I’ve been thinking alot about church music, again.  But tonight, while putting my babies to bed, I was fishing around for some new repertoire to my nightly super-slow-lull-them-to-sleep-singing, and my thoughts turned to my children’s spiritual musical heritage.

My friend Janeen once told me that she wants her kids to have a song for every situation they might find themselves in.  A song that has a message they can turn to.

I, myself, learned most of my memory verses through songs, thanks to a musical Bible teacher in high school.

Stroke patients with aphasia can often sing, even though they are unable to speak.

So I thought that maybe it would be useful to give a little intentional thought into what songs we are forming their childhood with.

Off the top of my head, here are a few of the songs I consider necessary for my children, as we shape their God-consciousness:

He is Good (Steve Green)

How Great is Our God (Chris Tomlin)

Amazing Grace

I’m thinking that as I expand this list, I’d like to include songs from the ages…ageless hymns, 40s campmeeting songs, 70s campfire songs, (let’s skip the 90s ‘feel good’ songs, ewwww), and some of the current music that will take its rightful place in history.

I’m also wishing that, as Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw talk about in their awesome book Jesus for President, that I could find songs that talk about “some of God’s most creative and exciting ideas”–debt cancellation, land reforms, food redistribution, slave amnesty.  But, as they point out (and made me snort), maybe it’s “just hard to come up with words that rhyme with ‘debt cancellation’”.  (p. 58, if you’re interested)  I haven’t found any of those songs yet, have you?

What songs would you put on your list?  Your own personal list and/or the list you’d like for your children?