You Want Me to Memorize WHAT?

I just started taking a Bible Study by Beth Moore called "Mercy Triumphs". It is a study on the book of James.
Now I have been a Christian all my life, but after 1 weekly video and 2 homework sessions I am already thinking about who James was, who Jesus was to James, and how that influenced his writings (hint- a LOT.)
This particular Bible Study is more involved that anything I have done before. Now, it has been quite a long time since I was involved in a legitimate 'Bible Study'. Years, in fact. This study has steps of involvement, and I have decided to shoot for the top, because why not?! That means that in addition to watching the weekly videos, doing homework, and writing the book of James out, I plan on trying to memorize the book.
Hold the Phone. A whole book?

I am not writing this to say 'go me' or to promote myself in any way. The fact is that I have never really set out to memorize large passages of scripture before. I have always admired those who did, but it just seemed to daunting. But then we watched a small session encouraging us to try memorizing it as well- because the worst that could come of it is that you are focusing on scripture over and over, and that cannot be bad.
At first I totally wrote it off. it is a BOOK for crying out loud. But then I thought about my theater days. I used to memorize whole page-long monologues. Heck! I basically memorized entire Shakespearean plays by the end of a production, and surely this was infanitly more important than 'The Comedy of Errors'.
So tonight I started. I only got through 4 verses, but that is 4 verses more than I knew by heart yesterday. And it gave me such a rush! What a huge burst of excitement! So exciting, in fact, that I dusted off my weeks-neglected blog just to tell you about it.

You should try it. My process isn't really complicated. In fact, it took me about 15 minutes for those first 4 verses. But you and I both know that the implications are life changing.

1) Read the Verse several times to yourself
2) Try it without looking. Peek if you need to
3) When you are proficient, add another.
4) Repeat!

I am not usually one to write on this kind of thing. I generally feel that there are many more people with more Biblical knowledge than I have out there. But this is exciting. I have always admired those who can spout off whole passages of Scripture at the drop of a hat and wanted to be like that. But without the work, I will never have the results. So here goes nothing!

I encourage you to try it. Just spend a few minutes after your kiddos go to bed, or in the morning before they wake up if that is your thing. If you do, I would love to know! Or, if you have a technique that works, or a story about how God used memorizing Scripture in your life, please share!