God's Word Will Not Return Void

A little over a month ago, as I was pondering further things I could do with the children in my household that would invest in their lives in a lasting way, God brought to mind the idea of teaching them Scripture memory verses. After all, He promises that His Word will not return void. While it's important to contribute to the children's physical and emotional well-being by washing their clothes, preparing their food, teaching them character, and administering discipline, the words of Scripture will endure in their hearts and minds long after they have left this home or I have returned to the States.

With this inspiration from the Lord, I set about designing a program that will provide them structure and motivation as they memorize God's Word.

On my room door, hang cards for each child containing a list of Scripture verses; 10 for the younger ones and 20 for the older ones. The verses follow a topical pattern beginning with the topic of the Word of God, then the character of God, then a few pertaining specifically to children, moving on to verses about the Gospel and salvation, and ending with some pertaining to principles for Christian living.

For each verse memorized, the children earn a glittery gold coin. This represents one Boliviano, the currency here in Bolivia. When they have reached their goal of 10 or 20 gold coins respectively, they will get to go on a shopping trip with me to the local market where they can make a special purchase all on their own for an item valuing 10/20 Bolivianos.

I am amazed and delighted at how excited the children have been with this Scripture memory program! Sundays are learning days, where they come to my room one or two at a time to learn the new verse for the week; Tuesdays and Thursdays are "recitation days" in which they have the opportunity to quote the verse for me and earn a sticker/gold coin. Some of the children are so motivated and eager of mind, they have memorized two or even three verses a week!

What is especially exciting to observe is how the Word of God, now implanted in their hearts, is coming out their mouths at all times. They love to quote their verses as we walk home from school, as we do the dishes, as we do hair in the morning, as they eat lunch, as they go to sleep at night. I often hear the words of these verses throughout the household at any given time of day! By hearing the older ones quote verses constantly, the younger ones are learning their verses faster than they could if it were only me teaching them.

It has been a joy to teach these precious little ones that which is truly Precious and "better than gold or silver!"

I thought you might like to see a few video clips of their recitations...

Quoting Psalm 119:11 - "Thy Word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against Thee." Those of you who understand Spanish will, I'm sure, get a kick out of how the word "dichos" comes out "bichos." :) Apparently, he's hiding God's bugs in his heart!

Quoting 2 Timothy 3:16 - "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness."

Quoting Psalm 119:72 - "The law of Thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver."

Quoting Genesis 1:1 - "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."