Scripture Memory Hack

One of my 2015 resolutions was to memorize scripture. I started out really well but lost my pace after about 3 months. One reason was because I got stumped by a particularly tough chunk of scripture and lost my momentum.

Then, I went to the Teach Them Diligently conference and ended up in a class taught by Sonya Shafer. She shared a method she uses as a part of the Charlotte Mason Method that was really easy and inexpensive. Her method is here (includes printable cards).

I came home and put this to work immediately, not only for myself but also to help with tLG’s Awana verses every week. It never failed that we were trying to memorize that verse on the last day, which means they weren’t really being memorized. I’ll admit it.

Anyway, we didn’t have a lot of verses to start with so I had to come up with my own little twist to Sonya’s method to get this working for us. So, here’s what we do.

SUPPLIES NEEDED

• File Box
• Index Cards
• Pen
• Bible
• That’s it!

INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE

• Write down verses that you know or are working on.
• Read them together at the same time every day.
• Read the reference. Read the verse. Read the reference again. 
• Takes less than 3 minutes. Seriously!

DETAILS

We read our verses together every morning at breakfast. The little box just stays on the table. Even on the most rushed mornings, we still manage to read through them.

Now that we have a little stash of verses memorized, I have them divided into 3 categories.

1. Verses we know by heart including the reference. Read these once a week. 
2. Verses we know but may struggle with a word or number in the reference. Read these twice a week. 
3. Verses that are new and we are working on memorizing. Read these every day. 

RESULTS

So far I have memorized 38 verses this year including several large passages. My original goal was 50, which I should achieve no problem. tLG is not far behind me. She knows every verse that I do minus the Beatitudes and The Love Chapter.

I have really enjoyed learning scripture this way together and I’m excited to continue to add more and more verses to our box. The best part is that there isn’t really any rush to learn the verses. We just keep reading them day after day until they become natural. I also love that there is weekly review even for the verses that we know by heart. It keeps them fresh!

The only hard part (and, truly, it’s not that hard) is to write down new verses and to be consistent. That’s why we leave the box on the table with blank cards inside and it’s also why we have a set time to read them every day. It keeps me accountable. Currently we are working on Philippians 4:4-7 alongside our pastor’s sermon series: Do Not Be Anxious

I’d love to hear how you do scripture memory in your home. If you don’t currently have a program in place, do you think this method would be something you could try?