Christmas Memories

 I've had memories of Christmas' growing up running through my mind for the last few weeks. 

Memories of laughter and fun. 

Memories of family together.

Memories of a crowded table - everyone has to keep their elbows in so we don't knock the food off each other's forks.

Memories of too much food and my Grandma always offering more.

Memories of singing carols together with my Grandma at the piano.

Memories of my sisters, my cousins and I are huddled around the nativity set, each taking our turn to place the figurines of the set in place as Grandma read the Christmas story aloud.

Memories of puzzles started and completed.

Memories of gifts that reminded us how loved and care about we were.

Memories of welcoming in many who had nowhere else to go for Christmas.

This Christmas is the second one since my Grandma passed away. Although there were Christmas' before she passed that she wasn't able to be there, it's different now to know she's not just down the road waiting for a visit.

It's still a little bittersweet to think about Christmas this year. For so many years my Grandma, her house, her cooking, her plan for the family for the day was the center of all that happened. Even when she no longer hosted, she still had influence on the day.

But, the part that I keep coming back to is how she made sure that we never forgot what it was really about in the midst of the food and the presents. She was never afraid to tell us grandkids that we had to wait to open presents until we'd read the Christmas story together.

She'd read the Scripture about Jesus' birth and you could hear in her voice how much it meant to her. That to her this was the most important part of everything about that day. 

I'm challenged that I need to remember the reason why we do this all. The thing that is the most important about this day.

So, today, can I encourage you to take the time to stop and read and remember that in the midst of all this time of year brings, the most important thing is that we're celebrating the promised and long-awaited Messiah coming to earth?

We celebrate because Jesus coming to earth as a baby changed everything.

Light in the darkness.

Peace in the chaos.

Comfort in the brokenness.

Lessons in Looking Back

 I posted the following as my Facebook status last week:

"Sometimes just knowing there's a name for what you're living with is a relief... even if it changes nothing, yet (before you ask, it's nothing serious going on, don't worry)"

While I'm not going to share in this space what exactly this is (at least not yet), there have been things related to it that I've been thinking about in the days since. And I wonder if some of those things are lessons that all of us could learn from.

When we have the perspective of looking back, as I have in this case, it can be easy to see some things as obvious that were missed at the time. We have a choice then, about how we respond. 

We can choose to get mad or frustrated or upset by the realization.

Or, we can acknowledge that our perspective is different now and we're seeing differently because we're not in the middle of it anymore.

Some of my favourite books on my shelf right now are the mismatched set of commentaries, my Grandma gave me when she could no longer read herself. I had no idea the treasure trove of lessons from my Grandma I was receiving alongside them. They just sat on my bookshelf for a while. Until the day I decided to pick one of them up. When I opened it, I discovered it was full of my Grandma's underlines of things that spoke to her and pieces of paper with her responses to what she read there.

One of the things I noticed over and over in what I read both in the commentary and in her notes, was her realization and desire not to live stuck in the past. To her it was very clear in Scripture that Jesus had come and died on a cross and rose again to free us from our past, so we can begin to live the lives God intends for us. 

She would regularly remind me of this in our conversations on the golf course. Every time I would start talking about something in the past, she would ask me the same things:

Are there people in this situation you need to make things right with? Don't wait to do that.

Are there things you need to confess and repent of? Don't wait to do that.

Are there lessons you can learn from this? What are they?

Once you've done these things, does it do you any good to keep living in regret or anger over what has happened? 

Then she would remind me that it was time let it go. That it was time to leave it with God and walk forward into what was coming next.

She would share about how she didn't always do this well. She wasn't telling me to do this because she thought it was easy. She knew it was challenging, but she also knew it was worth it.

I've been thinking a lot about this lesson since I shared the words I did on Facebook last week. In my case, this is something where I could look back and live in regret or anger, but it really does no good at this point. That just keeps me stuck in the past and not getting on with living the life God has for me now.

I think is something that applies to so much of our lives. And I'm grateful for the regular reminders from my Grandma while I was growing up.

Remembering What God Has Taught You

Sometimes we need to go back and remember the experiences of the past and how God has worked in them. They remind us of the God we serve, and that we've never been left alone.

I was reading some posts from near the beginning of this blog earlier today, and I was reminded of how God has worked in my life. Ten years ago, in September 2008, my comfy, safe world was shaken. It seemed like nothing was predictable anymore. 

But, it was also the beginning of a time of God refining my faith. Without even realizing it, I had begun to place my faith in things going as I had planned and everything making sense in my life. While I don't see the events of September 2008 as being planned by God, I can see how He used them to show me that and to bring me back to putting my faith in Him alone - not my circumstances.

It's important that we remember these sorts of things. When I forget this, it's easy to find myself back where I was ten year ago in a short time. But, when I remember these things that God has taught me, I'm reminded of where I need to keep placing my faith.

In Scripture, we see God directing His people to do exactly this. They were to build altars of remembrance and tell the stories of what God had done for them to the next generations. By communicating these stories and remembering these experiences, they would be encouraging each other to continue on in following God.

What are your experiences with God? How has He worked in your life? What lessons has He taught you?

Are You Missing Seeing what God is Doing Now?

Do you limit what God could do now in your life by how He acted in the past?

This is a question I spent some time reflecting on after I was reading in Isaiah 43 recently. There's a few verses in that chapter that are more well-known and I've heard quoted often. They're powerful words, but I realized just how powerful when I read a couple of verses before them alongside them.

"This is what the Lord days -
     He who made a way through the sea,
     a path through the mighty waters,
who drew the chariots and horses,
     the army and reinforcements together.
and they lay there, never to rise again,
     extinguished, snuffed out life a wick:
Forget the former things;
     do not swell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
     Now it springs up, do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
     and streams in the wasteland."
                                      -Isaiah 43:16-19

The last couple of verses are the ones most commonly quoted, but when I read these verses all together I was struck by the thought sin them.

In describing who the Lord is Who is speaking, Isaiah is remembering how God led Israel out of Egypt and defeated their enemies. When they were in the an impossible situation and defeat seemed almost certain, God made a way out for them and defeated their enemy.

This is something they needed to remember. But, Isaiah also warns of a danger here. When he asks if they are perceiving the new thing the Lord is doing, he points out the danger and the reason why he is declaring that God is doing a new thing. There is a danger that in remembering how God has acted in the past, they would not see what God was doing now, or they would try to limit what God was doing now.

We face that danger in our lives. We need to remember what God has done for us in the past. That's what gives us hope and confidence that God will act now on our behalf again. But, we can too easily become so focused on the past that we miss what God is doing now. Or we can try to put God in a box of "this is how God does things" and resist Him when He tries to do something new.

In our remembering how God has acted on our behalf in the past, we cannot stop looking ahead for the new things He is doing and wants to do. Our remembering forms the basis of our belief and our confidence that He has a plan, but we cannot become so focused on it that we miss the new thing God is doing.

The Power of Your Story

I was recently reminded of the power of our stories. The power of sharing our own experiences with those around us - with those we love.

It was a Saturday afternoon. My cousin and I were sitting at my parent's kitchen table listening to my Grandpa. I don't know how things got started. But I know I stayed because of the story my Grandpa was telling.

For the next while, my cousin and I listened and asked a few questions, while my Grandpa shared a portion of his life story with us. Some of it I had heard before, but much of it I had not.

There's something different about listening to someone tell their own story. About hearing it from their perspective. Possibly even more so when it's someone you know and love telling the story.

I walked away from that conversation with a precious memory. Time with Grandpa is likely not going to happen for too many years more. So I will embrace the times I get to do that.

It reminded me of another precious memory from my teenage years. We were at my great-grandparents wedding anniversary. Towards the end of the party, I found myself at a table with old photo albums with my Grandma and my Great-Grandpa. My Great-Grandpa was sharing his memories of where and why the picture was taken and who the people were. I didn't know at the time that only a couple months later I would be back at my Great-Grandpa's funeral.

But, I've never forgotten that time. Hearing the story of my Great-Grandpa's life.

There's power in sharing our stories with others. There's meaning in those times where we learn about what life was like for those we know and care about.

So, what is your story?

And who are you sharing it with?

Remember

"Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely that you do no forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them."

Deuteronomy 4:9

These are words Moses spoke to the people of Israel when they were on the edge of the Promised Land. A Promised Land that Moses himself would never enter.

But Moses knew something important and he was making sure the Israelites knew it.

Moses was telling the Israelites the importance of them remembering what God had brought them out of and how he had cared for them as they wandered in the desert. Moses knew that they would be in trouble if they ever forgot that. It is something they needed to recount to other people - to pass the stories on.

We can learn from these words of Moses about our lives as well. Just as Moses told the Israelites they needed to remember what God had done for them and how He had rescued them, and that they needed to share those stories with other people, we need to do the same.

We need to make a point to remember what God has rescued us from.

We need to make a point to remember how God has cared for us.

And we need to share those things with other people.

When we don't remember and we don't share those things with other people, we quickly find ourselves in trouble. We lose sight of who God is, and who He has created us to be.

We have to make sure we remember these things - write them down, share them with other people.

"Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely that you do no forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them."

Deuteronomy 4:9

Five Minute Friday: Remember

My second week being a part of Five Minute Friday. You can find out more about Five Minute Friday and how to be a part of it on Lisa-Jo Baker's blog.

This week's word is Remember, and her post on today's word here.


Life is full of moments you want to remember. Some you do and some you don't. But one thing is true of them all: We want to remember them because there was something special about them.

I have one memory that is a special one to me. It's something I can still see in my mind like it happened yesterday - even though it happened 15 years ago.

We were at my Great-Grandparents 65th wedding anniversary celebration. There was lots of family around. And lots of pictures of their lives and families to look at.

I remember looking through an album of photos of people I was somehow related to with my Great-Grandpa and my Grandma. My Great-Grandpa was telling me who the people were and what the pictures were from.

Those minutes hearing a few stories and being told who people were are a precious memory to me. It's also the last thing I remember about my Great-Grandpa, as he passed away no too long after that celebration.

I fell so blessed to be able to remember things like that. Moments we remember and cherish because there was something special about them.

Remember . . . it's remembering the special and important moments in life that give us something to hold onto when life gets hard.

What Are You Known For?

What are you known for?

If the people you live with, work with, go to school with, and interact with on a regular basis were asked to describe you, what would they say?

Would it be a list of your accomplishments? A description of what you do to fill your time? A description of what you look like?

Or would they talk about someone who was known for something different? Someone who was a follower of Christ? Someone who puts others first? Someone who cares about others?

What are you known for?

That's a question that has been running through my head for much of the last few weeks. The truth is that what we're known for is also how we'll be remembered after we're gone.

What do you want to be remembered for? Are you known for that now?

Our society defines success by how far we go in our careers, how much money we make, and how much stuff we acquire. All things that can easily be taken from us. And things that no one will remember us for once we're gone.

That's not what I want to be known or remembered for.

As this new year begins, I want to live a life that is worth be remembered for. I want to live a life that flows out of a relationship with Jesus. That's what I want to be known and remembered for.

How do you want to live?

What do you want to be known for? Remembered for?

Are there changes you need to make that happen?