Memorizing James – 5 Month Update

I’ve got some good news and some bad news.

Bad news first:

I’ve been at it this for five months! Each of the Mastery of Memory days takes me about a week.  Their tagline is accelerated learning.  It’s more like keep showing up day after day learning.

And now the good news:

It is working! I’m on my target to finish memorizing the Book of James by the end of the year.  James has 108 verses and I have 90 of them memorized. That’s 83%.  I was at 22% in July. Woot!

Here’s what’s working

1.  66 Day Calendar – I downloaded, printed and hung this calendar on my bathroom mirror.  I crossed off each day as after I spent 15 memorizing James.  This step really helped me show up each day.
2. Mastery of Memory – The mnemonics program has allowed me to remember where a verse is based on a memory palace.  Each room in the palace corresponds with a verse in a chapter.  Each chapter has item. So if I wanted to know James 3:5 I would think of the ham (the item for chapter 3) in the attic (the room for chapter 5).
3. Scripture Typer – I upgraded their app when I hit the limit on the number of free verses you could memorize. It was worth the $9.99 price tag.  I like the daily reminders, heat spots, stats, audio, and flashcards.  This helps me remember the individual verses
4. Listening to Audio – Listening to the book straight through takes about 15 minutes.  While I’m listening I try and say it or read it. I just added this step last week because while I could locate most verses in my mind, I wasn’t feeling like they were coming together well as a whole.

After so many failed attempts, I am getting butterflies in my stomach at hitting my goal of memorizing the book of James in 2016.  There are six weeks left – and I think it might actually happen!  This process has taught me a lot about endurance. I’ve learned that if one way doesn’t work that doesn’t mean I can’t do it. It just means I need to try something else until it finally clicks.  I am also so proud to not be defined by my limitations. Instead of believing the lie that I have a bad memory, I proved to myself that I can do it.  That feels really good.

One of the ways to reach a goal is to share it with others so they can hold you accountable.  Watch for my next update – my six month and final update when I plan to post a video of me reciting the book of James.