Songs and the memories they carry — like planting seedlings that will be a mighty forest harvested by the next generation. Please give this bedtime song a listen, and come right back — we’ll talk about making happy memories.

Memory aids

We humans have the annoying habit of forgetting things we should remember. (And remembering things we should forget — but that’s a topic for another day. 🙂 )

All kinds of methods — good and helpful — are used to help memory. I’ll mention a few, but let me encourage you to do a little digging for more information on your own. Memory CAN be improved with techniques and practice!

Associations

“Memory pegs” use this method. Begin by remembering:

“One – run. Two – zoo. Three – tree. Four – door”

Imagine you don’t have paper and pencil, and were just asked to run to the store to get milk, popcorn, apples, and eggs. Take a moment and build pictures in your mind, something like this:

• One-run: Picture a black and white dairy cow frantically running and dragging a giant bright red carton of milk that is spilling in every direction
• Two-zoo: Picture a mob of monkeys in a zoo cage throwing movie popcorn through the bars at you and zebras and elephants who are all laughing out of control
• Three-tree: Picture yourself climbing a brilliant green tree and reaching for giant red apples clanging against each other sounding like loud bells
• Four-door: Picture opening the front door of your home and seeing (and hearing) a sea of chickens with big, fluffy feathers, squawking loudly and tossing eggs at you, making a huge egg mess.

Can you remember all that? Sure you can!

Traditions

Similar to associations, traditions help us remember. A tradition is something we repeat – maybe every year, maybe every week, to remember, celebrate, and enjoy something that deserves that treatment. They can be as personal as going out for pizza most Friday evenings to something more “universal” like Thanksgiving or Christmas. God set up special days, sometimes called “feasts”, and they were all loaded with meaning to be remembered. He set up other things to be remembered, too. The rainbow was God’s reminder of the covenant regarding the flood. Bread and wine were set in communion as reminders of Christ’s body broken for our healing and his blood shed for our forgiveness.

Songs

We might learn a brand new song to help us remember the names of the twelve apostles, or the books of the Bible, or the 50 states.

Old songs — ones we learned and loved long ago — have the remarkable ability to help us remember times and places. Because that is true, we should be smart about songs we teach and sing. We don’t want hurtful words playing over and over in our minds. Learn good songs, and grow up with them.

The Buck knife

Years ago one of the coolest things to own was a Buck knife. These were (and still are) beautiful — and expensive — folding camp knives. I wanted one, but couldn’t spare so much cash. One day a friend offered me his Buck knife as a gift. He explained the knife reminded him of a relationship that went bad, and, though the knife was wonderful, the MEMORIES it carried were a burden to him. So he could no longer enjoy a perfectly good knife, but he knew I could. I still have it (and these memories) almost 40 years later!

My friend blessed me with a generous gift and great lesson. There will be things in our lives that carry bad memories — for US. They are not necessarily evil, just not happy for US. We do well to pay attention to those things and get them out of our lives. Give them away or discard them. Photos, books, clothes, letters, furniture, etc. If something of yours doesn’t bring you joy and peace, and draw you closer to God, get rid of it.

Things can be easier to get rid of than the memories they carry, but as we clean house, we can begin to replace that house space AND mind space with new, good things and thoughts and build memories that bless us and build us up.

Sing Your Way Home ♫♪

For me, this song combines a joyful heart now with happy memories of bedtime when our kids were growing up. It reminds me of the love and joy we shared then … and still share today both “real time” and through memories that songs like this one — planted way back then — still hold for us.

Sing YOUR way home!

God bless you lots,
-Dale R.

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LYRICS: Sing Your Way Home

Sing your way home
At the close of the day
Sing your way home,
Drive your troubles away.
Smile ev’ry mile
And wherever you roam,
It will brighten your road,
It will lighten your load,
If you sing your way home.

Your thoughts?

Do memories serve you the way you’d like them to? Please jot a note in the “Leave a reply” spot below.

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