These are the days

We got back late last night (early this morning) from helping Kelli and Jennifer get settled into the senior and sophomore years at Auburn and South Carolina. Jamie starts her senior year of high school on Sunday, all reminders that summer is over and a new school (and church program) year has begun and I am excited to get going again .

I also realized this morning that the date on my last blog post is July 15. It’s also time to write again.

While we were in Columbia with Jennifer we had the joy of reconnecting with friends from Clemson, Jill and Wayne Rogers. Wayne and I were classmates in grad school for architecture at Clemson and together we studied and traveled and shared life and made a lot of memories. Wayne continues practice architiecture (check out his work at www.catalystarch.com ) but unfortunately our ministry travels meant that we hadn’t seen each other for about 15 years. Spending time together was one of the highlights of the past week as over breakfast we brought up many of those memories made years ago.

As we were driving back to Houston yesterday I was listening to a song by the country music duo Sugarland with a great line:

We're making moments that we won't forget
And feeling ones that haven't happened yet
Don't be afraid
We can't forget these are the days

Years ago making memories with Wayne and Jill we never stopped to consider that one day we’d be sitting around over breakfast reflecting on “those days.” I don’t suspect our daughters are heading into this year of school aware that the memories they will make in the coming months will one day be their “those days.” And even as I write this words I’m not sure I fully appreciate that this year at Grace we will make memories that we won’t forget.

These really are the days.

So the challenge is to live in such a way as to make the most of them and to create the sort of memories we will want to look back on one day.

It reminds me of another line in a song by the Indigo Girls

we must love while these moments are still called today

That’s actually God’s idea.

Psalm 118 tells us that God's love endures forever, and declares that today is the day the LORD has made so let us "rejoice and be glad in it."

Hebrews 3: 13 urges us to

encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today,

Today, tomorrow, this week and the program year we are entering, these are the days.

So let’s rejoice and be glad.
Let’s make the most of every opportunity to encourage one another.

As Jesus suggested in John 3; let’s make the most of the day before night comes.

These are the days and I look forward to one day sitting with friends at breakfast sharing the memories we will never forget.