[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":68},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Fsome-things-i-remember":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Fsome-things-i-remember-surround":57},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":10,"columnName":39,"date":40,"description":16,"extension":41,"image":42,"meta":43,"minRead":44,"navigation":45,"path":46,"postType":47,"publication":48,"publicationUrl":42,"seo":49,"stem":50,"topics":51,"__hash__":56},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Fsome-things-i-remember.md","Some Things I Remember",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9],"John",{"type":11,"value":12,"toc":35},"minimark",[13,17,20,23,26,29,32],[14,15,16],"p",{},"With advancing age comes an abundance of memories—if only we could recall all of them!",[14,18,19],{},"I remember carefree boyhood winters, throwing snowballs at my brothers, sledding down our neighbor's steep hill, wolfing down homemade donuts my mother fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Fresh spring rains were followed by sunshine on grass so green it looked as if the Lord had painted the lawn with an enormous emerald brush—perfect for a baseball diamond. On hot summer days we pitched horseshoes under the shade trees in our yard and cranked homemade ice cream by hand. On crisp autumn days dry leaves burned in our farmhouse driveway and the barn brimmed with ripe corn.",[14,21,22],{},"My childhood school building smelled like a combination of chalk dust, floor cleaner, and old books. We paid 25 cents for a school lunch then, and an extra carton of milk cost a nickel. The principal was a kind man, but he carried a paddle and used it occasionally as a disciplinary tool. The curriculum was basic and uncluttered. We studied English, geography, history, science, and math. We had no high tech equipment, and it was a big deal when we got a reel-to-reel tape recorder. The teachers in our public school freely quoted Scripture and started each day by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and the Lord's Prayer.",[14,24,25],{},"My parents made sure my brothers and I dressed up for church on Sundays. We squirmed uncomfortably in clip-on ties and sport coats on Easter. The church building smelled like a combination of old wood, Communion juice, Lemon Pledge, and human perspiration. (No wonder they called those seats \"pews.\") On hot Sunday mornings we kept cool by waving hand-fans that were courtesy of local funeral homes. Oscillating fans swung back and forth from the walls, cooling the church-goers fortunate enough to sit where the breeze would catch them in the face.",[14,27,28],{},"We memorized a lot of Scripture in those days. The 23rd Psalm, the Beatitudes, John 3:16, and other great texts fixed themselves in my mind. So did the quiet tones of the organ while the Lord's Supper was passed, the barely-stifled laughter when someone dropped the offering plates and coins rolled on the floor, the serious tone of the preacher's voice as he opened his well-worn Bible, and the friendly words of encouragement at the door when church was over. I'll never forget the Good Friday night when I stepped before the congregation to affirm my faith that Jesus is the Son of the living God. Then a preacher named Paul (not the apostle—I'm not that old) baptized me into Christ.",[14,30,31],{},"My memories include a lot of growing pains. Questioning my values, searching for direction, making hard decisions. Doubting my faith, then embracing it again—for life. Going away to college, adjusting to marriage and parenthood, serving as a minister in New York—a place far from my childhood home but permanently in my heart. Gaining a grown-up understanding of my own sins and weaknesses, along with a new appreciation for God's grace. Growing stronger by being crushed and rebuilt, over and over again, by the bruising circumstances of life while doing my best to live by faith.",[14,33,34],{},"Over the course of a lifetime there's much to remember, and a number of happenings I'd rather forget. Dimly but distinctly I can see the hand of God weaving its way through my memories, redeeming the bad and turning the good into gold. And I rejoice when I dare to remember an even grander thought: Through it all, the Lord has never forgotten me.",{"title":36,"searchDepth":37,"depth":37,"links":38},"",2,[],"First Look","2009-05-24","md",null,{},3,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fsome-things-i-remember","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":16},"articles\u002Fsome-things-i-remember",[52,53,54,55],"Biblical Theology","Church Leadership","Holy Week and Resurrection","Intergenerational Ministry","vJjj8Jusr0vNDaxisGrQULwpgCJEojZqK_-vIXDBFfk",[58,63],{"title":59,"path":60,"stem":61,"description":62,"children":-1},"Some Said It Thundered","\u002Farticles\u002Fsome-said-it-thundered","articles\u002Fsome-said-it-thundered","\"Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!\" (John 12:27, 28).",{"title":64,"path":65,"stem":66,"description":67,"children":-1},"Someone Else's Mess","\u002Farticles\u002Fsomeone-else-s-mess","articles\u002Fsomeone-else-s-mess","No one likes to clean up a mess someone else made.",1790466177515]