Remember

Our family is big on telling stories from our past. Stories like …

• We had 3 active boys. Our oldest son had an OSU football uniform that he proudly wore to play football in the yard. Our middle son had a Dallas Cowboy uniform that he wore to compete with older brother. Our youngest son? He had baseball pants with suspenders and an ice cream bucket that he wore as a helmet … and he was just as happy as the two older boys.
• There was a big elm tree in our front yard that our dog would run around, barking at people as they walked by. Pretty normal, right? Until our daughter joined in with the dog, running on all fours, barking at joggers in our neighborhood.
• Whenever Wes had to go out of town on business, the kids and I popped popcorn, ate candy, and slept on the pull-out sofa in the living room while we watched old Abbott and Costello movies.
• We drove 20+ hours to go to Disney World, listening to Jimmy Buffett on the car stereo. Our kids loved this particular CD and screamed sang it at the top of their lungs. The whole way. The whole entire trip. 20+ hours of screaming singing. It was wonderful.
• "Scared the cat", sniff! … pickles … "I know where you sleep" … "Good night, Jordan!"  -- all catch phrases of memorable things that will cause our family to laugh.

There's just something about remembering. The memories come flooding back and we laugh. These were some precious times.

Over and over in His Word, God tells us to remember.

Sometimes we may have a crisis in life. Things are tough and we're not sure how to even put one foot in front of the other. At other times, we may be sailing along, no troubles at all, and we think we've got everything under control. In either instance, it's easy for us to forget. God knows that, too. Remember. Remember what He's done in history as well as for me personally. Have you ever wondered why He is constantly reminding His people to remember? Other than maybe the fact that we constantly forget?

Because when we remember the past, we're strong enough to move forward today. When we remember, we are encouraged in His faithfulness and goodness. When we remember, we see that we're not alone. When we remember, we see God's hand at work in our lives. We are reminded of the fierce love of God. We're reminded of the incredible power of God. We are reminded of Who God is and what He can do … and that He is with us, loving us each step of the way.

Remember …