What to Remember

<p>Good morning, Five Minute Families. Last week we talked about how a family can intentionally remember and reflect God’s goodness - sharing our testimony and God’s goodness in our lives, memorizing Scripture, informal conversations, and more. This week, we want to ask… Do you have the “memory of an elephant” or the “memory of a gnat?” Seriously, though, what should we remember about God? </p><p>The reason it is important to remember the truth about God and His word is because our human memories are fickle. Some people can remember every little detail of fun events but difficult events seem to never even be processed. For other people, the opposite is true; every negative event is catalogued but good ones seem to never have even happened. For folks who process and keep the happy memories, life can be fairly easy sailing, but for most of the rest of us who do process the negative times, remembering can be a double-edged sword.</p><p>Neuroscientists, psychiatrists, and psychologists are researching constantly how the brain stores memories and how those memories are retrieved. The general consensus right now is that traumatic memories are stored in the emotional brain centers composing the limbic system. Emotional triggers of sounds, sights, smells, and more can set off a cascade of difficult behaviors or coping mechanisms that are often not the best response - they are however the initial triggered response - what we call first thoughts (we have a different Five Minute Family podcast devoted to first thoughts if you are interested in more information). </p><p>Many experts suggest that someone working through anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and other issues like those work instead to take back conscience responsiveness through controlled breathing, placing your hand on a painful area of the body, locking your eyes on an object and thinking about five specific ideas about the object itself, and more. Let’s never forget Romans 12:2, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of y