Memorial Box Monday – The Notebooks

Yesterday I was asking the Lord to remind me of all the times He was faithful when I was a little girl. I just have a need to remember all the times. All. And although He hasn’t {yet} reminded me of all of those times years ago, I am certain He will. Sometimes we look back on a season of our lives and wonder, “Were you there Lord? How were you there?” That’s why it is so important to have a Memorial Box. To remember. To keep remembering. Because it’s so stinkin’ easy to forget. God told those forgetful Israelites to tell their children the same story over and over and over and over each time they saw the stones…..to their children, their children’s children and so on…..

Today’s story is a simple story of God’s faithful provision. It took place about 14 years ago. We were living in Virginia where we were planting a church. Times were lean. Very lean. I was home schooling Abigail, Tyler and Autumn. I had been home schooling for about 8 years and the routine was to buy notebooks and supplies at the beginning of the school year – when all that stuff was on sale. For some reason I had missed that and here it was well into the year and we had none left.

About this same time the Lord had been speaking to me about trusting Him. Not worrying about anything – instead to pray about everything. It’s so easy to wonder and worry about everything. It’s so easy to spend large chunks of time worrying…..for instance my thoughts would have typically gone like this: Where am I going to find notebooks right now? They never, ever have notebooks on sale at this time of year. How will I afford them? I need a bunch. How many would be the bare minimum of what I need? Where could I look for some? Who would have the cheapest….and on and on and on.

But I was learning to just share my need with the Lord and leave it with Him. And as I am sharing this story I am remembering……I could take you back to the home we were living in and show you exactly where I was squatting down to get something in a lower cupboard and realizing I needed notebooks. I simply said, “Lord, I need some notebooks. Actually I need lots. Please provide them on sale where I can easily find them.” That was the end of the prayer. My mind went to other things. I didn’t fret. I didn’t worry. I didn’t give it any more thought.

Worry can be so time consuming. I could have spent hours thinking {and actually worrying} about those silly notebooks. But I was learning to pray and trust. Trust for me means not worrying. Just giving it to Him and leaving it there. {I am still working on doing this, but over the last 15 years it has definitely gotten way better.}


A few days later I went to Richmond to grocery shop. I walked in to Walmart and right there, smack dab in front of me, right at the entrance was an entire pallet of notebooks. Green. Yellow. Red. Blue. Black.

And the best part? They were $.09 each!!!!!! I would have thought it was a stinkin’ deal at $.50 each…but no! They were NINE CENTS!! Gracious – I could have walked the sidewalks and found enough to buy a few, right? I was bouncing up those aisles rejoicing….

No worries.

No frets.

No chunk of change.
Just faithful, covenant keeping God meeting my very real need!! Proving that He loves to be our Miracle-working, Mountain-moving, Awe-inspiring, Gasp-giving God!! How stinkin’ fun is that?

So when it’s easy to fret, worry, struggle, try to figure it out – DON’T!! Remember the things God has done for you….just ask Him and trust He will do it again.

And if you missed the Crazy Love post yesterday…check it out…xo

11 thoughts on “Memorial Box Monday – The Notebooks

  1. Wow!! That is amazing, halleluYah!!! Yes, the key is to turn our thoughts into prayer, ALWAYS… I still do forget that and end up worrying! Thank you for this reminder 🙂

    Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Philippians 4:6

  2. I had a Memorial Box Monday story from well…last Monday. VBS was starting at our church. For the first time we were doing it in the evenings. I have been in charge of some part of it for the last 13 years. This year I was doing snacks. We had a heart for VBS, but many of the women planning this year have become much busier and while we wanted it to be meaningful, we had decided to make it simpler. I had got all the snacks I thought that I needed and showed up last Monday to get organized for the first night. In the middle of laying everything out, I realized that I had forgotten to get bottled water donated. We had juice boxes donated for the kids, but I always liked to have bottled water for the volunteers…and I had completely forgotten. I could get some for the next night, but Monday was stinking hot and we were doing part of it outside. I told the director that I had completely spaced getting water and felt awful. We decided – that we had vowed to make this a simpler and more meaningful VBS. We would make due with what we had for that night instead of running out to go get some. I went back to my organizing. Literally, 5 minutes later, the director came in with a big grin and lots of goose bumps. "You are absolutely NOT going to believe this," she said, "Not two minutes after you walked out Mr. Gray (a man from our congregation) walked in to say that they had had water left over from a mission house build we had recently done in our parking lot and he had saved the 5 cases for VBS knowing we could always use them for volunteers." She smiled and said "From your mouth to God's ears to Mr. Gray's brain!" It set the tone for our VBS, because we the leaders felt God's presence in a big way before the first kid came in! God is good!

  3. Thank you so much for sharing this story today! I've been worrying all day today about coming up with the money for homeschool curriculum for next year. I needed the reminder that I'm wasting my time worrying and I just need to trust my Provider! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

  4. Thank you so much for sharing this story today! I've been worrying all day today about coming up with the money for homeschool curriculum for next year. I needed the reminder that I'm wasting my time worrying and I just need to trust my Provider! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

  5. Wow! That is just what I needed to hear today. Thank you! I've got some big stuff coming up, lots of change and decisions. I've been worrying instead of using that time to pray. Now is a good time to change that!

  6. Thank You! I needed to be reminded too. We are struggling even as we are just moving into our gift of a house. I am feeling overwhelmed and wondering how we are going to bring home more kids when we are living on the edge. Not to mention I am living on the edge. I REALLY need a break and I don't see one on the horizon. Sheri

  7. I just want to tell you something that happened today. A long time ago you taught me about how when you lose something you pray about it because God cares enough even to help us find the things we lose.

    This morning I lost something very, very important and I almost went into panick mode until I remembered you saying to pray about it. Honestly I sat and cried (tears and all) asking God to find this item for me because I knew I couldn't find it on my own. Guess what I found a few minutes later?

    Honestly, what do people do without God???

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