Memorizing Bible Verses: Is It Good For The Brain?

In the south especially, Vacation Bible School is a part of almost every children's summer, whether their parents regularly attend church or not. Children make crafts, act out plays, sing songs, and most importantly, memorize Bible verses. VBS is part of growing in the South.

But new research suggests that VBS, particularly those Bible verses, may be more important than you think. It turns out that the brain is like the biceps; the more you use it, the stronger it becomes. And when children, especially, struggle to memorize something, like a Bible Verses, their brains get stronger and their memories improve.

Also, it doesn't just work for kids. Adults can also strengthen their brains and improve their memories by exerting ten to fifteen minutes of effort each day to memorize something; be it a bible verse or a short poem, for example. Take the time to review the verse or poem as you go through your normal day; Repeat this in the car, for example, or while waiting at the doctor's office.

And the songs? Does being able to sing all the songs on the radio improve your memory? Well not really. Music and rhythm make it much easier for words to stay in our heads. While this can be extremely useful if you really need to memorize something and don't have a lot of time to do it, the brain doesn't have to work as hard, which means the benefit is minimal.

Are you interested in improving your memory with very little investment of time? If so, try this - get a pack of 50 or 100 lined tiles. Take one and put a Bible verse on one side and the reference on the other. Or, if you prefer, put a short poem on one side and the title on the other. You can do the cards one or two at a time; There is no need for you to pass out filling all 100!

Once you've completed a couple of cards, put them in your purse or fold them up and put them in your wallet or pocket. (Your pocket is a risky place; you may not remember to remove them before washing the garment.) Wherever you put them, you want to have them close at hand, close at hand, at all times.

The next time you have time, if, for example, you stop at a long red light, take out one of the cards. If you're just starting to memorize that card, you may want to read it once while looking at it, flip it over, and see if you can repeat it. If it's a card you've been memorizing for some time, try repeating it without looking.