Struggles of Memorization

I've always had trouble memorizing words: names, spellings, phone numbers, locker combinations.  In kindergarden, frustrated with being the only kid in class who still couldn't remember my 7 digit phone number, I cheated.  I wrote it on my hand.  In high school plays, the lines came out close to the original, but seldom word for word.  Poems?  Bible verses?  Only in song.  I think I wrote deposite instead of deposit for 10 years. Thank God for spell check (really, I give thanks all the time!)   Now I am charged with learning French.  Vocabulary is tricky: some words are just easy, some are similar to the English, and some just don't seem to stick.  Time after time of asking or looking it up. And so it is not new, just frustrating.
My sweet French teacher will hand us a list and say, 'Just memorize it.'  And the thing that gets me now is the verb conjugations.  Seemingly easy, with consistent rules, and then the irregular verbs come into play.  Irregular verbs that are used more often than many of the ones that follow the rules.
Here is example one :
To be - irregular in English too, pas de problem.
Present
Je suis             Nous sommes
Tu es               vous êtes
il/elle est          ils/elles sont

passé compose (past- like I have been, you have been… but not really)
J'ai été             Nous avons été
Tu as été          vous avez été
il/elle a été        ils/elles ont été

imparfait  (another past, like I was, but not really)
j'étais               nous étions
tu étais             vous étiez
il/elle était        ils/elles étaient

future
je serai             nous serons
tu seras            vous serez
il sera               ils seront

subjunctive
je sois             nous soyons
tu sois             vous soyez
il soit               ils soient

imparfait
que je fusse     que nous fussions
que tu fusses    que vous fussiez
qu'il fût            qu'ils fussent

imperaitf
sois
soyons
soyez

Ok!  Now give me 30 more!  Bring it on!
Or not….

Please pray for my memory. Pray for stress levels.  Pray for my exams the end of February.
Pray for good health. A lot of sickness going around.  Pray for my poor fingers I cut today while trying to cut the rind off the cheese.  Pray for the kids as they continue to deal with teasing at school (yes, it happens in schools everywhere).  Pray that we are thankful in all situations.
Thank you! We couldn't make it with out you and your prayers!

Future with exceptions

Tuesday's lesson on indirect discourse

Still beautiful here- so thankful for that!