Unforgettable



To Remember
 an act or effort of memory
to remain aware of
to have come into the mind again
dictionary.com

To this day when I smell gasoline, I am instantaneously transported back in time to the joy of Grandpa starting the snowmobile.


Snoopy looking on as Dad and I enjoy a ride on
Grandpa's snowmobile
Snoopy (I know, such an original name) - our shaggy dog is barking and determined not to be left behind. Bundled in our snowsuits and sopping mitts my sisters and I vie for who will get to sit on the snowmobile with Grandpa and who will be left to climb in the back of the bumpy makeshift wagon to go along for the ride.

It is remarkable how the simple gift of smell can evoke such powerful memories.

Our ability to remember is an extraordinary gift.  Sometimes it comes with such ease and at other times requires significant effort on our part.

Have you ever noticed that we can pack up Christmas into the storage bins as our company returns home having completely neglected and forgotten about the true guest of honour - Christ Himself?

God knows how easy it is for us to worship Him one moment and forget about Him in the next which is why He provides this gentle warning ...

"Take care lest you forget the Lord."
 Deuteronomy 6:12

The Lord calls us to remember.

We are designed and created to remember.

To remain continually aware of His Presence.

Yet we take this powerful gift and place it in this religious box set aside to unwrap only for designated moments of remembrance at communion, Easter or funeral services.

But what would happen if we practised this spiritual discipline every day?  What would happen if we remember Jesus in every moment, conversation and circumstance that we face each day?

I know - sounds a little scary since some days I cannot even remember what I just ate for lunch.
What or who
 is your mind
 set on?


Even in the midst of our over-stuffed schedules we are able to remember to check the plethora of emails that await us, our Facebook likes and our credit card bill to ensure we have not received any additional charges. 

Our memory is clearly not the issue. 

In fact, quite the opposite.  

Sometimes our ability to remember is so active and vivid it is debilitating.  Have you ever noticed that when someone we love is hurting that we never need a reminder to worry about them?

Though we may strive to forget many of us wake up only to recall and replay that same offence, that embarrassing moment, that searing wound that no-one understands and the shame of our past mistakes.

You see, we already spend a significant amount of time and energy each day already in the act of remembrance.
To remember
is a gift to shift 
the focus of
ourselves and
back to our Beloved

The question is who and what will we choose to remember?

Will we focus on our fears or on our Prince of Peace?  Will we recall the wounds that make us hide in shame or remember to rest in the outrageous love of the One who has set us free?  

Our Father knew that we could not do this alone and by our own effort.  That is why He has given us the precious gift of His Spirit to help us learn and recall what we need to live in Him.  John 14:26

To remember is not so we remain fixated on the past.  It is a gift for us now in the present to remember the Lord, who He is, who we are in Him and what He has done.

It is in this intimate place of remembrance that enables us to shift the focus off of ourselves in order to live entwined with our Beloved.

It is in this blissful union that our soul awakes to sing.

It is in this place that we become transformed to live fully alive in Him.


If you recall anything this year - remember this, my friends.


"I will not forget you.  Behold I
have engraved you on the palms
of my hands; your walls are
continually before me." 
~ Isaiah 49:16

 You are never forgotten. 

🎶 

"That's why darling it's incredible 
That someone so unforgettable
Thinks that I am unforgettable too"
~Natalie Cole 



Here are a few of my own captured moments of thanksgiving and reflection from this past year.



I remember the days of old;
 I meditate on all that you have done
I ponder the work of your hands."
Psalm 143:5



Remember to live astonished and amazed
"Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly astonished."  Mark 6:51



Remember that at the end of every difficult climb awaits a fresh perspective.
Orange Grove Court Yard, Seville, Spain


"Remember also your Creator"  Ecclesiastes 12:1 



Remember to look for Beauty, light and wonder as it can be found in the most unexpected places

Remember that He hides us in the depths of His love

He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock,
That shadows a dry, thirsty land;
He hideth my life in the depths of His love,
And covers me there with His hand
He Hideth My Soul

 - Frances J Crosby

Remember that we are designed to share in the beauty and wonder together

Remember to never give up!  Long uphill climbs can reveal enchanted discoveries.

Remember to love.  Glorious Summer Evenings together in Portugal

Remember to laugh ... Do you see what I see?  

Remember to imagine
Livraria Lello - The magical bookstore that is said to have inspired Harry Potter





Remember to be still and see His beauty all around you - A Breath-taking spectacle
 -  Porto by night

Remember we are created in His image to create - Masterworks of tile in Lisbon


Remember to - Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit in itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me."  John 15:4,5

Remember to praise His name all day long.
"From the rising of the sun to its setting The name of the LORD is to be praised"   Psalm 113:3


Remember to listen and learn from creation
"You make the dawn and sunset shout for joy!"  Psalm 65:8




Remember to play!  Nailed it Gingerbread Competitions


Remember To Play

"Pooh, promise you won't forget about me, ever.
 Not even when I'm a hundred."
 Pooh thought for a little. "How old shall I be then?"
 "Ninety-nine."
 Pooh nodded. "I promise," he said.
 Still with his eyes on the world
 Christopher Robin put out a hand and felt Pooh's paw.
 "Pooh," said Christopher Robin earnestly,
 "if I--if I'm not quite--" he stopped and tried again--
 "Pooh, whatever happens, you will understand, won't you?"
 "Understand what?"
 "Oh, nothing."
 He laughed and jumped to his feet.
 "Come on!"
 "Where?" said Pooh.
 "Anywhere." said Christopher Robin.

So, they went off together. 

But wherever they go,
 and whatever happens to them on the way,
 in that enchanted place on the top of the Forest,
 a little boy and his Bear will always be playing.” 
― A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner
Remember to not take yourself too seriously
Remember to give thanks and make time for family 



Remember ... "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you"
   Isaiah 43:2




You are never forgotten.


🎶

"That's why darling it's incredible
That someone so unforgettable
Thinks that I am unforgettable too"
~Natalie Cole




Thank you for stopping by to make this Castle
your home.
I


Let us cultivate the seeds that nourish our interior castle.
May we be attentive to the unfolding of the beauty of our Beloved so that we may live every day overflowing with the fullness of Christ.




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Comments

  1. Wow! I am SO glad you're writing. Have I said that before?

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