Monday, October 12, 2015

Celebrate Life!!


Many sacrifices were offered on that
joyous day, for God had given the people
cause for great joy. The women and
children also participated in the celebration,
and the joy of the people of Jerusalem
could be heard far away.
Nehemiah 12:43

God's people certainly had their faults and did their share in disappointing their God of love and of great patience. Despite all of the tribulation and ups/downs of life, the people of Israel certainly knew how to have a party to celebrate God. Why? God had given the people cause for great joy. He has done the very same for you and me as well.
My least desire in writing is to be morbid in any way, but have actually been thinking in a positive, celebratory fashion so hang in with me. When I was in high school, I learned from a conversation my Mother and grandmother were having that folks age 50 and older usually make a habit of reading obituaries in the local newspapers. They often read the obituaries of people they had never known. I found that very strange, but both ladies assured me that when I reached their ages, I would do the same thing. I can't say I have adopted that habit and yet, every now and then, I can't resist taking a peek at our local newspaper's obituary column. We are still new in the area so I very rarely know anyone listed who has died.
On rare occasions, when reading obituaries, I come across one or two that are unbelievably positive and encouraging. Usually with such articles, I see a simple phrase that tells me a lot about the deceased. It might say, “On Tuesday morning, 10:00 at such and such a church, we will CELEBRATE THE LIFE of.......”
Celebrate the life of...”- - -a phrase used in some obituaries and a good place for it if a person has lived a life that can be celebrated. The article almost always mentions the person, now in Heaven and all he/she did in serving the Lord in church or other places. Perhaps it's my age or life experiences that gives me pause when I see that phrase. What I have wondered about myself or about you who read these words of mine is why must we wait until our funeral for others to celebrate our lives if they would choose to do that.
No matter our stage of life, we all, at times, tend to look back...to remember, reminisce, ponder the past or revisit...whatever we choose to call it. Unfortunately, our nature is to look back at the negatives, mistakes, disappointments and failures. Perhaps we have been through times of great sin or straying from the Lord that brings only thoughts of conviction and letting the Lord down. We can all look back, spending hours chastising ourselves for letting down family, friends and yes, God Himself.
We've almost programmed our minds when recalling past events, to only think in negative terms. I'm wondering if that doesn't reveal a certain amount of ingratitude to God who has been so very good to us through the years, good to us beyond anything we could have ever deserved. There are times I can work myself up into a good crying spell as I think of the times I wasn't the best wife and mom. I've wasted time I could have spent in God's Word. Too often, I spoke ill of other people when I should have simply kept my mouth shut. My list could go on and on...
BUT...
God has been far too good in my life to allow Satan to feed my mind with the negatives I can no longer do anything about....negatives I long ago took to God's throne of grace where they have been placed under the blood of Christ.
SO...
I am choosing to celebrate some things from my life I can rejoice over, not because of any good in me, but because of God's goodness toward me. I will include all of us in these things because of many of these events we share in common.
*Our day of salvation...remember that new-born feeling?
*Receiving my first Bible
*Vacation Bible Schools and past Sunday school teachers/pastors
*Best friends through the years.
*Graduations
*Engagement and wedding
*Children coming into the home
*Job promotion
*Church homes
*Winning folks to Christ
*Special times in the Word of God
*Opportunities of serving the Lord
I could go on and on just as you could as well. I realize that thrown in with the good, there are the ugly things squeezed in between. It is then we make a choice as to what we choose to dwell on. In Philippians 4:8, Paul charged us as to what we should think about and he puts no time restraints on this positive thinking. He says to think things that are honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good report and anything worthy of praise. This refers to our thinking not just in the present but also from our past.
So....what does it mean to celebrate?
Celebrating is openly acknowledging a significant or happy day or event with a party or festive activity.

Can we not celebrate all of those wonderful, positive things God has done in our lives and leave all of the old garbage out of our thinking? Few people agree to attend pity parties. When all we can pull up are negative things in our lives, I believe we are being very ungrateful toward a generous and loving Father. We don't have to throw some kind of party, but we have so much to celebrate because of Him. I'm not ready to send out any invitations to a party, but think for now, I'll go into the kitchen, pour me a fresh diet Coke and just smile awhile.
Father, right now I celebrate You and all you have meant to me through the years. You have forgiven me, blessed and loved me when I least deserved it. I thank You for Jesus and Your Holy Spirit. You are my wonder and my life. I love You. In Jesus' precious name...Amen

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