at church.  I posted about it here.  I was so excited and so impressed that she learned the memory verse so easily I was ready to teach her more.  At first I thought we would just focus on learning the FX verse each month, but a month is a long time, so I decided to do more.  Galatians 5:22 was easy because it is a song, but the other ones have been learned pretty easily, too.  It is that three-year-old sponge brain.  I tried to pick verses that went with some of the lessons we were doing in our weekly Bible studies.  Sometimes we've spent two weeks on a verse and sometimes we've been busy with other things and haven't done a new one.  I don't really have a magic method of learning the verse.  I write the verse out on paper and draw pictures around some of the words as clues.  That sign then hangs on the refrigerator.  It helps, but I think our repetition of saying the verse out loud is what helps the most.  We have made it part of our bed time routine.  Sometimes we just say the newest verse.  Sometimes we pick random ones to say.  Sometimes (when we are really stalling) we say them all.  It is pretty hard to deny her the chance to practice her verses!  :)  We also repeat the verse at other opportune times during Bible reading or when something in our life applies to it.  My favorite part about this whole process is that the verse memorization is something we are doing as a family.  The verses I pick are not necessarily ones I have previously memorized.  A few of them are and a few are not.  I also try to use versions with words that will make the most sense to Aria, while maintaining the message from the verse.  Justin and I cannot teach Aria a verse to memorize if we don't memorize it ourselves.  It is great to have these things written on my heart.  I hope to have the opportunity to use them somehow.  I hope Aria does, too.  Most of all, I hope memorizing these verses helps Aria gain a better understanding of who God is and how much he loves her.  At the very least they are hooks in her brain that she can grab onto as she gets older and more capable of deeper understanding.

Here are the verses we know to date:

Galatians 5:22 "The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."

Psalm 34:8 "Happy is the person who trusts the Lord."

Genesis 1:31 "God saw all that he had made and it was very good."

Proverbs 20:6 "Many will say they are loyal friends, but where can you find one?"

Psalm 145:13 "The Lord always keeps his promises; He is gracious in all he does."

John 3:16 "For God loved the world so much, he gave his only Son so that whoever believes in him will have eternal life."