Bible Quizzing! What amazing memories I have. High school would not have been the same without it. I loved being a part of the team. We worked so hard together and had so much fun together. If it were not for Bible Quiz, I would not have gotten to travel the United States. Because of Bible Quiz, I have traveled to Michigan, Wisconsin, Colorado, Missouri, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. One of my favorite memories is when we were driving to Colorado in February of 2003. That year’s section was the book of John. We had all memorized different chapters, and on the drive there we took turns quoting our chapters. We quoted through chapter one to chapter twenty-one. It was as if someone had just read the whole book aloud. It was such a neat experience.
There were so many great plane rides, van rides, late nights, and visits to new restaurants to us such as Waffle House and Cracker Barrel. We became like a family, spending so much time together and working together for a common purpose. We worked very hard, but always tried to make it a lot of fun also. We had amazing coaches. Mrs. Barber even memorized chapters along with us! She would patiently listen to us and check our verses as we quoted them forwards, backwards, sideways, and backwards sideways! Mrs. Barber and Coach Bickley constantly pushed us, encouraged us, motivated us, practiced with us, fundraised with us, and traveled with us. They were the major reason for our success as a team.
Bible Quiz has definitely helped me with my journey into adulthood. Mrs. Barber used to quote Psalm 119:11 to us: “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” I think that Bible memorization helped me to stay in relationship with God, committed to Him and His plan for my life. It also helped me greatly in college. I attended Biola University and majored in Christian Education Ministries, with a minor in Biblical Studies. Having knowledge of the Scriptures greatly helped me with all of my classes at Biola. Not only did it help me with college, but just in every day life it has helped. When different situations arise, a verse I memorized years ago may pop into my head, or when someone is trying to remember a reference for a verse, I can direct them to the book and chapter. I have such a frame of reference for the New Testament after having spent so much time memorizing those verses. I can still visualize certain verses and where they were located on the page in my New Testament that I memorized from. I think that Bible Quiz has also helped my memory. I am currently a substitute teacher, and as a sub I am in different classes and different schools all the time. I am able to memorize students names fairly quickly, which greatly helps me and surprises the students. Bible Quiz has helped me in major ways and in small ways, and I am grateful for all of it!
Words of encouragement to current students:
Work hard. Bible Quiz is a sport that will help you reap benefits for the rest of your life. You are memorizing God’s Word-enjoy it! Remember what a privilege and a blessing it is in your life. Get to know the book that you are memorizing. Read a commentary on it; do some research on it. It will help you understand what you are memorizing better, giving you a context and perspective on your chapters. Appreciate and thank your coaches! They really are working so hard for you and are investing in your life more than you can even imagine. Lastly, get to know the quizzers from other teams. It makes quizzing all the more enjoyable.
I would love to hear from any quizzers past or present! You can find me on facebook or email me at justine.cassaro@gmail.com.
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Justine Teixeira, now Justine Cassaro Valley CA Class of 2004 The Bible Quiz through the Eyes Series |
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