Al and I began dating in our teens at age 16, when my family came to America and Dad became the pastor of the church Al's family went to.
The youth group we attended would sometimes sing in the choir. Al says this was one way parents could keep an eye on their kids. In the photo below, Al and I are on the left side of the back row.
A popular song in the 70s was "Pass It On" and we often sang it at youth group. As a cocky teen, I did not "dig" that song at all. I'd roll my eyes when we'd sing it.
But really, it has a good message!
Psalm 71:18 says "So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me until I proclaim Your might to another generation, Your power to all those to come."
We are now at that old age and have gray hairs. And so we want to be intentional that when we have our summer family times, we have a little teaching time with the grandkids. To "pass it on".
For my part I thought it would be a good idea to do a little craft with a lesson.
First, I told the story of Howard Rutledge whose plane was shot down over Vietnam. He was taken prisoner. Here is the story I read to them written by Jan White in 2011:
Howard Rutledge tells about his plane being shot down over Vietnam. He parachuted into a little village, where he was attacked, stripped naked and imprisoned. For the next seven years, he endured brutal treatment, sometimes shackled in excruciating positions and left for days in his own waste. Rats the size of cats crawled around his cell. Later, he wrote a book about his ordeal and gave a powerful testimony as to the importance of Scripture. With the sights, smells, and sounds of death all around him, Rutledge wanted to know about the part of himself that will never die. In solitary confinement, there was no minister or Bible for answers to the spiritual matters of life he had long neglected.
Rutledge thought back to his Sunday School days in Tulsa, Okla., and tried desperately to recall snatches of Scripture, sermons and hymns of his childhood. The first three-dozen songs came relatively easy. One night during a huge thunderstorm, a bolt of lightning knocked out the lights. In the dark prison, he laid down to sleep listening to waves of rain falling. Suddenly, he began humming his 37th song, “Showers of blessings, Showers of blessings we need! Mercy drops round us are falling, but for the showers we plead.” Howard Rutledge and fellow POW’s, like Harry Jenkins in a nearby cell, struggled to rediscover their faith. They would often use priceless seconds of communication to help each other recall Scripture verses and Bible stories.
Rutledge wrote, “Everyone knew the Lord’s Prayer and the Twenty-third Psalm,” but the camp’s favorite verse, the one that prisoners recalled first and quoted most often, was John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave……” He described how much time he spent trying to remember what he heard growing up in Sunday School and was amazed at what he did recall. Looking back, he realized the importance of memorizing verses from the Bible. “I never dreamed that I would spend almost seven years (five in solitary confinement) in a prison in North Vietnam or that thinking about one memorized verse could make the whole day bearable,” he relates.
One portion of a verse he did remember was “Thy word have I hid in my heart” (Psalm 119: 11). He regretted not hiding more of God’s Word in his heart. Howard Rutledge said he would put his mind to work and accomplish certain tasks. Every day, he would wake up early, exercise and clean up as best he could. Then he’d have a time of devotional prayer and meditation. He goes on to say, “I would pray, hum hymns silently, quote Scripture and think about what that verse meant to me…the enemy knew that the best way to break a man’s resistance was to crush his spirit in a lonely cell.” The former POW states, “Scripture and hymns might be boring to some, but it was the way we conquered our enemy and overcame the power of death around us.”
I told the children that it is easier to memorize Scripture at a young age. Verses I learned in my teens and twenties have stuck with me, but trying to memorize now is hard. My brain doesn't have the "sticky" it used to. I told the children there could come a time that Bibles might not be legal to own. If ever that would happen, it is important to have it IN your heart. Or it can be changed. I have heard that some are in the process of re-writing it and it is not the same.
A thought came to me that one way to remember verses is to remember them alphabetically. (Another way would be to say, "What verses do I know from Genesis; Exodus; etc)
Example:
A - "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17
B - "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Romans 12:12
"Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations.
I will be exalted on the earth." Psalm 46:10
C - "Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7
Well, you get it. I had each child come up with a cover page for the letter of the alphabet. They could do whatever they wanted. I had painted birds that started with the letter of the alphabet. American Robin, Bluejay, Chickadee....
But they could just do a fancy letter, or something that started with that letter. My grandchildren are all very creative and artsy and I knew they'd do a good job!
They were to also look up verses or think of verses they already had memorized and write those down on lined 3x5 cards to add to their collection.
I learned the song from Psalm 119:11 when I was in gradeschool:
Oh Thy Word have I hid in my heart,
that I might not sin against Thee,
That I might not sin, That I might not sin,
Thy Word have I hid in my heart.
"I have treasured the Words of His mouth more than my necessary food."
Job 23:12
Al did a bible study with them comparing the activities in a first century Galilean wedding to Christ's relationship to the church. Eph. 5:22-32 Many comparisons! Al is such a good teacher!
"Love one another"
One more thing we did was to make shirts where we hugged one another and left "hug" prints on them. We put fabric paint on their hands and arms and they hugged one another. They also hugged Nana and Papa.
For the little kids, we just painted their hands.
Claire added a heart on the front of her shirt and I loved that!
Papa had the girls put their prints on the front of his shirt.
Psalm 78:4 "We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His power, and the wonders He has done."
Pass it on!
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