Review from Ladies Against Feminism

Hiding the Word in Our Hearts: A Review of Bible Memory Challenge’s Flash Card Sets
By Mrs. Chancey
August 1, 2003



One of the things I am most thankful to my parents for is their investment in training their children to memorize Scripture from a very young age. My mother created a small “Life Recipe Notebook,” as she called it, filled with pages of verses on index cards, organized by theme (controlling anger, practicing purity, honoring parents, etc.). Each morning, when our family sat down for breakfast, we would learn one new verse from the notebook, saying it together until we were confident we could mull it over through the day and commit it to memory. Mom’s memory tool really helped us to see how Scripture discusses themes from cover to cover.

Recently, I received a package from the folks at Bible Memory Challenge, containing four of their King James flash card sets. Mr. Chris Sitter of BMC has taken the time to organize hundreds of verses into themed sets (The Loving Husband, The Wife of Honor, Precious Daughters, Wise Sons, and more). Each card in the group is laminated, and the entire group is held together by a key ring in one corner. The sets can easily be stowed in a purse or a pocket and taken anywhere. My six-year-old son has already claimed the Wise Son set and clips the ring to his belt loops!

While the sets contain many of the verses you would expect to find grouped within their particular theme, there are a lot of pleasant surprises. The Wife of Honor set gives the well-known Proverbs 31 verses and all of the New Testament passages on women, but it also includes more general verses on marriage, home, and salvation. The same is true of the Loving Husband set. Furthermore, Mr. Sitter includes tiny boxed commentaries on the upper portion of many cards. Most of the time, these commentaries summarize what the verse on the card is about. For instance, on the top of the Philippians 2:3-7 card for husbands, the commentary reads, “Jesus Christ humbled Himself and became a servant. Let’s remember His example as we seek to ‘Love our wife as Christ also loved the church.’”

What I find especially wonderful about these cards is the fact that they are so sturdy. With young children (including a toddler and a baby) in the house, most paper items do not last long if they land in the wrong hands! For the past week, these cards have been in my 11-month-old’s mouth and thumbed through by my 2 1/2-year-old without damage. This is a major plus for any mother! I also appreciate the take-along size, since these are easy to throw into a bag for car trips. While we always take our family Bible with us, it is often a challenge to locate verses quickly in a bumpy car full of children. The Bible Memory Challenge sets make it a cinch to find verses within a particular theme and keep them handy for easy reference.

Finally, like the wall charts available from Doorposts, Bible Memory Challenge offers sets that organize verses to help you in training your children. It is vital that we teach our children from Scripture during times of discipline, and having card sets built around the child-training theme and particular failings (lying, slothfulness, arguing, etc.) makes it easy to locate verses appropriate for each situation.

I can already tell that these fantastic flash card sets will be a staple in this homeschooling family. I plan to order more sets soon, and I would encourage you to visit the beautiful Bible Memory Challenge website. They often have card sets on sale, so be sure to check the specials page!


Teach Your Children Well: Bible Memory does it again
By Mrs. Chancey
March 1, 2005

When I was young, my mother took the time to create a Bible Memory Notebook.

She called it the "Life Recipe Book." Divided into topical sections, the book made it easy to look up verses about obedience, love, patience, children, parents, and more. That little tool helped my siblings and me to memorize dozens of verses over the years our parents homeschooled us. For some reason, memorizing verses that center around a particular theme makes memory work easier (and more meaningful).

Chris and Theresa Sitter of BibleMemory.org have created over a dozen sets of "keychain" Bible verse sets--laminated verses grouped by a particular theme and bound on a keyring. The sets are easy to tuck into a purse and can withstand the enthusiastic teething of a baby and the eager hands of a toddler. We love our "keychain verses" here in the Chancey household, and we were delighted when Mr. and Mrs. Sitter sent us copies of their two latest sets, "The Shadow of Thy Wings" and "The Weatherman."

Covering everything from Moses's prayers for hail and thunder to Christ's calming of the storm, "The Weatherman" verse set presents a selection of Scriptures centered around God's sovereign control of the elements and His mastery of the heart of man. We have found this set particularly helpful as we discuss God's work as Creator of the world--a topic my eldest son especially loves. There are also verses that compare dew with a king's favor or show how a man who lacks faith is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed. The rich imagery of the Scriptures contained in this set is simply wonderful, and we are enjoying reading the verses aloud on car trips and around the house.

"The Shadow of Thy Wings" offers verses of comfort and protection, highlighting God's loving care and concern for His people. These are wonderful Scriptures to have at your fingertips. Often we have had to comfort a child who has had a nightmare and wished we could more easily recall Scriptures about God's watchful care over His children. Now we are working through the cards to commit more of these to memory. Having them in one place has been a great help.

Chris and Theresa Sitter are passionate about the Word of God and about helping God's people to hide His wonderful Word in their hearts. I can wholeheartedly recommend their beautiful, easy-to-use sets and look forward to seeing more of them in the future!