Recently I was listening to a radio commercial aimed at people who were in debt. The message was simple: If you are in debt, call your creditors and offer to pay 30% of what you owe. Because so many people simply walk away from their obligations, this company was advising that any creditor will be thrilled . . .

I had just finished preaching four times to several hundred teenagers at a harvest rally in Norfolk, Virginia. The youth pastor drove me to the airport where I was to catch a plane to Baltimore, Maryland. I was scheduled on US Airways, Flight 4476, to Philadelphia and then . . .

It was a routine flight: traffic to the airport was great; security lines moved quickly; boarding went smoothly; departure and landing were right on schedule. The two and a half hour flight went by quickly as I had brought with me more than enough to keep me busy. As we prepared for landing, I put everything away, leaned back . . .

In life there is nothing more consistent than the passing of time. We attempt to slow it down and even at times make it stand still, but it is undeterred, steadily marching onward. Benjamin Franklin said, “Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time; for that’s the stuff life is made of.”

Of all the blessings of the holiday season, one of the greatest is the gift of making family memories and revisiting cherished traditions. The key to making family memories is to make them; don’t just wait for them to happen. Here are a few tips for making memories during the holiday season—and all year long.