I was in a rush to get out the door this morning, so when John brought his book, "The Napping House", over to me I simply began reciting the story without thinking. "There is a house, a napping house, where everyone is sleeping..." I kept going as I hurridly made the bed and tied my shoes. A minute later, I was at the end and hadn't missed a word. (I thought I had mixed up the description of the cat and the mouse - one is slumbering, the other snoozing - but I hadn't.)

I can do the same with Dr. Seuss's ABCs, which Dan finds funny, so he "tests" me. "What begins with J?" he asks. "Jerry Jordan's jelly jar and jam begin that way," I say, without missing a beat.

I wonder what other books I've memorized without realizing it...

For the women's study at church, we're reading John Piper's "When I don't desire God" which I think is poorly named but I highly recommend. (I think anyone can benefit from reading it, but I think the title makes it sound like it is only appropriate for one going through spiritual depression.) This week's chapter is on the importance of Bible memorization. This morning's easy recitation of "The napping house", a book I never intended to memorize, showed me that if I'm not memorizing scripture (which I'm not), I really don't have an excuse. If I can remember that Y is for a yawning yellow yak and that young Yolanda Yorgenson is yelling on his back without effort, I need to work on filling my mind with things that really matter, too.