remembering

With the new year just around the corner, topic of conversation inevitably turns to resolutions.

This year I’m taking a new approach.

We were recently encouraged in church to figuratively build a pile of stones, to serve as a reminder of the good work God is doing in our lives.

Well, I didn’t make a pile of rocks, but I did weave a ring.  I’m calling it my “Remembrance Ring,” or “Resolution Ring.”  Though I am still fond of “Resolution Remembrance Ring” (I could have an alliteration field day with this post! 🙂 ).

Have you ever tied a string around your finger in order to remember something?

I did a little investigating into the origin of this act & found the following explanation:

For many years, Mothers have chosen this way to help their children to remember something. This is a carry-over from olden days when people tied pieces of cloth around any painful part of their body.

This cloth was tied in one area to keep the “spirit of life” in that area, and so cure it and keep the pain from spreading to other parts of the body. The string on the finger was designed to “keep” the thought there, to be remembered later when it was needed.

I don’t want my story to resemble that of the Israelites as they wandered 40 years in the desert.  God continually provided miracle after miracle:  the parting of the Red Sea, manna from heaven, quail, water from a rock.  Yet, the wonder of the miracle had barely worn off before the people began groaning that their God had not only forsaken them – but, forgotten them.

It’s so easy to scoff at their behavior, but if I’m being completely honest, I know I’ve been guilty of the same thing.  When dealing with difficult circumstances, I’ve found that when my eyes are solely fixated on that specific situation, I run the possibility of losing sight of the big picture.  And that’s when I forget the countless ways, both big & small, that God has left fingerprints of goodness on my life.

So, with this ring I remember.  When darkness descends & I question “Where is God in this?”,  I’ll look at my ring and remember the miracles He has worked in my life.  Then, as a friend of mine so aptly puts it, I’ll remember to “trust in the plan.”

I hope you find ways to remember too.

For it’s in our remembering where we find our Hope.

Happy New Year!!

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what’s your favorite color?

Ava’s letters always start the same:

Dear —,

“How are you?”

“I’m fine.”

“What is your favorite color?”

I always find it funny how universal the “favorite color” go-to question is!  I remember as a child asking other kids the same thing.  You knew you found a BFF if you both liked the same one (oh – if only that was still the case!).  Just think how far less intimidating interviews would be if this was a staple question as opposed to questions about strengths & weaknesses.  My goodness, it was even one of the three questions asked in order to cross the Bridge of Death in “Monty Python & the Holy Grail.”

My favorite color is green.

Green & I are simply made for each other:

• Since I’m a Cinco de Mayo baby, my birthstone is an emerald
• My name is a color….green.  Believe me, as a 6-year-old, it was THE COOLEST thing to see your name on everyone’s crayon.
• I’m mostly Irish
• I wear it well 🙂

My kids know my love for green & I noticed a green theme with their Christmas presents to me.  Ava & Garrett’s elementary school has a “Holiday Store” every year which sells simple items for kids to buy for friends & family.  Ava picked me out a key chain.  I barely had it opened before she exclaimed, “Mom, it’s GREEEEN – your favorite color!”

Grady drew a picture of me with a green marker.

And Garrett; well, Garrett picked me out a small bottle of nail polish, accompanied by, “I knew you’d like this color best.”

Now, I typically don’t sport green nails.  Well, okay, maybe I did this one time.  But, how can I not wear my son’s present?  So, this morning, my fingertips got a little makeover.  To up the fun, I asked Garrett if he wanted the honors of painting my nails.  You should have seen his face light up.  Ha – green nail polish…the gift that keeps on giving!

So, here we go…

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