Hiding His Word in our Hearts

A few days ago a friend of mine asked for ideas + tips on memorizing scripture. I'm surprised she's still my friend after my lengthy response, ha! Here's my attempt at concision: I memorize scripture because it helps me remember who God is and who who I am in light of Who he is. Remembering is essential to living that out. There are endless reasons as to why you should be practicing this discipline, but the point of this post isn't to convince you, it's simply to share how you can go about doing it. I also need to preface by shouting: I did not come up with any of this on my own. All credit goes to two incredible women, Kim Vollendorf & Joyce Lasse, who were kind enough to share their methods with me when I was in college. A thousand thank you's to them both for changing my life by encouraging me to hide God's word in my heart. I hope this encourages those of you reading to do so too.

What you'll need:

.Notecards.

.Loose binder rings.

.A hole punch.

.Your Bible.

First things first: choose a verse you want to memorize! This list of verses is a great place to start. Next, it's time to set up your card. 

Upper left: Reference (where you find the verse) 

Upper right: Category*

Body of the notecard: The verse, written word for word

Bottom left: Days

Bottom right: Weeks

*Note: I use categories to help me categorize the verses in my mind. That way, if I'm having a conversation on the topic of the Holy Spirit, hopefully 1 Corinthians 2:12 will come to mind. 

Back of card: Reference (again, where you can find the verse)* 

Bottom left: Months

*Note: I write the reference on the back of the card so I can quiz myself without seeing any part of the actual verse.

Now you're all set to memorize the verse you chose. Typically, I give myself a week to memorize one or two verses. For the first few days I'll carry the notecard around in my back pocket & try to read as often as possible. Once I have a good feel for it, I write the first letter of every word on my wrist to help me out. Sounds crazy, but it works! 

[1 Corinthians 2:12]

When you have the verse memorized you're ready to put it on your daily ring. You will have already committed all of the verses on your daily ring to memory, but it's important to review them to make sure you have them down-pat. Plus, reviewing + meditation help to transition the words from your head to your heart.

Review your daily ring verses 1x/day for 50 days. 

I use tally's to keep track of where I'm at in the process.

Remember to continue adding the new verses you memorize to the daily ring. 

Once you've reviewed the verses on your daily ring for 50 days, you're ready to transition them to a weekly ring.

You will review the verses on your weekly ring 1x/week for 50 weeks.

I've found it helpful to choose one day of the week to review the verses on your weekly ring. 

For me, that day is Sunday! 

At this point, you've probably guessed what comes next: a monthly ring! 

Review the verses on your  monthly ring 1x/month for 50 months. 

Again, it's helpful to be consistent and choose a date (like the 1st Sunday of the month) on which to review your monthly ring. 

Finally, after reviewing your monthly ring for 50 months you'll move your verses to a semester ring that you will review 1x each semester. I don't have a photo because I haven't actually made it to that point yet. ;) 

The Verses Project is an incredible resource that my friend Suzanne shared with me. A compilation of Christian artists recorded songs of straight scripture. It's word-for-word & it's all free, so start downloading that goodness immediately! 

Reviewing gets a bit more complex once you start memorizing chapters & books, but this is a great place to start! Have you ever memorized Scripture? If so, what helps you hide His Word in your heart?