It was amazing fun to find 10 Memorial Boxes for some of our sweet bloggy friends. As soon as I can get pictures taken of them all I will send the pictures to Tina for her first choice (hopefully later today).

Recently I have had several questions about the Memorial Box and I thought I would take this Monday to answer those.

Question: I have no clue what to put in my Memorial Box, if I even had one.

Answer: If you are having trouble remembering specific times where God showed up, pray and ask the Lord to remind you of His direct intervention in your life or the life of your family. He will remind you….because He wants you to remember!

Question: What if I can’t figure out what kind of symbol to use once I remember a story?

Answer: Ask the Lord, ask your family or ask your bloggy friends!!

In our Memorial Box we have things like:

• a plastic mountain lion symbolizing my encounter with a mountain lion just feet from me a couple of years ago
• a teeny rubber duck reminding us of the time the Lord gave us a swimming pool from “around the corner”
• a small plastic shark reminding us of the time the Lord spared my life when a shark bumped into me in the Atlantic Ocean
• a bookmark with the word “Alaska” on it representing a free cruise the Lord provided at a much needed time
• a heart monitor lead from Emma’s heart monitor when God spared her life as she was dying in my arms
• a broken watch to remind us of how God provided a watch on the way to Africa
• a cancelled check from a sweet donation when we were waiting for our Isaiah to come home
• a tiny red Radio Flyer wagon representing God’s healing in my life from the pain of childhood abuse in every form
• a Tony the Tiger representing a prophetic dream Dw had that both Elijah and Elizabeth were coming home
• a rooster reminding us of God’s deep love for us – even a rooster named Ezra….

That’s just a few. There have been several stories since our home was destroyed by fire and we have not even gathered those things.
Question: Why do you do this? Aren’t you busy enough?
Answer: Sweet friends, we MUST remember God’s faithfulness. There may come a day when we are not allowed the religious freedom we currently enjoy (and oft take for granted)…but we can always remember the stories….and we can tell our children over and over so they not only remember but form the habit of expecting God’s faithfulness on a daily basis.
Question: Why should we do this?

Answer: Because God wants us to remember so that we build our faith. When I hear stories of how God showed up for someone, my faith is built – so is yours!! We tell each other of these miracles to remind us that they are not just for days of old, but for today also!! They encourage us and give us confidence that He will, once again, show up!!

Question: I haven’t found a box yet.

Answer: No problem!! Keep looking….in the mean time gather things that remind you of God’s faithfulness over the years. You can use anything: a shelf, an actual box, a box the hangs…..When I was searching for Memorial Boxes for the giveaway I found old antique sewing drawers from a pedal machine. These boxes, turned on their sides are the perfect cubbies to start a Memorial Box with. When your collection grows you begin to search for a new Memorial Box.
We had a small one that we started with many years ago. We graduated to a larger one. Both were lost in the fire. We now have found a new one, bigger still!!!!
Lastly, Erica, a new sweet bloggy friend surprised me with a Memorial Box Monday thingy for the sidebar to link friends with A Place Called Simplicity. We are still ‘tweaking’ what it looks like, but it should be available in the next few days. I am just so tickled. I didn’t know Erica until she wrote a few days ago saying she had been working on a Memorial Box Monday button for my blog. How sweet is that? I opened the attachment and there it was, with our little log home as its backdrop. I covered my mouth, gasped and started to cry. Yes, the perfect Memorial Monday backdrop….reminding me everytime I see it, how the Angel of the Lord spared our lives, by just 5 minutes(!), this past January. And that is precisely why we have Memorials!! Yippee Jesus!! What has He done for you???? xo