Truly I have a little nerd on my hands. He LOVES to read. He loves to cuddle up close on the couch and read his Bible verses, Dick and Jane and the Rod and Staff Readers. He has the Lord's Prayer down pat; memorized in one week. Yesterday he memorized John 10:11. His big passage in James 1:2-8 that he is learning for school is going to take him a bit longer, but he can pretty much read it with the exception of a few big words and those he just memorizes. He would rather have pencil and paper than play outside. Playing outside is just one of those things he HAS to do, like it or not. Once he is out there his imagination usually helps him make a big mess somewhere.
Missy is so jealous of the time I spend listening to James read. She doesn't learn the same way he does. She is not an auditory learner and the way he learns his Bible verses simply doesn't work with her. Her memory is not quite as sharp as his, though, she seems to remember whatever is important to her. I haven't figured out the best way to do this, except repetition, repetition, repetition and lots of time.
This morning is going hard and slow, like every morning. She is currently crying and carrying on because for the 30 minutes I asked her to get dressed she did not, and now that it is time to move on to something else she wants to get dressed. Today is town day. Unfortunately, both children paid me no heed this morning and both will end up going to town in pjs. Oh well. I can't force them to obey.
Vanessa and Christina had an interesting Bible study with a lady yesterday. She had a lot of pent up frustration, and fear over her perception of who God is. Her thoughts came pouring out in a torrent of accusations and misunderstandings.... The girls were there 2 hours. They gently led her to see a different God. They were able to point to the Bible and show the inconsistencies of her own jumbled thoughts about Him. She was grateful that they could direct her to the Bible for answers.
This woman lives in utter fear. She had a dream the other night that Jesus was coming. She dreamed that she was with her family on the lawn playing with the children when a light came out of the sky growing bigger and bigger. The light was so bright it was burning and in the dream she dropped dead. She said, "I was dead right there! DEAD!!! I could see myself lying on the grass!" She felt she was lost. She could not get out of bed the next day. She lay in bed in pain and fear all day, still burning from the bright light. She asked her husband if this dream was a sign she was going to hell. He, unsure of what to make of it all, decided to be silly and said, "Yup, it's a sure sign."
How many other people live in that kind of fear? Wow! I pray that God will show Himself to her as He is; loving, and desiring a relationship with her.
May God help us to understand the Bible and who God is so that we can share the preciousness of our Saviour at every opportunity.
Christina was effected by the experience. She came to our room last night to ask for guidance to get to know her Bible better. We ask that God will guide us on our journey to Him.
3 comments:
Some tips on memorization:
- Mnemonic devices. Making acronyms or other words to provide some helping support.
- Small chunks. Break up longer passages into smaller phrases.
- Write small phrases on slips of paper (or for a longer passage, write individual sentences). Use your hands to put the passage back in order.
- Learning from the the end. If it's a few sentences long, start at the END of the passage and work your way back. That is, start with the last sentence first.
- Make a cloze activity. Write out the passage for Missy, leaving some words blank.
- Get her playing other word games. Rhymes, tongue twisters, riddles. Practice call and response with them.
- When you read a familiar story outloud, change a few of the key details. Have her listen for the "mistake" in the story.
- Practice saying passages in rhythm. Clapping, jumprope, movement.
- When she forgets a word, take a break, have her concentrate and try to "picture" it in her mind. Give her adequate quiet time to try and think it through. Praise her efforts.
Schitzelbank,
Thank you for the time you took to write this all out!! I appreciate it. I guess I have been in a rut. Time to break out of the old molds and try some new ideas. Thanks for listing them.
Post a Comment