The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said,
Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29

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Ed with the Youth Program

Gary in Midwest

November 2008

Dear Church Family,

When November rolls around, most of us immediately begin to think of the traditional American holiday of Thanksgiving. We simply cannot keep our minds away from feasting and football as this day comes closer and closer. But, what do we have for which we are truly thankful. Sure there are the normal things such as health, prosperity, family, and friends. But, as I was contemplating this, I was considering a series of personal blessings. In addition to the above mentioned, I have just completed the most wonderful hunting year of my life. Since I was a boy, I have taken to the field, gun in arm, after everything, from rabbits and birds to big game. These treks have met with a mixture of success and failure. But, they have left that special print on my brain that we call memory. This year, I have successfully taken a cow elk with my bow and a bull moose with my rifle. These are hunting successes
that I was not sure would ever happen, but now they have. It is very possible, even likely, they will never happen again, but we’ll see.

So what do I have as a result? Well, I have quit a bit of meat in the freezer -- that’s good. I am having the moose head mounted, so its beauty (don’t ask Beth her opinion on that) will grace our den for the foreseeable future. But,
the thing that really struck me as I have looked back over these last couple of months is the wonderful blessing of memory.

Memory can either be a wonderful interlude, or it can be a nightmare. In our memory bank, all of us have both pleasant and difficult memories. The question is upon which of these do we dwell? Jesus says that it is not what
goes into a person that defiles him, but rather what comes out of him. Primarily, He was speaking of our words and deeds as those things by which our lives can be best measured. But, it is to our extreme advantage, that when we take a trip down memory lane, we recall those things that will lift up rather than destroy. When I have a contemplative moment, I can choose whether I
will review a pleasant memory or an unhappy one. That is up to me. Now if I never review unhappy memories, I will never learn from the mistakes that created them. But, if I dwell on those unpleasant times, then that will dominate my spirit. On the other hand, as I recall my hunting experiences of this year, for example, a smile will return to my face as my memory replays the scenes. At almost any moment, I can again see the sight-pin resting on the ribs of the cow elk, or I can see my crosshairs settling on the back point of the shoulder blade of the moose. These scenes etched into my memory make me happy.

What scenes do you have in your recent memory bank that will bring a smile to your face? Insist that your mind bring those to the surface. Then out of your being will rise positive things that will lift you up. If you do not have any of these scenes readily available in your memory, its time to put some of them in there. That is called making good memories. Making and having pleasant memories is indeed a blessing for which we should be thankful!

In Christ,

Pastor Quin