Hey guys! Wow, I just realized the last time I posed on here was June 22! Wow, has time flown! Ready for a mega update? :)
Lets start with the Sword Study. Last we left off, I was on Week 3, Day 4. I wasn't able to accomplish all that I wanted to with the SS, but I was able to finish Week 6, Day 1. Basically, I got halfway through the study. I learned a lot in my study of the first 2 chapters of 2 Timothy. I learned a lot about Paul - the writer, Timothy - the recipient, and all the others in the book - Lois, Eunice, Phygelus, Hermogenes, Onesiphorus, Hymenaeus, Philetus, Jannes, Jambres, Demas, Crescens, Titus, Luke, Mark, Tychicus, Carpus, Alexander, Prisca, Aquila, Erastus, Trophimus, Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, and Claudia. I learned how to be a good soldier, athlete, and farmer. I learned what it is like to be a good servant and much, much more. I really enjoyed it, and I will continue to work on the SS even though Bible Bee is over.
Now onto verses. The day before the Bee, I only had 7 out of 25 passages memorized. I did NOT want to go to the contest that unprepared. I used the whole day to commit 5 more passages to memory. After Friday the 24th, I had 12 passages memorized, which is about half of the verses they gave us. This summer, I have memorized Deuteronomy 31:6, 1 Chronicles 16:8-12, Ezekiel 36:23-27, Luke 9:23-26, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Galatians 1:11-17, Ephesians 6:10-18, Philippians 3:7-8, Colossians 3:22-24, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Titus 1:1-3, and 2 Peter 3:3-9. God is so good, even if I memorized 1 verse, I have won because I have chosen to memorize His word.
Contest day was August 25, 2012 - which was three days ago. We woke up at 5am since we had to be at our Bee for 7:30am, and it was about 45 minutes away. During the drive, we were listening to the Musical Scriptures, and I was going over a practice test I had taken the day before to go over the questions I had gotten wrong since I had only gotten 115 out of 200 right. I was also going over the Greek words. Thankfully I knew some of the Greek from last year like Pathema (sufferings), Pascho (suffer), Euaggelion (gospel), and Euaggelizo (to preach the gospel). Since last year, I have come to love studying greek. :)
When we got to the contest, we got to see some friends that have done every Bible Bee Local Contest with us since Bible Bee started in 2009. It was really great to see them. We signed in, and then just chatted until the contest got underway. The Seniors and Juniors had the Written Test first. I think I did pretty well for what I studied. I guessed on the ones that I wasn't sure on. But overall, I gave it my best shot. Next we had a break and headed to the Family Fun Area to hang out. After that, the Juniors and Seniors had a shot at the Oral Round. I was taken in somewhat in the middle of everyone. I was very excited that I was able to quote about half the verses! In past years, I have been able to quote one or two since there was a HUGE pool to pick from. This year they called 20 of the 25 passages which made it a whole lot easier. I stumbled through most of the verses, and probably got a ton of points taken off for missed or added words, but I gave it my best! Overall, I am happy with how everything came out. During the closing awards ceremony, I did not place 1-5. There were only 8 Seniors, so I placed 6-8 out of our local contest. But oh well. God got the glory, and that's all that matters.
Well, that's my Bible Bee 2012 story. I am 99.99% sure that I will NOT move on to Nationals this year. Scores are released tomorrow at 6pm Central Time, so I will know for a fact then. I will be sure to update when I know my scores.
Did you participate in Bible Bee? What was your day like? How do you think you did? If you didn't participate, would you like to in future years? Comment and let me know! I'd love to hear from you! :)
