Memory Monday: How to memorize and Psalm 91:1-2

I got a question the other day from Jen about how I actually memorize using my verse cards. I thought it might make a good post--and give ya'll the opportunity to chime in so we can all encourage each other and share what works!

So here are my top three tips:

1. GET IT IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE.

A verse in my Bible will stay a verse in my Bible rather than a verse on my heart if I don't get it in front of my face. Even an open Bible can be distracting with so many words on the page.

For me, this means a verse card I can keep on the computer screen, by the kitchen sink, on the dash in the car. (And when it comes to memorizing Scripture, it helps me to put it in the first person.) We make our verse cards on the computer and print them out on 3 x 5 cards. Mine are usually pretty plain, but the girls like to change the typefaces, add color, and such.

Here's my latest idea for getting Greek grammar stuck in my head--write it in the shower with dry erase marker. Toben got in the shower the other morning to find this. (Terrible photo--didn't turn and kinda blurry, but you get the idea!)

 

You could write on your mirror. Or on your fridge, if you have a white fridge. Or on your kitchen window.

2. REPEAT.

Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Someone once told me that repetition is the key to long-term memory. And it's true. You must repeat whatever you're learning every day. 

Say it morning, noon, and night. Every time you get a drink. Every time you take a break from a task. Every time you hit a red light. Think of something you do often that could be a reminder to say your verse (or the chart of Greek articles or noun endings!).

As a guideline, the Bible curriculum we use for homeschooling says to say the verse aloud a minimum of two times a day. I think it needs to be more. We each read the verse out loud twice--looking at it until we know it. Trying to say it when it's not yet memorized and getting it wrong tends to get the wrong stuck in our heads. Look at it until you know it! Which leads to number 3...

3. USE AS MANY SENSES AS POSSIBLE.

Look at it while you say it.

Say it out loud. Even if you feel like a dork. Use expression. Set it to music if that helps.

Pay attention to the sound of your voice as you hear yourself say it.

Move while you say it. Goofy hand motions. Jumping jacks. Jump rope. Sounds silly, but it helps your memory. I could find an article to prove my point, but I'll let you look it up if you don't believe me. ;)

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All that said, the girls and I are memorizing Psalm 91 over the next weeks. We're focusing on a few verses at a time. So this past week we worked on verses 1-2 and will add the next few today.

  

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What are you memorizing? How do you memorize? What works best for you?

 

 

Comments

[Yvette]

Nicole C. Mullen has a song to this Psalm. Love it and really easy to memorize when you are singing it too. :-) Really love the idea of writing on the tiles in the shower. That would be great for Maddie who is memorizing bible verses for her bible class and for spanish class - so two languages and two verses a week. Thx Joanne!

[Lisa notes...]

Such great ideas, Joanne. The hardest part for me is retaining a verse once I've learned it. That's where your # 2 really comes in handy: repeat, repeat, repeat.

I'm just reviewing verses this week so I've gotten nothing new to add. But I wanted to bring something to the party anyway since I've been out for awhile, so here's an older post that might encourage someone to at least learn and repeat "a little" - it's better than nothing at all!

http://lisanotes.blogspot.com/2009/11/at-least-little.html

Thanks for your faithfulness in keeping Memory Monday going. I hope to rejoin you in full soon.

[Kelly S]

Neat idea with the dry erase in the shower!!

You can also put the card in a ziploc baggie (the snack ones seem to be a good size) and then let the shower get all steamy, then stick it to the tile wall. My experience has been that the cards stay tuck to the tile for at least a week, if not more!

[Kathleen Jaeger]

I agree with these methods and keep on thinking I will memorize again but just haven't yet. Though I haven't been doing the word by word memorizing, I do put verses on cards and hang them in my kitchen to remind me of what God has been teaching me.

In the meantime we have discovered Seeds CDs which put verses--word perfect-- to music (that we like!). So all the recent verses I've learned have been from these CDs. May you find them an encouragement as much as we have... so here's the link:

http://www.seedsfamilyworship.net/media_listen.php

Joyfully, Kathleen

[Shox Running Shoes]

Before you start, there are some points you have to know: A hike can take a few hours or weeks

[Steve Garcia]

Thanks for this helpful post. I memorize using an app called, "Fighter Verses". One cool capacity it has is to quiz yourself at 5 different levels, each deleting more words and replacing them w blanks the size of the words deleted...until you have level 5 with a series of blanks. I increase a level a day until by the end of the week I've memorized the 2-3 verses provided each week. Yes, pre-set topical lists of verses are provided, along w options to select from several versions or to add your own verses (or poems or quotes or ??) to make it like a flash card app. Very cool. Oh, yeah...I'm also a pastor and teach my congregation verses using hand motions as often as I can. Again, thanks for the inspiration.