Scripture memory.

Growing up, I can recall countless mornings that our family ate breakfast together before school. Because my parents traveled almost every weekend with their ministry to churches around the country, they really prioritized family time during the week. Family breakfasts and family dinners were the centers of that time. Each school morning, we would gobble up some cinnamon toast or pancakes, and before we headed out the door, we would often study a deck of brightly colored cards that each held a Scripture. The verses were short and simple, and we would memorize them one by one as a family. It probably felt a little forced at times, but the fact that I still remember so many of those verses is a testimony that it worked. The Word of God was becoming rooted in my little 8-year-old heart.

Then I was 16, and had to travel to Texas to go to court concerning a serious car accident I'd been involved in. I was petrified, to say the least. My mom and I prayed so fervently surrounding that trip, and the verses that really ministered to us during that time were Psalm 37:5-6, which say, "Commit your way to the Lord. Trust him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun." His Word came alive to me and I needed it like I needed oxygen. I knew He cared for me deeply, and that He was speaking to me through the ancient, living words of the Bible.

Then there were times in high school and college that I was truly committed to memorizing Scripture, even entire chapters at a time. James 1-2 and Philippians 2-3 stick out especially, and though it's been years since I worked on them, large pieces of those chapters come back to me at just the right time.

God speaks through His Word. It's living and active. Do you believe that? Have you seen it come alive in your own life? Memorizing Scripture is not just for the head knowledge or the bragging rights. Far from it. As a believer, I crave God's Word like nothing else. I need it like nothing else. It nourishes my soul and points me to Jesus, whether I'm memorizing a passage in Ezekiel or Matthew.

I was thrilled to recently discover an iPhone app called Fighter Verses that aids in Scripture memory. (And it's not only for iPhones... there are many resources if you go to the site.) There are hundreds of verses in the ESV version to memorize, and the app helps you along with quizzes, memory songs, links to commentaries on that specific verse, and even an easy way to store the verse on the lock screen of your iPhone. I am memorizing Psalm 103 this week, and it has been so smooth with the help of this app because every time I turn on my phone, I see the verses I'm working on (and I turn on my phone a lot... I'm sure I'm not alone). There's even a kids' version that uses pictures to prompt their memory of specific verses.

Anyway, I just couldn't help but share. I'm thrilled to be actively memorizing Scripture again after a much-too-long hiatus as I know it's the most powerful thing to change my heart, to sharpen my mind, and to make me the best wife, mother, friend, daughter, sister, and lover of Jesus I can possibly be.