After the National Bible Bee Competition, you may feel a sense of relief as any stress from studying and memorizing for the competition has come to an end, culminating in an exciting event where scripture recitation and knowledge, fellowship with believers, and old and new friendships are celebrated. Now, you’ve returned home and found yourself at a loss for what to do next.
The skills attained through the summer study and the National Bible Bee Competition are skills to set you up for studying and memorizing on your own, and continuing to grow your relationship with the Lord even when not preparing for the next computer test or oral recitation round. You never know when the Lord may bring a Scripture to remembrance to utilize in a time of need or share with others, and it is important to maintain as much of what you have learned, especially the Scriptures you have spent so much time and effort in learning.
Now, of course you may not review much of all the Hebrew and Greek, cross-references, and dozens of pages of details, but even sifting through things every once in a while and reviewing the memory passages will keep your mind and heart refreshed and increase your abilities to retain more Scriptures and grow your memorization capacity over time. Many NBB contestants and alumni are hardly going to be able to tell you all the Greek from James 2, the entire lineage of Boaz, the geography of Assyria, or other things they have previously studied, but the knowledge gleaned from the Scriptures and the countless hours of study and memorization never return void! And most often, all this wonderful knowledge is just tucked away in the back of our heads, never truly leaving us, and readily available with review or reminder.
The brain is like a muscle, and it is important to train and exercise it!
Here are some ideas and tips to help you get started in a fruitful and rewarding “off-season” between the National Bible Bee Competition and the beginning of next year’s summer study.
- Continue reviewing previous memory passages
This can be as simple as importing them into software and listening to them every now and again, or reading through them once a week just to keep them fresh in your mind.
You can even make a recitation schedule for yourself and practice reciting them and maintaining them as much as possible. Not only will this help you from a competition standpoint in the future (practicing your passages and retaining them in case these verses are used in the future or are even some cross-references), it will also aid in being able to recall Scripture more quickly and give biblical answers to others if you are presented with a question or in a type of apologetic debate; even in defending your own faith or clearing up any questions you yourself have.
- Memorize more passages of Scripture from the NBBC memory passages
Perhaps you weren’t able to complete all of your memory passages this year, or you are newer and only decided to memorize shorter, more easily attainable passages. This is a great chance to finish memorizing your passages and practice memorizing larger passages without the stress of only having a certain timeframe to memorize. This way, you feel more confident and prepared when facing larger passages again in the next Nationals study season. You can build up your endurance in this way, and find that memorizing is less strenuous, as you have been able to practice memorizing and keep up with previous passages.
- Find a new book or collection of chapters to study
Another great thing to do in order to not only keep up with the strategies of the National Bible Bee Competition and summer study, but also continue to grow in your relationship with the Lord and fulfill a desire of wanting to learn more and continue strong in the faith is to choose a new section of Scripture to study! You can do this in a more devotional, personal application way, utilize the tips and strategies learned from your Discovery Journal, or combine both. Perhaps you have always wanted to learn more about a person’s life through the Bible, or a certain topic. This is a perfect chance to explore the Scriptures! You can even create your own memory passages from the book or chapters.
- Establish or join a study and/or memorization group
As Christians, we aren’t meant to only walk through the Scriptures alone. Time in the Scriptures can be further enriched by sharing thoughts and what you have learned with others, outside of your own personal quiet time/study time, of course. Maybe you have a group of friends to set up a study time with, or you have found several others who are interested through the NBB social community. There are so many blessings found in a group study. Studying with a group also serves to increase motivation and accountability, and also is a great encouragement.
Whichever way you choose to spend your “off-season,” always continue to seek “to know the Lord and make Him Known
No matter if you do or do not continue memorizing or deeply studying in the way you study for the National Bible Bee Competition, remember to keep your eyes on the Lord and seek to grow and learn more through His Word. These are just some ways to continue to refresh yourself in what you have learned through the National Bible Bee Competition. Now, you can go and apply the tools and skills provided in your own life, sharing them and the Scriptures and studies to spread a love and knowledge of the Word of God.
Written by NBB Alumna: Emma Fernandez
