Celebrations & Memories

PHOTO CAPTION: This is my hubby & I with our daughter and son-in-law on our vacation last year. Happy Memories!

I actually wrote this blog last week and then between birthday celebrations and other responsibilities, I didn’t post it. Since that time we’ve celebrated another family birthday (my 15 year old granddaughter), complete with memories. God has done some amazing things in our lives and I am so thankful for my BIG family. Yes, we will continue to celebrate good memories together as long as we possibly can.

Today is my hubby’s birthday and we are celebrating with family this afternoon. I’m so thankful for family and for all the memories we have shared together. We have certainly shared a lot of memories and I’m sure we’ll have a few more to share after today. I love looking at pictures and talking over our favorite memories. Whether good or bad, all memories have value. Even some of the not so good memories can be celebrated and remembered with fondness, such as the time we went on a camping vacation and it rained the whole time. When all our clothes ended up wet and the rain didn’t seem to be letting up, we finally packed up and went home. You might say it was a disastrous vacation, but we look back on it now and laugh about it. Of course some memories bring sadness such as when you lose a loved one. Even then, though, I’m so thankful for memories and that we can look back and remember the good times we had together.

I think God wants us to remember and learn from the past and to celebrate those monumental moments in our lives such as birthdays, promotions, graduations, learning new skills and certainly our steps of faith. We often celebrate and cheer our kids on for their achievements. We document those first steps of growth in each one of our kids lives. Their first tooth, first attempt at crawling, first step, starting school, learning to ride a bike – all of these are cause for celebration and they should be celebrated. I wonder though, “Are we also celebrating and remembering those first steps of faith? Do we have them documented? Do we tell our children about them?”

I think some churches are better at celebrating faith moments than others. Your church may have a dedication or christening service for your baby or perhaps first communion or baptism is a big event at you church, but what about the other faith steps that you and your child take? How can we celebrate and remember those steps? How do you celebrate the day that your child recognized that Jesus rescued him by dying on the cross and that he wants to follow Jesus? What about when you or your child prays and a prayer is answered? How can we celebrate all God has done for us? I know we have some of those stories in our family that we share from time to time, but I think we need to share these stories, these moments or wins even more than we do.

A pastor friend of mine who has some kids who are now grown and some kids still at home said that he and his wife plan a family dinner once a month just to celebrate and share the good things, the wins in their lives and then they thank God for what He is doing in their lives. He said that it’s always a fun and incredibly rewarding time to be with his whole family. They learn about job promotions, answers to prayer, enjoy new babies or getting to know new family members better and so much more. Whatever is a win or high point in their lives or their kids lives is celebrated. He says that it reminds them all of God’s goodness in their lives and keeps them connected as a family.

God’s people, the Israelites, had been wandering around in the wilderness for 40 years due to their lack of faith earlier when they first reached the borders of the Promised land. Moses had died and now Joshua was their leader. A whole new generation was waiting at the banks of the Jordan River to cross over the Jordan and enter the new land. How did they get across? God performed a miracle and brought them through the river on dry ground. Then God told them to have the leaders of their tribes go back into the middle of the river and pick up 12 boulders, one for each tribe, to pile up in the new land. Those boulders would be a memorial, a testimony to God’s faithfulness in leading them and bringing them into the Promised land. They did what God asked. They celebrated what God had done for them. From that day forward, any time one of their children would ask about why the 12 boulders were piled up, they would tell them how God had led them in the wilderness and how God had brought them safely across the Jordan River on dry ground. They would tell them how God had been faithful to His promise. They would remember and celebrate the goodness of God.

Take a moment this week to write down some of your own faith steps. Write down some of your families wins and memories. If you can, add some pictures to those memories and talk about them around the dinner table. Example: Remember when Jamie broke her arm, but God was with her and it healed quickly. Remember when our refrigerator broke, but we got an unexpected check in the mail and we were able to get a new one. Remember Libby when you were baptized in a big swimming pool on a hot August day. Remember and celebrate. God is with you!

PARENT PRAYER:
Father God,
Truly you have been faithful, all my life. Forgive me when I start to complain or have a bad attitude day. Remind me of all that you have done. Remind me to look back and celebrate your faithfulness. Remind me to be grateful, giving you praise and honor for you are with me and you are good. Teach us, Lord, to celebrate as a family too. To celebrate our children, grandchildren and most of all to celebrate your goodness to us. Even in tough times, you have been with us and have led us. You’ve led us through the dark wilderness of sickness, hospitalizations and even in those times of losing a family member. Thank you God for the memories. You are amazing! Amen

SOME OF MY MEMORIES TO CELEBRATE

Praying for and trusting God for my baby brother who was born with a hole in his heart. He is still doing well today.

• Praying for wisdom when my son was very sick with appendicitis and his regular doctor was out of town. God woke my husband and I up in the middle of the night to get him to the hospital right on time.
  
  • Numerous prayers growing up to load bulls into trucks, or get them back into the pasture. God always answered. I firmly believe nothing is too BIG or too small to talk to God about. I grew up on a farm.
    
  • Praying for finances when our car broke down around Christmas and we literally had no money left for gifts for our kids. I still don’t know how we made it through that December, but we did and the kids all got gifts too.
    
  • The ways that God met me and talked to me when I went to camp. I felt so close to God there. There are a lot more memories I could share – these are just a few.
    
  • HOW CAN WE CELEBRATE AND REMEMBER FAITH MOMENT
    
  • Do you have certificates or pictures from your child’s significant faith moments such as their baptism, first communion or when they attended VBS or Bible camp? Frame these or put them in an album and talk about them.
    
  • Share stories of how God has answered prayer for your family.
    
    • Be thankful. Think of things you are thankful for, remember things you are thankful for as you are driving to school or day care in the mornings.
      
    • Focus on the spiritual side of holidays such as Christmas and Easter. At Christmas, you can make a birthday cake and sing, “Happy Birthday” to Jesus. At Easter, there are numerous ways of sharing the Easter story in a fun way – Resurrection Eggs, using the color of jelly beans to talk about the different aspects of Easter such as yellow because Easter morning was a happy day. Jesus was alive! Find some funways to celebrate and bring in God’s love.
      Commemorate faith milestones with a card or gift.

Kid’s Section

STORY: Into The Promised Land – Joshua 1-4

God did some amazing things for His people, Israel. He led them out of Egypt. He helped them across a sea on dry ground. He gave them food and water in the desert. Only God could do that. God is powerful and He keeps His promises. He does exactly what He says He will d0.

God’s people wandered in the desert for a long, long time. Finally they came to the new land God promised to give them. They camped by the Jordan River. (Sit down around a pretend campfire.) Joshua was now their leader. He told the people, “Get ready to go. Soon we’ll cross the river into our new land. God will help us.”

The people packed up and got ready. They wondered, “How will we get across the river?“ Joshua knew that God had led them to their new land. He knew God would help them cross over the river. God did help them. He gave Joshua a plan. The priests/pastors carrying the Ark of God would step into the river first, then the people would follow. (Pretend to step into a river.) Guess what happened? As soon as the priests stepped into the water, the river stopped flowing! The water piled up far away! Everyone crossed on dry ground. Wow! God is amazing! He keeps His promises. He does exactly what He says He will do. After everyone was across, God told Joshua to choose 12 men to pick up 12 stones from the middle of the river. (Pretend to pick up stones.) The stones would be a reminder to the people of how God kept His promises and of the amazing things He had done. When the men finished picking up the stones and were safe on the other side, the water started flowing again. God led His people all the way to the new land because God is amazing! He keeps His promises and He can do anything.

God helped Joshua and His people be brave and strong. He was with them all the way to their new land and I know He will be with you too. He will be with you everywhere you go.

MEMORIZE: Josh. 1:9 ICB – (Hands open like reading a book.)
Be strong and brave – (Show arm muscles.)
Don’t be afraid – (Look scared.)
The Lord your God – (Point upwards.)
Will be with you – (Fan hands out in front of you.)
Everywhere – (Fan hands out to the sides.)
You go – (Pretend to walk.)

KNOW: God keeps His promises. He does what He says He will do.
TALK ABOUT: God’s promises and love for us.
ASK: Who is with you? God is with me.
AND DO… Be strong and brave because God is with you.

FUN IDEAS FOR THIS WEEK 

• Share a favorite memory with your child of a time when God helped you or was with you. Don’t forget to share your own faith journey.
  
• Promise to do something fun with your child – even something simple such as sharing a snack with him then be sure you do it! SAY: “God always does what He promises.”
• PRAYER: Dear God,
  You are amazing. Thank you for loving me and keeping your promises. Thank you for giving me good things like yummy food. Thank you that you are with me and help me everyday. Help me to be strong, brave and trust you everywhere I go. I love you. Amen