FAITH AGAIN!!!

I need any mnemonic, acronym or acrostic that helps my memory, especially in the spiritual realm!

My recall and retrieval are flagging.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

But.....when I'm lagging a bit in my zeal, one quick glance at this faith reminder, which has been hanging askew for years, I'm back on the faith trail!

SATURDAY SUMMARY......

My doctors keep reminding  me that "at my age" one needs to keep physically active and intellectually stimulated----i.e. more than the mental floss that tends to fill my head. Last week it was demonyms. This week I added Monegasque. You know.....the residents of Monaco. 

In the scheme of important things, that info is nothing but useless trivia.

Instead, I need a clear, simple way to keep up with daily pills, (ever changing) prayer requests and praises....especially on Saturday. 

May my Saturday summaries help me in remembering. (Psalm 77:11, 1 Corinthians 11:2) 

• Remember your Creator. (Ecclesiastes 12:1)
• I remember your name in the night, O, Lord (Psalm 119:55)
• ..the Helper, the Holy Spirit....will bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. (John 14:26)

Bless the Lord , O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. (Psalm 103:2)

Lest I forget..........Lord God of Hosts, be with us (me) yet, Lest we (I) forget---

lest we (I) forget. (Deuteronomy 4:7-9)

MEMORY LEAKS!

Sometimes a character in a book will resonate with a reader on a personal level. Such was the case for me with Aunt Love in The Scent of Lilacs.  Though Aunt Love could spout scripture with chapter and verse reference from days of old, she had trouble coming up with names. (Even more with 2022 Escape room /Locked Mind--almost 6 years after posting this entry!)
"I don't know what's the matter with me," she says. (p. 204)
Her niece Jocie attributed it to "memory leaks" ---though you wouldn't notice her condition by just looking at her. According to her, Aunt Lucy had been "misplacing more and more of her mind lately, but that didn't stop her from pulling out appropriate Bible verses to attempt to keep 13 year old Jocie in line." (p. 8)
Oh, how I can relate to Aunt Love's "mental malady." 

I kept "forgetting" to take a picture of the book....
....until  I was headed to the book drop---oh my!

But God....reminds me to "be anxious for nothing" (Philippians 4:6) and just like Aunt Love, I might be able cite chapter and verse, I just need to "remember" to use it in my own life,

"O" No!----"O" has caught up with me.......

1/5/12 More bookstore browsing. New intriguing titles (I Remember Nothing)....because they reflect the state of my mind! (or lack there of)

Table of contents lure. The "O" Word. Before reading further, my mind was flooded with "O" words. Partly because....... I live with a man who communicates in "initialspeake"---HH for hard head, OP for old_ _ _ _, POW for piece of work, etc. He's been speaking text-talk since before there was such a thing.

And partly because........I used to "read" dictionaries when I was in elementary school. Some words came right to mind. Overkill, oxymoron, oreos----which lead me to obesity---which lead me to oatmeal, which lead me to oatmeal cookies---which lead me back to obesity.

Knowing Ephron, an "O" word could be anything from obscure to obscene---but knowing her age, 70 last year, I assumed the "O" word was OLD. Indeed it was. (Ephron, p. 127)

So much can be said about that "O" word---a lot of which is not pretty. Aging is good for wine and antiques. For the rest of us, it can be a pretty frightening prospect. Memory loss being tops in my book. As Mother used to say about aging, if you're not ailing now, it's just a matter of time. Life does have an expiration date."

As we age the awareness of our own "someday" or "expiration date" increases---which has both good and bad aspects. Someday keeps getting sooner and sooner so one doesn't need to put off that which is important----the Lord, family and friends.

Old, yes. Obsolete, not totally.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by. (2 Corinthians 4:16)

Plan A to Plan B to Plan C and so on...

11/8/10 

I would say I’m ready for Plan S this month but last week even that "plan" didn’t work. My new “hold on to your mind” plan seemed to be a “bust.” In the night, every time I would awaken, I’d remind myself, 3 Ss---don’t forget. Swimsuit. Sympathy card. Salad dressing. Half way down the street, headed to work----Oh no, I forgot my swimsuit with the sympathy card right on top of it. Turnaround required. Arrived at work at 5:35 am and all was good “til I went to put away my lunch goodies and I don’t even have the salad dressing. So much for Plan S.

I do know the basics of the best plan for my memory struggle. I need to D.A.N.C.E. through it. 

However, the steps for this dance seem somewhat complicated, especially when I feel silly asking for inane things like recovering lost/misplaced items (though I did find the black bathing suit)

Regardless of how I “feel” I need to continue to call out to Him. That’s His plan for me. You probably need that as well. Therefore, think on these verses today.

Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. (Jeremiah 29:12)

Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. (Jeremiah 33:3)

Did you see it? Only 3 words to remember to get you going.

FORGET IT!!!

7/29/10 I do. Lately I seem to forget lots--- especially if numbers are involved. This morning, I couldn’t even remember daughter, Molly’s phone # and it’s one of my “MFC.” (most frequently called) If I am dialing a number and get the prefix wrong it tends to start a brain storm of sorts and it only worsens as I try harder to recall the #. I seem to have a few mental blocks as well and confuse HHS # and Drenda’s # on a regular basis. I won’t even add passwords and pin numbers to the mix because they are impossible---6-8 characters are always required now and have to have letters as well as numbers.

At work old ones have to be changed on a regular basis for sake of security. Trust me, a hacker could get in to my account easier than I. Even when I have it written down I have to remember where I wrote it and where I stored that info----too many options for retrieval is maddening. I think my brain is encrypted and I need to break the code---or at least have a password that doesn’t require so many characters along with punctuation and other symbols. Instructions I’ve been given recommend using a password you can’t forget---“a strong mnemonic passphrase, easy to remember, without writing it down, but hard for others to guess.” Yea, right! I’d be the one having trouble guessing it.

So what’s with this forgetfulness.

Maybe I ought to quit trying to figure out what’s causing it and just learn to live with it. (Though hubby is the one who is really suffering---wearing himself out running interference and trying to give me clues. Sort of like “Charades” around here sometimes.)

“Crazy Ada’s” favorite words to rehash were, “Oh, just forget about it.” A conversation with her was like a stuck record---a “Groundhog Day” of sorts. But…….I’ve remembered them all these years. Now I plan to follow them----and "forget about forgetting," at least for now. Besides Jeremiah 33:3 is still in my memory bank, so I’ll just apply that.

Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.

I can forget everything else, but Him.