July 2009 is Mega Memory Month. Here we are at Progress Report #4.
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.
Mega Memory Month Participants’ Progress Reports
This is the last official Progress Report for July 2009 Mega Memory Month.There are just a few days left to finish the month. We have until Friday, July 31, and then … time’s up.So, how are you doing? Are you plugging away at your selections and getting some of it solidified?Maybe you’ve tried a variety of techniques, or perhaps you’ve stuck with a tried-and-true method. This week, as I wind things down for Mega Memory Month, I’ve simply been repeating the three main passages. They came together fairly well. My main problem section is toward the end of Psalm 121.Ann’s Progress ReportHere at family camp, I went over Philippians 2:1-11 while in a kayak, paddling slowly through the clear, cold water as the beauty of that passage flowed through my mind and out of my mouth for the benefit of a few gulls and perhaps a quiet camper who was sitting in a folding chair looking like he was enjoying solitude.I repeated Psalm 121 while hiking in the quiet, mossy woods, asking the Belgian Wonder and The Boy to listen. We walked holding hands. In front of us, a family friend was listening in. When I said, “He will not let your foot slip,” he fake-stumbled over a root.In that same woods, I reviewed Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken,” and when I came to a place on the hike where two roads diverged, I couldn’t resist snapping a photo.
(That’s not the entire poem, of course. I just stopped typing when I ran out of space.)After dinner, I mentioned to a friend of mine that I was working on memorizing “The Road Not Taken.” She started up immediately with “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood…” and proceeded to recite the entire poem through perfectly. She already knew it.That’s what I want. I want these poems and passages of Scripture to be imbedded in me so deeply and become such a part of me that the words, ideas, thoughts, poetry, and truth can flow out effortlessly.Be sure to share your struggles, successes, and the tips and techniques that have most benefited your memory work this month.And if you feel motivated to share a final project, I encourage everyone participating to post something to commemorate their July 2009 Mega Memory Month project. We’ll do that on Friday, July 31.For your project, you could:
- Create a YouTube video of you reciting your memory work
- Type it out in the post itself
- Write it out and photograph the handwritten version
- Draw or paint something artistic to accompany the words
- Type it out 140 characters at a time on Twitter as a series of tweets
- Make a PowerPoint slide show and upload it somewhere on the Web.
I don’t know how to do all those things, but I think they can be done. Showcase your technological know-how as you showcase your memory work!(Mr. Linky may not allow me to have two different carnivals on one day, so I’ll have to give Food on Fridays that technology. We can leave links to people’s projects in the comments.)I hope you’re discovering that …Our minds can hold more than we think they can.
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July 2009 MMM is almost overWatch for Final Mega Memory Month Projects on July 31
Isaiah 55 is pretty much memorized, so I am just reciting it as much as possible to try to make sure it stays memorized and to weed out any pauses. My goal is to be like your friend who was able to recite the poem on the spur of the moment. I memorized a bunch of verses with my Sunday school class that I taught a few years ago, but can’t recite them now. I could at the time so I’m not sure what happened that made me forget or how I can avoid it this time. I do think it was helpful to memorize a whole chapter and not verses scattered here and there. Thanks for encouraging and challenging me to do that through your blog! I don’t think I would’ve otherwise.
great photo! I’m plodding through…the middle/end of Romans 5 is definitely the hardest stuff I’ve ever worked on memorizing. won’t be done by the end of the month, but I’ll finish up soon after, Lord willing!
oh, just a note to Kate: the key for long-term retention is 100 days. the method I use recommends repeating the memorization work every day for 100 days after you finish. if you do that–even if you miss several days here and there–it all but guarantees it will stick with you. I can personally vouch for this…I memorized Romans 8 almost three years ago, and because I did the 100 days of reinforcement, I can still recite it very easily. not so with other passages I’ve memorized but failed to reinforce!
I blogged about that here–you might find it helpful:
http://schmamy.blogspot.com/2009/01/mega-memory-month-celebration.html