Learning/Reviewing Verses by Typing - BibleMemory.com Tutorial

Every Sunday afternoon, I will be posting encouragement/tips/stories as related to Scripture memorization.  I have a zillion things to share eventually, but my husband told me to put them into bite-sized pieces so as not to overwhelm people. There is nothing very "bite-sized" about me, but I will try to keep these at least "meal-sized" (and in this case, this post will be more of a reference post, if you are interested, than a read-in-entirety post).

With all that I want to share this year, one of my first priorities relates to finding a website or app to help you on this journey.  I stumbled upon the Scripture Typer website (now BibleMemory.com) several years ago, and it has been revolutionary for me in three ways:

1. helping me LEARN verses (this helps me to practice and then "test" myself to see if I know each word of the verse)
2. helping me REVIEW verses (learning new verses is way more fun for me than reviewing old ones, but that is important, too. For all the verses that I have memorized, I am on a review cycle to review them at least every three months)
3. helping me CATALOG verses (I knew verses from songs from my childhood and from verse projects over the years, and I was having a hard time keeping track of them all. Now I have them all here!)

Before I go any further, I do want to say that there are plenty of great apps out there. (Here's an article on the 7 Best Bible Memorization Apps and here's a link telling you more about the two free apps from my friends at Scripture Memory Fellowship).  Other ones may be a better fit for you; I'm simply sharing from my own experience with one particular website/app. And some of you think you already spend too much time on technology and would rather memorize "offline."  This is a tutorial for those of you who are interested in the BibleMemory.com website/app.

STEP ONE: CREATE AN ACCOUNT

I started with creating a free account on the website. (Note: the regular version of the app is also free, but you are limited in how many verses you can add from the app. I always add my verses from my desktop computer, and they sync to the app on my phone)

STEP TWO: CHANGE YOUR SETTINGS/PREFERENCES

Next, click on your name to go to the settings: My Account/Account Settings/Preferences

When I first started, I was typing every single letter of every word at a certain WPM speed in order to master a verse. So, if I was a slow typer, I couldn't master the verse. Now, I have it set where I just type the first letter of every word (I still have to hit 90% accuracy so I can't just guess all the time). Here's what I recommend to start with:

Preferred Translation - whatever you prefer (but you can change for each individual verse)

Review Type - I'd suggest "Memorize It" (so that when you review, every other word is already given to you)

What to Type? Type first letter of each word

Verse Reference - Type it (I didn't do this in the beginning but realized that I really wanted to learn the references along with the verses)

Punctuation - Keep going if I miss it (because who's got time/mental energy to perfect the punctuation?!)

STEP THREE: ADD VERSES

There are three ways to do this:

GROUPS - Find a group, and add the verse collections they've already set up. I usually do this when I'm memorizing a whole book, because there's probably another group that already has all those verses. I've made my own groups, like for all the Seeds Family Worship songs or for my fifth grade students with all their memory verses for the year. Once you join a group, you have the option to select a verse collection to memorize with the group.

VERSES BY TOPIC - Maybe you don't know what to memorize, but you have a certain theme in mind. There are all sorts of topics, such as: Top 100 verses, creation, God's plan for me, instruction for parents, peace, salvation, etc. If you find one you like, you can click "Add this collection."

ADD A VERSE - Go to My Verses/the red +/New Verse. 

• Type in the verse reference (whether one verse or multiple).
• Select the translation (they have several, including NIV84, which is not on BibleGateway. Also, they have AMP, CSB, ESV, HCSB, KJV, NKJV, MSG, NASB, NLT, NIV. If your preferred translation isn't listed, you can copy and paste from BibleGateway).
• I recommend putting it in a verse collection. Maybe you could set up a collection for your 2021 Scripture Memory Challenge.
• Click "Import Verse Text". If adding a passage, you'll have to decide if you want to leave them as a passage together or to split them into individual verses. I've done both ways.
• You'll see the verse(s) appear and then click "Save Scripture." This will add it to your verses.

STEP FOUR: LEARN VERSES

I'm going to jump over to the app screen shots although it works very similarly on the website. Click on "My Verses" and choose the verse you want to learn.

Type It. Again, on my settings, I'm only actually typing the first letter of each word. This is the phase for when a verse is brand new to you. You may have to do this step multiple times.

Memorize it - Now you're starting to test yourself by seeing if you can remember every other word. There's also an option where you can switch to view the opposite words.

Master it - Once you are ready to type the whole verse (first letter of every word) from memory, you go to the third level. If you get 90% accuracy, you've now "mastered" the verse. Congratulations!

STEP FIVE: REVIEW VERSES

Click the "Review" tab to review your mastered verses. There is a review cycle built into the program. When you first master a verse, it will pop back up to review in 24 hours (although it's okay if you don't get back to it then. It will just show as "due" whenever you log back on). Once you have reviewed it at 90% accuracy, your "review frequency" will increase to every 2 days, then every week, every month, every two months, etc.

Here are some of my mastered verses. I've reviewed Romans 1:12 enough that it is on a monthly review cycle, but Romans 1:16 is still every week (and will be up for review next in 6 days). Romans 1:18 is every 5 days (and will pop up in 15 hours), while Romans 11:33 is one I memorized awhile ago, so it's at the max review frequency of every 3 months. 

Here's the max review frequency I was referring to. I used to set mine to review all my verses every month, but that got to be overwhelming, so I backed up to every 3 months to make it more manageable.

Here's what it looks like when I click "Review" in the app:

Again, this won't be for everyone, but I hope some of you find it helpful! Please reach out if you have any further questions. I've spent a lot of time with this program and have helped my oldest son and upper elementary students with it, so I'd love to help you get started!

Sometimes, it can feel like more of a task, so I have to remind myself to connect with Jesus through the process, but the discipline of it has allowed me to learn, retain, and catalog more verses. For that, I'm grateful.

Thankful Thursday - SNOW

Lord my God, to Thee I raise this my hymn of grateful praise...

43,294. evening snow

43,295. how snow glows at night

43,296. 2 1/2 hour date with minimal crying

43,297. trying out Happy Sushi

43,298. playing Sushi Go

43,299. Chosen - episode with Peter fishing

43,300. cleaning the kitchen

43,301. phone chat with Katie

43,302. enough snow for snow cream!

43,303. no school! (because when you're homeschooling, you can make those decisions)

43,304. boys playing together after dinner

43,305. some time to myself

43,306. FB group for my high school class

43,307. walking down memory lane

43,308. thankful for my high school and hometown

43,309. how You’re weaving together my background, relationships, skills, and experiences for Your glory

43,310. watching the video of the Big 3 brothers meeting their littlest brother in the hospital

43,311. Psalm 16 song from The Corner Room

43,312. BSF notes—always so good!

43,313. morning reading time together

Make it a Duet

Make it a Duet

The dark thought

    began to paralyze

        Daniel Striped Tiger

            so he voiced it to Lady Aberlin

                and brought it into the light:

        "Sometimes I I wonder 

            if I'm a mistake...

        I'm not like anyone else...

        I'm not supposed to be scared, am I?"

Lady Aberlin sang truth

    into his frailty:

        "I think you are just fine

            as you are...

        I like who you're becoming...

        You are my friend...

        It's really true...I like you."

My first assumption

    was that Daniel Striped Tiger would be convinced

        and suddenly perk up

            as a result of her re-assurance

But convincing and assuring and truth-grounding

    aren't always that easy or quick

Daniel keeps singing

    "Sometimes I wonder

        if I'm a mistake..."

                    but this time

                    it becomes a duet

                    and Lady Aberlin

                    sings her truth

                    over his fears

                            "I think you are just fine

                                as you are..."

They sing back-and-forth like that

    Doubts - Truth

    Fear - Re-assurance

        in tandem

        simultaneously

Instead of Daniel spiraling in his own thoughts,

    he made it a duet.

And that sums up

    a lot of where I find myself

Although my worries are different than Daniel's,

    I still have

        Dark thoughts

        Debilitating spirals

        Dread

        Doubt

Sometimes I make a conscious break

    and bring these thoughts into the light

        so God can speak His truth into these places

Like Daniel, I'm not easily convinced,

    but I've resolved to make it a duet.

This back-and-forth melody

    between me and my Maker

        who knows me better than I know myself

        and can see the big picture of who I'm becoming

            (and He likes what He sees!)

        and sings over me, "It's really true...I like you,"

This back-and-forth melody --

    it's 

        healing 

            me

Doubts - Truth

Fear - Re-assurance

    in tandem

    as a back-and-forth duet

until I believe it enough

(until I believe HIM enough)

    to sing in unison with Him

(poem written 1-27-21 after watching the "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" documentary)

Here's the full song:

And here's the clip from the documentary about it (starting at about the 1 minute mark):

Let's talk comparison, shall we? (January Check-In)

Inevitably, with a post where lots of folks are sharing their Scripture memory goals for the year, comparison can and will rear its ugly head in two ways:

• the insecurity of "Man, I'm not memorizing as much as that person! What's wrong with me?" 

OR

• the pride of, "Whoa, look at me! I'm able to memorize much more than these people!"

As I considered this, I thought of three things I wanted to share with you based on Scripture:

1. We have an Enemy who seeks to "steal, kill, and destroy" (John 10:10) and would like nothing more than to discourage you from the practice of Scripture memory or to puff you up with pride at your accomplishments. When tempted to quit because you're not doing what others are doing, don't let the Enemy win! He wants to create a wedge between you and God and between you and fellow believers in any way he can. Let this light a fire under you to press on!

2. Call it what it is -- comparison is sin. Though these tempting thoughts are not sin in and of themselves, when we entertain them and agree with them, they become sin. We don't talk a lot about covetousness, even though it's one of the ten commandments. Along with not coveting "your neighbor's house...your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey (Exodus 20:17)," don't be greedy of others' goals and progress. And on the flip side, "God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble (James 4:6)," so instead of puffing up with pride, thank the Giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17) who has given you the ability and desire to memorize.

3. We are all in this together! Heather Holleman, in her book Seated with Christ: Living Freely in a Culture of Comparison, unpacks the picture of being seated together at a round table with the greatest King, each with our unique part to play in the advancement of the Kingdom. Together, we are "created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10)."  We can be secure in the good works God has prepared in advance for each of us to do. My good works may look nothing like yours, and that's okay. We don't have to fight for a seat at the table. We belong. We can celebrate others' successes, without feeling inferior or superior.  

 

"Comparison is the thief of joy." 

-Theodore Roosevelt

Let's not be robbed of any joy this year, friends! 

Let's cheer each other on, confident in who God made us to be

and in what He has uniquely called and equipped us to do!

--OFFICIAL JANUARY CHECK-IN POST--

270+ of my friends (and friends of friends) are committing to take a step forward in their Scripture memory journey during 2021! This is soooo exciting and an answer to prayer! 

Most of you will be posting in our Facebook group, but if for whatever reason you are not on Facebook, you can also join in by reading these encouragement posts every Sunday afternoon and checking in during the last week of the month. 

To be entered in this month's giveaway (5 winners of a $20 Chick-Fil-A gift card), you need to post a comment in our Facebook group OR on this blog post with the following three things before midnight January 31st:

1. Scripture memory goal for 2021. 

Here's a post on the different types of Scripture memory goals 

and on setting a S.M.A.R.T. Scripture memory goal. 

If you still don't know, I'd suggest the goal of one or two verses per month.

2. What verse(s) you memorized this month. 

Some of you are brand new to the challenge, 

but you could still totally memorize a verse by the end of the month!

3. Verification of your memory work in one of two ways: 

either post a video of your recitation from memory (can be in a separate post)

OR list the first name of the person you recited your verse(s) to. 

If you choose the second option, 

please wait to post until you have already done this!

(past tense - I recited..., 

not future tense - I will recite...)

I will begin with my example in the first comment.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Happy memorizing!

Thankful Thursday

Great are the works of the Lord; 

they are pondered by all who delight in them. 

-Psalm 111:2

Thank you, God, for all these blessings that I delight in...

43,201. Calvin being so helpful

43,202. trying out some new parks

43,203. having the playgrounds to ourselves

43,204. sunshine

43,205. creative elements on the sides of the structures

43,206. learning from "What's in the Bible?"

43,207. playing tag with the big boys

43,208. tasty oranges

43,209. hearing back from friends

43,210. time at the piano

43,211. Calvin playing with the little boys

43,212. finding a great song for next week's verse (Ezekiel 36:26-28)

43,213. working on the second half of Romans

43.214. reviewing while on the playground

43,215. ice cream cake! 

43,216. a full refrigerator

43,217. storytime on the couch

43,218. finishing My Father's Dragon with Calvin

43,219. Colson's bruise is healing

43,220. the ringing line "Make it a duet."

43,221. thankful to be an Asburian

43,222. finding friends on Facebook

43,223. "kindred spirits" whom I've never met

43,224. the ability to lock the door

43,225. fun trial student this morning

43,226. Colson talking more and more

43,227. Carter reading his book on Marco Polo to Mimi

43,228. weather in the 40s

43,229. hearing Psalm 111:2 on the radio

 

Lexington Parks - Masterson Hills

Masterson Hills Park (277 Lucille Drive)

Location - off Leestown Road, near Masterson Station Park/neighborhood

Playground? yes 

Trails? yes (paved)

Other? basketball court, pond (not too far away)

At first, I didn't realize that these were two separate parks (Masterson Hills and Masterson Stations). They are in adjacent neighborhoods, but they are different parks. This one is fairly small although it has a good bit of green space.

This boy loves going down slides! He is pretty fearless of any slide, especially after he has gone down once.

This was an interesting playground feature...

I could see a pond off in the distance, so we headed that way. It wasn't technically part of the park, and we had to walk along a slightly steep fenceline to get there...

...but we were rewarded with this duck (at least that's what we think it was). It's like the ugly duckling that grew up to be an ugly duck.

The pond had a thin layer of ice for the ducks to walk on.

We didn't stay too long because ducks = watch your step. :-)

(Note: We have visited 50+ parks in Lexington since the beginning of Covid. These are not meant to be extensive reviews but more a record of our experiences. Eventually I will add hyperlinks to all the blog entries here) 

Every Reason to Hope (Lamentations 3:21-24)

[I posted this on my Facebook page last week]

Our homeschooling memory verses this week start with a "But." So, we read the backstory in Lamentations 3. The lament is real:

-flesh and skin wasting away (v.4)

-walled in so I cannot escape (v.7)

-the laughingstock of all peoples (v.14)

-filled with bitterness (v.15)

-teeth grinding on gravel (v.16)

-forgotten what happiness is (v.17)

I may not be in those depths of despair, but our world does seem rather hope-draining. Here in our 11th month since Covid invaded our day-to-day lives, I'm starting to feel that "my endurance has perished" (v.18).

BUT (here comes verse 21)...

21 But this I call to mind,

and therefore I have hope:

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end;

23 they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,

“therefore I will hope in him.”

For all the brokenness, weariness, and confusion I'm feeling these days, I CHOOSE to "call to mind" the TRUTH of the Lord's steadfast love, new mercies, and faithfulness. Though tempted to despair, I have every reason to hope.

Lexington Parks - Belleau Woods

Belleau Woods Park (3770 Forest Green Drive)

Location - between Wilson-Downing and Man o'War, backs up to Tates Creek Kroger, Meadowbrook Park

Playground? yes 

Trails? yes (paved)

Other? tennis courts, adult swing, little free library, creek

We first went to this park on a rainy day in November. We had fun with our umbrellas, and the creek was extra high from all the rain.

This boy is no longer content being strapped in the wagon unless he's very tired!

They loved this swing off the walking path.

In January, we returned on a day when the playground was empty.

Pogo stick (kind of!). We haven't seen these at the other playgrounds.

I will say... the slides here made me nervous. The older ones obviously could handle them, but the slides are very tall with openings right next to them, and an easy staircase for the little boys to climb up to the top without any help.  

We ended up going by the creek for awhile, and I walked with the little boys when the big boys wanted to go back to the playground a little longer.

Playing a little game of "Sink or float?"

I was intrigued by this tree. I couldn't get a good picture of it, but it had thorn branches coming out of the tree. The thorns were pretty sharp, too! I'm not sure how the thorn branches were able to grow out of the tree.

Dandelion in January!

We found a painted rock from Tennessee!

Returning a book to the little library.

(Note: We have visited 50+ parks in Lexington since the beginning of Covid. These are not meant to be extensive reviews but more a record of our experiences. Eventually I will add hyperlinks to all the blog entries here)