Hmmm, this is going to be a short post because, the tips and tricks I am going to share are few and involve.... O no , please don't say work, pleeesse!
well, what if I said hard work? He, he, he!
Nooo,I won't say that but, some work is involved , I know it would be nice if by some reason of osmosis we could just use our bible as a pillow and wake up all knowing, it sure would make things a whole lot easier wouldn't it?
Trust me, there were times that I just tried to will it to be so, but it didn't work, so don't bother.
Presently I am unemployed, and the only income I have at the moment is from my rental property, which ain't much.
But it is a true blessing from God and it has afforded me this unique opportunity to concentrate on my memorization with a fresher mind.
I did try to memorize while working a full time job, and I sympathize with those of you who do work hard and come home feeling like their brain is pretty much like a potato chip. Trust me, I know, and its pretty much all I wanted to eat as well.
One of the solutions with you guys who have to work a full time job is, to grab that cup of coffee when you wake up, and get on the throne with your verse or verses, if your not to lazy, tape it on the wall, do it when you have time and stare at it like a zombie if you have too.
Or if you are lazy, like I am, just hold your bible in one hand and get down to business.
Its going to be slow going for some but if you can get in one a day, your doing great!
And you're going to be amazed in how much easier it will become, it will not only sharpen your mind for memory verses, but you'll notice remembering other things as well, even when you're not trying, and hopefully, that's a good thing.
Don't try and put it off until you get home or you'll be sorry, but if you do make that mistake , don't let the devil condemn you, okay?
Your brain is fried and God knows it, we are after all, but flesh, and God knows that too, just give him a big hug and try again tomorrow.
Its really about repetition,and repetition, unfortunately, is the law of memory, and I don't like it any better than you do.
But,that is the work part, happy now ?
See, its not so bad after all. But,maybe you're still wondering what the heck I'm talking about.
Take Jn 1 verse 1 for example: try to make the piece of the verse you're trying to memorize a coherent string of the sentence. IE: In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God....
and when you feel you have that down, go ahead and add the next piece "the same was in the beginning with God" and just keep adding till your done
If you're memorizing a verse, try to make it digestible to the brain , if its to abstract, well then your brain is going to say, talk to the hand, cause I ain't learning this period.
The Devil tells me every single day when I start a new string of verses.. " O man, your never gonna get this down, this is too much , look at the way they're talking! just put your bible down and take a nap, you're never gonna learn this, this is crap !
Sorry, if this offends you, but if you think that the devil doesn't swear and get pissed off and howl when he see's a Christian trying to do something for Jesus, well then, well see ya when Jesus re-materializes your molecules at the real rapture, see ya at the feast.
Yeah, I know it sounds stupid at first , but just keep repeating: In the beginning,, In the beginning, was the Word, and the word was with God , etc.
Your brain is a muscle of some sort, I don't proclaim to be an expert , but I know that exercising the brain really works, and as you put forth the effort , you will find that memorizing will become easier.
I have down a total of 6 and a half chapters of John, well, not totally down, I have 5 chapters and 29 verses (as of this writing ) down chronologically, plus John 15 which I got down a few years ago, plus scores of other verses and psalms.
Speaking of which, if you do happen to have a few other verses memorized and if your brain is feeling a little foggy, before tackling your main project try reviewing a few before you start, prime the pump so to speak.
I'm telling you right now, it may seem hard at first and the devil is going to throw every doubt and excuse at you in the book on why you're never going to make it.
And he usually starts with the most common since they seem to work pretty well on most people.
Like 'I don't have time for this" or "there's something wrong with me and my brain just can't absorb this" and the most sinister one is the one that is murmured in the crowd "just because he can quote the bible , he thinks he's better than us "
Okay, okay! what about the tips, where are the tips?
When I do run into a stubborn verse that just won't be absorbed,, like Jn 6:22 I get out the pen and paper and write out the first letter of each word in the verse including commas and then go at it that way, it gives your brain enough of a hint, yet still requires you to think and remember.
Plus the act of writing it, helps tremendously. I used to write every verse down on a 3 by 5 card and it is a good way of keeping your verses organized, especially, if you get a plastic ring binder, punch holes if you need to.
I used to pride myself in how small I could write and tried to fit as many verses as I could on a card. Well, I forgot I was going to grow up and get old, do I need to say anymore?
Well I don't use 3 by 5 any more but I do use 5 by 7!
When I memorize a chapter I don't write the whole thing down , except when I run across a stubborn verse that makes me want to scream, like Jn 6:22 which I pretty much have down, most of the time.
Review, review, review!
Once your chapters start coming together use your in-between time to recite and review.
In-between time , what the heck is that?
Have you ever been stuck at a light or in traffic or have your hands in a sink of suds?
That is what In-between time is, and reviewing helps take your mind off an unpleasant situation or task and makes the time fly by.
Okay, so this was suppose to be a short post, but its much longer than I had anticipated.
I will definitely give a condensed version of my tips and tricks in the next post.
Thank you for the post very encouraging, knowing that you made it, and we can also, and like you said it is all about repetition either by saying aloud to make the voice, ear , brain connection or by just pen,brain paper connection. You are right the enemy will come after you with all he's got so just be prepared to stand your ground.
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