A First Look

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David C. Cook Publishing made sure I received a copy of Not So Fast to have, hold, hug, smell, flip through, gape at, and blog about.

The official release date is just a few days away: August 1st.

Ask your local bookstore to order it for you!

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Travel Back to the Battle of Franklin

I reconnected with an old friend recently, historian and curator of the Carter House in Franklin, TN, David Fraley.

Last year, Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family met David while visiting the battleground and museum and was deeply impressed by the experience of walking the historic grounds with such a knowledgeable historian and expert storyteller.

Dr. Dobson returned with an audio crew to record an interview with David, capturing the powerful and poignant description of the tragic Battle of Franklin through the articulate, gentle voice of my friend. It’s a powerful story of the American Civil War, so be warned: you’ll hear some gruesome, horrific details.

To learn more about this event in our nation’s history, visit the Focus on the Family Web site and listen to David:

Part 1 (36:18 mins)

Part 2 (47:18 mins)

Kids, Creeks, and a Slow Afternoon

I wrote a post for NotSoFastBook.com about a recent afternoon spent wading in a creek with friends. Well, the kids did the wading.

Anyway, can we live slow enough to encourage outdoor free play?

Please join me there…

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July 2009 MMM Progress Report #2

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July 2009 Mega Memory Month is moving right along. Already we find ourselves at Progress Report #2.

How’s it going?

  • Use Mr. Linky to connect your progress report to this master list. If I have time, I’ll swing back by and edit the post to make the links more prominent.
  • Non-bloggers and those who don’t want to dedicate an entire post to memory work, feel free to offer your progress report in the comments.

MMM Participants’ Progress Reports

  1. erin at filling my patch of sky
  2. Jen at Scraps and Snippets

Ann’s Progress Report #2

Familiarity is my friend.

This month, I chose passages and a poem that were familiar, but not yet memorized.

I believe that familiarity has been key to helping me progress smoothly (that and a daily does of God’s grace).

I have incorporated the memory work into my jogs. My routes are repetitive, so I don’t need to use much brainpower to decide which way to turn. This frees up valuable brain cells to focus on memorizing.

As I mentioned last week, I clutch little scraps of paper on which the passages are printed and refer to them as needed. Something about the steady pounding of feet against asphalt provides a sense of rhythm to the rhyme and phrasing as I repeat them over and over and over.

I’m happy to report, therefore, that I think I can type out the Frost poem, the Philippians passage, and part of Psalm 121 this week. I have not yet attempted Psalm 145 and fear I may not get it down before the month is through. We shall see.

So.

Here we go…

(I’d like to disclose that while reviewing my tested typed-out text against the originals, I chose repair incorrect punctuation without showing the changes; all other word deletions are shown crossed off and additions are in red.)

“The Road Not Taken”

by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I saved kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Philippians 1:1-11

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped,

but made himself nothing,

taking the very nature of a servant

and being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself

and became obedient to death–

even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

and gave him the name that is above every name,

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

Psalm 121

A song of ascents

I lift up my eyes to the hills–

where does my help come from?

My help comes from the LORD,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip–

he who watches over you will not slumber;

indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber not sleep.

The LORD watches over you—

He The LORD is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day,

nor the moon by night.

The LORD will not let you be harmed. will keep you from all harm—

he will watch over your life;

He The LORD will watch over your coming and going

both now and forevermore.

Psalm 145 (Status: Not begun)

For me, this has been the smoothest Mega Memory Month yet!

I don’t know if I’ll get very far in Psalm 145, but I’m starting it this week as I try to solidify Psalm 121 and review the others.

How about you?

Is your mind holding more than you thought it could?

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Make-Do Mondays: Make-Do Mousepad

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At Make-Do Mondays, we discuss how we’re simplifying, downsizing, repurposing, buying used, and using what we’ve got.

It’s a carnival celebrating creative problem-solving, contentment, patience and ingenuity. To participate, share your own make-do solution in the comments or write up a Make-Do Mondays post at your blog, then return here to link via Mr. Linky. Enjoy others’ ideas by clicking on Mr. Linky and then clicking on people’s names.

Here’s a mini-tutorial on Mr. Linky:

Click on the icon and a separate page will pop up. Type in your blog name and paste in the url of your new Make-Do Mondays post. Click enter and it should be live. If it doesn’t work, just include the link in the comments.

To visit people’s posts or check that yours worked, click on Mr. Linky and when the page comes up, click on a name. You should be taken right to the page provided.

Make-Do Mondays Participants

  1. Kitchen Stewardship (reusing plastic bags–all of them!)
  2. Feels Like Home (garlic scapes)
  3. Teaching Money to Kids (Investments a.k.a. perennials)
  4. Teaching Money to Kids (Drive One Car)

Make-Do Mondays with Ann

At the church garage sale, the Belgian Wonder and I bought a beautiful desk for my work area.

I haven’t needed a mouse pad until now, because the previous desk had an appropriate surface for the ball to roll on.

While working at this new desk, I was afraid of scratching the surface of the wood with the mouse, so I grabbed the steno pad I use to keep a to-do list and take other notes. It’s the right size and needs to be on my desk anyway.

Voila!

A make-do mouse pad:

makedomousepad

How do you make do?

If the main button is too big, try this one:

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Don’t miss a word:

It’s easy to subscribe to annkroeker.com updates via email or RSS feed.

Join Mega Memory Month for the month of July!

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Food on Fridays: First Harvest

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Here at the Food on Fridays carnival, any post remotely related to food is welcome. Recipes are enjoyed, but you can just describe your system for composting, tell us about the first time you ate Ramen noodles, or reveal  how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop (the world may never know).

In other words, the Food on Fridays parameters are not at all narrow. I think of it as a virtual pitch-in where everyone brings something to share; even if the content of one item is unrelated to the rest, we sample it all anyway and have a great time.

When your Food on Fridays contribution is ready, just grab the broccoli button (the big one above or the new smaller option at the bottom) to paste at the top of your post and join us through Mr. Linky.

Here’s a Mr. Linky tutorial:

Write up a post, publish, then return here and click on Mr. Linky below. A screen will pop up where you can type in your blog name and paste in the url to your own Food on Fridays post (give us the exact link to your Food on Fridays page, not just the link to your blog).

You can also visit other people’s posts by clicking on Mr. Linky and then clicking participants’ names–you should be taken straight to their posts.

Food on Fridays Participants

Food on Fridays with Ann

harvest

From the garden: zucchini, cucumbers, lettuce, and some spinach.

It’s not much, but it’s a start.

More Friday Carnivals

Is Food on Fridays not fun enough for you?  Not in the mood for food? Check out these other great carnivals!

(a slightly smaller Food on Fridays button)

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Don’t miss a word:

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Join Mega Memory Month for the month of July!

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3 Union

3union

3 Union was performing at a local coffee house the other night, so I rounded up some teenage girls and we all went to hear them play.

These poised Christian young men played a range of styles in their sets, including some praise music, original songs and an occasional classic hit (“What I Like About You”). Between songs, they offered a few thoughts about their walk with the Lord.

Their parents and I were involved in the same church for many years, so it was wonderful to celebrate this new stage in their lives. The boys used to play with their parents in a family band; now the boys have spun off to form 3 Union, and the parents are their roadies.

3 Union would be great to book for a youth-oriented worship or outreach event. Visit their MySpace page to sample their music, and contact them to discuss how they could serve your church’s ministries.

In fact, I think they have a trip scheduled that will take them from Indiana to Florida, and I know they’d be thrilled to stop over to play a concert or two (or three, or ten) along the way.

Here are a few words from the boys themselves:

Over the past five years, we have been performing and traveling with our family all over the the world. We began our adventures with a Christian school tour to Beirut, Lebanon where we did 30 concerts in 10 days.

About a year ago we began our journey to set out on our own as brothers. We had the privilege of meeting with several Hollywood producers who gave us some very helpful advice and started working hard to be the best we could be.

In the meantime, we began writing and recording our first CD with Christian artist John David Webster. It has been a long and tedious process, but we’re excited about the songs we’ve completed so far and can’t wait to see what God has in store.

We do enjoy entertaining a crowd, but our main desire is to make a difference in peoples lives, especially the lives of our generation.

3 Union on Facebook

3 Union on MySpace (listen to two of their original songs!)

July 2009 MMM Progress Report #1

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July 2009 Mega Memory Month has only barely begun. In fact, it’s been less than a week since the kick-off.

So I assume that today’s progress reports will be modest.

Also, feel free to invite others to jump in, because there’s still plenty of time to accomplish our goals.

Here’s the Mr. Linky to connect your progress report to this master list. If I have time, I’ll swing back by and edit the post to make them more prominent. Non-bloggers and those who don’t want to dedicate an entire post to memory work, feel free to offer your progress report in the comments.

Progress Reports

  1. Denise at Butter and Honey
  2. Amy at Lavender *Sparkles*
  3. Jen at Scraps and Snippets

Ann’s Progress Report #1

Did I bite off more than I can chew?

My mega selection is:

  • “The Road Not Taken,” by Robert Frost
  • Philippians 2:1-11
  • Psalm 121
  • Psalm 145

I fear I may have taken on too much.

On the other hand, I was somewhat familiar with the Frost poem, “The Road Not Taken,” so piecing together all those familiar fragments wasn’t too bad. In fact, it came together so quickly, I might be able to type it out right now. I think I’ll try (corrections crossed off or added in red):

“The Road Not Taken”

by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood;,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth.;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that, the passing there

Had worn them really about the same.,

And bBoth that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh!, I saved kept the first for another day;!

Though ,Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted I should ever get come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I;

I took the one less traveled by

And that has made all the difference.

Okay. Not so bad.

Philippians 1:1-11 is also a familiar passage. I wanted to truly memorize it, because I can only pull up snippets from my mental files. So I tore off the first few verses from the paper I’d printed off and took that scrap with me this morning on my jog. It got pretty wrinkled and a little smeary from sweat, but I think I’m close to having the first section down. I’ll try typing out Philippians 2:1-4:

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you must should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Hey, I did better than this afternoon, when I recited it to my daughter and flubbed a section.

Here are some random thoughts on memory work:

  • It’s great to have family support. My ideal would be for us to work on a passage together, but the next best thing has been to have them patiently and happily check my progress, encouraging me along the way.
  • It has been an advantage to select a poem and some passages that are somewhat familiar already.
  • I’m not generally effective at multi-tasking, but I have to say that memorizing while jogging worked well. It was a little bit awkward to unroll the paper and read it while in motion, but the repetition helped a lot. In fact, having a little project to work on may have helped pass the time.
  • Memorization Tips and Techniques. Check out this collection of helpful methods for memory work. Actually, let me paste them in here for easy access. See below.

Online Articles & Resources:

Kroeker-Generated Suggestions:

Here are a few memorization techniques that have worked for our family (a repeat from an earlier post included for consolidation purposes):

  1. Record someone reading your selection (then listen to it…lots). I once wrote about using my MP3 microphone for verbal note taking. Record someone else reading the passage out loud (we usually hate our own voices when played back, don’t we? So have someone else do it), and then put it on your play list to listen to over and over.
  2. Song. Set it to song or at least a rhythm, and it sticks pretty well. We have to get creative with Scripture, because some translations don’t have all that much rhythm to them. We’ve also applied this to skip counting for math. And can’t most of us remember our conjunctions thanks to Schoolhouse Rock (”Conjunction junction, what’s your function…”)? Anyway, I try to find some beat to the verse and say it that way. It helps.
  3. Hand motions. Get all the senses involved and take in those words every way possible. We come up with hand symbols for God, Jesus, salvation, and other basic words like “all” and “world.” If you actually know American Sign Language, all the better. We don’t, so we just invent motions. They can recall the signs and bam! The words follow.
  4. Pictures. For complicated verses, I’ve drawn little pictures to accompany the phrases. This helped the daughter who scoffed at my overblown hand motions and dance steps. She preferred the more civilized method of memorizing pictures to remember the flow of words.
  5. Key words. If they remember the first word of a phrase that represents a shift in the verse, then often the rest of the words will tumble out automatically. So as we repeat it out loud, we emphasize the key words with exaggerated volume. I probably raise my eyebrows and open my mouth like a clown when I say them, too. I can’t help it. I’ve got Elasti-Face. Might as well use it for good.
  6. Write it out. Okay, now these are the simple, low-tech, basic ideas coming out. Write it out lots of times, and it’ll enter the brain through another avenue.
  7. Repeat, repeat, repeat. This is such an obvious one, but it bears repeating (sorry). But, well, that’s what we do. We go over and over the verse (out loud) until it’s drummed in there. Write it on a piece of paper and stick it in your pocket, or tape it to your cell phone and make yourself say it as you reach in your pocket for something or before making a call.
  8. (NEW!) Practice while exercising. This works for most repetitive exercise except, if you’re holding a note card or paper, swimming. If it’s already in your head, however, reviewing the words as you move can work even while in the water. I find that the repetitive nature of the activity actually marries well with the memory process. Plus, it helps pass the time.

Ideas Submitted by Readers:

Let us know how it’s going. It helps to know that we’re not alone in this undertaking.

And remember:

Our minds can hold more than we think they can.

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Make-Do Mondays: Watch Band Clasp

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see below for alternative button

At Make-Do Mondays, we discuss how we’re simplifying, downsizing, repurposing, buying used, and using what we’ve got.

It’s a carnival celebrating creative problem-solving, contentment, patience and ingenuity. To participate, share your own make-do solution in the comments or write up a Make-Do Mondays post at your blog, then return here to link via Mr. Linky. Enjoy others’ ideas by clicking on Mr. Linky and then clicking on people’s names.

Here’s a mini-tutorial on Mr. Linky:

Click on the icon and a separate page will pop up. Type in your blog name and paste in the url of your new Make-Do Mondays post. Click enter and it should be live. If it doesn’t work, just include the link in the comments.

To visit people’s posts or check that yours worked, click on Mr. Linky and when the page comes up, click on a name. You should be taken right to the page provided.

Make-Do Mondays Participants

  1. Coupons, Deals and More (Homemade Ice Cream Cake)
  2. Sunnydaytodaymama (A washing line)
  3. Small Town ~ Simple Home (Bed Skirt)

Make-Do Mondays with Ann

I really like my watch.

watchbeep

I wear it all the time.

I use it as a stopwatch when jogging, as an alarm clock when traveling, as a timer when baking, and as a quick reference when I need to know the date.

I wear it even when my outfit is dressy or professional and I ought to be wearing a less sporty timepiece.

All of that use takes its toll, and this weekend, while on a tube trip floating down a creek in a rural part of Indiana, something broke off. It was that little rubber piece under which you tuck the excess band after clasping it.

“Awww, phooey,” I pouted to my brother, sister-in-law, and the Belgian Wonder. “Look. It broke.”

My sister-in-law, an outstanding problem-solver and supporter of Make-Do Mondays, suggested a small rubber band as a temporary solution.

When I got home, I dug around in the girls’ hair accessories and found a sparkly silver ponytail holder.

makedowatch

Problem solved.

How do you make do?

If the main button is too big, try this one:

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(check in tomorrow for progress reports)

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The Speed of Social Networking

I posted about the speed of social networking over at NotSoFastBook.com.

Would James recommend we be slow to tweet (or Facebook, or blog)?

enterkeysmall

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