At first I didn’t want to compete in Bible Drill. I wanted to learn the verses without the competition part. However, if you know me, you know I’m very competitive and hate losing, no matter what it is.
After a lot of encouragement from Ms. Ashley Wright, my mom and Mr. Rusty Chastain at the associational Bible Drills kickoff, I decided to give it all a shot.
About halfway through the season of studying and practicing, I wanted to quit all of it because I was extremely stressed. I felt like I never had time to study because I was juggling sports and family time as well.
I told my mom I wanted to quit and her reply was blunt: “I’m not forcing you anymore, but you have to tell Ashley.” That gave me the motivation I needed. I knew I couldn’t tell Ms. Ashley I wanted to quit, not after how much hard work she puts into Bible Drill. I decided to continue with Bible Drill and practice as often as I could.
At the beginning of Bible Drills in October 2014, I was on fire and excited. I studied for 25 to 30 minutes every day. I started with the “Key Biblical Passages” part of my card and got the hard ones out of the way first. Then I went to the “Steps to Salvation” and finally the “What We Believe” section to learn large chunks of Scripture.
I found that a great way for me to memorize is to write the verses on a dry erase board and erase word-by-word or phrase-by-phrase, saying the words aloud until I have completely erased all of them and I can recite the verse or passage.
With shorter verses like the “Steps to Salvation,” I say them aloud over and over until I know them. For the very long sections of Scripture, I try to learn one to two verses a day by writing them on a dry erase board. It normally takes five to seven days to learn a passage, depending on how long it is.
I enjoy the knowledge of the Bible I gain from participating in Bible Drill and the competition is fun sometimes. However, what I really enjoy is the fellowship I get with my fellow Bible Drillers while growing closer to God.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Audrey Richardson is a 10th grader at Sand Rock High School in Leesburg. She participates in youth Bible Drill at Liberty Hill Baptist Church, Collinsville, in DeKalb Baptist Association. Her teacher is Ashley Wright. She competed at her church, associational, regional and state drills this year.
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