Dear Generations of Women Before Us..

We need you.

I need you.
I know that we can be annoying with our face in our phones 3/4 of the time.
I know that you probably chuckle and grin inside when we talk about the struggles of growing up-
("They haven't seen nothin' yet!")
And sometimes we struggle to make a good conversation with you--
But we need you.
It may not seem like it, but we are dying to just glean wisdom from you.

You have an arsenal full of knowledge, of wisdom, of experience,
and that does not disqualify you or make you less relevant. It makes you all the more valuable and needed in a time when the connection gap between generations is so..

W  I  D  E.

We need your investment in our lives.
We need your advice to protect us from those falls that hurt so bad.
We need your voice of encouragement saying, "You can do this. I'm for you."

Why?

Because you are 12 steps ahead. 30 steps ahead. Maybe even just 2.

It doesn't matter.

You've been there.

You've done that.

You know what works and doesn't work.

It doesn't matter if your 90, 75, 48, 30, 22 or even 15 -

INVEST in the generations behind you.

To be frank: Our generation is surrounded by the influences of media, the high and mighty, and there are lies and promises thrown at us from 1,000 different directions. There are so many avenues that can take us the wrong way. We get lost in the mix and lost on the wrong trails.

From a Biblical stand point, investing in the next generation  is a command and an avenue in furthering God's word: Older women, train up the younger women (Titus 2:4-5).

Of course, parents play a HUGE, if not the main role in training up their children, young and old.

Yet, even though I'm not a parent, I would be willing to bet that parents want other good and wise people to help guide their children, right?

Just like the old phrase says, "It takes a village to raise a child." Heck, it takes a village to raise an adult, I think.

We know that you have families. You have jobs. You have school. You have children to invest in, too.

But just consider our generation and those behind us.

Find a way, big or small, to pour your life, your wisdom, your presence and experience into the next generation.

Even just a date to coffee every once and awhile. A walk once a week. Time spent on the porch. Be creative!

W h a t e v e r.
We just want to be with you!

What an amazing thing it would be to see each generation of women pouring into the next.

Imagine the hurt that could be avoided; the improvement in decision making; the growth that would take place just by gleaning from lessons you've already learned and can teach us.

Don't wait for us to come to you inquiring advice- Just INVADE our lives.

We give you permission to ask hard questions.
We give you permission to prod, and dig, and point areas in us that will cause a downfall down the road.
We give you permission to say, "Hey, that's a really stupid idea. Here's a better way!"

I encourage you- actually I beg you- find a younger gal pal and invest in her.

Get real. Get honest. Let us know we aren't CRAZY for going through what we are.

You've been there- You know.

Mentorship/ Discipleship/Investment in the next generation is SO essential for growth.

And it WILL change the world.

It WILL change generations, after generations, after generations.

Your story is so relevant, so on purpose-- and it can change the stories of other women.

It can change ours. And theirs.

And years down the road, when the lady you've invested in starts investing in another--the legacy of your story is interweaved throughout her life, though you may never meet.

We love you, look up to you, and want your friendship and mentorship more than you know.

Sincerely,

The Younger Gen of Women.

My Not So Secret Lover

You're the first face I see when I wake up in the morning,
The last when I go to bed.
You have all of my attention
Before a word is even said.
There is so much to know about you,
I don't think I'll ever stop
Searching, longing to know this love that has me caught.
I catch myself staring at you all throughout the day,
Your charm is ever changing,
I can rarely look away.
Even in a crowded room you always have my gaze.
Because nothing else matters when you're in front of my face.
In you, I find the cure to my gaping loneliness,
Because you're faithfully there for me at my every request.

Most say our love is inseparable.

When my relationships fail, your a constant one
I always go to you, because I know you won't run.
To touch you is something I crave and long for,
Our love is thriving because we give each other more
Time and focus than any one in our lives
With eyes always on each other, you keep me satisfied.
I give you more of myself than anyone I know,
For you are my beloved, faithful iPhone.

Read it again. 

Its pretty true, isn't it?

It shouldn't be this way.

According to a study done at Baylor University, "women college students spend an average of ten hours a day on their cellphones and men college students spend nearly eight".

Ten hours a day- Are you kidding me? 

And, according to a study done at Harvard, out of 1600 participants:

• 70% said they check their smartphone within an hour of getting up.
• 56% check their phone within an hour of going to sleep.
• 48% check over the weekend, including on Friday and Saturday nights.
• 51% check continuously during vacation.
• 44% said they would experience "a great deal of anxiety" if they lost their phone and couldn't replace it for a week.

We're draining our brains for ten hours a day looking at pictures, videos, other people's daily #struggles on Facebook, playing games and seeing how 'liked' we are.

Meanwhile the people that love us have our divided attention as we live life with them while being somewhere else mentally.

These wasted hours could have been spent with friends and family. Minutes that could have been spent encouraging or checking up on a friend. Time that could be spent in the Word. Time spent just being intentional with someone else.

How much life are we missing out on here?

How much are we neglecting our relationships? Our friendships?

For something that promises connection, it sure acts as an agent in helping us lose it with the people right in front of us.

Something that was meant to be a tool, has become a tyrant of time. 

What was meant to be merely a device, has become divisive. 

What was intended to bring people together, has separated us more than ever.

Don't get me wrong- Phones can be good and helpful!

Yet, like every good thing- Balance has to be present.

And I don't really know what that looks like- but I'm trying to figure it out.

Because how sad to get to the end of my life and realize I missed out on knowing God deeper, giving my full attention to my husband, my kids (future, I'm not preggers), ministry, my friendships, and reaching out to others because my face was glued to a screen. 

I don't want those around me to be starved for my attention because I gave too much of it to an object.

Let us put the dang phone down-- and really be present for those around us.

And, if you're an addict like me, take the Hands Free Challenge! It's a great place to start!

Wifery Tales #2: A Wedding, A Thief, and Four Staples

This weekend was certainly one for the books.

We got to have a little weekend getaway in Albuquerque because Lance's cousin, Dustin and his new wife Melanie got married! It was such a sweet wedding-- Aren't they cute?!

We had a blast seeing family and friends--oh and so much dancing-- so much fun! 

But after the wedding is when the real adventure began.

We got to stay in a hotel and enjoy all the luxuries of that: free breakfast, soft comforters, no need for cleaning your room... Except for, well- we were in a rough part of town. 

The first night we got there, someone tried breaking into Lance's truck and in the morning, all of the rubber seal on the windows had been pressed down as if someone tried to get an in with a crowbar and a hanger. 

Being the obsessively secure man that Lance is, as soon as we got back to the hotel from the wedding, he decided to go check on his truck before we called it a night. 

AN HOUR LATER... Lance came back saying that he saw a suspicious vehicle drive out of a hotel across the street and then drove into our hotel parking lot-- only to park by Lance's cousins vehicle. So, Lance  camped out in his truck to see what they were doing (and got their license plate!). One of the men in the vehicle got out and started looking in all the cars in the parking lot when he was interrupted by the security guard, Ernie, who approached the scene. At the sight of his car, the two hooligans fled the scene. Lance talked with Ernie for awhile and gave him the license plate number and his testimony.

It turned out that Ernie had run these guys off before but could never get their license plate! Now that he had it, Ernie decided to call the police and file a report. The police said that license plate had been stolen off of another car that day, and were very busy that night so they would be by later and would need Lance's testimony. 

Meanwhile, I am back in the hotel room all snuggled up in my comfy pajamas watching Full House (does it get any better than that?!) wondering what the heck is taking Lance so long! He  finally comes back to the room and tells me the whole story about the crazy men and that how he has to stay awake because he will be getting a phone call from Ernie to come down and give his testimony. 

Well, I for one, am exhausted at this point because it is now approaching 1:00 a.m. 

My eyes slowly begin to close as I gracefully fall asleep on Lance's chest....

**Poke Poke**

Eyes slowly open.. and then close.

**Poke Poke**

Eyes slowly open to see googly eyes from my husband. 

**Eyes roll**

"What, babe? I'm sleeping.." I mumbled

"Boooo-- We're in a hotel.... ;) Come on....."

** More googly eyes and a cheesy smile**

(I'm going to let YOU connect the dots about what this fellow was alluding to..)

And being the awesome wife that I am, although tired and weary, I consent... 

But ONLY--If he brushes his teeth. 

"Nooooo! I don't want to! I'm already here! Come on!"

"LANCE. GO. BRUSH. YOUR. TEETH." 

Instead of getting up to brush his teeth, he begins ruthlessly tickling me. 

**Begin Rant**

To all the male readers: Remember in middle school when you had the bright idea to 'tickle' that girl you liked *hoping* that she would think it was cute and flirtatious? And then for the rest of your life you kept doing it? And after you got married, you STILL think its a good idea?

Well its not cute. Its not funny. Its not romantic. And it SUCKS. 

Tickling SUCKS.

1. Because it hurts

2. Because you aren't in control of your random spazzes/kicks/punches/slapping that result from the repetitive poking

3. Because it makes you lose control of your bladder

4. Because it makes you laugh, when really, ITS NOT FUNNY, it hurts. But for some reason laughter is the only thing that comes out. Which signals to the guy, "Keep tickling me! I like it!" 

No. 

No, no, no--No. 

Tickling leads to bad things. 

**End Rant**

Back to the story.

At this point, we are on the edge of the side of the bed with Lance hidden under the covers, tickling his poor wife who is trying to escape him. 

When all of the sudden.....

****BOOOOMMMMMM!!!!!!****

Remember what I said about spastic kicking? Well.. I may have accidentally kicked my husband like a mule and sent him flying off the bed.

I am still on the bed, hanging off the side, laughing while blurting out "Are you okay" haha "are you okay?!" 

White face. Groans. Eyes rolling back. Bad words. 

Lance reaches his hand behind his head and as he pulls it back-- It's COVERED in blood. 

I grab his head forward to look at it. HUGE gash-- My hand is now covered in blood.

(Betcha never saw THAT in a steamy romance movie...)

"Oh my gosh... GO get my Dad-- I need to go to the E.R."

When white coat syndrome Lance says he needs to go to the E.R.-- You better believe something is wrong. 

I run down the hallway to get his parents while he runs downstairs with nothing on but shorts with a towel compressed on his head and blood dripping down his back. (You can imagine what the front desk worker is thinking...)

We all hop in the car and rush to the ER. As we're driving--IT clicks. 

The police are still supposed to call back. And Lance said he would be there. 

Can you imagine this with me? 

Officer to Ernie: "Hey. This dude isn't answering his phone and he said he would.. He gave me his room number, lets go do a knock and talk so we can get his testimony and complete the report."

There is a bloody handprint on the outside of the hotel room door.

A comforter on the floor soaked in blood.

Little drippings of Lance's blood all over the bathroom and the doorknob.

Oh. 

Did I mention Lance left his gun on the nightstand? right by alllll this blood? (Yes, we are 2nd amendment believers.)

THIS DOES NOT LOOK GOOD. 

Arlene and I drop the half clothed Lance, and his dad off at the ER and go back to the hotel room where we clean up all the blood and conveniently run into the police officer that was about to contact Lance about the report. We caught him just in time to let him know Lance busted his head open and wouldn't be able to speak with him. 

Back to the ER we go to find out that Lance had a 1 inch gash in his head and had to get four staples to the head (poor baby!)

But don't worry. Lance was snap chatting away, laughing and having a good time as he explained how excited he was about now having a FIFTH hospital gown to add to his collection ( the man is a nut case, I tell ya.)

3 A.M. rolls around-- and we are finally headed back to the hotel to get back to sleep.

That. That was the weirdest, most eventful night of my life. 

What was supposed to be romantic, turned hysterically tragic in only a matter of seconds.

And that ladies and gentleman, is how foreplay lead to four staples. 

The Anatomy of a Tick

The Garrison household has officially gained a new family member:

Everyone meet: Tiller!

Oh my-- Ain't he cute?? 

This would be my very first puppy of all time! You know, one that I picked out, have to feed and bathe-- One I am 'responsible' for. I mean I've had a dog before, but my dad did all that stuff and I just played with him :) 

He is such a good dog. He snuggles, doesn't bark outrageously when we put him in his kennel to go to sleep, he gets along with Dozer (our other pup), his "outside peeing skills" are definitely improving, and his personality is just hilarious! 

And. His whimper. Good gracious-- It is SO cute! Every time I come to get him from outside, he leaps into my arms and whimpers as I rub his belly. Mmm.. Melt my heart.

One of my sweet friends came over to see the little guy a few months ago and as she was admiring him and petting him, she stopped and pulled back his fur and said:

"Oh no, Kaitlin, is that a tick?"

Well, I for one couldn't tell you that because I had never seen a tick before! 

But after seeing four, five, six little reddish brown things burrowed in his ear, I was sure I never wanted to again! 

They're gross. Absolutely gross little blood- sucking varmints. 

Not to mention, they infested my poor little puppy! 

We went through his head and ears and plucked them suckers out of his fur as he yelped (break my heart) and squirmed. Finally-- we had gotten them all out!

Or, I thought we did. 

Until I found a dozen more the next day after I gave him a bath. 

And then more few weeks later.

And then a few more months later.

Blegh, it just creeps me out that there could still be dozens of little pathogens on my puppy as I watch him scratch and itch and roll all over the carpet (Lord, if one of those things crawl on me... I'll die). 

So, my disgust and sorrow for my stickered puppy drove me to do some research on these creatures.

*Why* did I spend an hour at the library looking at dozens of pictures and diagrams of ticks? I have no idea. The people sitting next to me at the library probably thought I was trippin' out on drugs because I kept compulsively scratching and itching, squirming and lifting up clothing articles to make sure there was no bugs in my skin. Elgh!  

Yet! Here is some interesting facts about ticks you probably NEVER wanted to know!

Did you know?

Ticks find their "hosts" simply by detecting their odor, body heat or vibrations. Therefore, they pick well used paths where they know animals commonly travel. When an animal walks by, they do not jump or fly to clasp to the animal, but instead they do this thing called questing. When a tick quests, they first climb up to the very top of a blade of grass. Because the tick has four pairs of legs, it grabs on to the blade of grass with it's third and fourth pair and then with its first pair of legs outstretched, it literally waits for for a "host" to brush by it so it can CLING to it! Ticks like to hide in dark places- places that they can hide and not be found. Therefore, they usually hide in the ears.

**Be advised, this gets a little nasty.**

Then. Once the tick grabs onto the fur they insert a feeding tube. Yeah. A FEEDING TUBE. Then, they secrete this concrete type stuff that keeps them attached as they 'feed'. Lastly, they give off this "anesthetic" fluid stuff that makes it to where the animal can't feel that the tick is there. They survive by the blood of another, and they die by being fully uprooted from the skin.

Those SNEAKY little turds. They are so disgustingly...clever.

Weird, I know. However, the more I read about how these tricksters find their victims, how they survive, and how they die--I began to realize the strikingly similar tactics that we all fall prey to, without even being aware of it. 

I realized that the anatomy and function of a tick, is a lot like the anatomy and function of sin.

Think about it. Satan knows our biggest weaknesses and temptations. He knows those paths we unfortunately tend to drift towards when we fall into temptation. And HELLO! There he is waiting, arms outstretched, prowling around like a lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Sin is always crouching at the door looking for prey, someone to cling to--someone to master.  And once a sinful habit attaches itself, it starts to suck the life out of ya. But, it doesn't do it in plain sight- no. Like ticks, the quickest and fastest growing sins are well hidden and out of sight. So nobody sees, nobody knows and light can't expose it.

Sin loves to hide. Which makes us hide- from God, from His Word, from the people that love us the most. Hiding makes you lonely. And loneliness is the best place for sinful habits to keep feeding and  festering and inviting their friends because there isn't anyone to point out what they see. No one to keep you accountable.

There are some sins that are PLAIN as day and everyone can see the manifestations of it. But then there are the 'secret' sins that we like to ignore and pretend they aren't there. They keep us in the dark. Then, the guilt and shame that come with sinful behavior creates that same 'anesthetic' that makes us turn a blind eye to the very thing that destroys us. The sin keeps sucking and we're left wondering, "Why do I feel so empty? Why do I feel so lifeless?"

And! Isn't it a coincidence that ticks love to hide in the ears? Isn't that the same with sin? We hear a lie, we believe a lie. We keep hearing that lie over and over instead of the voice of the Savior. That still small voice becomes so muffled between all the itching and scratching of trying to shoo those lies away.

No wonder these ticks hack me off-- I'm sure the Good Lord feels the same way when we walk through those tick ridden paths with eyes wandering making sure no one sees. As time goes on we get tangled up, wrapped up in so many snares that we're itching, scratching and rolling around in the dirt trying to relieve the itch and heal ourself.

The same ridiculous look that dogs have when they're pawing at their ears, biting themselves, rolling around on the floor trying to remove the ticks is the same way we look when we think that we can handle, heal and "fix" ourselves by 'scratching' hard enough to remove the stain of our sin. In this 'Do It Yourself' day and age, it is incredibly difficult to take our hands OFF and let God fix us. Yet, in Ephesians 2:8-10, Paul writes such a beautiful truth that ushers us to release our control and let God:


 "God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."

One night, I had just finished bathing Tiller and again, I found dozens of ticks all in his ears. One by one I picked them out of his fur and he kept whimpering, squirming and trying to scratch his own ears. I'm thinking to myself "Tiller! I promise I'm not trying to hurt you but you can't get them out by yourself! I'm the one with the tweezers and I'm the only one that can do it RIGHT!"

As I realized this, my face just twisted thinking about how I so many times am this puppy in God's hands with attachments, strongholds and hang ups that I can't seem to scratch hard enough to remove and yet, the more i scratch, the deeper they burrow. The more I hurt. The longer I suffer. The more sin reproduces itself and covers more areas of my heart. Yet, here I am hindering my own healing by squirming in the arms of the Savior refusing to let him set me free because I'm ashamed. I'm guilt ridden and by golly, I can fix this because I got myself into this!

The antidote, the only antidote for sin, is outside intervention from the only One who can truly remove, uproot and set us free from hiding. The One with the cleansing blood of sacrifice and the tweezers that uproot the weeds of bitterness that burrow deep. As Martin Luther King Jr. puts it, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that."

Let Him in. Let Him heal. Let go.

Lessons learned from a tick infested puppy.

 (Who is now tick free... and definitely doesn't fit in Lance's shoe anymore.)

With Me

God, you know the end from the beginning.  You see it all. Even
On days I feel like my sight has been taken away by the
Daunting fear of the unknown.

In everything I've ever done, you've been with me--
Side by side, hand in hand, you haven't left me once.

Whenever I walk through times of darkness, where the next step
Is one I can't see or feel, you always lead me by
The hand, speak to me in whispers, and
Hold me in the times when I become discouraged by my lack of faith.

Mold my heart into one that fully trusts you-- Leans on you, depends on you, and is
Eager to follow you, even if that is to dangerous places. Places that call for

Adventure's in trust, trials in faith, crazy love, a
Nose to the ground in surrender, hands that
Dare to empty themselves of dreams, comfort, and self will.

Form in me a heart that seeks your pleasure
Over man's opinion.
Remind me that this journey is all about knowing you

More. In the ups and down and through every back road, help me to
Embrace the adventure and cling to the peace you've already granted to me.


God, You are with me.

Wifery Tales- #1

I have always been part of a weird family.
Always.
We like weird noises, fart humor is 100% okay, we all talk and argue in a variety of accents, and we can never. EVER. go into grocery stores as an entire family without a funny story, or maybe even someone being offended--haha!

My dad and brother being the goofiest of them all. In the Kirkpatrick household, there was (is) never a dull moment.

Even now as I have moved out, my dad is still making wise cracks over the phone and yelling and joking in the background-- I love it.

And, **thank you Jesus** -- Weirdness has only multiplied in my life: In the best way.

Ahh.. My husband.
I love the guts right out of him.
He is great-- and...

He fits right in!

I was always so afraid as a teenager that my husband would end up being super serious and that he wouldn't like my weird nor except the weird habits I grew up with (and LOVE!)

No.

He is his own species of weird. 
He and I -- We are mutually weird and quirky, and our household will forever be that way.

Which brings me to last nights events.

LAST NIGHT:

Last night was our first ever G3 (that's our youth group) kick off. And it was amazing.
Lance preached a killer message, many students came, heard God's word, and it was just overall a great turn out.

After the service, Lance had to stay later to clean up and lock up and I had to get home, shower and finish up my homework- so I was a party pooper and headed out early.

*Pause*

You know what I love? I love listening to music in the shower. Its my favorite!

And- one of our family friends gave Lance and I this COOL gadget for a wedding gift - A WATERPROOF BLUETOOTH SHOWER SPEAKER.

Yes. I know, isn't that AWESOME!!???

You just link your phone to it and you can blast whatever you want while your scrub 'a dubbin!

*UnPause*

Back to last night.

So I get home and head straight for the shower.  And of course, I turn on my Bluetooth shower speaker and blast some Rend Collective on Spotify.

I'm singing my little heart out and just jamming' away.

When all of the sudden, my music stops.

"Dang you Spotify-- You told me I had 30 minutes of ad- free music!"

But oh no, it doesn't just stop.

In the creepiest, demonic, raspy, unworldly voice, the shower speaker starts TALKING to me.

"You wanna play a game?"

My eyebrows raise, my mouth drops.

"What the crap are they doing to the ad's on Spotify?! That is straight up SKETCH!"

At this point I'm just waiting for my song to continue playing, but NO.

"Yoooou waaaaanna play a game?"

STOP. TALKING. TO. ME. SHOWER. SPEAKER.

I'm breathing a little heavy at this point.

I peek my head out of the shower curtain to see what the heck is going on with my shower speaker

And everything is perfectly normal. Great.

"My phone is demon possessed. The Devil is trying to scare me and has taken my phone captive! He is asking me to play his games. Help me Lord, I'm home alone and I can't get my shower speaker to shut up!"

Then, the creepy, raspy, serial killer toned voice breaks the silence yet again more frequently:

"YOU WANNA PLAY A GAME?!"
"YOU WANNA PLAY A GAME?!"
"YOU WANNA PLAY A GAME?!"

I reach my hand outside the shower.

I'm freaking out and thinking, " Oh gosh, I'm gonna have to lay my hands on this dang wedding gift and rebuke that Devil until this horrid voice stops taking over my MUSIC and interrupting my shower time!"

Had evil truly entered my bathroom? Were there evil spirits trying to play with my head by using my shower speaker as a tool?!

Laughter.

Then. I hear laughter.

No no, not coming from the shower speaker.

FROM MY HUSBAND.

He comes running into the bathroom hysterically laughing with my phone in one hand saying:

"I hacked your phone and I've been watching you from the reflection of the mirror this whole time!!!! Hahhaaa!"



Thank you, you red-headed turd.

This. Means. War.

Remember

The past few months-- I have been CONVINCED... I'm losing my short term memory.

I don't know if it's because I stay up too late, or that I'm not eating right, (or just not paying attention..) -- who knows!

All that I know, is that I could be on the phone with someone and instantly forget what they just said. Or get directions from someone and then ask again because I forgot. Plus, I find myself constantly asking my friends, "What was I just saying? What did you ask?"

Can you imagine my thought process?

"Oh gosh.. what if i'm developing short term memory loss...Altzeimers?  Lord! I'm only 21! IM ONLY 21!! There's a lot I want to remember!"

"What if I lose my job because I can't remember emergency details??"

"What if I have to live the rest of my life writing Post It notes everywhere to remember who I AM!"

I'm ridiculous, I know. Don't act like your mind doesn't wander here sometimes!

But seriously. This sounds really silly, but I have sincerely been freaking out a little bit on the inside because I can't remember things!

All the while, in my Bible reading, prayer and in the quiet moments, God keeps ironically impressing these words on my heart.. "Kaitlin, remember, and don't forget."

THANKS God. Just keep rubbin' it in! I already feel bad enough for forgetting things all of the time-- I can't help it, and I'm trying!!

God has been showing me that my tendency to forget goes so far beyond things that are superficial, minute and short term--and is a much deeper kind of forgetting that can actually be detrimental to my whole being.

Psalm 78 is one of those chapters that retells the whole entire story of Israel and its' history. Sometimes when I see these parables, I just skip over them (shhhh..). Why? Because its the same story over and over and over and overrrrrrr...... We all know the drill of Israel:

Israel walks with God, watches God do CRAZY things that will blow your mind like split a sea, draw water from a rock, lead the crowd by a cloud, THEN Israel find something to be dissatisfied about, they grumble against God--Israel wanders. Israel sins against God, repeatedly. Israel finds another "god" to serve. Because why?

Israel forgot.

Numerous times throughout this passage, it highlights the very root of their sin: They FORGOT.

"They did not keep God's covenant, and refused to live by his instructions. They forgot what he had done-- the great wonders he had shown them, the miracles he had done for their ancestors."(78:11-12)

"Again and again they tested God's patience and provoked the Holy One of Israel, they did not remember his power and how he rescued them from their enemies." (78:41-42).

"They did not remember his miraculous signs in Egypt, his wonders on the plains of Zoan." (78:43)

And as a result...

"...they kept testing and rebelling against God Most High. They did not obey his laws. They turned back and were as faithless as their parents. They were as undependable as crooked bows." (78:56)

And what about Eve?

The serpent told her if she ate of the fruit, she would be like God. So she ate it and man fell.
Eve!!!!
Remember what God told you?
"So God created man in His own image-- In the image of God He created them" (Genesis 1:27)
You're identity was already in God, you were already LIKE HIM!

Eve forgot.

Hmmm. Ya know, I'm thinkin' the reason the same unhealthy cyclic story of Israel & God's chosen people is so constant throughout the Bible because *hello* -- How often do we forget?

Forget who we are, forget what God has done for us not only in our own lives, but in those before us?  We forget how effective Christ's work for us was on the cross, how sufficient it was and is! We forget what God has freed us from. And like those wandering Israelites, we run back to the same lovers and idols that bind us right back up again into a routine of giving ourselves to them over and over again, only to receive nothing in return? We forget how BIG God's love is, we forget about forgiveness. And instead-- We run. We run away from Him, we lose faith in the God we once trusted so deeply--Why?

Because we forget, too.

Why else would God have called for what seem to be drastic measures when it comes to remembering to follow Him wholeheartedly?

 “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today.  Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.  Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." -Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Tie them to your hands, write them on your FOREHEAD, are you kidding me? 
Whether God was being serious, I don't know-- But I do know, that if they were really that consistent with remembering the love of the Lord and what He had asked of them -- It would be SO hard for them to forget.

Remembering is powerful. 

Remembering has the ability to make a monumental shift in the reality we live in. We can become so weighed down with the reality of where we are-- whether we are burned out, overwhelmed with burdens, carrying the weight of a family, feeling purposeless, dealing with sin, rudely awakened to the horrid things going on in the world, aware of the fact that we are not satisfied or content, terrified of the future, maybe depressed--hopeless. We're all somewhere. It's easy to find ourselves honed in on our feelings and what we see that we forget to remember who we are, who our God is, what He has done, and the promises he has given us. 

But! When we remember, our entire attitude can change. Not our circumstances, but our outlook. Remembering these things takes the scales off of our eyes that cause us to reflect inward and allow them to be miraculously opened to a breathtaking reality that our God is "able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us" (Ephesians 3:20). 

Jeremiah shows a great example of this when he was weeping over the city of Jerusalem and was beyond overwhelmed with the horrible condition of the city and the loftiness of his circumstances and still said:

"Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this:

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!

His mercies never cease, 

Great is his faithfulness;

His mercies begin afresh each morning.

I say to myself, "The Lord is my inheritance,

therefore, I will put my hope in Him." (Lamentations 3:21-24)

And boom! Just like that, hope comes forth from remembering the God who saves. Did Jeremiah's circumstances change-- Nope! But instead of wallowing in depression and angst, His remembrance opened his eyes to the reality of God's faithfulness and presence with him even in destruction.

Forgetting is truly detrimental to our being. It has caused a whole lot of trouble in history (as we have surely seen!) 
This whole not being able to remember things sucks, but forgetting who God is, what He's done and who He has made and called me to be-- is even worse. 

May we not be a people that pleads to see a move of God just to forget it.
May we not be a chosen generation who fails to remember his faithfulness in the past and his promise to be faithful to us for the rest of our lives and eternity. 
May we be a people of remembrance and call to mind daily the awe and wonder of the God we've seen-- the God we know.

___________________________________________________
"So each generation should set its hope anew on God,
not forgetting His glorious miracles and obeying his commands.
Then, they will not be like their ancestors--
stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful,
refusing to give their hearts to God." (Psalm 78:7-8)