When I first started my blog,  I wrote about the importance of remembering.  I shared a picture of a heart shaped rock that sits on my front porch, always reminding me of our crash on Memorial Day 1999. You can read in His Word where God asks people over and over again, to remember the Mighty wonders He has done.

Please read Joshua 3:14-17 and Joshua 4. It tells how the children of Israel were carrying the ark of the covenant and going to take the land God was giving to them. They came to the Jordan river, which flowed heavily that time of year.   They had to cross it in order to get over to the other side.  God instructed Joshua to tell the priests who were carrying the ark of the covenant, to first put their feet in the Jordan. When they did, the waters rose up in one heap, and other passages to the river were cut off, in order for the children of Israel to pass through the Jordan on dry ground.  Everyone made it through. When all had crossed, God instructed them to gather 12 stones from the middle of the Jordan, where they had passed through, and take them to where they would lodge for the night. He also had them put twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan river, as memorial stones to remember and tell their children all of what the LORD had done for them.  When they were done gathering the stones that were to be taken to camp that night, and as the last sole of the priests’ feet were lifted up to  dry ground, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and went over all its banks as before.

Can you imagine what that sight would of looked like? The waters that had been held back for a long period of time suddenly come flooding and rushing back in. You know it was HUGE AND LOUD! What a celebration that must of been! 

Joshua was clearly instructed by God, about what to do with the stones:

Joshua 4:20-24  And those twelve stones which they had taken from the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. And he said to the sons of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in time to come saying, What are these stones?” then you shall inform your children saying, ‘Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground.’ For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed, just as the LORD your God had done to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed; that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, so that you may fear the LORD your God forever.”

Why did the LORD ask them to do this?

We forget…

We loose sight of the seeing and remembering God’s Mighty Wonders.

Remembering and telling others, lifts our heads and hearts when we are down and weary.

Our stones might be journals. They may be actual stones, or shells, scars on your body, or anything we can hold onto and look at or touch, so we can remember, reflect, tell others, and hold fast to what we know is true and who our God is.

Every Memorial Day, we spend the day together, retelling the story again.  Each year, my children hear something they did not know before. We tell the story from start to finish and take our time. This is a huge part of the foundation of their faith. It tells of the story of how God intervened, saved them and set them in a secure place. It declares the faithfulness of Almighty God. It shouts, “OUR GOD IS A MIRACULOUS, ALL CARING, ALL SEEING, POWERFUL, OMNIPRESENT GOD WHO LOVES ME!!!”

We all have powerful stories and testimonies to remind each other and ourselves of the goodness of God Almighty.

Philippians 4:8-  Finally brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.