Writing to Remember with Lists

Over the last few years, I have been given the opportunity to share with individuals and groups on the topic of legacy writing. This type of writing is not meant for the purpose of mass publication. These books are not meant to reach an audience of strangers who may never recognize your name. 

These books are meant to be a legacy. For people who recognize your name because it might be their name.

I'm actually writing a book on writing these kind of books. (Say that five times real fast!) I decided to do this because I am being asked to speak on this topic more and more. 

But you, my dear friend visiting me here in my neighborhood of the world-wide-web, do not have to wait for the book to begin your written legacy. And I don't want you to wait. If you wait, you'll forget.

You won't mean to forget. But the inspiring thoughts, the emotions that surround the key events you face, the raw feelings ... those things will fade if you don't capture them in words right away. 

And you don't have to write a book to capture the words. One easy way to do this is to start a list. This isn't a "to-do" list. It's an "I want to remember this" list. Or an "I don't want to forget this" list.

This type of journaling is easy and there are lots of really great articles on the subject. I'll look some of those up and share them with you. 

But here's what you can do to get started:
Jot down the date. Make a list of the things that happened that you always want to remember. It can be simple. It doesn't have to include a lot of commentary. But you are welcome to include why you hope to never forget the things you write.

Here is the thing about waiting to write things down: You'll forget. 

Even the important things. You'll forget. 

An example of this in my own life is my early mom years. I used to keep a scrapbook for each of my kids back in the day when photos were printed, not saved on a drive somewhere. I have hundreds of photos that are printed, that I meant to caption in a scrapbook. And some pictures that I did caption. As I set up graduation party decorations and scrapbooks and that sort of thing, I can tell the difference between the photos that I wrote on or under as they were printed or happened, and those that I waited for more time to write about. 

The ones I waited on did not capture the heart of the story behind the photo as well as the ones I took care of right away.

So maybe you don't take pictures every day. That's okay. I don't either. (My kids would argue otherwise.)

​But you can document each day. Make a list or keep a calendar. What did you do today that you want to remember?

You can pass on a written legacy of you life and lessons learned. You can pass on the "praise-worthy deeds of the Lord" through your lists of remembrances.

"We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done."
Psalm 78:4 NIV