Keeps Me Singing

H is our little music lover. This is one of her favorite pastimes - sitting on the bed looking through the hymnbook. She calls it her Bible. She not only likes looking at it, but she has a few favorite hymns she likes to sing and hear. When I'm putting her to bed I usually rock her and sing to her for a while. For a long time, she's been in the habit of calling out favorites and then singing along. It's very cute.

A few months ago she called out a request and I started singing what I thought she had said: Rock a bye baby. She got quite irritated and repeated her request. I tried again and got the same response. The third time I realized she was asking for "Rock of Ages" not "Rock a baby." (They sound a lot alike when you're talking to a one year old).

Tonight she made a new request - Power in the Blood. I'm not sure where that came from, because I really can't remember ever singing it to her. (Nor could Grandma, the other major musical influence in her life.) I'm pretty sure it's been a few years since I've sung it at all, but I made up for it tonight! It was a big hit with her.

A few years ago I made a list of hymns I'd like my children to learn. Some are on the list because I think they're great, others because I think knowing them is part of being a culturally literate Christian. I thought about typing the list here, but it's about 60 songs long, and I don't really want to take the time. So without biasing anyone with my opinion, let me ask - what hymns would be on your must-learn list? Maybe I'll publish my list another time after I hear your ideas.