4:13 Podcast: Can I Overcome Negative Thinking Through Memorizing Scripture? With Vera Schmitz [Episode 334]

Vera Schmitz: I went through a really hard season of anxiety after I didn't make the Olympic team in 2016, where I was waking up in the middle of the night and I was afraid of my own thoughts. And let me tell you, some Instagram reel that I saved did not come to the forefront of my mind. Fantastic authors that I have read, C.S. Lewis quotes, Tim Keller quotes, they did not come to the forefront of my mind. It was God's truth that came to the forefront of my mind, met me in my greatest need and fear, and pulled me out of a season of deep despair and anxiety.

Jennifer Rothschild: Did you know that you can change the way you think one verse at a time? Knowing how hard it can be to memorize Scripture, today's guest, Vera Schmitz, is going to share a simple, creative, and smart way to memorize Scripture. That way, you can keep all of God's promises in your heart. You're going to learn the importance of having a mind that is built on God's Word, and you will get the tools you need to defeat negative thoughts. Ready, set, go.

KC Wright: Welcome to the 4:13 Podcast, where practical encouragement and biblical wisdom set you up to live the "I Can" life, because you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.

Now, welcome your host and my soul sister, Jennifer Rothschild.

Jennifer Rothschild: Hey, our friends. This is Jennifer, just here to help you be and do more than you feel capable of as you're living that "I Can" life along with me and KC. You know it's just two friends and one topic and zero stress.

KC Wright: Zero.

Jennifer Rothschild: Zero. So today we're going to hear from Vera Schmitz. And by the way, I got to meet her last September in Louisville, Kentucky, at a Lifeway Women Live. I love this woman.

And this conversation you're going to hear is really good. But what's funny is -- you know, there were a lot of people there in the back in the green room at the Lifeway Women Live. And literally, I would ask Vera this deep, interesting question and I'd get interrupted. It happened three times. I felt so bad. I never had a meaningful conversation with the girl, and I love her. So I'm glad I got to on this conversation. She's a younger woman. Lovely, smart. Oh, my goodness.

KC Wright: Well, hey, I want to interrupt you, if you don't mind.

Jennifer Rothschild: No. Go ahead.

KC Wright: Okay. If I sing, "Hello" --

Jennifer Rothschild: (Singing) "Hello."

KC Wright: -- and you think of Lionel Richie and not Adele, then you can probably predict the weather with one of your knees.

Jennifer Rothschild: Oh, my gosh. Okay, that's funny. Because when you say (singing) "Hello," I do, I think of Lionel.

KC Wright: Or, (singing) "Hello."

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah. But you're right, the youngers would probably think of Adele. Okay, so -- but my knees are not predicting weather yet, they're not that bad.

KC Wright: Oh, praise the Lord.

Jennifer Rothschild: And I'll tell you why, KC. I'm holding it in my hand. Here's why.

KC Wright: Okay.

Jennifer Rothschild: I have a new snack that I am totally obsessed with.

KC Wright: Yeah, I saw that this morning.

Jennifer Rothschild: Did you see it?

KC Wright: Yeah. Tell me about it.

Jennifer Rothschild: It's an IQBAR.

KC Wright: Okay.

Jennifer Rothschild: Because JJ RoRo needs all the help she can get.

KC Wright: Yeah.

Jennifer Rothschild: Because, y'all, the brain -- yeah, the knees aren't predicting weather, but the brain kind of forgets where she is from time to time.

All right. So this is very low carb, very high protein. Look at it, you can see.

KC Wright: Okay.

Jennifer Rothschild: Because I can't remember how many grams of protein.

KC Wright: It's an IQBAR, chocolate sea salt.

Jennifer Rothschild: Which is the best.

KC Wright: You had me right there.

Jennifer Rothschild: It tastes like a brownie.

KC Wright: Whoa. Twelve grams of plant protein, one gram of sugar. And they have something in here called brain nutrients --

Jennifer Rothschild: Yes.

KC Wright: -- which include magnesium, Vitamin E, MCTs, flavonoids, and Lion's Mane. I don't know.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah.

KC Wright: I don't know.

Jennifer Rothschild: Well, I don't know, but they all help.

KC Wright: Yeah, yeah.

Jennifer Rothschild: And they taste delicious. I feel like I'm eating dessert.

KC Wright: Fiber and complete protein included.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah.

KC Wright: Wow.

Jennifer Rothschild: I'm telling you.

KC Wright: Hey, isn't it fun when you find a dessert or a sweet treat -- because we all crave something sweet after a meal -- that isn't going to just knock you down and it's going to --

Jennifer Rothschild: No.

KC Wright: Yeah.

Jennifer Rothschild: Well, I --

KC Wright: It's going to satisfy the sweetness and --

Jennifer Rothschild: I brought that one for you --

KC Wright: Oh, thank you.

Jennifer Rothschild: -- because I want to help you with your IQ.

KC Wright: I need it.

Jennifer Rothschild: Don't we all.

Okay, I'll have a link to that on the Show Notes, my people, because I am telling you -- I don't love fake sugars and artificial sweeteners because they taste so gross. This actually tastes really good, and I think there's only two grams of sugar in it. It's fantastic. Anyway, all that is just to help a brother out. And now I'm helping y'all out because, 4:13 family, we need our IQs improved. Yes, we do.

KC Wright: We got to stick together.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah, because we --

KC Wright: Can.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yes, we can. And we want to be able to memorize Scripture, and Vera is going to tell us how. So let's introduce our friend.

KC Wright: Vera Schmitz co-founded Dwell Differently, along with her sister Natalie Abbott. It's a vibrant online community committed to memorizing one million Bible verses together. Vera is the co-host of the popular Dwell Differently Podcast, and also the author, along with Natalie, of the book "Dwell Differently: Overcome Negative Thinking With the Simple Practice of Memorizing God's Truth." I love this. I love all of this.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yep. You're going to love her.

KC Wright: And let me tell you, that's why -- and that's what we're talking about today. Okay? So let's settle in with Vera and Jennifer. This is going to be so good. Pull up a chair. There's room at the table for you.

Jennifer Rothschild: All right, Vera. Before we really get into the Scripture memory part of what we're talking about, I want to start with this. Because I read that as a girl, you dreamed of becoming an Olympic pole vaulter.

Vera Schmitz: Yes.

Jennifer Rothschild: And, like, for 20 years you were training for all this.

Vera Schmitz: Yes.

Jennifer Rothschild: So I think that's so fascinating, because it takes a lot of grit, takes a lot of discipline. But this is what struck me. You said that the hardest part of your training was not necessarily physical; it was mental. So I want you to start there. Tell us why that's true and how you dealt with it, you know, and how you overcame it.

Vera Schmitz: Yeah. You know, my husband always jokes that I'm like a little ant, where I'll just put, you know, six times my body weight on my back and I'll just keep moving the thing. And that's really true for me for the physical part of the training. It was like you just do what you have to do. You do the reps, you go to the long hours, you do the recovery, you take care of your body. Like, all of the things you can control, you try to control when you're training for a goal as large as making an Olympic team. Like, you have to do all that stuff.

The interesting thing is that -- having met Olympic gold medalists, the thing that separates the really good from the very best truly is the mental aspect of the training. Because you can have all of the physical attributes, you can be the strongest, you can be the fastest, you can have the best reaction times, but if you mentally can't get there, it's never going to happen. And so especially in a sport like pole vaulting, it's extremely mental because there's so much risk in the event just in the safety of it.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah.

Vera Schmitz: It's crazy. But then there's so many factors that are affecting every single jump. The wind affects your jump, the type of track you're running can affect your jump, just how you feel that day. And so you're basically betting on yourself every single jump. Because you've got this pole bag filled with -- I would take probably 10 to 15 poles with me to any meet at any given time. And based on the weather, if it's cold or if it's hot, if you've got a wind blowing in your face or wind behind you, if you're feeling fast or you didn't sleep the night before, you're pulling out a pole because you're like, I feel really good and so I think I can get on this longer, stiffer pole which will send me higher into the air. Or you're getting a shorter one and -- you're knowing your body and saying, I don't think I can get on my biggest poles today.

Jennifer Rothschild: Wow.

Vera Schmitz: And you're taking this jump into the air. And you could have the perfect jump, and yet maybe you set the bar in the wrong place in space. So as a vaulter, you get to choose how close or how far away that bar is in space to where you're planting the pole. So you have all these decisions to make.

Jennifer Rothschild: Gosh, yeah.

Vera Schmitz: It's super mental. So you make all these choices and then you stand on the runway and you have two minutes to take your jump. And what if that wind flips around? And so you're always kind of gauging this. So the mental part of the training was everything. And if you had a few bad meets -- it's like, you know, when they say a baseball player gets the yips or something, where they feel like they can't hit the ball anymore, or the pitcher gets the yips and they can't even get the ball to home plate. It's like that where you have a couple of bad meets and you're like, what am I even doing with my life?

And so for me personally, there was a large part of sports psychology that went into my training. And I didn't just tell myself, "Vera, you can do this." It was very much rooted in truths that I had been memorizing in God's Word about who I was, why God had called me to do this random thing of pole vaulting, and trusting that he had a plan for my life in that season.

Jennifer Rothschild: Okay, this is so interesting to me. I mean -- well, one, you just don't meet many pole vaulters and get --

Vera Schmitz: No.

Jennifer Rothschild: -- the inside scoop. So I think that's all fascinating.

But I think most of us looking from the outside in would think, oh, well, you just have to have a certain physicality and skillset to do it. But hearing the mental aspect is so fascinating, and that what transitioned you was not just, Oh, you can do it, Vera, you're such a good athlete, but here's the truth of God's Word. And you use the word "memorized." It was words that you had memorized that God had hidden in your heart. So that's where I want us to go, because that's what we all need. We may not do something as elaborate or amazing as pole vaulting, but just doing the thing called life, we need to draw from something stronger than ourselves, something more permanent, and Scripture is it.

So I love Scripture memory. It's a thing for me. Now, I'll be very honest. Early on, Scripture memory for me became a necessity because I'm blind. So I could not see it, so I memorized it. And so I don't think you have to be blind to memorize Scripture. I think we can all do it. But we know it's a thing. We love it as believers, but we don't always do it. So I am curious, in your opinion, based on the fact that this is something that's passionate for you, what do you observe that are some of the most common excuses that people use for not actually memorizing Scripture?

Vera Schmitz: I think the first that I typically hear is, oh, I can't do that or I've never been able to do that before. And there's this barrier of feeling like I can't.

Another one is, I did that as a kid, I don't do that -- that's for kids' ministry, or that's for the old church ladies who have the time.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yes. Yeah.

Vera Schmitz: So I think that those are probably the three biggest --

Jennifer Rothschild: Interesting.

Vera Schmitz: -- is like, I can't, it's for kids, or it's for somebody with more time. And I want to just speak to that person right now and tell them that God's Word is what it is: it's God's words. And if God's Word is what created everything out of nothing, it is the very thing that will speak into your life and change it for your good and God's glory, whatever it is that you're facing. It is the most powerful thing.

I oftentimes say when I'm waking up at 2:00 AM in the morning -- I went through a really hard season of anxiety, after I didn't make the Olympic team in 2016, where I was waking up in the middle of the night and I was afraid of my own thoughts. And let me tell you, some Instagram reel that I saved did not come to the forefront of my mind. Fantastic authors that I have read, C.S. Lewis quotes, Tim Keller quotes, they did not come to the forefront of my mind. It was God's truth that came to the forefront of my mind, met me in my greatest need and fear, and pulled me out of a season of deep despair and anxiety. It is powerful to transform our lives. I have seen it in my life again and again and again.

What's crazy is that sometimes I forget the power and I go to other sources, and I have to remind myself, no, I need to go to the well. I need to go to the everlasting. I need to go to the most powerful thing that I could ever put into my mind, which is his truth.

Jennifer Rothschild: When you describe that -- and I appreciate it so much -- it reminds me I went through a season a couple of years ago where I had to change some of my eating habits because I was such a sugar addict. And, you know, because the Word is living and active, this is why I'm going to make this correlation. I would get such a -- feel so good from eating high protein and no sugar, and then all of a sudden, I'd have a moment of stress and I'd be like, "Where is the chocolate?" It's like I forget, I just totally forget. And what you're describing was so powerful with the Instagram reel. That's not what comes to your mind. It's the Word, because it's the Word that sustains. But our flesh can jump to the quick sugar rush of let me alleviate this.

So let's go a little deeper here. Because I appreciate you saying that about anxiety, because it is skyrocketing, you know. So you talked about how Scripture was what you went to or what came to you. So talk to us about how Scripture memory can help us deal with anxiety or those negative thoughts. How does that work? Why is that a thing? And how do we in a practical way implement that?

Vera Schmitz: It's really what I feel like the Lord has put on me to do in my life. When I was training, as I was talking with you about, you know, memorizing God's truth, I used to write Scripture on my wrist in a Sharpie marker. And I would try to look down while I was training and remind myself. Something I really struggled with when I was training was worrying about the approval of man. And so I used to remind myself that whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as if working for the Lord, not for man. Since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward, it is the Lord Christ you are serving. And I would just remind myself of that, because I wanted so badly to live up to expectations for my team, for my coaches, and win, and all of these things. And so that was kind of my habit, was I would write Scripture on my wrist in Sharpie.

And my now sister-in-law, she was one of my teammates on the track team, and she was like, "Hey, you should write the first letter of every word on your wrist instead of the whole word, because when you see those letters, you'll recall what each letter represents and it'll be an easier way to memorize it than just reading the verse on your wrist." And so I started to do this. And let me just say this. The simple practice of knowing even just a few verses -- I only knew a few in the beginning. It is amazing the way that the Word will just come to you. And it will meet you in your need and you'll be like, oh, my gosh, I forgot I even memorized that.

For me now, I've got probably, I don't know, over 100 -- probably hundreds of verses memorized. And I don't say that as, like, a pat myself on the back, I just say that as this has become a lifeline for me. When I learned the value of Scripture and that it -- like you said, it sustains you. It is your Daily Bread. It will feed you. You keep going back to it and you keep wanting more. Because when it comes to you and it meets you in your need, it is the most amazing -- you're like, how is that even possible? It's supernatural, that's how it's possible.

Jennifer Rothschild: It is. Right, right. Well --

Vera Schmitz: So -- yeah. Go ahead.

Jennifer Rothschild: What's interesting to me is -- and I want listeners to hear this -- you didn't memorize 100 within a week.

Vera Schmitz: No.

Jennifer Rothschild: You just had two or three that you memorized. And that's okay, you know, to start small like that. Because God's Word, it can meet every need. So I don't think we need to have too -- for those who struggle with this, too lofty of a goal right away --

Vera Schmitz: No.

Jennifer Rothschild: -- because then you just set yourself up for feeling like a failure.

And I love too, Vera, that you said you put the first initial. Because that did two things. It reminded you of the truth, but it helped reinforce what you were memorizing. Because your brain had to work a little hard. Okay, what was that word that started with R, you know? That's so healthy.

Vera Schmitz: It is. And it really -- it's super effective. And if you just start with one. Like, if I could give anybody my favorite -- if you're dealing with anxiety and you're like, oh, where do I even start --

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah.

Vera Schmitz: -- there is a verse in Exodus 14:14, it says, "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." And the truth of that, the simplicity of it, the shortness of it, you can memorize that verse. And to lay in bed in the middle of the night when your heart is racing and you're worried about a situation or you're worried about a doctor's appointment or you're worried about your child or your parent or your best friend, to hear the Word of the Lord come to you and say, "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still," what peace that brings.

Jennifer Rothschild: Well, even when you spoke those words -- and I know our listeners felt that. Just hearing those words, it does, it brings peace even to hear them spoken. His Word really is so beautiful. What would we do without it? What would we do without it?

Okay. So, Vera, let's move to your book. Okay? Because you just mentioned, you know, if you're dealing with anxiety, here's one verse, just memorize one verse. And by the way -- this will be on the Show Notes, our friends. But it was Exodus 14:14.

Okay. So your book -- like, you've written a whole book here just focused on 11 Bible verses. Okay? So this is an interesting approach. So talk to us about why we can't just look up those 11 verses and memorize those on our own. Like, why do we need to read a book about memorizing these 11 verses?

Vera Schmitz: Oh, that's a great question. I wrote this book with my sister, Natalie, and the whole point of the book is to equip you in those negative thought spirals. So each chapter is kind of a new opportunity to fight back. So truth when you're anxious, truth for when you're depressed, truth when you're afraid, truth when you need direction, all these different things. And my encouragement to you -- I've never answered this question. This is such a good question. When you are wanting to do something hard or new, it's really helpful to have a coach. You can totally download a workout schedule on your phone and try to get up every morning, set your alarm, and do it on your own, but it is easier, in my opinion, to do it with somebody or hire a coach or go to a gym or sign up for a thing, to have some bit of investment in this goal that you want.

And so part of the reason why I would encourage you to check out the book, or even just to check out our Instagram, is those initialisms, as we were talking about, where you take the first letter of every word. The book, those 11 verses, we don't just take the verse and put it in the chapter and talk about the verse and how powerful it is. We could do that, and that would be beautiful and great. But we actually take the first letter of every word in the verse and we make a design out of it. So one of the verses for truth when you're anxious is, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you," and it comes from 1 Peter 5:7. And we take those letters and we actually make a design out of it that looks like a bird. And our publisher made a beautiful book for us. They allowed us to add beautiful designs and beautiful colors so that when you are -- again, when you're laying in bed at night at 2:00 in the morning and you are feeling the weight of anxiety, your mind -- 65% of us are visual learners. So instead of being like, "What was that verse? What was that verse?" and trying to recall it, instead you see that image of the bird that we have designed for you, and you see that letter C in your mind, and you see that letter A. "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."

So we've created this -- kind of a supplement to the verse is this is a design to actually imprint into your brain to create a new pathway, to create new learning, to create new connection so that verse comes alive in your mind visually to help you to memorize it better.

Jennifer Rothschild: Brilliant. I love that.

Vera Schmitz: Yeah. Each verse is a brand-new design, and they fit with the feeling of the verse or the message of the verse. So we have one truth when you need direction, it says, "Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your path." It's Psalm 25:4. And the design looks like a pathway. And so you're seeing that and you're recalling what each letter represents.

And like I said, you can get the book, but you can also just go for free to our Instagram and you can -- we memorize a brand-new verse every single month. So you can see the design, you can learn the verse. And then we really believe in not just cherry-picking Scripture and applying it to our life out of context, so we really dive in deep. We have podcast episodes where we teach the context and we teach the application, and weekly devotionals, and all the things so that you really are learning deeply what does this truth mean. When I say to myself in the middle of the night, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you," what does that actually mean?

Jennifer Rothschild: Brilliant. Okay, I love this so much. And I love how you are reaching women, people, just with this different creative way -- Dwelling Differently, a creative way to access and remember Scripture. And I appreciate that you're keeping it in the context, because we do need that. It just strengthens God's Word. This is such a beautiful thing, Vera.

So before I lost my sight, I was an artist. And so I can even see -- when you were describing those, I could see where the sea would be with the bird. So I just think that's such a beautiful thing. And it is true, we are -- so many of us are visual learners. And especially in this digital age where we're teaching ourselves to become more visual learners because we're always looking at a screen, I just love that you have inserted this messaging into that. It's just beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

Okay, so you talked about direction, you talked about anxiety. And so maybe you have answered this question, but I'll ask it anyway. If you could pick just one chapter of your book, which means one of those verses that is your very favorite or that you're most excited for people to read and to memorize, what is it and why?

Vera Schmitz: Oh, my goodness. That's so impossible. But I'll try. Probably two. So the first couple of chapters, we have, like, truth about really your identity, and then we start to tackle those troubles that you have in your life. So if I had to pick one from the first section, it would be truth when you feel unaccepted. The verse is, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God," Ephesians 2:8. And I think that this is just so good. Even if you've been following Jesus your whole life, since you were eight, like me, this reminder of the Gospel, I think, is central to how we live our every day. Like, if we're not getting this dose of reminder of, like, okay, that's right, Jesus actually died for me, he saved me, and I am a new creation in him. If I'm not reminding myself of that, then I'm kind of chasing my tail a little bit. So I love that chapter.

When I wrote -- I wrote that one. And when I wrote it, I remember being like, oh, boy, how am I going to make this new? You know what I mean?

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah, right, right.

Vera Schmitz: But you don't have to make it new. It is always so good. It is always so good to remember who Jesus is. So that chapter.

And then I think my --

Jennifer Rothschild: Oh, hold on. Hold on, though, Vera.

Vera Schmitz: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jennifer Rothschild: What is the image for that verse?

Vera Schmitz: Truth when you feel unaccepted is a banner.

Jennifer Rothschild: Oh, nice. Because that's the banner over you.

Vera Schmitz: Yes. Yes, like a -- almost like a long banner, two lines worth, of over -- like, over your life.

Jennifer Rothschild: Beautiful.

Vera Schmitz: Like, this is what is over my life.

Jennifer Rothschild: Okay.

Vera Schmitz: And then my other favorite is the last chapter that's a designed chapter, and it's truth when you have troubles. And it's the verse from John 16:33, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." And those are the words of Jesus just before he's betrayed. And I just love -- the design is like a rainbow over a circle. So, like, over the world, this idea of, like, I have overcome these things.

And I love this verse because of when Jesus is saying it. It's before he has gone to the Cross and died and rose again and is in glory with the Father, and yet he says, "I have overcome the world." So in the midst of his suffering -- his impending suffering, his impending betrayal, he is declaring victory that he has overcome. And because of that, he's saying take heart and you may have peace in your troubles.

And I remember this verse -- getting to study this a little bit deeper for this chapter and just being like, man, we all need to remember this. We all need to remember that we can take heart in Christ's victory and that we have peace no matter what is coming at us. It's just a different -- it's not peace because our circumstance has changed, it's peace because of what Christ has done.

Jennifer Rothschild: Powerful. And that's why, too, even what you just explained in the context of when, that's why context matters. It's not that the verse needed that for more power, but it sure does seem to fortify it with a little more, like, wow. I mean, that's just that Jesus could say that then.

Okay. So I think -- people are tracking with you, and they're like, I need this. I need to memorize Scripture. So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to channel what listeners may be thinking. Like, if they were sitting with you at coffee, this is what they might ask. Okay?

Vera Schmitz: Okay.

Jennifer Rothschild: So, Vera, I am just too busy to memorize Scripture. And you would say?

Vera Schmitz: Listen, you are not too busy. I'm going to tell you to open up your Instagram, I'm going to tell you to go to our monthly verse. You'll see it on our Instagram feed multiple times throughout. You'll be able to pick out, oh, that's the design for this month. Screenshot that bad boy. Make it your lock screen. And then go -- probably swipe one or two posts later and you'll see the actual verse. Screenshot that bad boy. Make it the background of the home screen whenever you open your phone. And I guarantee you will memorize that verse. I will guarantee it.

Jennifer Rothschild: That's good.

Vera Schmitz: It's just -- it really is that simple. And I promise you, it -- actually, the Word promises that it won't return void. And it won't. And I think that the system is -- it's challenging enough for your brain that you'll find it works. It will get in there.

I've got little kids. I've got a seven-year-old, a four-year-old, and one-year-old, and -- which is so fun.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah, you're busy.

Vera Schmitz: But my seven-year-old, he's like -- you know, he learned how to read in kindergarten, and so he's -- he just now is starting to figure out, oh, those letters -- because he's been wearing the tattoos for six years.

Oh, so part of what we do at Dwell is -- we have a monthly membership, like I was talking about. So you can follow along on Instagram, whatever, but you can also sign up for the membership where you get a kit in the mail. And part of that kit is temporary tattoos. So you can wear a tattoo around of the design and look at it to memorize the verse.

Jennifer Rothschild: That's brilliant.

Vera Schmitz: Which is super fun. But, of course, my kiddos think it's the best thing ever to wear tattoos. So my seven-year-old is actually starting to use the system and figure out, oh, that letter represents that word. My four-year-old, he wears the tattoos too. But even him just looking at the pictures, he has started to memorize things.

So we have one piece of curriculum that is Psalm 23. It's all of Psalm 23 designed in color. And it's so fun. But he memorized, as a three-year-old, all of Psalm 23 just by the little picture icons. Because he can't -- he doesn't know what the letters represent. But he knows that the sheep is, "The Lord is my shepherd; I lack nothing." And so you can do this. Do some screenshot and -- give it a try and just see how God meets you in His Word.

Jennifer Rothschild: Okay, that's good. Because we are not too busy to pick up our phone and look at it 700 times a day.

Vera Schmitz: Yes.

Jennifer Rothschild: So if we're not too busy for that, we can do this. Okay, that's good.

All right, so we're still at coffee. Here's another question from our listener. Vera, I have a terrible memory. Like, I am 65 years old and I've not trained my whole life for this. I have a terrible memory. And so you say?

Vera Schmitz: The images will help, I promise you. I promise you. Even if you memorize something and you don't come back to it for six months -- let's say you spent -- you know, let's say you put that lock screen on your phone for three weeks and you're like, oh, yeah, I got this. I bet if you go back to it in six months, you'll look at that and you'll be like, okay, that bird one, that's about anxiety. And you look at that C, like we were talking about, and you're like, that word is "cast." And your eyes will follow those letters. "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." I promise. It's amazing. My husband jokes sometimes, he's like, "I, like, forget how easy this is."

Jennifer Rothschild: Oh, that's good. Good word.

Vera Schmitz: I forget how easy this is sometimes.

Jennifer Rothschild: Okay. This is just tracking with everything within me, I've just got to say, Vera. I'm so thankful. And I know you are a younger woman than I am, but -- I mean, you have combined two of my passions, art and Scripture memory. And I just know how effective this is, so I'm encouraging all of our listeners -- you know, we'll have all the links to all the things -- okay? -- to be able to get to the Instagram, to find out more about the Dwell Differently group, and also the book. And even if it's not for you, what a great gift for someone you love.

Okay. But we got to get to our last question. Okay? Our coffee's getting cold here. All right. What is one practical thing -- and you've given so many practical things, so I almost don't want to ask you this question because you've given so much. But let's boil it down to one. What is one practical thing, Vera, that someone listening, who is inspired, can do? You know, they can't get your book immediately. So what can they do to memorize a verse today? How can they start that process?

Vera Schmitz: Okay, this is what we're going to do, if you're okay with this. This is not pre-approved --

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah. No, it's fine.

Vera Schmitz: -- so I hope you say yes. I'm going to send you a link, and you're going to put it up in the Show Notes.

Jennifer Rothschild: Okay.

Vera Schmitz: And when your listeners click on that link, they're going to have resources to the free downloads for one verse. So they can put the lock screen on their phone, they can print off a coloring sheet. They can read some content around the verse that we've already created or listen to the podcast that we've already recorded that goes with that verse and just give it a try. We would absolutely love to do that for your listeners.

KC Wright: Go to the Show Notes at 413podcast.com/334 to get this book and get started today. And breaking news, we're giving one away. So you know the drill. You can connect there at the Show Notes or you can go straight to Jennifer's Instagram -- okay? -- @jennrothschild.

But you want to go to the link on the Show Notes to learn just one verse, because getting started by making it your lock screen --

Jennifer Rothschild: Oh, that's a good idea.

KC Wright: -- will pivot you into memorizing even more. So you can download the coloring page. You can do this, of course you can. I know you can. You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength.

Jennifer Rothschild: Good word. Okay, the Show Notes are at 413podcast.com/334, our people. And while you're there, also -- of course we'll link you to a podcast that I was on called "Memorize What Matters." And on it, I share some of the ways that I memorize. And -- by the way, you're going to love it. And the really fun part, KC -- you don't even know this yet -- next week we're going to be talking to the host of the Memorize What Matters Podcast, which I was on. His name is Josh Summers. And he's going to be with us and it's going to be so good. And can I just tell you this? You're going to be blown away by his memory techniques. He has already memorized ten books of the New Testament.

KC Wright: Whoa.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yes, I said ten. All right.

KC Wright: Unbelievable.

Jennifer Rothschild: So Vera showed us how. Next week we're going to learn how again. Y'all, this is what we need to be about. I've told you, you can get your IQBAR, it'll help your brain. So I can do it, you can do it, we can all do this. Why? Because we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength. I can.

KC Wright: I can.

Jennifer and KC: And you can.

KC Wright: You know, it's amazing -- you know, the Bible says that, you know, I've hidden the word in my heart so that I wouldn't sin against God.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah.

KC Wright: It's amazing what things we have memorized and those things don't matter. I was actually having coffee the other day with my buddy, and I could not believe the amount of dad jokes this man has locked up in his head. He can go for hours one gold dad joke after another.

Jennifer Rothschild: Wow.

KC Wright: I have movie lines and redneck jokes.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah, I know you do.

KC Wright: I got redneck jokes --

Jennifer Rothschild: I know.

KC Wright: -- to last forever.

Jennifer Rothschild: Wow, so much meaninglessness.

KC Wright: Yeah, so much meaning -- I'm just saying, how much more should we be memorizing the living, loving Word of God. And he watches over His Word to perform it and it's everything. The heavens and the earth will pass away, but the Word will stand forever and you can hide it in your heart. Ooh, I love this podcast.

Jennifer Rothschild: Preach.