My Scrapbook of Praise!

If you are looking for some new tradition to start in 2024 this may be an option. You can do it by yourself or as a family.

I started making these scrapbooks when I was a young mum with two small kiddos in India. When we went on our very first overseas trip to the UK, I bought a blank book of colorful pages from our neighborhood stationery store to take with us on our trip. I didn’t quite know what I was going to do with it though.

The four of us left on our 10-day trip all excited! Each night of our trip after dinner, we would take out our scrapbook and make notes, adding sketches and verses, leaving spaces to add photos after we got them printed. Upon coming home from the trip, we enjoyed filling in and completing our travel journal. We showed it to friends and family as we shared our fun experiences with them. It had Meshak’s sketch of the Scottish castles, Mike’s recap of our day with the Wilsons, and my sermon jottings from the church service we attended. For me as a young mum, it became not just a travel journal, but a scrapbook of praise!

As we look out for God’s hand in our everyday happenings, we feel His presence with us all the time.

There is one that I started about 10 years back. I had bought an empty book of black art sheets at an op shop (second-hand store) in Auckland for a couple of dollars. It reminded me of Amma’s (my mother’s)  photo album with black pages, filled with precious memories, mostly photographs.

Isaiah 63:7 NIV

I will tell of the kindness of the Lord, the

deeds for which He is to be praised.

Mine was filled with cards, notes, wedding invites, Bible verses, and images. As I leafed through it, I saw pictures of our sons when we had just landed in Auckland 12 years ago. Pictures of when they played cricket together, father and sons, snapshots of our trip to the South Island, and many more. The newsletter and service sheet from the church we visited were tucked in there as well. These pieces took me right back to that small church in Ashburton. Humming the song on the sheet, I continued the nostalgic trip all the while praising God, for these were joyous memories reminding me of his goodness, of good times with family, of love

Our visit to Coromandel came to mind as I saw the café napkin on the next page, it made me smile. It was a trip arranged for us by Mike. He was working now and he had planned this beautiful getaway by the beach for the four of us. I remember the tasty fish cutlets and the lemon yogurt cake I ate at the café overlooking the sea.

Jeremiah 23:23 and 24 reminds us that God is a

God of the nearby and far away and that

He fills the heavens and the earth.

Meshak’s confirmation at church, Mike’s tennis tournament win, and Ranjit’s baking at church were all recorded with notes, sketches, and pictures. ’I will sing of the goodness of God’ I could hear my heart sing!

I turned another page -there was a note from Mona - the sweetest one! Shikha and Mona, friends of mine,  had visited with a bunch of flowers when I was sick. The flowers were no more but the note encouraged me all over again!

Proverbs 17:17 NIV

A friend loves at all times.

A reunion of cousins at my Uncle Roy’s 60th in Chennai, BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) leaders gathering at Adelaide, my workspace in Auckland, and our trip to Sydney as a family. I turned another leaf. There was my sister-in-law Anita’s neat, loving handwritten note after their two-week stay with us in Auckland. The fun we had - four adults and four cousins hanging out together came back to mind.

‘Travel mercies, angel encounters, and answers to prayers!’ I had written across the page!

We welcomed our daughter-in-law, Binu into our family in 2018. Here was their wedding invite with the fern leaf and gold dust! The excitement of a family wedding, the menus, dresses, and special songs came flooding back.

Psalm 34:8 NIV

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

As you taste the goodness of God, could you make a scrapbook of praise?

What could you put into your Scrapbook of Praise?

What verses have upheld you, encouraged, and sustained you in the past year?

Which photographs bring out the faithfulness, care, and comfort of God most?

It is my wish that we would all walk through 2024 looking out for God’s moments to record, Bible verses to hold onto, and memories to relive and cherish.