Itty Bitty Homeschool: Hide it in your heart

I never understood the purpose of memorizing scripture until the last few weeks. What's the point? I'd ask myself. Sure I had known a little I could recite over the years just from hearing it in church. Verses committed to memory could probably be counted on one hand. I had read about it recently in "The Love That Multiplies" and "The Duggars: 20 and Counting," by Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar. It wasn't until it was part of my lesson from Bible Study Fellowship to memorize the Beatitudes, that I started thinking about memorizing any part of the Bible. This week I'm working on Philippians 4:8, "Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise think about these things." What a profound difference this has made in my life. Before this I had only memorized the verse, "I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone oh Lord, make me dwell in safety," Psalm 4:8, and that was only out of desperation, repeating it over and over until I fell asleep. Hiding it in my heart has helped me maintain focus in times of uncertainty. Reading the chapter corresponding with the day of the month in Proverbs everyday has also made an impact (I started doing this when reading about their tradition in the Duggars first book, "The Duggars: 20 and Counting.") I am also amazed that when I need it most, I recall God's word and specific passages. "I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you," Psalm 119:11. A joyful bonus in my memorizing verses is hearing Creed echo some of the words. (insert image of heart melting!). I took it quite literally when the leader said to write it on our forearms if we have to, to get it in our hearts. Currently Philippians 4:8 is written on the inside of my forearm. When we were in town the image gathered much attention, one woman stopping me so she could read all of it. "Amen, sister," she said. "We all need that."

egg dye leaf impression

"leaf pile"

construction paper and foil leaf impressions

wax paper leaf impression

Today we experimented with our collection of leaves. Trying various mediums for leaf rubbings we used foil, wax paper and construction paper. I was following an idea that was in the back of the Cloverleaf Book "Fall Leaves Colorful and Crunchy," by Martha E. H. Rustad, for making images of leaves using watercolor paper and a hammer. The execution however, did not work with the hammer. We were able to use a white crayon for a leaf rubbing on the watercolor paper, which provided resistance in the outlines and veins of the leaf. We also hammered on a piece of foam paper, effective but not really pretty. I had kept jars of egg dye from making Ukranian eggs years ago and I'm glad I did. They served as a colorful substitute for watercolor paint. Creed painted a leaf pile and it's a marvelous concoction of several overlapped leaf rubbings. Happy accidents are always delightful.