What happens in your mind when you hear these words: “I am stuck on bandaids cause a bandaid’s stuck on me”. How about this, “My bologna has a first name….” Or this, “Like a good neighbor, _________.” Did you finish that line? Did you sing them? OF COURSE YOU DID! And why? Because it is MUSIC – and music lives in our brain in an INDELIBLE way.
I, like most other children, learned this early. Many of my earliest memories are musical – my mother tells stories of me at age 3 singing “Jesus Loves Me” at the top of my lungs to anyone who would listen, at the grocery store, at the gas station, out the window to passersby. I would lie in bed at night and recount the events of the day in a “song”.
Later, as a mother of preschool children, I always looked for a way to make “the job a game.” AND MY METHOD IS ALWAYS MUSIC! (Mary Poppins helped)
Probably, you know all this – so why am I reminding you? Because we, as parents, have a job – a responsibility:
TELL YOUR CHILDREN ABOUT THE LORD. (Deut 6:7)
Using music is the fastest, and most permanent way to get information and God’s truth into the hearts and minds of little ones. Find a melody – any tune – make it up or use one you know – and SING what you want to say – and then, THEY WILL LISTEN! It does not have to rhyme – or be anything particularly lovely, just SING.
With my own children, I always sang a direction: “time to take a bath now, a bath now, a bath now, and you will have some splash now and have big FUN” (did you make up a melody to that?) I think this is what the Word of God means about a “new song”. Ps.33:3
“Sing to the Lord a new song….. “
Did you know: a 2year old can sing a melody! They may not be able to pronounce all the words of a song, but they can sing – they are BRILLIANT!
Start early! Find Bible verses that you think your little ones should know – and sing them. Do you think they can understand? Consider this:
“From infancy you have known the holy scriptures, which were able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” 2Tim. 3:15
What a priviledge we have to sing to our children about the Lord – to teach them songs to sing about the Lord – and to teach them songs to sing TO the Lord.
“It is good to give thanks to the Lord and to SING praises to His name.” Ps 92:1
“O come let us SING for joy to the Lord, let us SHOUT JOYFULLY to the rock of our salvation.” Ps 95:1
“Shout joyfully to the Lord all the earth... Come to Him with joyful SINGING” Ps.100:1-2
“Sing songs from your heart to Jesus. Sing praises over everything, any excuse for a song to God the Father in the name of our Master, Jesus Christ.” Eph 5:19 (THE MESSAGE)
Start today! SING YOUR WAY THROUGH YOUR DAY! I promise, you will see a difference in yourself, in your children, and in your home:)
