There Will Be A $5.00 Charge For Whining: A TOS Crew Review: Philippians in 28 Weeks

Anybody else remember the old Sword Drills? Sword Drills are a competition in which two individuals race to see who can a) locate a particular verse in the Bible faster or b) who can recite a particular verse before his or her opponent.

For old time’s sake let’s do this thing! When I say, Philippians 1:6, quote the verse as quickly as you can. Or look it up if it isn’t one you’ve memorized. On your mark….Get set…Go!

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

I’m not sure, but I think I beat all of you! It's all done in love.

The memorization of Scripture is so important. Even more so, in my opinion, is the reflection and study of the Scripture. There is something about studying a particular passage of Scripture over and over and over again. It is able to seep into the tightest crevices of your soul. Home School Adventure Co. has created the book, Philippians in 28 Weeks, to encourage families to memorize the entire book of Philippians. Wowsers! I recently had a chance to review Philippians in 28 Weeks.

What I Received

Philippians in 28 Weeks was written by Stacy Farrell. I received the 167 page (ESV) e-book which costs $14.95. You can purchase the print edition for $28.95 and a set of Philippians memory cards for $9.95. The print book uses either the ESV (English Standard Version) or the KJV (King James Version). (Check out the special discount code at the bottom of this post)

The book is can be used as a read aloud and discussion with the family for ages 9 and up. High Schoolers can do this on their own. It is also encouraged for use with families.

http://www.homeschooladventure.com/products/philippians-in-28-weeks/

How It Works and How I Used It

Stacy uses 5 simple steps to help us with the task of memorizing the book of Philippians.

They are:

1. Read

We read the book of Philippians every day. Or at least listened to it. We used an online audio version quite a bit. Josiah and I would follow along and just let the words absorb into our hearts and heads. Don’t worry. Philippians isn’t a super long book.


Quite possibly Josiah's favorite verse to memorize. Who can blame him?

2. Record

We were given journal pages to print out. On Day 1 we used the verses as Copywork. On Day 2 we were asked a series of Questions. This was so beneficial. The Questions inspired all manner of discussions. Josiah surprised me. He can be fairly reflective, but there is that “he’s 12” aspect of his reflections. For example, here is a question from early in the process.

“Imagine for a moment you have been imprisoned for your faith. Who would you yearn to see and why?”

This question, of course, comes from Paul’s desire to see his brothers and sisters in Christ. He has been imprisoned for his faith. Josiah’s answer was this.

“I would miss my Xbox. I would yearn to see the Lord. He would help me.”

I have to admit I was kind of expecting to me on the list. But yearning to see the Lord is pretty great! Day 3 is for summary. Summarizing is already something we practice in our homeschool. I liked that there is plenty of time and space for that.

A shot of one of the memory cards.

3. Repeat

This step involves the memory cards (which are included to print). Each week we were assigned parts of chapters to memorize. We were to carry them with us and work on memorizing what was on that particular card whenever we could.

4. Review & Recite

At the end of the week, we were to (from memory) recite all that we had learned.

5. Retain

Retaining important information is what is hard for some folks. That is why I liked how Stacy broke the memorization down for us in increments. There are retention charts available to keep track of progress.

Overall, this is an effective way to learn and memorize Scripture. We haven’t had a chance to complete our Study, but I look forward to continuing our journey.

My Thoughts

One thing that Stacy wrote in her introduction really stuck out at me. She asks us to think about this. There are many places throughout the world where it is a crime to own a Bible. My husband is a pastor so not only do we have our “shelf” of Bibles, but we have Bibles in different translations and different studies of whole books of the Bible. We take for granted what a gift we have in that we can open God’s Word anytime we wish. I read a story once where a church had meet underground in a country where it was a crime to be a Christian. Their access to a Bible was extremely limited and dangerous. When the members would gather they would each share the passages of Scripture they had put to memory. I don’t want to be guilty of neglecting the memorization of His Word just because I have one lying on every shelf.

There is a grading rubric available for this book as well. We didn’t use it. We really don’t do grades. Except in Math. I wanted to focus to be on the heart of the matter.

Which brings me to my next point. I love the emersion method that this Study uses. When we read something over and over again it does something to us. We are able to see things we didn’t see before. I am all for the “Read your Bible in a year” programs. However, how much do we miss when we are just anxious to get through to the next assignment?

I also loved the copywork aspect. I have started doing that with all my Bible reading. I have always done so with Josiah…I don’t know why I didn’t think to apply it to my own Bible study!

My most favorite thing about the study was the discussions that spilled out of the Questions supplied and just our reading in general. I enjoyed so much just taking our time and letting Paul’s words to the church at Philippi work on me. How can this apply to my life? How can I use what I’ve learned to edify the others? This is serious stuff!

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You can also read more reviews by clicking the banner below. I have to say that when this review came around I waffled between requesting Philippians in 28 Weeks or The Wise Woman with Literary Analysis Journal Questions. I still have my eye on The Wise Woman study. Check them all out!