These are the days. They are good days, but they are busy days. I'm sure I'll blink and they'll be over, which is why I am just taking it all in...and just hanging on for the ride.
It's neat, though, to see time pass, and to mark that passage of time by not only how much children have grown, but how much they are learning, and more importantly, how much their testimonies are growing. It's becoming their own. And that's a beautiful thing.
At the beginning of this year, we started memorizing the Book of Mormon ABCs together as a family. We write them on a piece of paper that we can all read together (or sing together) each morning. Steve likes to make up funny rhythms to make each verse more memorable. Sometimes we sing them to familiar tunes. And we've gotten surprisingly far. From time to time, we quiz each other to see who can remember the corresponding scripture and verse for each letter. It's kind of a fun game.
Another thing we like to do to "reward ourselves" is to listen during General Conference for any references to our memorized quotations (whether it be a scripture verse or the 13 Articles of Faith, or My Gospel Standards, or quotes from previous General Conferences, etc.) We keep a large sheet of paper on the wall during Conference and record any mentions of our memorized verses. (We actually ended up with a few more before the end of the weekend.)
It is always amazing to me how many of our verses are quoted in General Conference. It is an awesome feeling when our "enduring friends that do not weaken with the passage of time" are quoted. After each session, we usually hand out a piece of candy for each memorized scripture that was mentioned.
Although the candy is sweet, the reward of putting the work in to make these verses our own is sweeter, and watching my children embrace these truths is priceless.
I encourage you to start memorizing scriptures with your children today. You can follow along with our Book of Mormon ABCs, shorten them a bit, or make up a list of your own. It will take work, but can be fun, and will be rewarding!
I am grateful for the reminders! I tried memorizing the scriptures you shared with my kids at the beginning of last year and never did it! Didn't think much about until I read this post!! Thanks again for the reminder!
ReplyDeleteIt's exhausting just to hear all you are doing...certainly doing your part in hastening the work!
ReplyDeleteIt really does do your heart good when your kids hear a scripture they've memorized quoted during Conference! My kids get so excited about it they can't sit still. :) This time they had a list of ones they heard that we haven't memorized that they want to memorize which is exciting for me. It definitely pays off.
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome, Abby!!!
DeleteGreat idea! My oldest is starting to tell me the importance of memorized songs to help clear his mind when he hears "thing" at school...I like the idea of helping him choose specific scriptures to reinforce his armor.
ReplyDeleteWhen I taught early morning seminary it always surprised me how eager the younger children were to memorize scripture like their big brother and sisters! Thank you for reminding me! We will get back on it this week!
ReplyDelete