“But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:21-23
I had the privilege of watching one of my daughters lead a Bible quizzing class last week. She was amazing. Patient, prepared and persistent, she held middle and high school students in rapt attention at 9:45 on a Sunday morning, leading them verse by verse through 1 Corinthians chapter 10. They read out loud. They answered questions. They asked questions. They talked about drugs and sex and obedience and the faithfulness of God. Then they practiced quizzing, which means they sat on electronic buzzers, each one seeking to jump before anyone else to answer questions over the scripture passage they had just studied. No one complained or seemed distracted. In light of the atrocities in our country over the past few weeks, the beauty of young people eagerly studying the word of God almost made me cry.
I had never heard of Bible quizzing twenty years ago when my daughters first got involved. We had started attending a new church and there was one young lady there, desperate to be on a quiz team. She enlisted my twins and the three of them became a team. They memorized verses and studied scripture and traveled to a different church once a month to compete against other teens, who had also studied and memorized. Ultimately all four of my daughters participated in Bible quizzing and currently two of them serve as quiz coaches; fostering a love of the word of God in young people.
The book of Lamentations, the prophet Jeremiah’s wailing lament, contains some of the most touching verses in all of scripture. Lamentations 3:22-23 are immortalized in song and artwork, easily memorized and often quoted: “the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning, great is your faithfulness.” I, myself, have painted this verse and hung it on my wall as a reminder that no matter what is happening around me, God is faithful. He always loves. His mercies renew every morning.
I love to recite these verses beginning in Lamentations 3:21, however: “This I call to mind, therefore I have hope.” While I love watching my daughters memorize and recite verses, I have always struggled with memorizing anything! As a child memorizing songs for piano recitals killed me, as did remembering math equations and chemistry information. Recall is not my strength, yet Lamentations says to recall or call to mind the following information about God. More important than any song or math fact, remember that God loves you. His love never ceases. He is faithful and merciful; embed this truth in your mind.
While I find memorizing scripture daunting, I love reading scripture. Over the years I have spent enough time in the word that whether I intended to memorize it or not, it is familiar to me. I may not know chapter and verse or be able to jump faster than anyone else with an answer, but I know foundational truths about God that give me hope. I recall them to my mind throughout each day, finding peace even in troubled times.
I am eternally grateful to those that introduced my family to Bible quizzing. What a pleasure and privilege it is to see my grandchildren grappling with God’s word, growing in their own understanding of who God is and how much God loves them. I know that not every church offers Bible quizzing as an option for young people, but I cannot over emphasize the importance of teaching young people God’s word. I feel compelled to ask those of you who read this blog to get involved in helping at least one young person find faith and peace in God through the reading of the Bible. You don’t have to be a scholar or a genius or a master memorizer, you just have to love God, love your neighbor, and know how to read. Make a difference in our crazy, mixed up world by making a difference to one other person.
My memory may fail me in multiple academic realms, but flavors and recipes I can usually recall. In my early days I did not care for chocolate, crazy, I know, so my mom would make salted peanut cookies just for me. Even as an adult she would bring them to my house, or mail them to me, as a special gift. The memory of both the flavor and the favor bestowed by these cookies is sweet; it gives me joy and hope. They are easy to make and could be just the means by which you could invite a few teenagers into your home to share the truth of Scripture with them.
Salted Peanut Cookies
- 1 cup softened butter
- 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 cups Gold Medal flour
- 2 cups salted peanuts
Heat oven to 375*. In stand mixer, mix softened butter and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla, mix well. Add dry ingredients and mix until dough is together. Remove from mixer and stir peanuts in by hand.
Drop rounded spoonfuls of dough on to a greased cookie sheet. Grease the bottom of a glass with butter, then dip the glass into a small bowl of granulated sugar. Flatten each cookie with the sugared end of the glass evenly so cookies are about 1/4″ tall. Bake for 7-9 minutes.
These cookies were originally called salted peanut crisps, a very crispy cookie. I like these cookies crispy, but my family believes in soft cookies! Bake them to whatever level of doneness will suit your preference. The original recipe also reports a quantity of 72 cookies per recipe. I usually reap 50-54 cookies from this recipe. Crispy or soft, small or medium they are a sweet and salty treat.
