{"id":3186,"date":"2019-11-21T05:42:16","date_gmt":"2019-11-21T12:42:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/?p=3186"},"modified":"2019-11-21T04:50:44","modified_gmt":"2019-11-21T11:50:44","slug":"memories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/?p=3186","title":{"rendered":"memories"},"content":{"rendered":"

I won\u2019t write next week as we break for Thanksgiving \u2013 my favorite holiday. In 2014, I wrote<\/a> about developing a list of people who have impacted my life. This exercise helped me be more grateful for family members, friends, teachers, authors, musicians, and other followers of Jesus who have helped me draw closer to Him.<\/p>\n

Almost a year before that, I put together another list<\/a> of more than fifty trips God had allowed me to take since a cancer diagnosis in 2000. (Since then, He has permitted many more.) Once again, this remembrance caused me to praise God and thank Him for His marvelous faithfulness.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve formed another list and would encourage you to do something similar. Thanksgiving should always be on the lips of God\u2019s children. How kind He is to us! \u201cHow great is the love the Father has lavished on us \u2013 that we should be called the children of God! And that is what we are!\u201d (I John 3:1)<\/p>\n

Write down important dates or seasons in your life, and the reasons for their significance. Perhaps you remember the day you were baptized, or the day you met your spouse. We all remember anniversaries and birthdays of loved ones.<\/p>\n

I remember the day I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma (my 41st birthday) and the times I had to enter the hospital for lengthy treatments. I remember taking our entire family to visit my brother in Cape Town, South Africa, shortly after recovering from a stem cell transplant. As we were deciding whether to purchase airline tickets, I confessed I was too weak and didn\u2019t think I could make the trip. The kids disagreed: \u201cOf course you can! God will give you strength!\u201d And He did.<\/p>\n

While sadness accompanies dates of loss, memories of loved ones live within us and bless us. God is present in every moment\u2026 and we can give Him thanks.<\/p>\n

As I travel on life\u2019s pathway,
\nKnow not what the years may hold.
\nAs I ponder, hope grows fonder,
\nPrecious memories flood my soul.<\/p>\n

Precious memories, how they linger,
\nHow they ever flood my soul.
\nIn the stillness of the midnight,
\nPrecious sacred scenes unfold.
\n(J.B.F Wright, 1925)<\/em><\/p>\n

Happy Thanksgiving!<\/p>\n

\u201cO God, you are my God, earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen You in the sanctuary and beheld Your power and glory. Because Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify You. I will praise You as long as I live, and in Your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise You. On my bed I remember You; I think of You through the watches of the night. Because You are my help, I sing in the shadow of Your wings. My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.\u201d Psalm 63:1-8<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I won\u2019t write next week as we break for Thanksgiving \u2013 my favorite holiday. In 2014, I wrote about developing a list of people who have impacted my life. This exercise helped me be more grateful for family members, friends, teachers, authors, musicians, and other followers of Jesus who have helped me draw closer to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3186"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3186\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3191,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3186\/revisions\/3191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}