Mommy Memorizes

Do you have the blessing of a baby in your home this year? Would you like a creative and practical idea to help you memorize a Bible verse while you are caring for your baby?

Grace is the mother of a sweet baby daughter. She recently shared an idea with me and she was willing for me to share it with you!

Grace wrote a number of Bible verses she is memorizing on a small white board. Then she put the whiteboard above her baby’s changing table!

When she is at the changing table, she can read the memory verses found on the white board. And when she reads the verses out loud, not only will she hear her memory verses, her baby daughter will have the opportunity to hear them too! Now that is a great idea! Would you like to give it a try?

Thank-you so much Grace, for the idea and for the picture of your whiteboard!

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org

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Marian Thomsen

Marian Thomsen

Wife, Mother, Mentor

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”
Isaiah 41:10

As Baby Grows

As Baby Grows

It is exciting to watch babies grow, isn’t it? So much happens during their first years of life. They learn to lift their heads, turn over, sit up, crawl, stand and eventually walk and talk. And as they grow, we continue to have a wonderful opportunity as mothers to spiritually nurture our little ones at home.

read more
Baby Too!

Baby Too!

How does a new and busy mother spiritually nurture her baby during her already full days and possibly sleep deprived nights? How does she have Bible Time with her baby?

read more

Bible Time with Baby

Baby can enjoy Bible Time too.

 

Sing

When you are singing to the Lord, sing in your baby’s hearing. This could be while you are washing dishes, feeding or rocking your baby, or enjoying Bible Time with older children in your home.

 

The Bible

When you are reading the Bible or reviewing your Bible memory verses do so out loud in your baby’s hearing.

 

Pray

Talk to God out loud in your baby’s hearing. Praise God and give Him thanks.

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Marian Thomsen

Marian Thomsen

Wife, Mother, Mentor

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”
Isaiah 41:10

As Baby Grows

 
It is exciting to watch babies grow, isn’t it? So much happens during their first years of life. They learn to lift their heads, turn over, sit up, crawl, stand and eventually walk and talk. And as they grow, we continue to have a wonderful opportunity as mothers to spiritually nurture our little ones at home.

On a previous blog post, “Bible Time with Baby” we looked at the most important thing a mom can do to spiritually nurture her new born baby. What is the most important thing a mom can choose to do? She can choose to personally spend time with Jesus every day to spiritually nurture herself.
 
She can also choose to read the Bible out loud for baby to hear, she can pray in baby’s hearing, she can review her memory verses and can sing praises to the Lord in baby’s presence.
 

As baby grows, mom can also begin to develop an intentional time of day that is set aside specifically for Bible Time with baby.

Time that we spend with our little one, singing to the Lord, spending time in God’s Word the Bible, and talking to the Lord in prayer. Let’s take a look at each of these areas with “growing babies” in mind.
 
I will share some simple ideas that will be appropriate for a variety of abilities as baby grows.
 
If you are a mom with a little one, and you are interested in having intentional Bible Time with your baby, I would encourage you to pick just one new thing from the list below to do with your baby this week.

Then, next week, you may like to add another idea as you continue to do the idea from last week, and so on. Over time, you may want to purpose to do one idea from each of the three key elements of Bible Time with baby each day.

These ideas will be listed under the three key elements of Bible Time, singing, the Bible, and prayer.
 

1. Encourage baby to shake a rattle, nod the head, tap the table, clap, or march while you sing.

2. If possible, purchase a children’s hymnbook. With baby on your lap, open the songbook and point to the pictures or words as you sing.

3. Use a family hymnbook of your choice, and sing, sing, sing! When baby is able, encourage them to sing along with you.

1. Read short sections of Scripture out loud in baby’s hearing. When baby is old enough to sit up, give them something to do with their hands as you read. Perhaps a few blocks to play with, or some beads, or a crayon and paper if appropriate.

2. Invest in some simple books for baby that share the truth of God’s Word. Look for books with pictures that honor the Lord. Read them to your baby. Talk simply about the Bible truths that are shared.

3. Write a Bible memory verse on a card to share with baby. Decorate it with a sticker. Cover it with contact plastic or laminate it for durability. Let baby handle it and look at it while you read it out loud. Over time, you can add more cards to read to baby each day. As you consistently do this, the exciting day will come when baby will begin to say these Bible memory verses out loud with you. (If you would like some suggestions of memory verses for your little ones, see the download provided with this post.)

1. Purpose to pray with baby each day. Keep your prayer time with baby simple. Speak clearly and slowly so that baby can hear clearly what you are saying.

2. When baby can say a few words, give your baby the opportunity to talk to God as well. For example if they can say “daddy,” you could pray, “Thank-you, God, for Daddy. In Jesus name, Amen,” encouraging baby to say “daddy” with you when you pray this.

3. Begin simple “Thank-you” prayers with baby. Collect photos of your family, and pictures of things to be thankful for. Look at one picture at a time with baby. You could begin like this using three pictures: “Dear Heavenly Father, (show the picture of Daddy) Thank-you for Daddy, (show the picture of Mommy) thank-you for Mommy, (show the picture of your baby) and thank-you for baby (using your child’s name). In Jesus name, Amen.” The photos and pictures you collect could be glued onto paper and collated into a simple picture book to be used over and over again. If you collate them into a three ring binder, you can add more pages of pictures as baby grows!

Thanks for joining me! Have you seen something from the list above that you would like to do with your baby this week? I’d love to hear about it! Feel free to send a comment anytime.
 
May you sense the Lord’s love for you as you love your precious little one today.
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Marian Thomsen

Marian Thomsen

Wife, Mother, Teacher, Author, Product Developer

As a young daughter my parents encouraged me to memorize Scripture verses. I memorized Isaiah 41:10 and it became one of my favorite verses.

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” Isaiah 41:10

As an adult I continue to treasure Isaiah 41:10. And I can say with confidence that God has always been faithful to His Word. Praise Him! He is worthy of all our trust.

Baby Too!

How does a new and busy mother spiritually nurture her baby during her already full days and possibly sleep deprived nights? How does she have Bible Time with her baby?

First, she needs to nurture her own personal relationship with the Lord. To do this, she can choose to have a daily Quiet Time. A time to read the Bible and to talk to God in prayer. Even five minutes each day with the Lord in the Word and prayer is a great beginning. When she is reading her Bible, if baby is nearby, she can read it out loud for baby to hear.
She can talk to the Lord in prayer. When she is praying in the baby’s presence, she can pray out loud.
 

She can sing to the Lord during various moments of her day, perhaps while she is washing dishes, or while feeding or rocking baby.

She can review her Bible memory verses too. I heard of one mother who decided that she would quote her memorized Bible verses while she was changing her baby’s diapers. What a great and consistent way to keep reviewing and sharing memory verses with baby even as a busy mom! I wish I had thought of that!

Bible Time with Baby?

Simply put, it is mother sharing her walk with the Lord with her baby. Daily singing to the Lord, reading the Bible, quoting memorized verses, and praying. And baby will be blessed.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

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Marian Thomsen

Marian Thomsen

Wife, Mother, Teacher, Author, Product Developer

As a young daughter my parents encouraged me to memorize Scripture verses. I memorized Isaiah 41:10 and it became one of my favorite verses.

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” Isaiah 41:10

As an adult I continue to treasure Isaiah 41:10. And I can say with confidence that God has always been faithful to His Word. Praise Him! He is worthy of all our trust.

Wanda’s Question

Wanda

 In the book (First Place) you mentioned that before children can begin speaking they can already memorize verses. How can I do this with Joseph…? (Joseph is one years old.)

Marian

Hi Wanda! I am excited for you as you begin this adventure of helping Joseph memorize Bible verses!

Babies naturally listen to what we say, and when they begin to talk, they start to say the words they have heard. As you consistently repeat Bible verses out loud in Joseph’s hearing he will begin to store those verses in his heart! The exciting day will come when you will be saying the verses and Joseph will join in, saying the verses with you!!

IDEAS!

START WITH ONE VERSE

Choose a Bible verse you would like Joseph to memorize. Genesis 1:1 is a great verse for little ones to memorize. It is important for our children to begin life with a Biblical worldview. They need to know right from the start that God made the world and that God made them. (For more memory verse suggestions for little ones click here.)

WRITE THE VERSE ON A CARD

Write the verse you have chosen on a card for Joseph. Index cards or blank business cards work great for this. Add a colorful sticker to the card. This will make it more exciting for Joseph to look at. If possible, cover the card with contact plastic or laminate it for durability. Show Joseph his special Bible verse card. Talk about it. From time to time he may enjoy holding his Bible verse card while you say the verse.

CREATIVE WAYS TO SAY THE VERSE

  1. Take Joseph’s hands and clap his hands while you say the verse.
  2. Use a baby rattle and quietly shake the rattle as you say the verse.
  3. Hold Joseph and jump up and down with him as you say the verse.
  4. Rub Joseph’s back and say the verse as he lays down to sleep.
  5. Put a tune to the verse and sing it to Joseph.
  6. Say or sing the verse as you push Joseph in a swing.
  7. Go for a walk and say the verse as you walk.
  8. Say the verse as Joseph takes a bath.
  9. Have a favorite toy animal “say” the verse.
  10. Hide the verse card in a room for Joseph to find. After he finds the verse card, say the verse. Repeat this activity as long as Joseph enjoys it!

Do you have a question related to helping your children love Jesus and grow in Him? About something shared on the Mom Blog or in the book First Place?

If so, it is highly likely that other moms have the same question and would be encouraged by your question and possible ideas/thoughts shared, so feel free to ask! 

Marian Thomsen

Marian Thomsen

Wife, Mother, Mentor

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”
Isaiah 41:10

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