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I was searching for a Christmas bingo game for my side of the family this year. As I scrolled through the Christmas bingo card ideas, I was drawn to a drawing of baby Jesus in the center free space of one card. How perfect! Putting a drawing of baby Jesus on the center free space communicates to me that salvation is free. The author of 1 Corinthians 2:12 says, “12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.”
My dad passed away on May 19, 2023. It’s not the first time he died.
While still alive, Dad shared his story with my family, and others about going to Heaven. He also put it in words to my family in a letter. Now that he can no longer tell anyone about his experience, I’ll share it in his words from that letter (Love you, Dad!):
“On Nov. 19, 2015, Mom and I were walking across an intersection in Davenport, Iowa, when a big truck going 35 mph ran a stop sign and plowed into both of us sending us flying over 10 feet. Mom was unconscious for approximately one hour but I immediately upon impact died and went to Heaven I believe. All of the colors of the rainbow and more were very vivid, there was no feeling of anxiety or pain only peace. My mouth did not open but I asked if it was our time and was told by thought that it was NOT my time. At that moment I was in a world of pain on the cement of the road trying to call out to Mom who I could see was in a pool of blood 15 feet from me but she did not respond..Mom had 10 staples put in her head. I had broken my knee in 3 places, pulling all of the muscles over the knee and tore the cartilage from between my left knee leaving it bone on bone. All of my ribs, pelvis, etc on my left side were dislocated. After this incident I have PTSD with symptoms every day for the past 3 years.”
Mom made a full recovery, and though it’s been emotionally hard to deal with the loss of Dad, I’m happy for him that he can be with Jesus!
Here is another story about a trip to Heaven:
When my dad described heavenly colors, and the woman said she can’t convey what Heaven looks like since it’s so above what we could imagine, this verse comes to mind:
Isaiah 55:8-9
8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Dad mentioned no pain, and the woman brought up a feeling of joy.
Revelation 21:4 says, 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’[a] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
The woman seemed to have a longer experience in Heaven than my dad. She pretty much said that flowers, grass, and trees were swaying to music worshipping God. She also said she couldn’t look at the bright light. Here’s Scripture I found related to what she said:
Psalm 96:12
12 Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
Revelation 5:8-9
8 And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. 9 And they sang a new song, saying:
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased for God
persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
Revelation 14:2-3
2 And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. 3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.
Revelation 15:2-4
2 And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name. They held harps given them by God 3 and sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb:
“Great and marvelous are your deeds,
Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
King of the nations.[a]
4 Who will not fear you, Lord,
and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”[b]
1 Timothy 6:14-16
14 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.
John 14:2-4
2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
On Mother’s Day yesterday, I was glad and sad. I was glad because I was with my family, and we ate out twice. I was sad because my dad is in an ICU with COVID.
Matthew 9:35 says, “35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.” Nothing is impossible with God, so since Jesus was “healing every sickness”, I know He can heal my dad, and I pray that Jesus will heal him.
Earlier this month, my family and I traveled out of town to attend our Aunt Maureen’s 87th birthday at a nursing home. Some of her family and friends arrived at the cat-themed party. There were chocolate cupcakes from That One Cupcake Place, cat music, cat gifts, and a family member’s shy pet cat, Victoria, who promptly hid, and was found later under the couch-lol. There were pictures and laughter. At one point, I checked the time on the little room’s ordinary wall clock-1:52?? I punched in the passcode on my phone-It was actually about 4:30. Evidently, that clock battery had died. We left the party, and visited the Alzheimer’s Unit. My heart broke when I heard an elderly lady in a wheelchair saying repeatedly, “I wanna go home. Help me.” I looked beyond her. Most of the residents looked like they were in late-stage Alzheimer’s. It was evident that their time to die was coming. There was palpable sadness.
Our hearts are like the battery of that clock. That battery’s “time” was 1:52. Unless Jesus comes to take us Christians in life, our heart will stop, and we’ll die at some specific time on the clock. Ecclesiastes 3:2 says, “2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;”
I had a heavy heart early last week. Why? To answer that, I need to share with you a connection my family and I had with a question mark butterfly.
About mid-July, my son, Ethan, and I were performing some mild pruning to one of the red bushes near the house. We were surprised when a bug attacked us. My daughter, Emily, was nearby at the time, and said it was a butterfly, and that its antennae were peeking over the gutter on our roof-ha ha.
On another day, I drove into our driveway, and cracked the door open as I caught up with stuff on my phone. All of a sudden, there was fluttering. I looked, and saw the top of a pair of antennae, and wingtips on the other side of the driver door window, reminding me of a little shark fin-lol. I looked down, and slowly moved my phone to take its pic. It allowed that.
I identified the brave butterfly as a territorial male question mark butterfly. The red bush we were pruning was what it had chosen for its lookout perch! I decided that since the butterfly and I had gotten off on the wrong foot, I would try to make it up to him. I read about how to make a butterfly puddling/feeding station. We eat bananas every morning, so I was glad to find out question mark butterflies like bananas too, it’s just that they like bananas gone bad. I wanted to make him like me if possible, so I lovingly looked after the little station by our flower garden each day, adding gross banana bits and a little water over the food, water, rocks, and sand. On day 1, two gold flies came. On day 2, a big black ant came. On day 3, small black ants came. But on day 4, he arrived! The question mark butterfly lingered long on the smashed banana that day, and the days following. And on one of those joyous days, I seemed to make a creature connection! I was in the flower bed, and saw him. He wasn’t in attack mode. He was on the wood chips, slowly rising and lowering his wings, pointed at me. He was calm, and I felt like he liked me now.
On Monday, August 8th, Sentry, as we called him, didn’t come to the butterfly station. And though I looked for him in the days to follow, he still didn’t come. I was sad, and closed the kitchen curtains so I couldn’t see that little station.
I was saddened, but I wanted to know how long question mark butterflies live. I was shocked when I found out that the lifespan of adult question mark butterflies is only 6-20 days! My son looked back in his journal for the attack of the butterfly day. We counted up the days. We got to experience 25 days with Sentry.
Can you imagine if we only lived 6-20 days as adults? Our lives aren’t that short, but they’e still short. James 4:14-15 says, “14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.”
For my family and I, birds have become a source of joy. Last night, I dreamed about holding a wild bird I’d never seen before. And my daughter, Emily, recently worked on a large puzzle with beautiful birds. When she was ready to complete it, she saw one piece was missing. Determined to find it, she searched. It had fallen on the floor, and was partially under a gift bag. She was so happy when she found it! She then put the missing piece where it belonged, and couldn’t wait to show us!
Jesus is the crucial missing piece in the lives of people who haven’t followed Him yet. John 8:12 says,”12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
When Christopher Robin was released in 2018, I wasn’t interested in seeing an adult version of him. Fast-forward three years later, I’m searching Disney+ movies, and I decide to watch it. I’m glad I did. (Spoiler alert) Following the scene where Christopher Robin yells at Pooh, Christopher Robin has to convince the hiding Tigger, Rabbit, Kanga, Roo, Owl, and Eeyore, that he’s not a scary Heffalump (kind of like in The Lord of the Rings, when Frodo says to Aragorn, “Can you protect me from yourself?”). My favorite part was after Christopher Robin had been taught by Pooh how to be playful again. He was quietly playing a game while looking out a train window, and the movie switches to his studious daughter taking a break at the same time, and learning how to play. Much-needed family bonding happens later.
It’s great that the movie Christopher Robin worked through struggles to fix a family. The love of a family is important, but God must be loved most. Mark 12:30 says, “30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.”
Awhile back, my family and I experienced a lively Tony Evans sermon. Tony was energized, talking about the time when Jesus calmed a storm. Tony clarified that the problem was a big storm, and then he emphasized that in order to solve the problem, the disciples had to wake Jesus up. After they woke Jesus up, and He heard they were terrified of drowning, Jesus, in verse 26, “…rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.” Tony said once we tell Jesus our problems, He can speak to those problems for us.
Jesus spoke to one of my family’s problems. Almost exactly a year ago, a strong, hurricane-like derecho came. We fervently prayed, and God kept us safe. Many, including us, received roof damage, etc. We recently arranged for the last of the repair this last week. With that danger and repair in the past, we give credit to Jesus for speaking to that problem!
Recently, my family and I went to Bellevue State Park. High on a bluff, we walked on a winding trail. Near the end, the path was narrow. That made me think of something Jesus said. In Matthew 7:14, Jesus said, “But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” I trust you’ll take the narrow road. Godspeed!
Big Bible Fan 