One of my favorite website: this one helps with Scripture Memory

I have been trying to put something together to post on here for weeks, but it's all been a no-go. Briefly (or not so briefly), let me tell you about what has become one of my favorite websites: www.scripturetyper.com. This is a scripture memory service recommended by Ann Voscamp, who writes A Holy Experience.

First, why memorizing Scripture is a great idea:

• Scripture memory is awesome for a variety of reasons. With minimal planning it can be done anytime and anywhere. You'll never again be at a loss for something to do while sitting through a Commencement processional.

•  It's great for people who bore easily, because once you've memorized several passages, you always have them with you and you can go over them in your mind without using index cards for prompting. 

• It helps you to focus on whichever passage you are working on. It becomes a form of meditation (the filling kind as opposed to the emptying kind), and the words almost naturally take on their fuller meaning, as you spend more time thinking about what the passage is saying.

• Scripture memory combined with recitation helps you to turn your attention back to God when your mind starts becoming too self-focused during the course of your day.

• Your theology becomes richer and more complete as you start noticing connections between Scriptures and teachings that you may have been oblivious to before. This is a great boon in Bible Study and in Worship Service contexts. Last week in church I questioned a phrase used in one of the songs we sang, but quickly remembered where the idea had been drawn from because I had already memorized that verse. I was able to think about the context of the verse, and even look it up since I had a good idea of where that verse was located.

• Your memory gradually improves as you get into the habit of exercising it daily.

• You know you aren't wasting your time, because this is the word of God you're working on.

 So how, you may ask, does scripturetyper.com help? The site makes several valid claims about their service, but none of them are the reasons why I actually enjoy using their site.

• I think the best thing the website does is build in accountability and review. In fact, that is my favorite thing about it. You can set up your profile to send reminder emails on the schedule you choose. I have a reminder sent to me once a week, but I never need the reminder because...

• The site provides a review page that keeps up with a rotating schedule of scriptures for review. As part of my regularly scheduled study time, I check my review page daily.

• The website chooses the scriptures you review each day based on how many times the scripture has been typed, and when was the last time you typed it. This way you don't forget to review any of the passages you've memorized. It turns out that the scriptures don't stick with you so well if you don't take the time to go back over them often. This is particularly helpful if your memory retention has slackened over time.

• My favorite thing about it is that even if I don't have a physical person to recite my memory work to. I can test myself quickly and easily, without neglecting those verses that aren't necessarily in the front of my mind. Because you never know when you are going to need to access those verses that you first committed to memory nine months ago.

• Another helpful thing the site does is rank its users according to how many verses they have current. This could be a good thing or a bad thing, but for me it is motivation to continue committing the Bible to memory over time. I make a point of not worrying about my ranking, but it is fun to see that number getting smaller the more passages I work on.

The typing/kinesthetic aspect isn't so great for me. The website claims that muscle memory will help you with your memorization, but I have found that typing a verse and reciting it aloud from memory are two very different experiences. However combining the two is a great boon to retention. I don't feel like muscle memory does all that much for me, and at this point I continue to miss-type the same words over and over again.

You know what, if you have a student who has already mastered basic typing skills, I bet Scripture Typer would really help them build up their speed and accuracy. Since I've been typing for twenty years at this point, it may be too late for me to improve too terribly much, but for someone who is just starting out, I imagine this site would be a big help.

It's a pretty cool website, and I like it.