I'm passionate about memorizing stuff. Scripture especially, but really anything. Today I'm sharing a few Psalms that I memorized. These in particular have pulled me through many situations where I needed Scripture more immediately than I could have accessed a Bible.     

     Knowing the entirety of a chapter is powerful, so I went ahead and put the full text of Psalm 34, which is my personal favorite. I have also put a few verses from 91 and 121, two other favorites. Even if you don't slowly read through and meditate on each Psalm—really, when is computer-screen reading good for focus and deep thought—you can skim them, and maybe remember the numbers so you can make sure to go read them later. 
     I also selected certain verses out of other Psalms I have memorized, so that you would have those chapters to consider too, but the post wouldn't get too long. 
     I want you to know that memorizing does not have to be a quick process. I took a solid set of weeks/months to memorize each of these; I would memorize a single verse each day. That also enabled me to meditate on each phrase of each verse and digest the truth in it. If you aren't used to memorizing Scripture, I would encourage you not to let yourself be intimidated by how you think it will go or should go. As Nike says, just do it.

34

 I will bless the Lord pat all times;

his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

2  My soul qmakes its boast in the Lord;

let the humble hear and rbe glad.

3  Oh, smagnify the Lord with me,

and let us exalt his name together!

4  I tsought the Lord, and he answered me

and delivered me from all my fears.

5  Those who look to him are uradiant,

and their faces shall never be ashamed.

6  vThis poor man cried, and the Lord heard him

and wsaved him out of all his troubles.

7  xThe angel of the Lord yencamps

around those who fear him, and delivers them.

8  Oh, ztaste and see that athe Lord is good!

bBlessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

9  Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,

for those who fear him have no lack!

10  cThe young lions suffer want and hunger;

but those who dseek the Lord lack no good thing.

11  eCome, O children, listen to me;

fI will teach you the fear of the Lord.

12  gWhat man is there who desires life

and loves many days, that he may hsee good?

13  iKeep your tongue from evil

and your lips from jspeaking deceit.

14  kTurn away from evil and do good;

seek peace and lpursue it.

15  mThe eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous

nand his ears toward their cry.

16  oThe face of the Lord is against those who do evil,

to pcut off the memory of them from the earth.

17  nWhen the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears

and delivers them out of all their troubles.

18  The Lord is near to qthe brokenhearted

and saves rthe crushed in spirit.

19  sMany are the afflictions of the righteous,

tbut the Lord delivers him out of them all.

20  He keeps all his bones;

unot one of them is broken.

21  vAffliction will slay the wicked,

and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.

22  The Lord wredeems the life of his servants;

none of those who take refuge in him will be xcondemned.\

91:4
"He will cover you with his feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge. His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart."

121:1
"I lift up my eyes to the hills, from where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth."

So I went to Walden on Sunday.

Let me say that again:
I went to Walden on Sunday.
Walden. Like, Walden Pond, like where Henry David Thoreau lived and wrote, like the place eponymous with the book we just read in my American Lit class. Walden.

If you can't tell, I was crazy excited to go. Like, silent-scream-flap-my-hands excited. But Walden is not a concert, it's a temple. It would have been strange and horrible for me to respond with stomping my feet, or shrieking, or hopping around. So I calmed myself—outwardly at least—and embarked on my understated tourist venture.

When we showed up it was rainy and cold. We started in the tourist center because I wanted to read up before we headed out to the pond. I'd bought a copy of Walden at Harvard Bookstore the day before, but I'd forgotten it. I was there with my sister, and she hadn't read Thoreau before, so we both cooped up for a while to prepare.

After that, we went to the little remake of the cabin Throeau built. It's one tiny room, with a stove, bed, and chair.

We soon made our way to the pond, across a road and down a forested hill. On the walk down, I was thinking what I'd been thinking the whole time: There's no way a pond can be as cool as I want it to be. There's no way it can live up to the super expensive Uber, the 1100 mile anticipation I've built coming up to Massachusetts, the 162 years of being famous and old to seem cooler than it actually is....there's no way I can expect all that from a pond.
Then, I rounded the corner, stepped onto the sand, and looked at Walden.

The water was blue or gray, and stretched over an area the perfect size for a pond. It was outlined in a ring of wet sand, perfect for a walk, and bordered by New England's perfect fall-colored trees. There weren't many people around—just enough for distant camaraderie—and a few swimmers bobbed in the water or dried off in the poolhouse on the shore. My vision was a crosscut of slate blue, fall confetti, and delightful-dreary grey. I was thrilled.

We walked the border of the pond for an hour or so, counterclockwise almost halfway around and back. It was beautiful, and I was so happy. There's something about being a pilgrim. I love going to a place because it's connected to something that earned a place in my soul or changed a thought in my mind. Experiencing in the physical world something that changed my rational world gives validity to my mind's love of whatever it is. It also connects me to other people who love the same thing, and to the place or author itself.

If you're in Boston, go to Walden. Please. It won't disappoint.
To finish, here's a few Thoreau quotes:
"Begin where you are, and such as you are, without aiming mainly to become of more worth, and with kindness aforethought, go about doing good."

"When we are unhurried and wise, we perceive that only great and worthy things have any permanent and absolute existence, that petty fears and petty pleasures are but the shadow of reality."

And, a good one to leave you with,
"The greatest art is to shape the quality of the day."

Bye!
Charlie

Hey friends!
Here's a few more quotes. I selected these because I find that they describe me. One of the joys of reading is seeing how other people think—learning empathy. Another joy of reading is finding out that others think like you—experiencing empathy. Here are some quotes that did the latter of those for me.

Here's another collection of quotes I love. Find the first post in this style here. Enjoy!

"[My muse] is driven, she's ambitious and empowered, and she really enjoys fashion and the transformative powers of it, but she's not defined by it. She's in control and she enjoys the glamour and drama and elegance of fashion . . . I believe that fashion and style and dressing are a really great way for women to express and interact with their creativity. I think that's an empowering thing."

Zac Posen, in some airline magazine

"The heart of hospitality is about creating space for someone to feel seen and heard and loved."

Bread and Wine, Shauna Niequist (pg. 114)

"When Jesus heard what had happened [the death of John the Baptist], he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place."

Matthew 14:13

"Clearly, these were the kinds of things that happened."

Atonement, Ian McEwan (pg. 37)

[Gawain to Arthur] "To be born of your blood is my body's only claim."

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (pg. 145)

And, finally, my two favorites. When I read these, I felt that they described me, and not the characters in the books:

"Her wish for a harmonious, organized world denied her the reckless possibility of wrongdoing."

Atonement, Ian McEwan (pg. 5)

"Her wild and enthusiastic imagination was chastened by the sensibility of her heart."

Frankenstein, Mary Shelley (pg. 107)