Mega Memory Month Kickoff: More Gospel!

Ann and I were on the same wavelength, it seems, just a couple of weeks apart: thinking that summer was a great time for a mega memory project. Back in January, memorizing the gospel narrative from Milton Vincent's A Gospel Primer for Christians was such a wonderful discipline for me. It was so beneficial, in fact, that a couple of weeks ago, I decided to revisit the book. I've been working on the poetic narrative for a little while now and have found it to be just as compelling. How beautiful it is to saturate my mind with truths about the character of God and the finished work of Christ!

To be honest, my first thought upon hearing Ann's announcement was, "Oh no! July isn't a good time for this! I can't start a new project; I'm smack in the middle of one, plus I'm going on vacation!" But the reality is, vacation is a perfect time for me to have accountability for a discipline like this. When I'm away from home and out of my normal routine, it's far too easy to let my time with the Lord slide, so I'm glad for Mega Memory Month to keep me on track while we're gone!

I also realized there was no reason I couldn't combine two different projects in one month. Since I'm just over halfway finished with memorizing the poetic gospel narrative, I plan to run one "mega" project into another, shifting gears--well, sort of--mid-month. Using my memorization method, I'm on track to finish the poetry on July 9. Once that's completed, I'll switch to memorizing actual Scripture, except it will still be gospel: the glorious promises of Romans 5. The gospel is the MAIN THING--I can't think of anything else I need to memorize more!

My goal is to spend the rest of July committing Romans 5 to memory and making sure chapters 6-7 are solid. I did Romans 8 quite a while ago (it was my first "mega" memory project) and worked on Romans 6-7 last winter, so by the end of the month, Lord willing, I'll be able to go straight through chapters 5-8.

I find that for me, memorization comes easily with a great method. No credit to me, just the way God made my brain. But the hard part is the follow-through. If I stick with it for 100 days, like my method demands, it's cemented in my brain--that's how I still have Romans 8 after almost three years, and how the prose gospel narrative is still well in hand six months later.

But unfortunately, I've fizzled on plenty of other memory projects I once knew well. That's why I want to spend this MMM not only adding new Romans material, but intentionally reviewing what I've already done. No sense losing what I worked hard to obtain, when it's so much easier to retain than learn in the first place! And I need ways to practice taking every thought captive--filling my mind with memory work is really helpful for that.

So that's my plan for Mega Memory Month. Who's with me? What are you working on? I hope you'll take a risk and memorize something challenging for you, however big or small--and that you'll find encouragement as we work together and sharpen each other, here and at Ann's blog as the hub for our carnival.