This week's work on sleeping routines has necessitated the choosing of the song ... you know, the song that you sing a bedtime to signal sweet baby that it's time to go to sleep. I have put off this decisions for almost five months, because the miracle blanket and the pacifier worked just fine.
But without those cues, it's now time to pick the song. Golly, that's a lot of pressure... one song to sing at every naptime and bedtime, one song to associate with rest and peace for the foreseeable future ... how am I supposed to pick? oh, the responsibility ... sheesh!
Since Benjamin was born, I have primarily sung two songs to him... "I Am," by Jill Phillips (you can listen here) and "How He Loves Us," David Crowder Band (you can listen here). Then of course, there's our Celine repertoire and the Christmas songs during December ... and January. And the always popular "Wheels on the Bus" to which we now sing 14 verses ... I'm not exaggerating, I counted them - doors, wipers, horn, blinkers, engine, we even have Tennesseans and Jack Bauer on our bus. This is primarily for momma's entertainment; I'm fully aware that Benjamin has no idea what I'm talking about.
Anyway, all that to say, we had to pick a song. And after much internal deliberation (I know, I know, I am way over-thinking this), we've gone with the classic "Jesus Loves Me." The thing is, as I've sung it to Benjamin this week over his screaming, I have been struck all over again by the profound truths ...
Jesus loves me ... just sit and think about that for a minute. The God of the universe came to earth in human form to redeem me from my sin because He loves me ... me, this little speck of nothing yet so consumed with my own importance so much of the time. Jesus loves me, even in my unloveliness, He loves me! And this overwhelming love I feel for my son is just a taste of what love is like!
For the Bible tells me so - I'm not assured of His love by my fickle emotions or by life's changing circumstances. I can cling to His eternal Word.
Little ones to Him belong, We are weak but He is strong - Yes, I sing "we are weak." A good reminder to me that in this whole journey of life, and especially right now, of parenting, I must walk in His strength.
Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so!
Okay Val - I have to know, what exactly does the Jack Bauer on your bus do??? LOL I can't wait to tell hannah and tip! Mindy Jill
ReplyDeletehahaha ... "Jack Bauer on the bus says, 'catch the bad dude, catch the bad dude, catch the bad dude" [while making punching motions with our arms] :)
ReplyDeleteValerie... when both my babies were newborns, I came up with "original" songs named after them. Not being very musically inclined, I borrowed familiar tunes that had special meaning to me. The Merry Ashlyn song is to the tune of Precious Memories - a song that I hold dear b/c it was one of the songs sung at Crystal's funeral. After her death, I learned to play it on the piano and would often play it over and over for comfort when the grief was still so fresh. And Grayson's song is to the tune of "Amazing Grace" b/c his name comes from II Timothy 2:1 "You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Jesus Christ" Son of Grace = "Grace"+ "son" = Grayson. And while the song lyrics are quite simplistic - the kids adore them and still regularly request that I sing them the "Merry Ashlyn song" or the "Grayson song". That warms my heart b/c MA is now 9 and at bedtime she still wants her mommy to rub her back and sing her special song over her. And I love it when sweet little Grayson joins in while we sing "his song" together. So I would strongly encourage you to think about coming up with "The Benjamin song" - I suspect it would make him feel very special to have his very own song! Perhaps our little lullabies would sound cheesy to the casual listener but to our family they remind us of so many cherished memories.
ReplyDeleteThe Grayson Song: (to the tune of Amazing Grace)
My precious Grayson, my sweet boy
You are a gift from God!
Grow strong, my son, in God's great Grace
And always live for Him!
The Merry Ashlyn song (to the tune of Precious Memories)
Merry Ashlyn, my sweet angel,
sent from Heaven up above.
Precious darling, my sweet baby,
how I love you, oh, so much!
Also... I saw where you have recently added "Calm My Anxious Heart" to your reading table. I just finished reading this book a few days ago & really felt like it's message hit home in so many areas. Especially the chapters on Worrying and the dreaded "What Ifs". What do you think about it thus far?
We look forward to meeting little Benjamin when you guys are home for your next visit. Isn't that coming up soon?
I enjoy keeping up with your family via your blog!
Shannon
What an awesome idea, Shannon! We'll start brainstorming :)
ReplyDeleteSo far, i've only read the first chapter of "Calm my Anxious Heart" but i'm already really enjoying it! Solid biblical truth with an encouraging writing style. Evidently, anxiety runs in our family? :)