When I was in high school, one of the best things that I ever did was beginning to memorize a few passages of Scripture.  Memorizing was hard for me, and I had to work at it daily.  But soon, the words just flowed from my mouth without having to think much about them.  What I found is the words that I had memorized had become hidden in my heart, and just at the right time when I desperately needed God’s truth, there it was, pouring out of my mouth.  To this day, I still have those verses memorized, and when I find myself at the end of my rope, I can turn to them.  My favorite?  “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Now as a parent, I realize the power of God’s word in my heart, and in my children’s heart!  There are so many lies that are pushed onto us in our daily lives, and it is important to know what is the truth.  A few days ago, one of my boys was upset because he was in trouble by some poor decisions that he had made.  As he was up in his room, I could hear him saying, “No one in this family likes me.  No one wants to be around me.”  Lies.  So I brought him down and we talked about “what is the truth?”  The truth is that we love him very much.  The truth is that we love being around him.  The truth is that, above all else, God loves him, for it says that “God so loved the world that he gave his only son”.  There is power in the truth, and when we start to say it, hear it and have it in our hearts, then we become stronger people.

As you probably have heard, last month we launched a new Sunday School curriculum during our 9:30 service.  One of the biggest “yay’s” for me is that this new curriculum has a monthly Bible memorizing component.  Our children will be learning and memorizing God’s word, being able to hide that truth in their hearts for times when they really need to hear it!  Please join with us in this wonderful journey of Bible memorization!  Having God’s truth hidden in our hearts is one of the most wonderful things that we can do for our lives and for our children’s lives.