Moments That Matter

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In my Notes app on my iPhone, I have 184 “notes” that I’ve made for myself.  Things to remember.  The credentials to my family’s Kindle account.  Quotes that inspire me.  What I need to pick up at the store on the way home from work.  You name it and it is probably in there.

My favorite notes, however, are the lists of moments that I don’t want to forget, such as:

31st Birthday Blessings

Breakfast with Mom & Dad
Morning massage
Lunch with Mom, Dad & Andy
Video shoot at TSG for church
Birthday get together with family
Surprise retirement party for Dad
Hour long call with a great friend
Relaxing & soaking in the blessings

They are simple reminders of the parts of that particular day that blessed my heart and made me smile.

And those are the moments that matter, right?

It’s not the number of followers you have on social media, or the amount of paperwork you accomplished today.  It’s not the things on your to-do list or the shows lined up on your Netflix queue.

It’s the moments that you spend with the people you love.  It’s the moments doing the things that make you feel alive.  It’s the air in your lungs and the pep in your step.  Those are the moments that matter.

The apostle Paul wrote to the church in Philippi,

 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.  (Philippians 4:8, NIV)

Whatever is lovely…

This past Sunday I finished a book, that is filled with lovely. No spoilers or anything (especially in case you want to join me for my upcoming online book study of Looking for Lovely by Annie F. Downs), but I promise there will be laugh-out-loud moments, convicting moments and full out you’re-going-to-need-lots-of-Kleenex moments!  This book makes me grateful for the work that God has done in Annie’s life, so that she might be able to write this book and remind me of what He has done in my own story.

So when you get caught up in the hum-drum of life; when every day seems like the next, or life is beating at you like choppy waves at sea, take a minute and think back to Paul’s words, and extend it one verse farther.

Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.  (Philippians 4:8-9, MSG)

Make a list of the things in your life that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy, and take a minute to thank God for them.

How do you find the lovely in the everyday?