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Memorial Day, A Powerful Teaching Moment
Memorial Day is coming! How many homes and Sunday school classes will make the most of this teaching moment? History is full of memorials. This is a cultural teaching moment opportunity to train our children in the importance of remembering. If we don’t intentionally plan to remember, we won’t. If we don’t preserve what we remember, we forget the most important details, the meaning of the event, the lessons learned, the victories won. The Bible is full of memorials. From Jacob to the calling of Moses in Exodus, to set His people free and continuing throughout the Bible, God sets up memorials. In Genesis 31:45 we see Jacob setting up…
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Memorial Day: Come with me to Arlington Cemetery
It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. Ecclesiastes 7:2 Just weeks ago, as pinkish-white cherry blossoms graced the grayish-white marble headstones of the dead who served our country, we walked and rode through Arlington Cemetery. The delicacy of the blossoms’ beauty and the massive orchestration of rows upon rows of markers belie the horror and chaos of the wars that have sent so many men and women to these forested hills overlooking Washington D.C. Another ironic juxtaposition–the first soldiers buried here were Union soldiers…
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Memorial Day, Remembering to Remember
Monday is Memorial Day. How many homes and Sunday school classes will make the most of this teaching moment? Is it true that most Americans see Memorial Day more as a celebration for the beginning of summer than the freedom/flag day that was intended? There are homes and churches who will recognize their veterans and celebrate their sacrifice. Most churches will praise God for our freedom and pray for the families of the fallen. How many will look historically at the beginning of this great holiday and understand that it is a memorial set to remember the price willingly paid to free thousands from slavery and to keep a country…
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Memories, A Legacy or Lifeline?
A popular storyline recurring regularly recounts the tragedy of a person who loses their memory due to some tragic event. Then, beset with amnesia, the hero searches for what has been lost and the story unfolds. Remembering and recovering becomes a victory. In a similar way, the devastating illness of Alzheimer’s robs a person of their memories and devastates those who love them. Losing the lifeline of memories becomes a living heartbreak. Memories represent the legacy of a life and become a lifeline . Yet as I was reminded by a young pastor some years ago Jesus knows we are a forgetful people. He instituted a special meal to jog…
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Looking for Happiness today?
Just yesterday I learned that science now affirms two key ingredients that lead to greater happiness: gratitude and kindness. My granddaughter shared these insights with me from her current college studies in psychology. Interestingly the class reviewed scientific experiments that demonstrate the accuracy of those contentions. Additionally, it has been demonstrated as well that verbal expressions of gratitude, actually saying the words aloud, multiply the impact of thankfulness. Our conversation leads me to reflect as we celebrate today, Memorial Day. Established following the brutal Civil War, Memorial Day honors the lives sacrificed for our freedom. Since the Civil War, Americans have given their lives serving in the Spanish-American War, World…
