Marydean Draws: summer

I told you I'd be back (two blog posts in one week--what?)!

Summer break is just around the corner for us. I'm freaking out a little bit about having everyone at home again, but believing that God has good things for us this summer, and that I will not go crazy and lose my hair . . . or my mind . . . or both.

Sigh. The anxiety is real, friends.

I want to have some loose rhythms for us this summer. Daily rest times with some books on CD, play time with neighbors, trips to the library and pool. One thing I'm brainstorming is doing some Bible memory work with the kids.

I want to keep it light and fun, but we haven't done any memory/Bible work since they've been in school, so I'm hoping the summer will be a good opportunity to introduce more truth to their hearts.

I realize only God can truly soften their little hearts, but I want to at least give them the opportunity to hear. After all:

"How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?" Romans 10:14

"So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." Romans 10:17

I created a super simple printable Bible memory work chart you can use this summer with your children (or all through the year).

Here's a sample schedule you could follow for each day of the week:

MONDAY: Read and repeat x2. Talk about any unfamiliar words. Color a coloring page and post somewhere where you'll see it often (car, fridge, dining room).
TUESDAY: Look up the verse in the Bible. Read. Repeat x2. What's one thing this verse is telling us about Jesus?
WEDNESDAY: Read. Repeat x2. Write or draw out the verse. A few years ago, I posted a fun little guide to doing Bible illustrations/doodles here.
THURSDAY: Read. Repeat x2. Talk about how this verse might apply to your lives.
FRIDAY: See if you can say the verse from memory. Celebrate with a special outing, reward, or treat. If one week is too fast, try memorizing your verse in two.
the NEXT MONDAY: Loop back to the previous week's verse. Repeat and then start on a new verse. Continue repeating the older verses each week.

Other ideas for using the the chart:

If they're old enough, let your child be part of selecting what they want to memorize. If you need fun illustrations, ahem (🙋), you can use free printables from this blog or choose a pre-made set from the shop. Many sets in the shop include full-color cards and coloring pages.
Create a bookmark or notecard with the verse and give it away to a family member, neighbor, or friend.
Post your memory verse, or your child saying your memory verse, to social media (and tag me so I can see!).

For younger kids, I recommend this Big Truths for Little Hearts set. For older kids, the Good News Story Set (also in Spanish!), Identity, and Character would be great. This black and white set would be fun to watercolor on top of.

I'm going to encourage my oldest daughter (nine) to pick some verses from the Comfort and Hope set (which also comes in pre-printed cards).

If you'd like anything from the shop, from now until June 20, you can use the code below (or just click on the image), for 15% off.

I'm not sure how much I'll be blogging this summer, but I do plan to revive my #marydeandrawssummer drawings for the second summer. We had so much fun creating these images last year and still look back at the book of them we made. If you'd like to follow along, I'll be posting on my Facebook page and Instagram.

So, help me out here! What do you do to stay sane in the summer? What kind of rythyms/routines have you tried or plan to try? Or, are you just as anxious as me?

You can download your printable Bible memory chart in COLOR here, and BLACK AND WHITE here or by clicking on the images below.*

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June 6, 2018

Summer Bible Memory + Printable Bible Memory Plan Chart

(The Amazon links in this post are affiliate links,* which means that if you purchase something using them, I get a small portion of the sale. It's a small way you can support the blog, but only if you'd like!)

Okay, I know it's not technically summer yet (see previous post), but . . . HAPPY SUMMER!!!

I am feeling so much better this week and settling into the groove of summer. I am reading Anne Brontë's (of the Brontë sisters) The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, and am ambitiously looking forward to reading Eric Metaxas's biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and maybe David McCullough's John Adams biography (partly because we are studying the first half of American history next school year). Which one will I start first, and which will I finish, only time will tell. I'm also absorbing a ton of wisdom and encouragement from Paul Tripp's Parenting.

I got the chance to attend the HEAV (Virginia Homeschool) Convention in Richmond, VA this past weekend with my friend Katie. Every year I've gone has been encouraging for me as an educator and a parent. There's also a HUGE used curriculum sale and all kinds of fun homeschool vendors, in addition to the fun of being in Richmond with my friend talking, missing exits, and gushing over good food. It helps me to remember there is more to me than just "mommy," although I love and cherish that role. Have I mentioned how supportive my husband is? I came home to lots of mommy-missing kids, a clean house, and Thai food!

My girls are currently reading a lot of library books, mostly books with sparkly covers about magical animal adventurers. To be accurate, one is reading, and the other is mostly browsing and slowly, painfully, emerging as a real reader, which is amazing to witness.

The girls are also often listening to Jonathan Park during their daily rest time (we bought an online subscription for their birthday present). Here's a little trick that works for our us during rest time: I stream audio stories on my phone and give them a Bluetooth speaker (I got this one for Christmas) to listen to in the other room. I'm not comfortable with them having access to my phone or another tablet when I'm not in the room, so this is a simple solution.

As a church, we are taking a break from our regular community groups and doing some fun, member-created groups for the summer. Some friends and I are hosting two coloring nights where we'll get together over some snacks and tea or coffee and chat while we color my Bible coloring pages. This would be a fun and easy way to connect with friends over the summer! Besides all the freebie coloring pages on the blog, this set in the shop has a lot of fun coloring pages perfect for a ladies' night.

And speaking of coloring pages, I have a new one for you that I made a while ago, but just haven't gotten around to sharing yet!

We generally think that looking back is not a healthy way to move forward, but when recounting God's faithfulness, looking back can be crucial to our hope and confidence.

When looking back, we can see with clarity how God never abandoned us. The "recount" of His "wonderful deeds" fills us with hope that in the future, we will again look back and see the same faithfulness written all over the days we're currently living. I'm not convinced we'll look back and understand all the elements of our story, but I am confident we will see God's presence.

I know that in some seasons, it's hard to get our tired and worn hearts to begin the recount. Like a slow and weighted train, we feel immovable. Today, let's start at the cross, and the costly sacrifice on our behalf, planned before the world was spoken into existence, when He chose us in Him (Ephesians 1:4; Revelation 13:8). Despite our fluctuating feelings, our whole hearts can, like that slow-starting train, begin to move forward in faith.

Today's printable Bible verse coloring page is from Psalm 9:1. You can download your page HERE in Spanish or HERE in English, or by clicking on the image below!*

*I'm so happy for you to enjoy my coloring pages and printables for your personal (not commercial) use! Use for Bible studies, church groups or events, and Sunday school classes are all fine! If you're in doubt, I'm happy to answer any questions. All artwork and photos are copyright Marydean Draws. If you share this, you're awesome (!), and as a courtesy, please link back to this post and not the PDF file. Thank you!!

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June 14, 2017

Summer Bible Memory + Printable Bible Memory Plan Chart

The recount + Psalm 9:1 Printable Bible Coloring Page in English and Spanish