Earlier this summer my friend Kayla over at Baby Devotions invited her readers to join in her nature themed faith-based play. I instantly knew that I wanted to do a fun way to memorize Scripture through play with rocks, but it has taken me a few weeks to make it happen. While I am sure no other mama ever needs 3 weeks between an idea and it actually happening, I am pleased to say it finally got done.
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Why Memorize Scripture?
There are so many great reasons to memorize Scripture, but here are my TOP 3 reasons.
- To be more like Jesus. – Jesus knew the Torah and used it often. He used it as encouragement, to fight temptation, and to defend His choices. Having God’s Word in my heart will better prepare me to respond to circumstances like Jesus did. For example, in Matthew 21:42 it reads, “Then Jesus asked them, “Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures? ‘The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the LORD’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.'”
- To know God more. Memorizing Scripture doesn’t just teach you more about God, but let’s you know Him more intimately and take Him with you wherever you go. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
- To grow through the Holy Spirit. I believe when we have Scripture memorized the Holy Spirit can use it to teach us, challenge us, and encourage us. “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” 2 Timothy 3:16 NLT
Memorizing for Mama
Playing with your kids is an awesome way to memorize Scripture together. I love that when I am helping my kiddos learn Scripture, I am learning it, too. It’s like a two for one bonus! We all learn through play, not only kids.
Recently, while reading Praying Circles around your Children I was also challenged to personally memorize more Scripture so that I can use it for teaching in the moment and praying over my children.This really spoke to me as my oldest is into asking why we have certain expectations and rules around the house.
Which Scripture I Chose Memorize Through Play
For our nature play I looked up verses with the word “flower” in them. My twins have really been into flowers this summer. There were lots to choose from, but I went with a simple verse that also pointed to the importance and endurance of Scripture.
The grass withers and the flowers fade but the Word of our God stands forever.
Isaiah 40:8
Playing with God’s Word to Memorize Scripture
I chose two ways for my oldest kid to memorize the Scripture through play: a word search shaped like a flower (how cute, right?) and ordering the words of the verse on rocks to incorporate nature.
Scripture Memorization Play Craft Project
I originally had these grand ideas of going to the beach to collect rocks for this project because here in the Pacific Northwest most of our beaches are rocky. However, after two weeks of that not happening I went to Dollar Tree and bought a bag of rocks, which then sat in our laundry room for another week.
All I did was write one word per rock with a metallic marker. Bam! Done! Then mix them up and my daughter can put them in order over and over. Reading practice, play, and memorizing Scripture in one fun activity.
BONUS TIP
If you buy rocks at the Dollar Tree, WASH them before you try using them. I messed up my silver Sharpie a bit because of the coating on the rocks.
Downloadable Play
After making my rocks, I went to MyWordSearch.com and created my own word search using the key words from Isaiah 40:8. I love how simple their site is to use. You can get your own copy of the word search I made or play it online by clicking the link below.
Final Thoughts on Memorizing Scripture through Play
There are so many great ways to play and memorize Scripture at the same time. These are just two of the ways we did it with this verse. It doesn’t matter how you do it as long as your kids are engaged and hiding God’s Word in their hearts. I’d love to hear ways that you memorize Scripture through play in the comments below.
