Any Day Is a Good Day to Celebrate

This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24 NLT

Spend two hundred dollars and you forget everything? It sounds like you might have been to a therapy session, but in fact, you were at the Taylor Swift Eras concert. Swift fans, better known as Swifties, have been claiming to suffer from “post-concert amnesia.” After three hours and over 40 songs later, they are getting home and realizing they can’t remember a thing. Music psychologist Dr. Michelle Phillips says the “idea of post-concert amnesia is not as scary as it sounds. It’s simply that they encode some aspects of the event in memory and not others.” She goes on to say, “In fact, it’s likely to be one of the things they remember attending for the rest of their lives.”

So how do we keep from forgetting what is important? We set aside special days to celebrate, we create markers to remind us of what happened, we take pictures and tell stories as well as a host of other things. “Life is a celebration. Consider everything that makes you happy as a gift from God and say, Thank you.” (Francis Lucille) “Every day is a good day. There is something to learn, care and celebrate.” (Amit Ray) “Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly. The strong right arm of the LORD has done glorious things!” (Psalm 118:15 NLT)

You remember what you celebrate and celebrate what you remember. Every day gives us moments of celebration since “This is the day the LORD has made,” even June 26! This could be just another day on the calendar or a day you find something to celebrate. You have a smorgasbord of activities and events to celebrate today.

If you love canoeing, today is your day. National Canoe Day began in 2007 and is the highlight of every canoe-loving fan. Canoes have been part of cultures all over the world.  The oldest known canoe is the Pesse Canoe found in the Netherlands dating between 8200 and 7600 BCE. Canoeing has been an Olympic sport since 1924. So, get your canoe out and head for the lake. Sigurd Olson says, “The way of a canoe is the way of the wilderness, and of a freedom almost forgotten. It is an antidote to insecurity, the open door to waterways of ages past, and a way of life with profound and abiding satisfaction.”

I am more inclined to celebrate National Chocolate Pudding Day today. According to Statista Research, 150 million Americans consume chocolate pudding annually. No one is certain who created this wonderful celebration but celebrating is fairly easy, just get yourself a great big bowl of chocolate pudding. This simple but amazing desert has a rich and noble history dating back to 14^th century England.  There is hope when even chocolate pudding can have a day.

Today is your day if your temperature hits the triple digits as you celebrate World Refrigeration Day. If you are a multi-tasker, then open the fridge and get your chocolate pudding out to celebrate. World Refrigeration Day was founded by Stephen Gill in conjunction with the World Refrigeration Secretariat. The purpose was to raise awareness and the importance of this technology in our life and modern society.

If the previous events do not meet your need for celebration, then June 26 is also, National Sarah Day, Flag Day of Romania, Forgiveness Day, Madagascar Independence Day, National Barcode Day, National Beautician’s Day, National Report Trade Agreement Act Fraud Day, Please Take My Children to Work Day, International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking and National Zachary Day. Hopefully, you can find something to celebrate or remember today.

Joshua understood the concept of “post-concert amnesia” long before it became part of the academic world. He had watched a previous generation die off because they forgot God. A generation who had experienced Hollywood-like dramatic scenes, watched a mighty river open wide and eat from the generous portion of God’s daily table, yet they forgot. Now a new generation has taken up the mantle to cross into the Promise Land under Joshua, one of only two men who stayed faithful.

Joshua wanted to make sure this generation remembered what happened when they crossed the Jordan River on dry ground. As the people crossed over the Jordan, he ordered 12 men to each pick up a large stone and carry it out of the riverbed. This would be a visible reminder to tell the story of God’s faithfulness to the next generation. The stones were “to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’” (Joshua 4)

Jesus understood the concept of “post-concert amnesia” and knew his followers would need some powerful reminders of God’s redemption and salvation. Jesus took time during his last meal with the disciples to leave “stones” for the next generations to remember. “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19) Broken bread and a cup would be the reminders for the next generations of the price paid by Jesus for their spiritual freedom.

God understood how important it would be for us to set aside time to celebrate life. Seven major festivals in the Old Testament served to remind God’s people about His faithfulness and love. God set a rhythm of celebration into our normal week as we observe the Sabbath. What a beautiful time of celebration and renewal as we pull away from life’s responsibilities each week to restore our relationship and celebrate God in worship and rest.

June 26 may not be a pivotal day on most people’s calendars but it can be a great day to simply remind you that you can find something to celebrate every day without waiting for those big celebration events. God, for sure does not wait to celebrate you! “The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival.” (Zephaniah 3:17 NRSV)

God is great!