Remembering and Forgetting

"True Colors"

"That's What Friends Are For"

"Flashdance-What a Feeling"

"Footloose"

"Celebration"
("Celebrate Good Times, Come On!")

"Girls Just Want to Have Fun"

"Eye of the Tiger"

It seems kind of funny to start off the New Year by looking back to the 1980's.  Shouldn't we be looking forward?  Some of us teachers who lived through the '80's had a few laughs reminiscing about what we wore in the 80's.  I actually did not wear neon colors and never owned a pair of leg warmers.  I spent the 80's sporting "mom jeans" and badly permed hair. (Those are embarrassing memories. Some trends should simply be forgotten!)

The Bible tells us there are some things we should always remember---like God's faithfulness. When we face challenges, it's encouraging to recall the many ways He's taken care of us in the past. 

"I will remember the works of the Lord;

Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.

I will also meditate on all Your work,

And talk of Your deeds." Psalm 77:11-12

But there are other things we can forget---like our past mistakes and sins. 

"Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth. Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." Isaiah 43:18-19

"...but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."  Philippians 3:13-14

After all, the Bible says that God has forgotten them.

"As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us."  Psalm 103:12

We don't need to be defined by past faults and failures. As I told the kids, it's a new year with new opportunities to focus, to exercise self-control, to finish what we start, to strive for excellence, to show kindness to others. 

Happy New Year, and here's to remembering goodness of God and forgetting the problems of the past.