F is for Family Christmas (Slugs & Bugs) ~ A #5things Post

*Giveaway Has Ended*

We're listening to Slugs & Bugs Sing the Bible Family Christmas.  It was the first Christmas album I allowed this year because I was so excited when it finally arrived.  I was on the Kickstarter this summer and I could not wait to get all my fantastic music!  One copy of Sing the Bible, one copy of Sing the Bible vol2, two Sing the Bible vol3, and two Family Christmas.  Since I already own the first volume, thanks to a blog giveaway just like this one, I will be sharing three of these albums with YOU, my readers.  Check out the trailers below.



Today's giveaway is for a copy of Sing the Bible Family Christmas.  I haven't done a #5things post in a while, so I'm going to do that and tell you five things about Family Christmas.

1. Randall Goodgame and Andrew Peterson are the brainiacs behind Slugs & Bugs, with the first CD released in 2007.  Now, it's a family affair and all the Goodgames are involved.
2. Most Sing the Bible songs are *word for word* from scripture, using various Bible versions depending on singability (or the Slugs & Bugs MSV - most singable version).
3. Family Christmas intentionally has that A Charlie Brown Christmas feel, ala Vince Guaraldi, and also a Peanuts inspired cover.
4. Moms (and maybe Dads) will love the music as much as the kids.  Seriously. 
5. I think my favorite of the 12 tracks is Mary's Song, sweetly sung by Livi Goodgame and using the ESV of Luke 1:46-49.

So there you have it, #5things.  Really there are tons more to tell, but I think you should just give them a listen.




You can read a bit more about how we use Slugs & Bugs Sing the Bible to aid in scripture memorization.

Enter the giveaway rafflecopter below.

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Also, I'm on another round of Blogging Through the Alphabet.  Check it out.

E is for Evangelism ~ Operation Christmas Child

National Collection Week for Operation Christmas Child starts on Monday.  Not sure what Operation Christmas Child is?  It's an arm of Samaritan's Purse.


From the Samaritan's Purse website:

Mission Statement

Samaritan’s Purse is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world. Since 1970, Samaritan’s Purse has helped meet needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine with the purpose of sharing God’s love through His Son, Jesus Christ. The organization serves the church worldwide to promote the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

They provide assistance to people in need around the world.  By responding to natural disaster sites, war torn environments, and more, they are able to share the Good News to hurting men, women, and children.  They help people rebuild, give medical care, work with wounded US veterans and their spouses, train people to care for animals and plants to provide food and a livelihood to individuals and their neighbors, greatly improving their quality of life.  And really, that's just a small sample of the many things Samaritan's Purse does.

Operation Christmas Child is a ministry that reaches kids ages 2-14 around the world.  With the gift of a shoebox, the door is opened for the eternal gift of the gospel.  Children receive a gift, prayerfully and lovingly packed by other children, families, and churches.  Items packed generally include school supplies (paper, pencils, crayons, coloring books), hygiene items (soap, washcloths, tooth brushes), clothing (a shirt, socks, underpants, shoes), and toys (a slinky, whistle, cards, dolls, soccer ball with pump).

We've packed shoeboxes almost every year since the bigger littles were baby punks.  It's part of what we do each fall now and I think they would be pretty disappointed if they didn't get to choose toys and games to include in each box.  We go through our stash of small toys, tools, games, and gadgets and pack items in each box very intentionally.

Some items are more expensive than others, but there are often sales on most items you might want.  I never imagined I could afford soccer balls and pumps for boxes, but I found a sale last year for $2.50 for real soccer balls.  Then I shopped around for inexpensive, but sturdy, ball pumps.  I've purchased small fleece blankets (originally $5, on sale for $2.50 or less) and with some creative folding, rolling, and packing, they are easy to fit in a shoebox without displacing other important items.  Sometimes, a great toy assortment or small stuffed animals become reasonably priced.  I don't get "cheap" toys, but rather items at a good price.  I figure, if my punks would break a toy in ten minutes, a lot of other punks would break the toy in ten minutes.  There's no fun in broken toys.

It's just as much fun to pack for older children as it is for the littles.  I like getting to put a bit more thought into what a 13 year old might be interested in as opposed to a six year old.  I've included small tool kits for boys and crochet hooks and yarn for girls.  Somewhere, on the great wide interwebs, once upon a time, I found crochet instructions with NO WORDS, so no language barrier.  In just pictures, girls can learn to crochet basic items.  The source of that document is no longer on the internet, but it has me thinking of other things that can be taught in photos.


We make purchases year round.  It makes it a lot easier to pack more boxes without a big expense all at once.  I don't follow the Samaritan's Purse shopping schedule; I just purchase whatever I see on sale (shoes, clothes, toys, and school supplies) at the end of the season, then add washcloths, soap, and toothbrushes.  This year, I had so many little girls' shoes, and shirts for both boys and girls I was able to pass them on to a church to include in their boxes.   I had thought about keeping some for next year, when I heard the Slugs & Bugs Sing the Bible version of Matthew 6:19-21 and Luke 3:11 decided to get them sent out this year.  I know I'll find more bargains for next fall.



Another great feature of the Operation Christmas Child ministry is that we can track our shoeboxes.  By paying the reasonable shipping fee online, we can print labels for our boxes which can be scanned and we are emailed the country of the box's final destination.  Some years, all of our boxes go to the same country and other years we've had boxes head to as many as four different countries.  Only once have we not found out where our box went and we learned it went to a "hard to reach" area.  This means the final destination can't be revealed for safety reasons.  I imagine that may be one of the places of greatest need for the gospel message.

Check out Samaritan's Purse to see what happens to a shoebox as it travels from your home to a child in need somewhere in the world.





Find drop off locations and times for your area.

#ipackedashoebox

Let The Little Children Come #2 ~ A Homeschool Crew Review

Today, I want to tell you about some evangelism tools for sharing the gospel with children.  Let the Little Children Come has a Gospel Tracts and Evangelism Tools Sampler Pack that I really think you're going to like.  Let the Little Children Come is not affiliated with any specific church.  You can see their Statement of Faith on the website.

Like the Is There Anything Better Than Candy? Box Tract I reviewed last month, these tools can each be purchased separately and come in packs of either ten or twenty.  Just check out the fun sampler pack and choose a favorite to share with your audience.  I ended up sending the pumpkin boxes, filled with candy, to the community soup kitchen along with some yummy cookies made by our co-op kids.

Most of the individual tract packs come with one leader's instruction sheet for the whole kit.  This sheet explains how to use the tract, what to say to the child, and lists verses for references.  There's also often an example prayer for children to pray to accept God's gift of Salvation through Jesus Christ.  As with the pumpkin tract boxes, I found the messages to be full of love and not fear.  Some of the tracts, like the Wordless Bracelet Kit, come with a small instruction card in each bracelet kit.  Some of these tracts also are available in Spanish.

Several types of tracts are included in this child evangelism tract sampler.

Three Animated Tracts.  These nifty booklet tracts have several pictures that feature sections made up of vertical lines.  They include an acetate sheet that alternates clear and black vertical stripes.  When the acetate is laid over the picture and moved left or right the picture becomes clear and appears to move. 

"It's like a little movie!"  ~ Xav

• The True Story of Christmas - Features six illustrated pages, five of which use the acetate overlay.  The last page shares the gospel, including an example prayer.
• Where's Everybody Going? - Six pages which use the acetate overlay and a page inviting readers to spend "forever and ever" with God.
• John 3:16 - Four acetate overlay illustrations and the gospel message.

Two FlipAbouts.  I love these things.  Once I figured out *how* they work!  These little cards are so fun to play with.

• John 3:16 - Tells John 3:16 in four pictures.
• Gospel Buttons - Shares the gospel in a similar way as the other "wordless" products, using just gold, black, red, and green pictures.

Two Pop-up Tracts.

• The Lost Easter Egg - The hunt for a missing Easter egg leads to the parable of the Lost Sheep.
• The Most Amazing House - All about Christ's sacrifice and the amazing home that is being built in Heaven.

Two Bracelets.

• Wordless Bracelet Kit - Children create their own wordless bracelet with the black string and black, red. white, green, and yellow beads.
• Salvation Bracelet - This is one of those popular, rubbery bracelets, divided into the Wordless colors.

And a mini Wordless Book.

The Wordless items all start with Heaven, but we've always ended with Heaven.  There was a bit of resistance with those, so when we made the Wordless Bracelet Kit, we put the yellow bead at the end.  All the items in the Gospel Tracts and Evangelism Tools Sampler Pack are well made and I think will hold up to quite a bit of use.  I'm not sure, but I imagine the FlipAbouts won't last as long as some of the others, simply because of the continuous folding that will be happening once you've figured out how to flip it.  They are by far my favorite tools now that I've figured out exactly how they work.  Once I get started, I just keep flipping and flipping and...  The punks' favorites are the animated tracts.  They're pretty neat.  Xav also loves the bracelets.  He is almost always wearing some rubber bracelet or wristband.  He also loves crafting, so the Wordless Bracelet Kit is a must for kids who enjoy assembling things.

Each of these evangelism tools draws children in with a fun experience and allows them to hear the gospel message.  They then take these home with them where they share the fun and the message with their families and friends.  The more times they share the gospel, the more they are exposed to it themselves.







I think the best part about the Let the Little Children Come website is that you can go to the page of any of these tools and see so much about it before you decide to purchase one.   Each one includes descriptions and usage instructions.  Some of the information even shows a video of how the tracts work or are assembled.


Check out this resources page for more neat evangelism ideas that you can use today! 

Find Let the Little Children Come on Facebook. 

Kid Niche ~ A Homeschool Crew Review

I wanted to teach the punks The Lord's Prayer this year.  I feel like I'm getting on this a little late, actually.  But this is great timing for Weave Your Word in Me -- Part 1 from Kid Niche Christian Books.  Weave Your Word in Me is a two part Bible and prayer curriculum for tweens, using a reworked rhythmic version of The Lord's Prayer entitled My Whole Self Before YOU (which also happens to be the name of a book and Bible study for younger children, also from Susan Case Bonner). 



Weave Your Word in Me is compatible with six Bible versions; KJV, ESV, NKJV, NIV, NASB, NABRE.  The answer pages in the back of the book provide the correct answers to each of these versions.  Many are already the same, so there may only be two or three correct options.  Weave Your Word in Me - Part 1 consists of 36 Biblical lessons for children in grades 4-6.  Part 2 has 44 more lessons, for a total of 80 lessons.  Each child will need a book of his or her own, as the pages are consumable, not reproducible.

The booklet arrives in shrink wrapped plastic with heavy paperboard to prevent folds and tears in shipment.  The weighty paper is three-hole punched and ready to be put into your 1/2" binder.  There's even a cover page for binders that have a pocket on the front.

Many of the pages are covered with colorful illustrations that enhance the lessons.  Each lesson is clearly numbered and is one or two pages in length.  Students look up between one and four verses in each lesson.  They then answer questions based on the reading.  Much of that is a fill-in-the-blank format.  There also are some underlining, true or false, open ended "think" type questions, as well as some other question and answer types.

Most of it was very straight forward, but personally, I needed a bit more direction with the My Prayer sections.  I like to know the "how" behind a lesson, not just the "what."  I'm sure it's quite simple for most people, but Mal and I struggled with this part.  We just discussed that part of the lessons and I led the prayers.  I think it will become easier for him as we continue through the lessons.  He has a tough time putting his thoughts into words and talking about what he is learning.

I planned originally to use the curriculum with Xavier, but after receiving it and looking it over, I decided to start working through it with Malachi.  He is doing well looking up verses on his own now and these prayer lessons require quite a bit of that.  It's fun to watch him explore the Bible more on his own and discover the answers in there by himself.

Author Susan Case Bonner includes her email throughout the website and in her book.  She seems very open to receiving questions about the lessons.  She has written Weave Your Word in Me to help guide children to a relationship with God, not to just talk to God in our prayers, but to build a foundation of real listening and understanding.  An open and teachable heart is required to develop that relationship, and that is the main purpose of this curriculum.

This prayer curriculum is not just the booklet lessons.  I also found a complimentary list of activities on the Kid Niche website.  There is something for every lesson in Weave Your Word in Me - Part 1 and for much of Part 2.  We enjoyed watching videos, coloring pages, and word puzzles through this activity section.  I think this website definitely enhances the lessons for children who are more visual and hands on than the workbook crowd.  As a child, I would have enjoyed the book on it's own very much.  Well, my boys are not me and they definitely prefer the activity area.  I did keep forgetting about the activities though and had to make myself a note to get in there and take a look at them.  Also, this section can be used by the whole family.

When I first saw this curriculum come up on The Crew, I was unsure how I felt about The Lord's Prayer being rewritten for children.  Well, I guess I am unsure about it still, as a replacement for learning The Lord's Prayer ("If it was good enough for Jesus..."), but it is a lovely prayer, though maybe a bit simplistic for upper elementary.  The classes are a nice assortment of important lessons for tweens are included to help them understand the character of God and learn to understand and build that relationship.  The page samples on the Kid Niche website are what really drew me in.  I liked the content of the lessons, the variety, and the color illustrations.

Mal used his NIV Bible for teens and did a great job finding and reading the verses he was directed to look up.  Some of his answers were incredibly short, but when we discussed the information he was more forthcoming than he was with writing.  Through this curriculum, Mal is learning to pray more clearly for his relationships, with others and with God.  I'm very thankful for that.

The lessons were fairly short, with the bulk of the time spent looking up the verses.  He also is a slow writer.  Though this curriculum would work well in a group setting; co-op or Sunday school, it probably wouldn't fill an hour for one lesson.  The added activities on the website, though, would definitely add quality to the group lessons as well as to individual lessons at home.


Part 1 and Part 2 of Weave Your Word in Me are $20 each, but if you purchase the complete package, you save 25%, receiving all 80 lessons for $30.

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Summer Has Officially Begun

It always seems like the busiest week we have every year is the first week after public school gets out.  Summer is starting and there are summer things to do.  This year was no exception.  It rained a lot this week.  Probably at least a bit every. single. day.  sigh...

Public school didn't officially end until noon time on Tuesday this week, I'm guessing because of snow days.  Because of this, Xav did not have PE on Tuesday like usual.  Instead, he was invited to participate in field day with the whole school.  He was even given a mascot T-shirt in school colors, just like everyone else.

Monday night is also the night our first VBS of the summer began.  Yep, the first VBS is in the evening.  There are lessons for ages 2-adult.  So, while I was sorely tempted to nap in the car every night (because exhaustion), I stayed for Bible study.  Some other Friday School families were present, too, so it was nice to visit in our off time.  I also met a few other very sweet ladies.  The theme was Over the Moat: Drawbridge to the King and the study was about King David. 

Since school was in session for two days, gymnastics camp was only three mornings.  The charge this year was higher, the time and number of days shorter, but I still felt it was reasonable.  Honestly, the first time it was $10/kid/session (NOT *day*) and I thought that was crazy cheap, so I'm not complaining.  I do wish it had been all week though.  Xav and Merrick absolutely love it!  Mal chose not to participate this year again.  He didn't change his mind mid-way through, like he did last year.  When it didn't rain, Xav, Mal, and I walked and went to the playground while Merrick was in his lesson.  When it was Xav's turn, I took Merrick and Mal home because his session was longer than Merrick's.

Wednesday or Thursday afternoon (because we're kind of kooky), we went to a resort where we have a Daycation pass.  We spent a few hours getting familiar with the layout and at one of the pool areas.  Caught a shuttle bus, which Merrick and Mal thought was amazing.  We'll be going up again this week and probably head to one of the other pool areas, since they are all different.  We don't just have access to the pools.  There is hiking, a game zone, and a ton of events we can participate in, oh, and lagoons.  Because we want to be sure to get our money's worth out of this pass, I want to get up there fairly often.  I've told the punks we are switching to school in the morning.  It won't be easy for any of us, as we're all creatures of habit, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

So, that wasn't nearly enough to do and we didn't need any rest on Saturday.  So, our week finished out with a VBS closing carnival (and banana splits) on Saturday and the rain stayed away the entire time.  I picked up Greek food from the lady at the Farmer's Market for lunch.  Then we headed to a new (2nd year) Renn Faire.  We didn't stay long.  Then it was off to our favorite cider mill for our first visit of the year.  No, they weren't pressing, since it's summer, but they have samples and we bought cider and cider donuts.  Outside we were surprised by the most adorable little bunny litter.  I saw seven babies around the picnic tables and gazebo.  The most intriguing part was their appearance.  They didn't look like wild rabbits.  There were two albinos and five in various shades of tan or brown.  I have *never* seen wild rabbits like that.  I have myself convinced they were from an escaped pet.

This young lady worked a while to get close enough to pet this cutie.  She said it was the highlight of her whole day.

R is for Repentant

One day, one terrible day, I was angry at one of the kids.  I think I may have actually been angry at the world that day.  I was trying to get them to do the bedtime things that need doing and one poor soul was in the living room.  I had him pick up something he didn't get out and he did, cheerfully for him.  I thanked him, I really did.  I was trying to be appreciative.  Then I asked him to do one other related thing.  He ignored me and went to "take care of" something else that didn't need taking care of.  So I stopped him and redirected him to what I wanted done.  One thing leads to another.  He is doing this mindless fluttering around thing he does when he is stressed and I am snapping.  Suddenly, my husband is yelling.  At *me*.

Yeah.  Low moment.  And now I'm "explaining" myself and my frustration.  And he is explaining louder.  We rarely argue.  It was so unusual, that said child split at the first chance.  As soon as bedtime was finished, I went and got in the shower.  Now, the shower is *my* place.  It's where I unwind.  I clean my spirit in there.  If I feel like crying, that's where I let it out.  I talk to God and no one is interrupting us with ridiculous demands.

But...  This time was different.  I was angry.  I was angry that my kids couldn't follow simple instructions.  I was angry that my husband didn't understand (and I maybe felt he might be a bit hypocritical).  I was angry at myself for feeling so angry.  I didn't cry.  I just didn't want to cry.  I talked to God.  I told Him I just didn't feel sorry.  I told Him my anger and pride were getting in the way of me being sorry.  I told Him I wanted to be sorry, I just didn't feel like it right then.  I knew my pride was hurting me.

As I turned off the water, I suddenly felt better.  It was like my pride and anger had surrendered to the King.  I knew I sometimes I am demanding.  I knew sometimes said child has a hard time listening or focusing or whatever the deal is.  I knew my husband is human.  Just like me.  We are all doing the best we can (most of the time).  There was nothing wrong with lovingly pointing my flaw out to me, I just couldn't listen right then.

I just couldn't listen right then.

How many times do I keep on harping when the kids have stopped hearing me?

My pride was in the way.

I could not let go and be remorseful because my pride was in the way.

I surrendered.

I was sorry and I cried and I repented.  And I know my Father forgave me.


2 Cor 7:9-10
⁹ yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. ¹⁰ Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

This post is part of Blogging Through the Alphabet with Annette and Amanda.  I'm late posting R, but I think it's a good message and I really needed to click "Publish" and get it up there.  Thanks for reading.

Drive Thru History® The Gospels ~ A Homeschool Crew Review

If you're familiar with Drive Thru History® courses (Ancient History, American History, or The Holy Land), I think you will really enjoy Drive Thru History® – “The Gospels”.  I had to laugh, when the day the DVDs arrived, Xav started the first disc.  He watched the intro for a moment and said, "Drive Thru History?  Where's his MINI Cooper?"  I have no idea if Dave Stotts drives a MINI in Ancient History.  I guess I don't pay attention to the "important" stuff.  I did note, however, that for this round Dave is apparently driving a 40 year old Land Rover.  You're welcome.  (Well, I'll be.  I just looked up a mini and found a review on Car and Driver for the Mini Cooper S that looks identical.)


Dave Stotts and Drive Thru History® make learning about the past more fun.  Seriously.  I have active boys.  They love the visual action, the quick and concise way Dave presents the information, and the neat graphics that appear on the screen with Stotts.  He even interacts with some of the "holograms," as my boys call them.  You are exposed to various texts, images, and pieces of art through these graphics.  History isn't  just about the dates, but also the action.  The punks love to hear or see the true stories that are connected.  It's a much richer history than the timeline, though that is also very important.

When I watched the trailer, I was so choked up.  I cry my eyes out every time I see a depiction of what my savior did for me.  I am so deeply humbled by that.  You can see the trailer and cry your eyes out, too.  You're welcome for that as well.

The Gospels: The Extraordinary Life of Jesus of Nazareth is a three DVD set with a hardcover booklet/case.  Each of the 18 episodes is nearly 30 minutes long and is broken down more into chapters.  The entire set explores the life and times of Jesus, using the accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, as well as outside historical information about the lives of rulers and the people at that time.

Disc 1 of the series begins with a quick and historical look at the time, people, and locations covered in the Gospel accounts and the importance of genealogies.  Jesus' birth and the beginning of his ministry is also covered here.

Disc 2 contains Jesus' miracles, The Sermon on the Mount, and His travels with the apostles.

In disc 3, Dave Stotts talks about Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem, His trial, crucifixion, and resurrection.

I'm including a lot of photos this time, because the photography and cinematography are amazing.  Hope you don't mind!


There is a lot of really interesting extra-Biblical information that I think really expands on what the Bible tells us about Christ and the times he lived in.  For instance, in episode 4 we learn about King Herod and his Herodium, one of several of his palaces.  I knew very little about him beyond the Biblical account.  It's mind boggling to me what the wealthy rulers did to show their superiority over other people.

First, Herod had one mountain moved to the top of another mountain.  By hand.  Not his hand, of course.  Herod Antipas, who ruled during Jesus' ministry, had a large bath house with three temperatures in the various pools.  Herod's actual *pool* - in the middle of the desert - held nearly 3,000,000 (that's Million!) gallons of water.  In the desert.  Like his father, he had little regard for the lives of the people.  Whereas, Herod the Great ordered the murder of all sons under the age of two in an attempt to kill the King of the Jews, Antipas murdered John the Baptist as well as a number of prominent men, even family members, to keep his rule secure.





Not knowing how the crucifixion would be portrayed, I chose to watch episode 16, The Crucifixion of Jesus, without the boys.  I think the most dramatic portrayal of the crucifixion they have seen is from What's in the Bible?.

I've seen many graphic portrayals of the suffering of Christ, but rarely in drama is the entire process explained.  Drive Thru History® used art and some live action while explaining what crucifixion does to the human body.  At first, I thought how God must feel about his children who devise ways to torment their brothers and sisters.  My heart was breaking.  When Dave told of Christ on the cross crying, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?!"  I lost it.  I just wept, that gut wrenching, cleansing weeping.  I am telling you this because I want you to know how incredibly moving this was.  This scene was not melodramatic.  It was just deeply moving.

sigh...  OK.  Take a minute if you need it...

The DVD set comes with a book built into the case.  Each video has a four page spread devoted solely to it.

• Title page, which lists a quote.  Most are Bible verses, but there are also quotes from the likes of Mother Teresa, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Harry Truman.
• Summary page with a short synopsis of the content.
• Five discussion questions and a list of the related Biblical readings.
• The Side Road which offers interesting tidbits about minted coins, the Garden of Gethsemane, and Passover, among other subjects.  This page also highlights art or photos from The Gospels episodes.

Following these four pages, another artwork or photograph from the series is featured as a two page spread.


Dave Stotts is often humorous, but never irreverent.  The videos can be many things, but are never boring.  This would make a nice homeschool curriculum or Sunday school or small group study.  One episode each week and the corresponding discussion questions and Bible reading, make an enjoyable and doable study for the target audience of middle school and up, but all ages will really enjoy this exciting look at Biblical history.  It would be an excellent choice for a Lenten study.

At the time of this writing, the first episode is available on the Drive Thru History® – “The Gospels” page.  Just click on the word "here" on that page.  No code is necessary. 

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Day 5 The Scripture Box ~ Scripture Memorization

WHEW!  Well, I did not get this Day 5 post prepared ahead of time.  It was a crazy week with other commitments and I had no time to finish.  So here is Day 5, one day late.  Thanks for being patient!

I've posted about this before in one of my wrap up posts a couple of years ago.  I'm updating our scripture box and decided to share it.  We haven't actually used it in a while, so we're starting from scratch with daily verses.  I suspect we'll move through it much more quickly since all those verses are already rattling around in our heads.  This is also a great time to start Merrick on the scripture box.

If you google it, I'm sure you'll find lots of similar boxes.  We had ours in a plastic container which was fine when we only had a few cards.  As our card collection grew, I realized they were too big when they had to stand upright.  So, I picked up this new box at Dollar General.  It's tall enough to close even when all the cards are standing up.

I keep several sharpies of different colors in the box.  When I write a new card, I choose the color based on where/why we are memorizing it.  Co-op is orange, Rangers (which we no longer attend) is blue, and AWANA is green, etc.

The first verses you want to learn go under the "daily" tab.  You'll practice them, well, daily.  Once you've learned it/them, you move that card to the "odd" or "even" tab to practice on odd or even numbered days.  As you learn more scripture and shift the cards back, they will go under a day of the week, and eventually under a number card to be recited on day each month.  In this way, even verses you've memorized will be practiced at least one day each month.

Besides the cards I've written, we've collected random cards from VBS, magazines, favorite websites...  all over the place.  These are currently tucked in the back.

We used these cards often for a few years and then got out of the habit.  It's definitely a simple way to keep practicing verses and Hiding the Word in Their Hearts.

Thanks again for joining me (and the rest of my Crew mates.  We've enjoyed sharing our thoughts with you and I sincerely hope you are feeling inspired.

Day 4 Philippians in 28 Weeks ~ Scripture Memorization

Hi again!  It's day four of 5 Days of Hiding the Word in Their Hearts and today we'll talk about  memorizing *entire books of the Bible*!  Yikes!  Right?  I confess, I have not yet actually memorized an entire book myself.  I *have* been able to study complete chapters and file them away in my rattly brain.  Our homeschool co-op used to have the parent who presented chapel assign a memory verse, but a few years ago we started memorizing chunks of the Bible.

This post contains affiliate links.

A really excellent tool for memorizing large chunks of the Bible is Stacy Farrell's Philippians in 28 Weeks™.  Stacy provides cards and techniques that you could use in relation to any scripture you wish to commit to memory.

In order to memorize an entire book of the Bible, Stacy recommends you

• Read it daily. 
• Record your insights.
• Repeat the current verse(s) you're working on.
• Recite from memory.

It's both that simple and that difficult. I know that sounds odd.  The process is easy, but the act of follow through can be (monotonous, time consuming, frustrating, or whatever other adverbs you can think of!  Ha ha!).  The actual Philippians book is a workbook of sorts with places to record your reflections and thoughts about what you are reading, a checklist for each day, marking your progress, copywork, and Philippians flash cards.

A Home School Adventure Co., publication, Philippians in 28 Weeks™ is a simple and painless way to memorize an entire book of Scripture.

I've been debating including this part, but in the end I decided I would.

I'm including a SPOILER ALERT.

It's about a non-Christian movie (The Book of Eli) that is rated R.

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I'm not sure how many of you might have seen the film The Book of Eli.  If you haven't, I'm not necessarily recommending it, though I did mostly like it.  It's rated R and is a pretty rough movie about a post-apocalyptic earth.  In it Eli is trying to get a book (the Holy Bible) to the west coast.  Well, he isn't just carrying the Bible there.  He reads it every day.  The trip has taken him a ridiculous amount of time (30 years or so), and (SPOILER ALERT) when he reaches his destination, he realizes he no longer needs the book.  He has memorized every word of the Bible.

Day 3 Child Training/Virtue Bible ~ Scripture Memorization

Welcome back to Five Days of Hiding the Work in Their Hearts!  I am so honored that so many people are reading these posts and I really hope some of them inspire you to use them or come up with your own new ideas.

Today, I want to tell you about the Child Training Bible.  This Bible is so much more than a Bible.  I bought the set way back when it first came out and I was so completely moved as I assembled my Child Training Bible (CTB).  It was created by a lovely, young mother named Mindy Dunn.


What's included.
A "key" which is what you see on the left below. 
3 Tabbing guides.

You will need to have post it flags, highlighters that won't bleed in your Bible (or colored pencils), and a Bible.

The key sheet fits in a medium sized Bible (you can find a link on the CTB website which leads you to the perfect items to complete the project or see the size and decide if you already have the perfect fit).  The guides show you the correct color and placement of post it flags needed and tells you which Bible verses to highlight.  You can see in the photo above, by lining up the two images, I have tabbed a verse for Jealousy, one for Laziness, and one for Not Listening.  There are also tabs at the top and bottom of the page and highlights on the left facing page.

The best part about this tool really was preparing it for use.  I got so much out of it myself as I looked up, highlighted, and tabbed our CTB.  It took only a couple of evenings to finish it.  I felt positively inspired by it when I was done.

The only thing I didn't *love* about the Child Training Bible was the focus on negatives.  It sometimes felt like the Bible was only used as a list of don'ts.  I didn't want the punks to sigh, "I did something wrong so mom is getting the Bible out again." 

Enter the next product made by Mindy.

The Virtue Training Bible came out a bit after the CTB.  This set is HUGE with many more keywords to tab.  I do not own the VTB, though, I would *love* to have it some day.  What I really like about this set is the more positive focus on virtues.  Rather than the "don'ts" it consists of more of the "dos" of the Bible.

I saw on the website that the Child Training Bible is also available in French and Spanish.