Re-collect

“Scattered throughout the year there are memories to be remembered.  Gather them together and celebrate.”

Loren Thornburg

It’s a new year and a new time and yet sometimes not much feels new except the year I sign on the date of my checks.  So much looks the same if I don’t take time to remember.  It’s time to look back and recollect on last year so we can celebrate the highlights.  The triumphs often get lost in the trials.  They have been scattered throughout the year and it’s time to re-collect and gather them again.  They need to be recovered in our memory so they won’t be lost and forgotten.  Think back through your year and gather all your memorable moments together.  There is much to celebrate!  Share them with others, write them down, or just take them all in, but whatever you do...don’t forget to remember to celebrate.  

“...and earnestly remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt and that the Lord your god brought you out from there with a mighty hand and outstretched arm…”

Deuteronomy 5:15 Amplified

This re-collecting is something we see God calling us to.  He knows that we are prone to forget.  He also knows that in forgetting we lose sight of who He is and what He is doing.  This call to remember in Deuteronomy is in the midst of many other ways God was calling the Israelites to live.  He knows that remembering what God has done is a huge part of being able to do that.  I love in the amplified version here how it emphasizes this call with ‘earnestly remember.’  Earnest requires an intention and importance.  Remembering does not come naturally, at least remembering what God has done.  It’s often easy to remember the ways we’ve fallen short and the ways we have felt let down.  Yet, it requires an intentionality to go back and collect all the ways that God has spoken, proven faithful, and worked in ways to save us.  So as you look back don’t miss all the ways that God has been at work.  You’ll want to put those in a safe place so you can recall them again and again as you encounter the ups and downs of this upcoming year.  It’s time to remember all that God has done so we don’t forget our God who is faithful to keep doing and working on our behalf.  

Here is some re-collecting from 2012…

“Dream anew, hope afresh, believe what’s true…it’s time.”

“It’s okay to be fabulous and flawed.” Dove Wrapper

“Don’t miss out on life trying to figure it out.”

“You have to release in order to receive.”

“Don’t miss what is complaining about what isn’t.”

“Sometimes things of value are hidden looking like waste.”

“TRUTH stands the test of time.  It’s always TRUE.”

“When all around is swirling and shaking you don’t have to swirl and shake with it.”

“I live this life but it isn’t mine.  I walk this journey but it’s not my own.”

“It’s not a roar, it’s not a scream, it’s a whisper calling you forth, reminding you to steady.” 

“It’s in the looking that we see; it’s in the seeing that we find; and it’s in the finding that we are changed.”

“Don’t miss new appointments looking at disappointments.”

“Each moment writes a story. Each day directs the plot. Our lives are interwoven by purpose and design.”

“Trust is going but not knowing, stepping but not seeing, and worth it but not easy.”

“Look for it.  It may be hidden.  It’s waiting to be found.  Go find it and look inside.  There are treasures waiting for you.”

“It’s what’s below the surface that greatly determines what grows above the surface.”

“What we give away has a way of getting all over us.”

“It takes courage to wait.”

“You are not bound by your abilities, but rather by your ability to be willing to go beyond them.”

“Our lives function best when they are aligned in the way they were created to function.”

“Our strength to stand comes by those who stand with us.”

“We can’t go it alone.  We can’t do it ourselves.  We need help from others to bridge the gaps.”

“You are not forgotten, you have not gone unseen;

You’re noticed, you’re valued, you’re priceless...You are SEEN.”

“Don’t forget that in the difficulty of today there is an after.”

“When nothing makes sense, 

When all hope seems dim, 

Still truth reigns, 

still love WINS.” 

“Hope is often hiding beyond the disappointment."

“You have been given much that is good.  Guard it well.”

“Sometimes pain escorts us to places we would never have gone on our own.”

“Your community is big when the space between you and others is small.”

“Silence is the hard to reach place that takes us to places hard to reach without it.”

“Let the light shine in on all the places of your heart; even the dark, heard to reach ones.”

“When you find forgiveness you find freedom.”

“Sometimes we need to start moving in order to be moved to keep moving.”

“When you start seeing the gift you stop seeing the handicap.”

“It’s the days that feel insignificant that are significant after all.”

“It’s in the light we can see.  It’s in the light we find life.  It’s in the light there is joy. Find the light.  It makes all the difference.”

“Let nothing stand between you and unshakable.”

“Be present where you are with a present awareness that there is more life to come.”

“Our lives grow that which has been planted.”

“If you can’t find it on the inside you won’t find it on the outside.”

“Take a break from the action; press pause on the music; take a moment to rest.”

“People need to hear; people need to know; people need to believe...enter in and speak their language.”

“Make room for Love.  Make space for Hope.  Make time for Truth.  Let the things that matter most have room in your life.”

“It’s hard to know what the next moment will bring, so enjoy what you have while you can.”