A Habit that Will Shape Your Future

I did a lot of stupid things when I was a young woman.

I let my grandma give me a perm.
I hugged a guy and then realized I had horrible pit stains.
I was in the school production of Charlotte’s Web and rarely ever could remember the right line at the right time.
I followed a guy named Ransom Murray around high school every chance I got.  (Isn’t “Ransom” the most romantic name ever?)
I collected stickers.

But not everything I did was stupid.  There’s one habit I began in high school that still helps me every day.

I don’t remember who taught me this, but it was suggested to me that I work to memorize two verses from the Bible every week.

So I did.

I plugged away at memorizing the Bible, week after week, until I had a few hundred verses tucked away inside my soul.  I would always choose verses that seemed powerful in the moment, but I had no idea these verses would continue to be powerful a few decades down the road.

I’m 44 now, and just last week I was discouraged about something.  All of a sudden, God brought a verse I had memorized in high school sharply to my mind.  I could still say the whole verse, and it was so encouraging, specifically for what I was going through.  I was amazed that God would dust off that “old” stuff and make it useful.  All of a sudden I regretted not learning a few hundred more verses!

So maybe you have a list of stupid things you’ve done.  Hopefully you’ll laugh at it someday!  But I hope you’ll do one smart thing:  Memorize truth from the Bible that can strengthen you and give you wisdom encouragement for the entire rest of your life.

My Memory Verse Plan

Choose two verses and write each on a 3 x 5 card.  Make sure you include the reference.  Write the date in the upper right hand corner of each card.
Work on these verses once a day for a week.  Try hard to memorize them on the first day, and then you can just review them for six days.
Make sure you really think about what these verses mean as you work on them.  Is God asking you to obey or to believe something?  Don’t just memorize –be ready to act on what you’re learning.
In the second week, add two new verses.  During this second week you’ll be working on the two new verses and reviewing the old two.
In the third week, add two new verses.  Continue adding verses every week for a total of six weeks, so you have a total of 12 verses you’re working on.  (It’s not as horrible as it sounds.  The review verses go fast.)  Believe me, when you’ve spent this much time with memory verses you’ll really know them by heart.
In the 7th week, throw away the two oldest verses and add two new ones.  Continue to throw out the two old verses and add two new verses every week…for the rest of your life!