Thanks for asking, Onfire247. I am currently in the 1st 3rd of Mark 14. It's funny, only my reviews of Chapter 01 show up in the news feed. Still grinding though. And loving it. Hope you're doing well, too. Keep up the good work!
Thanks for asking, Onfire247. I am currently in the 1st 3rd of Mark 14. It's funny, only my reviews of Chapter 01 show up in the news feed. Still grinding though. And loving it. Hope you're doing well, too. Keep up the good work!
That's probably because when you first created that verse set you marked it as public and the rest you did not. I like seeing it show up. It reminds me that you're still being diligent about the goal. If your at 14 it won't be long now!
You are probably right on that point, and I am still trying to be as diligent as I can be. I finally have a system of progression that works well for me. I think the next book I set out to memorize will probably move a little more quickly just due to the fact that I have hit on a regular progression pattern. Still, it is hard to keep memorizing and keep up with what you have previously memorized.
That's great, TMG. I'm still trying to figure out my progression pattern. No matter which way I do it I either end up forgetting after a couple of months or burning out from the reviews. Lately I have been in the latter which is why my reviews have been less. I wake up every morning and see my to do list and just sigh. I still do it, but when I hit a rough patch I usually just give up for the day. String a few of those together and I forget even more because of the lack of reviews. I find myself celebrating when I finish a verse because I won't have to review that one anymore, which is terrible way to view it. I've just got to power through it I guess. May I ask what your system of progression is?
Unfortunately, I feel your pain. There are often moments where things become more tedious than others, and that weighty feeling of gutting it through passages that are more complicated (not as easy to recall) can be very challenging. I have to admit, I am pushing through, mostly because I can see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel (being on Chapter 14 of 16). So keep at it… even if you can do as much.
Here is my system. I use the general thematic breaks you will find in most Bibles, for example, Mark 1 breaks down into 8 parts, “John the Baptist Prepares the Way,” “The Baptism of Jesus,” “The Temptation of Jesus,” etc. to organize my progress.
So, when I begin a chapter, I create a set based on the first thematic break. Mark 01 - 01 John the Baptist Prepares the way
I will literally type from reading the verses in that section 10 times in a row. Note, I am reading at this point, and not trying to memorize… just transcribing basically. I do this until I feel like I can get through without losing %, and from that point, I keep practicing 10 times in a row each day. I continue this process until I get my completion percentage up to 50%.
Once I am at 50%, I create a new set for the next section. Mark 01 - 02 The Baptism of Jesus
Then, I also create another new set called Incomplete - Mark 01 (01 to 01). At this point, it is only the first section of Mark 1
Then I work on transcribing Mark 01 -02 10 times each day until I have it down. Then I continue that section 10 times a day until it hits 50%. When that happens, I edit Incomplete - Mark 01 to include sections 1 & 2, and I create the next set Mark 01 - 03. And repeat the process.
As I keep adding sections, the Incomplete Mark chapter keeps growing. When I complete all the sections of the chapter, I edit Incomplete Mark to Complete - Mark 01 I begin the next chapter with the first section, and now the list looks like this:
Complete - Mark 01 Incomplete - Mark 02 (01 - 01) Mark 01 -01 Mark 01 - 02 Mark 01 - 03… Mark 02 - 01
So, at this point, my daily routine includes: 1. Working section 10 times (transcribing or from memory, depending on where I am in the process)
2. Chapter review
I have a particular goal I set for myself each day, but at a bare minimum, I try and work on the new section, and then I will do chapter reviews until I hit my goal. So today, I did Mark 14-07 (just started transcribing)
Complete - Mark 06 Complete - Mark 07 Complete - Mark 08…
Tomorrow, I will continue working on Mark 14 07 (at 18%…. It usually takes around 4 days to get a big section like this one into my brain, then another 4 days to hit 50 %)
I will then tackle my Complete Chapter reviews. Note, when I get to Incomplete Chapter 14, I will be covering chapter 14 sections 1-6, unless 7 is added by the time I get there. Then I just move back to chapter 1 and start over.
The only new wrinkle I have added is verse review. I have created individual sets for verses in chapter 1 that are not at 100%… mostly short verses that I have lost significant percentage due to errors. I just do a couple of those 10 times in a row.
Final note. I do not just follow the sites “Dashboard” reminders. I actually begin each day entering what the site prompts me to, but then I go to my system.
I don’t know if this is at all clear, but I feel like this system is working for me now. The main thing is getting the new section and chapter review done each day (include the incomplete chapter review only when it comes up in rotation.). Also, only the current working section and verse repair need to be done 10 times in a row. Chapter reviews are done once.
It creates a PDF that you print out, of basically the first letter of each word in the chapter, and organizes it into a grid pattern so it's easy to follow/remember.
I think that carrying this around with me for regular review is going to help a lot.
That is a great point, FinalAsgard. I did not even address recitation, which I have down pretty good for the first 6 chapters. I often struggle in the later chapters as I try to recite in the wild with no helps. I usually give up. But with a quick letter chart to help get me back on track would help too. Also, because I am working on the ESV, I can use their app which has a built in audio version. This helps reinforce as well.
Your system sounds similar to mine but you do more reviews than I do at the beginning. I feel like more reviews at the beginning make the whole process easier. I also do not follow the review queue except for individual verses. My intervals go like this: learn (as many times as it takes to get it 100%), daily (once a day for 21 days), biweekly (7 days), weekly (7), bimonthly (7), monthly (forever). Honestly, having more reviews does not bother me as long as I'm in the 95% range on the reviews. Once I start dropping into the 90s or upper 80s my moral drops significantly. I will have to think on what you've said and see how I can adapt mine to it. Thanks for taking the time to detail all of that out, TMG!
Thanks for your contributions as well FA. I will check out the grid.
Jappel, I would normally do whole word for many of the reasons you mention. For me, it is the volume of verses that dictates. Whole word helps my typing, but not necessarily my memorization.
Onfire247, I think option 4 is the best. On a similar note, I think if the enforced practice had a mitigating effect would work too. On those short verses I can certainly demonstrate that my error was more typo than needing 8 months more of memorization.
Jappel! I also have my preferences set on first letter only, so when I am typing fast, one error can send you reeling. I have dabbled with different preference levels, and I still like where I am. It is just difficult to see such dramatic setback in one false move.
Thanks, Onfire247! It is great to see, but sadly, I have more moments where a verse is at 97%, and I type too fast and suddenly, after getting a whole phrase wrong, my percentage drops to 74%.
Thanks, Onfire247! It is great to see, but sadly, I have more moments where a verse is at 97%, and I type too fast and suddenly, after getting a whole phrase wrong, my percentage drops to 74%.
That's how I lose a streak of perfect verses. I type too fast and I miss a space and two words becomeone! (become one) Congrats though on 50 verses down!
Jappel! I also have my preferences set on first letter only, so when I am typing fast, one error can send you reeling. I have dabbled with different preference levels, and I still like where I am. It is just difficult to see such dramatic setback in one false move.
Yeah, that's why I hate short verses. So easy to lose huge amounts of progress. I've lost so many points / progress because of this. I've thought of several ways to resolve it:
1. Implement a setting where if you fail a keystroke within a second of failing another it ignores it. 2. Implement a system to click on a word you got right but typed it wrong to correct it. 3. Add a confirmation notice asking if you are sure that you want to drop your percentage or ignore it. 4. Eliminate losing progress altogether and instead lower the time to the next review.
I've had 4-5 verses that were short verses that I failed on the last couple of words that dropped from 97 to 74. That's basically 8 months of progress lost. When that happens I usually have to step away from the keyboard for a bit (usually for the day).
That is interesting. I started out as first letter only, but after awhile, I switched to whole word. It seems easier, at least for me, to do that.
My reasons are these: A) When you are going to have to type them out in a test, for other things not LS B) If you are used to typing whole words C) It can help your WPM D) It flows
Those are the main reasons I do whole word. It works better for me. Now, if I were to do it mobile, I would do first letter only because typing on a phone or tablet can be a bit rough.
Onfire247, I think option 4 is the best. On a similar note, I think if the enforced practice had a mitigating effect would work too. On those short verses I can certainly demonstrate that my error was more typo than needing 8 months more of memorization.
Jappel, I would normally do whole word for many of the reasons you mention. For me, it is the volume of verses that dictates. Whole word helps my typing, but not necessarily my memorization.
Jappel, I started out originally typing the whole word as well. Like you, I did it to help improve my typing speeds as a bonus. What I found, however, after six months of doing so is that my typing speed did not really improve much. (Admittedly, I type pretty fast already so that may have affected my perceptions.) Instead, as I started to get over 100 reviews in a day my fingers would start to go numb from the constant typing. I also found that it increased the amount of time I spent doing my memorization. I knew if I kept up at that pace I would eventually burn out from the time the reviews took, so I switched. It took a while to get used to but now I like it. I do, however, miss how much better typing the full word was on making mistakes. Single letter is very unforgiving for the reasons mentioned above. I say go with whatever works. Neither method seemed to improve my overall memorization either.
onfire247, that makes a lot of sense. I believe to each his own in his own circumstances. I haven't gotten to the point to where I am doing a great number of reviews, but I can see where you are getting at. All I can say is keep up the good work. This website has changed my Bible memory life. God Bless!!
Thanks, everyone! I was just sharing with my family yesterday how much I appreciate you all on the site. They were also impressed that so many people were joining committed to scripture memorization. So, not only do you all encourage me, but you even encourage folks you don’t know with your work. Of course, all of this is secondary to glorifying God and loving him by loving and learning who he is by meditating on his word, but it is still a testimony and an encouragement. Thank you all so much, and keep up the great work!
Thanks, everyone! I was just sharing with my family yesterday how much I appreciate you all on the site. They were also impressed that so many people were joining committed to scripture memorization. So, not only do you all encourage me, but you even encourage folks you don’t know with your work. Of course, all of this is secondary to glorifying God and loving him by loving and learning who he is by meditating on his word, but it is still a testimony and an encouragement. Thank you all so much, and keep up the great work!
Great point, onfire247! And I also think that the jump from 300 to 1000 is brutal. Of course, the top level is like… the whole Bible. That is really daunting.
Symota, That is a really good question. I would be open to suggestions, but my goal after Mark is likely one of the Epistles. They seem like the obvious perfect complement to the Gospels, and I am leaning toward I & II Peter... just because Mark is basically Peter's account of the Gospel.
Symota, That is a really good question. I would be open to suggestions, but my goal after Mark is likely one of the Epistles. They seem like the obvious perfect complement to the Gospels, and I am leaning toward I & II Peter... just because Mark is basically Peter's account of the Gospel.
I agree, 1st and 2nd Peter, would be natural compliments. As you get closer to needing to decide - the Lord will lead you in the way He would have you go. 🙏🏽
Thanks, everyone! The encouragement is fabulous, but I also enjoy seeing the incredible memorization peloton we have working on this site. Quite a thrill to work right alongside everyone!
Thanks, everyone! The encouragement is fabulous, but I also enjoy seeing the incredible memorization peloton we have working on this site. Quite a thrill to work right alongside everyone!
Thanks for the additional beneficial comments: Goodnews for the link, joosep for defining "peloton", and janet23 for saying what the link pertained to. 🙏🏽