15 Quick Ways to Memorize Texts

Spine and Pencil

Here, in no particular order, are some ideas for how to memorize a verse or paragraph of text. I have Bible memory specifically in mind, but this could work for any text.

There are some advantages to memorizing in a corporate context. I suggest some options here. I suppose any of those could be co-opted into an individual setting, too.

You could:

just read the verse(s) over and over until it solidifies in your memory
color code the text to enhance visual associations
do a sentence flow or diagram where you set apart subordinate clauses–this wouldn’t have to be fancy, just a way to break up the text and see the relationships spread out
start by reading one word of a given sentence, then two words, then three words, etc. So memorizing John 3:16 would go like this: “For. For God. For God so. For God so loved. For God so loved the. For God so loved the world.” And so on
write it out! Whether you make structural relationships between components of sentences and paragraphs is optional. Writing slowly helps you to turn the words and phrases over more carefully, helping you to remember them better
make flash cards. If you’re learning a Bible verse, write the verse reference on one side and the verse on the other. Or the verse reference and part of the verse on side A, with the remainder of the verse on side B
listen to the text on audio, so you have another sense engaged
for that matter, record yourself reading the text, not straight through, but with reps on each verse. So you could record yourself reading John 3:1-17 out loud, but reading verse 1 five times, then verse 2 five times, and so on
find someone to whom you can attempt to quote the passage, asking them to stop you when you don’t get it verbatim
copy the single page you’re working on, put it in a Ziploc bag, and tape it up somewhere in your house where you’ll see it (bedroom, bathroom, kitchen)
write a song or really silly rap that helps you commit the verse to memory
read the verse out loud, but backwards
do the same as above, but writing it out
give yourself some signposts–if you’re memorizing a whole chapter, start by memorizing verse 1, verse 6, verse 10, etc. Then come back and fill in the rest
brainstorm your own list of ways to memorize, keeping it handy for when you need to change it up

I’d love to hear any additional ideas in the comments below.

Angels or Monsters at Your Door? (Via the 3-Year-Old)

A couple of months ago my three-year-old told me she had a dream that three angels came to her door and opened it.

(My heart started to melt a little–I love this kind of stuff.)

Then she told me that her two older brothers had a dream that three monsters came to their door and opened it… and ate them up.

A Modest New Year’s Resolution (8 Minutes a Day)

Of my too many New Year’s resolutions, perhaps the most important one is to write at least eight minutes a day.

You might have noticed a lot more posts with the “writing” tag since the fall. Much of my writing recently has been by hand. Though, make no mistake, I still feel most agile and fluent with a keyboard.

So far I’m 4-for-4 with eight minutes a day! There’s plenty of 2016 left for me to change my mind, lose interest, give up, etc. But I have already found an eight-minute-a-day habit easier to keep up than other daily goals I’ve set for myself in the past.

Another resolution that hurts a lot more but takes just as little time: 50+ push-ups a day. I hope to work up to 100 by spring.

New Star Wars: A Spoiler-Free, Bullet-Points-Only Review

I saw the new Star Wars film (The Force Awakens) last night. It was fantastic. Here’s a bullet-point, spoiler-free, in-no-particular-order reaction:

The new characters were stellar. They were written and developed well, and their acting was top-notch
There were lots of female heroes: Rey (played by Daisy Ridley: above, left), the General of the Resistance, Resistance fighter pilots, etc.
Another lead was a man of color: Finn (played by John Boyega: above, right)
This is to say–they really did a good job with diverse casting, more so than with the George Lucas films
The first scene is action-packed, and the movie is exciting and compelling all the way through
THE MUSIC. Whoa. So good
There are some good surprises that, even halfway through, you can’t see coming
Even if you haven’t seen previous movies in a long time (or ever), The Force Awakens makes sense on its own

There’s a lot more to say, but I’ll leave that to the Star Wars bloggers. I already want to see it again.

Notebook Review: Northbooks 5×8 Dot Grid, Softcover

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to write 8 minutes (or more) every day. At least three days a week I plan to write by hand. Less than 10 minutes seems doable, modest even, but also enough to build on itself. Yesterday, without really meaning to, I wrote for an hour. This morning was just 10 minutes.

I’ve got at least these two other notebooks to fill up, but for every-day writing I’ve been using a nice 5″x8″ softcover dot grid notebook from Northbooks. I know this is psychological, but that its softcover means I feel more free to just jot things down quickly than I would in a leather or even hardbound journal. So it’s been perfect for my 8 minutes.

It looks like this:

I love the size. It will fit into a large jeans pocket and is easy to stash in a satchel or purse. I really like the look and feel of it.

The cover logo is minimalistic. If you have a ruled notebook, you see lines instead of dots. A nice touch. You could easily title your notebook and write it on the cover.

And I’m a big fan of the dot grid pages:

These will also be sketch-friendly.

The acid-free paper is of high quality and made in the U.S.A. The paper is 50% post-consumer, smooth but not too smooth, and the perfect thickness. There is no significant bleed-through, even when using a fine fountain pen. I was impressed by this.

Northbooks’s product page touts a lay-flat binding:

Lays Flatter Than Most Notebooks: Binding is not attached to the external cover, so our notebook opens flatter than a typical glued binding. Makes for fuss-free writing/reading.

The binding is plenty secure, as is the cover:

But binding and cover are intentionally separate, as seen here:

This does, of course, mean flatter opening than a cover and binding that are glued together, but I still had to hold down one side of the notebook to be able to write in it. It does not lay flat on its own. (I’m not sure anyone would expect a softcover notebook this size to lay flat anyway.)

There’s plenty of room, even in this compact and portable notebook–96 pages (48 sheets)–for ideas, plans, to-do lists, art, and anything else.

You can learn more about the notebook here. One pays perhaps a higher price than expected for this notebook, but it is, of course, more expensive to make everything in the U.S. And this is a notebook that looks ready to stand the test of time. The 5-pack is significantly discounted, compared to buying a single one. You can see more Northbooks notebooks here.

Many thanks to the fine folks at Northbooks for the notebook for review! Check them out here.

You Read It Here First: 2016’s Word of the Year Will Be…

My wife taught the word to me. And then I saw it in a super-nerdy, super-awesome Bible software forum I frequent. The word is…

Grok

That’s right. Grok. It will be 2016’s Word of the Year, I predict… or if the world isn’t ready, 2017, for sure.

Here’s how I saw it in the Accordance forums:

Working with the Help system and especially the Training components, I was able to make sense of the approach Accordance takes. In my two previous rounds with the Demo in 2014 and early 2015, I just did not grok the system. Bottom line: Time with the Demo and the training tools and the December discounts enabled me to build a package that nicely does what I have always wanted Bible software to do….

(I commended this user for such a fluid use of the word.)

Oxford defines it thus:

Understand (something) intuitively or by empathy: because of all the commercials, children grok things immediately

My 15 seconds of Google research for this blog post (just kidding, it was three minutes) tells me that the word comes from an early 1960s sci-fi novel by Robert A. Heinlein, called Stranger in a Strange Land.

It’s a Martian word in that book. But if an emoji can win Word of the Year, why not a non-human word? Feel free to comment below if you grok what I’m talking about.

Not to Shill, But… (Last Day of Logos Bible Software Discount)

I have mixed feelings about Logos marketing–some criticisms expressed here–but I still do, at least for now, participate in an affiliate program of theirs. This helps, among other things, to pay for some of this blog’s minimal expenses and has even in the past funded seminary coursework.

I have no intention to shill, but I do want to share for interested readers that the rate of 15% off any base package in Logos is changing as of tomorrow (12:00 a.m. PST) to 10% off. So if you’re thinking of upgrading, you can do it for cheaper today than tomorrow. If you don’t have money to do it, don’t sweat, pour yourself a cup of tea, and read this post instead. If you do purchase, Logos feeds a percentage of the purchase back to me. If you’re interested, you just order a base package (new or upgrade) through this Logos landing page.

Or use the promo code ABRAMKJ6 when you check out with a base package in your Logos cart. My review of Logos 6 is here.

2015: Hundreds of Books, Thousands of Apps Reviewed!

I wasn’t going to post this, but then realized I’ve done this same sort of post every year since Words on the Word began–which was 2012! Blog years are like dog years, so I officially consider this blog really old.

It’s a little cheesy, but WordPress.com compiled a 2015 report for Words on the Word.

Here are a few fun facts from the report:

April 9 of this year was the blog’s most-visited day ever (4,081 hits). This was the post
My longest streak was 12 days of blog posts in a row in mid-July
This post from 2012 (though a bit dated now in its specifics) is still the most popular one
I reviewed 382 books but have 2,153 still to review; I reviewed 823 apps but still have 6,321 more app reviews to write
The above bullet point is untrue
I asked, Is 2 Samuel 7 About Jesus? and quite the discussion ensued!

Click here to read the full report. A guaranteed cure for boredom and maybe even insomnia.

Saddleback Pen Case: Leather of the Year

As much as I like a good app for writing, I’ve become even more enamored lately of good paper, pens, and related writing gear.

You don’t know this, because I haven’t finished and posted the review, but I’ve been using some sweet fountain pens from Kaweco in Germany. Where shall I put these newfound friends?

In this lovely case from Saddleback Leather, of course:

It’s technically a “Soft Sunglass/Pen Case,” but it’s way too cool for me to not use for holding writing utensils, which I use every day. (I think one of the kids ran off with my last $5 pair of sunglasses.)

I’ve only reviewed a little bit of leather at Words on the Word, but the case is easily the most beautiful piece I’ve seen or held. Here’s what it looks like stocked:

It can easily fit three good-sized pens and three pencils, and still close comfortably.

The (removable) tie closure is awesome, too–you can wrap it around and thread it through the hole, or just wrap it around a few times to keep the case closed.

Here’s the view from the back:

And a look inside:

The Saddleback logo on the front is subtle and classy, certainly not a kind of branding that will bother the user.

And these folk live and breathe quality craftsmanship. Here’s a close-up of the stitching:

The case could easily fit in your back pocket, or go into the pouch of a messenger bag. It looks great right next to a notebook or journal, too.

I’ve been accused of smelling books before (but only because I smell every single new book I get). But this case I smell and softly press against my cheek to keep me warm and happy. It might be my favorite single piece of gear I’ve reviewed so far.

* * * * * *

Saddleback was also kind to set me up with some cord wraps, an item I honestly thought was cool but superfluous… until I started using them every day to wrap my actually-long-enough iPhone charger cord:

There is a 100-year warrantee on these bad boys. Here’s the image from Saddleback of the three sizes you’d get in a set of three:

I’m using them for charging cords of three different sizes at the moment.

Saddleback’s site is here, with a ton of products that will make you want to convert to an all-leather lifestyle. You can purchase the above pen/sunglasses case here, and the cord wraps here.

Many thanks to the wonderful people at Saddleback Leather for the case and cords for review! I’m really grateful they sent them, though that did not influence the objectivity of the review.

Alto’s Adventure, Reviewed (and Currently $0.99)

I don’t know what your New Year’s Resolutions are, but if one of them is to play more video games (uh…), you should start with Alto’s Adventure.

Four traits especially stand out that make the game enjoyable:

It’s what reviewers call an “endless runner” game, which means you could go a gazillion meters on your run with Alto, which of course you never will, since you’ll hit a rock or get knocked down by an elder or fall into a ravine or ____ first.

But that won’t keep you from tapping “Play Again” multiple times.

The main stat to go for is “distance travelled.” But you can boost your trick store through a series of bunting grinds, flips, and the like. There are coins to collect (with magnets to help!), llamas to chase, and chasms to jump.

Here’s the score screen (for all images in this post, click to enlarge):

And a couple looks at the game:

The background changes from sunny and clear to dark and rainy, which adds a level of challenge (and fun) to the gameplay:

If you accomplish three goals (smash three rocks, land two triple flips in one run, and so on), you move up a level. Move up enough levels and you unlock new characters:

You can use your coins to buy workshop items:

The gameplay is smooth and responsive. (Though flying with the wingsuit is tricky.) You only have to tap to jump, so the controls are easy enough to learn, but staying up for a long run is no easy feat.

Alto’s Adventure is currently $0.99 (on sale) at the App Store. It’s easily one of the best games for iOS.

Thanks to the makers of Alto’s Adventure for the review copy of the app, given to me for this review but with no expectation as to its content.

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