For this week’s Monday Minute, Jennifer shares with us four Creative Ways to Celebrate God’s faithfulness! If you have more, we’d love to hear them!
4 Creative Ways to Celebrate God’s Faithfulness
by Jennifer Wake
I am an admin person. I deal in DATA. Calendars, spreadsheets and “To Do” lists are great tools. Tools to help me organize my life. Yet kids have a way of throwing a monkey wrench into my plans.
When my kids were little, their schools seemed to have a celebration every week or two. They celebrated birthdays, 100 days at school, National Holidays, and so much more. Because these were rarely announced in advance, I had to scramble to get food or decorations that were rarely put on any of my “to do” lists.
My family loves to celebrate. We love food, friends, and more food. We celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, Super Bowls, March Madness, Stanley Cup, Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, World Series, and the list goes on and on.
One of my friends celebrates birthdays and “Gotcha Days” (the day of their adoption) for everyone in their family with ice cream for breakfast. Now, she takes celebration seriously.
Although we celebrate so often, I have forgotten a very important day in each of our children’s lives, their “Rebirth” day. That is the day they accepted Christ as their Savior. It doesn’t help that I don’t remember the exact day of their baptism without the help of my photo albums.
Why Celebrate God’s Faithfulness?
In the Old Testament, God reminded the people of Israel to celebrate HIS faithfulness. It was not a focus on their faithfulness, because they were forgetful like me. God told them to celebrate what HE did for them.
In Leviticus 23, the Lord commanded the Israelites to gather all the produce of the land and celebrate for seven days. This is called the Feast of Booths. On the first and eighth day they had to rest. They had to rest before and after the huge celebration.
On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the produce of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the LORD seven days. On the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest.
Leviticus 23:39 ESV
In Luke 15, Jesus told the Parable of the Prodigal son. After the youngest son returns the father commands everyone to celebrate and orders the fattened calf to be used for the great feast. This father doesn’t just give a small party. He gives an over-the-top party for him. Think of it as having the best meal every day for a month or ice cream for breakfast for a week.
‘And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
Luke 15:23-24 ESV
We are called to Celebrate God’s Faithfulness
What ways do you celebrate God’s faithfulness? Do you eat lots of food? Dance? Tell Stories?
As you can surmise, my family does not remember too many of the specific dates of God’s faithfulness like we do a birthday or an anniversary. Instead, we remember the whole year during Christmas season. We love to spend time remembering how God brought us through and the ways he has blessed us.
But with everything else going on in our busy lives, I often need some tools to remember and celebrate God’s faithfulness. Here are four ways that have helped me.
4 Creative Ways to Celebrate God’s faithfulness
- Journals. Write down how God has provided for you each day. Think about both the big things and little things. Sometimes just helping me get through a trying day is cause for celebration. (Exodus 34:27 ESV)
- Stones. The Israelites built altars and memorials to remember. When they crossed the Jordan, men had to go back to get stones from the center of the river to remember the miracle God performed. (Deuteronomy 27:1-8 ESV)
- Pictures. My in-laws write stories on the back of picture frames to remember who was with them and where they were. God uses the rainbow to paint the sky as a way to remember the story of Noah. (Genesis 9:15-16 ESV)
- Stories. Tell your faith stories. How has God provided? My daughter had surgery last year and I love to tell the story of how God moved insurance mountains to demonstrate how much he loves her. God, through Moses, commanded the Israelites to tell the story of the Passover. (Exodus 13:1-16 ESV)
Prayer:
Lord, thank you. Thank you for your faithfulness in our lives. Thank you for your protection, your guidance, your help, and your provision. Teach us to remember and to celebrate your faithfulness. Amen.
Verses to Ponder:
There shall be twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They shall be like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes. Exodus 28: 21 ESV
Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children children to another generation. Joel 1:3 ESV
Let not the steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. Proverbs 3:3 ESV
“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” Hebrews 10:16 ESV
For more resources to help you thrive in military life, visit our Resources Page.
