Reminders

Memory prompts are vital in the process of learning to be loved, and to love. The more our environment reminds us to think of the truths we are incorporating into our minds/heart/spirits, the quicker and more thoroughly we can assimilate those truths.

Reminders have extra impact when they are

• Fresh

• Repetitive

• Multisensate—recruiting more than one of the 5 senses—sight, sound, touch, taste, smell

• Pleasing

• Pervasive

• Attention-grabbing

• Applicable to how we think and learn and live

For example, you might want to remember to go to the grocery store after work. You are more likely to remember if you write yourself a note and stick it on your mirror. Your chances of remembering go up even more if you also place notes on your mirror, steering wheel, refrigerator, and computer. If you absolutely must get to the store today, you might write “grocery store” on your hand, leave yourself a voicemail at work, ask a coworker to remind you, and put it in your smartphone calendar with an alarm.

Examples of reminders in the Bible

The Bible includes many instances where visible and tangible means are used to reinforce teaching. Jesus prompted people’s memory by linking a common object in the environment with a truth He was emphasizing: grain of the field, mustard seed, leaven of the Pharisees, bread and wine, shepherd and the sheep. Here are two of many such examples from the Old Testament:

1. A pile of stones

After Joshua led the Israelites across the Jordan, he instructed the men to take stones from the riverbed and stack them on top of each other on some nearby land. For years to come, anyone who came by would be reminded of the great miracle that occurred that day. Joshua 4

2. Sign on your hand

Moses, after giving the 10 commandments to the Israelites, encouraged them to remember and follow those mandates.

“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deut. 6:4-9

Belovedlove.org reminders

Belovedlove.org is dedicated to presenting truth, and then helping people remember that truth. Suggested memory aids in learning to be loved and to love are scattered throughout this site, and below are a few of our favorites:

1. Sunrays These quotables are “spots of truth on a pleasing canvas” that can be downloaded for your computer or phone, and/or printed out to hang on your refrigerator or bathroom mirror.

2. Reflections Our ongoing blog updated weekly.

3. Downloads

4. Jewelry Bracelets and other jewelry-reminders that connect truths with specific colors and symbols.

5. Weekly email Sign up at the bottom of this page for the opportunity to receive an email every week which includes a

fresh Sunray and a new Reflection.

Be creative! Brainstorm about ways to remember truth you are learning!

Share with us! We would love to hear what methods, ideas, links, apps, or other resources you have found helpful to remember and learn and grow. Share by email, Facebook or Twitter!

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Our weekly email contains "Reflections" as well as a quote "Sunray" that you can print out and post. We guarantee that your name/email address will not be shared with any other person or organization.