Our beautiful Savior walks with us and restores us to what we were before our grief

4 But God loves us deeply. He is full of mercy. 5 So he gave us new life because of what Christ has done. He gave us life even when we were dead in sin. God’s grace has saved you. 6 God raised us up with Christ. He has seated us with him in his heavenly kingdom. That’s because we belong to Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:4-6

When we lose someone dear to us, grief can be described as soul-crushing and mind-numbing. It's as though our life comes to a screeching halt. We want to keep on living, but our feet are stuck in quicksand taking every ounce of energy to move forward.

If there is ever any good to come out of loss, it would be it teaches us how really small we are in this cosmic universe. We think we have control, but we really don't. We're not able to wave a magic wand and bring our loved one home, nor can we, like Superman, reverse the earth's current multiple of times to bring his Lois Lane back.

We have to accept the reality that God has control. While he may not be able to bring your loved one back to their earthly existence, he can comfort you in your pain and through the Bible show you how much He loves you and that you will see your loved one again.

On March 30th will be Good Friday, the night Jesus died. Two days later on Easter Sunday, God will raise Jesus from the dead and bring him back to life where he will eat and talk with his followers and anyone he encounters in his return.

The message is through Jesus's death and resurrection he has taken the sting out of death by revealing the hope that one day we will see our loved ones again.

And what a day that will be. To think our first breath in heaven we will encounter the living Savior and all those we knew who went before us! Oh, what a wonderful day that will be. Oh, what a glorious day it will be to see our loved ones whole and healthy with new heavenly bodies, not the sickly ones we had on earth.


Finally, on that day, all of our questions will be answered. When they are, we will be wondering 'what was I so worried about all those years?

If you are grieving the loss of a loved one, I encourage you to look for a 13-week Griefshare group near you. www.griefshare.org

Faith and love

10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”Acts 1:10

Oh Lord,

Thank you for dying on the cross for me

for taking my guilt and shame

shedding your blood

taking the blows of the Roman guards

blows that were meant for me

Oh Lord,

the moment those same guards took your lifeless body 

off that cross

and placed it in a cave 

with instructions for rolling a heavy rock in place

a rock no one thought could ever be removed

a rock that would forever put to rest this thorn in their side

this Jesus thing

who was threatening the very Roman elite

For 3 days that stone remained in place

while the once followers of this Christ

lamented if they had made a mistake

playing the 'what if' game

wondering how they could have been fooled

Then on the third day, the stone had been rolled away

supernaturally rolled away

This once dead Jesus ascended  and 

dwelt among us

opening the eyes of his followers

He appeared to them for 40 days 

giving them convincing truths that He was alive

Jesus talked about the kingdom of God

His final words were

It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; 

and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, 

and to the ends of the earth

After he said this, 

he was taken up before their very eyes,

and a cloud hid him from their sight

Jesus has risen!

He has become our hope

He conquers death

once and for all

Where Jesus is, he's preparing a place for us

He sent his Holy Spirit to believers

to whisper words of hope in times of trouble

to encourage our souls in times of strife

Jesus is our hope! 

What Not to Say to Someone Who is Grieving | Kay Warren

22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. James 1:22

Yesterday was a difficult day as we gathered for a service to bury their 21-year-old son.  As I listened to the stories of their son, brother, and friend I was mindful that this might be the right time to share what we do not want to say to someone who is grieving.  You, perhaps, may have been on the receiving end of those careless comments and certainly know what I'm referring to.  After all, grief is something we keep locked in a Pandora's box, hoping to never have to face it, but we do.

All of us will lose loved ones, and when we do the pain of those losses will at times feel like a heavy ball and chain dragging you down, making it impossible to get even those mundane chores complete. To deny that you will never face this dastardly beast is like living in a fantasy world of forever Disney.

It really wasn't until I face grief head on that my faith in Jesus took on new meaning. Jesus became my anchor of my soul, something I needed to face the tumultuous waves of grief. 

When you are talking to a grieving person, here are some things not to say to them.


"God must have wanted a pretty flower for His garden"

"You can always have another child"

“Please let me know if there’s anything I can do for you.”Everyone reaching out with offers of support can be overwhelming. It also puts the responsibility on the bereaved to reach out for help. What to say instead: “I’ll come over to do a few loads of laundry,” or “I’ll drive carpool for the next month.”

Probably the best question you can ask someone is “Tell me about your loved one.”

The bereaved are missing the person who died and just being asked their memories of their loved one helps the healing process. The greatest fear that grieving parents have is losing the memories of their child.

James 1:22 reminds us that we should be doers of God's word. We are called to be the hands and feet of Christ- to reach out and help others in pain.

As the weather begins getting warmer and the grass grows there will be opportunities to help grieving people in your community!

On a recent conversation I had with someone not like me

30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[a] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31

I ventured over to Northtown mall to see the glasses my wife picked out at Pearl Vision, and to fill out the PearlVision 90 day financing application. Unfortunately, the person who knew how to set up the Pearl card wasn't in. The gentleman apologizes for my inconvenience, but promise that tomorrow he would know how to complete that task.  He suggested Saturday would a good day for us to return.

As I meandered out, I stopped for a drink of water when  I saw the African-American cleaning person busily wiping down the walls. I learned from my son how important it is to talk to those we normally would think to have lower status than us- so I struck up a conversation with this slender cleaning person. I remember my son always taking time to talk with the maintenance man on his college campus as he went to classes or his IT work study job.

"You're doing an awesome job making this place sparkle!" I said.  Immediately his eyes lit up and I'm sure it had been a long while since one of the shoppers had taken notice of his work, or even say hello for that matter. 

"How long have you been in the cleaning business?" I asked.  He said 10 years at Northtown.

"Hi, my name is Todd, what's yours," as I extended my hand for a shake.

"I'm Walter."

"Nice to meet you, Walter!"   I added.

As our conversation progressed I couldn't help but think this conversation would never have occurred had I  stuck to my worldview of only talking to people who were like me. As I continued asking him questions, I found out that Walter had family in Green Bay, St. Louis and here. He said that everybody in his family is crazy busy that they seldom see each other.  I added that my both sides of my family were the same way with all the conflicting work schedules and in the case of my wife's family everyone being spread across the country.

 As we continued talking, I  found out that he attended an all-black church which prompted me to share my experience with diversity. I told him that the Church I currently attend is very diverse and the few times my wife and I attended a 'white' Church on the outskirts of the Metropolitan area we were uncomfortable because of the lack of diversity.  Walter immediately said, " I felt the same way going to the all black Church because I enjoy talking with people of all ethnicities."  I reflected on what he just said before adding, "That is what I love about Minneapolis and the surrounding suburbs that we are diverse and made up of many cultural groups."

Not wanting to take him away from his work duties, I shook his hand and thanked him for all he did in his cleaning job at Northtown Mall.

I 'm sure Walter will remember the compliments of the work he does and the conversations we had because I took the time to get out of my comfort zone. 

As I began my walk toward the car I began thinking, what if all of us made a conscious effort to have at least one cross-cultural conversation a day?  What if we affirmed people from other cultures without looking down on what they did for a living?  What if we stepped out of our comfort zone and get to know people not like us?

I think the world would suddenly become smaller and less scary than the media leads us to believe.

Yes, diversity is a beautiful thing! 

Young people and old, we need your heart, your compassion and your critical thinking skills to make this world a better place, hang on

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4: 15-16

Later this week, my wife and I will join other people to help comfort and support a family as they bury their college-aged son who took his own life when in a moment of weakness he felt hopeless. 

Clinical depression is sadly under-rated. Oh, there may be a diagnosis for the sake of medication that could be prescribed, but most of us are too ashamed to admit we have a problem or see someone to talk about what is bothering us.  In the video above, you will see that the teen and the young adult brain does poorly at critical thinking tasks when they are scared than older adults.

Sadly, one article suggested that the latest rash of suicides among teenagers and young adults can be linked to the political rhetoric coming out of Washington D.C. When young people and older people read about politicians trash talking one another or the political rhetoric regarding gun control, or the constant barrage of school shootings,  it sends a message to teens and young adults that the world is an unstable place to live in.  Until roughly the age of 26, teens and young adults are susceptible to high-risk behaviors that can cost them their lives.

The moment school districts decided to eliminate their book collections in favor of the convenience of Ipads, the door became ajar allowing for scary things to come into the minds of young people at a time they needed to learn.  Yet, I know we can't just eliminate the internet or throw out our electronic gadgets!  But, we can balance what we read on the internet with what God's word says to us.  I remember the references in the Bible the difference between building our foundation in sand versus on the rock. In Matthew are these words- '24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

Until the adolescent brain fully develops they are vulnerable to the words of others to the point that those words may crowd out what God says about them.  Neil Anderson reminds us of who God says we are:

I'm Accepted

John 1:12 I am God's child. 

John 15:15 As a disciple, I am a friend of Jesus Christ. 

Romans 5:1 I have been justified (declared righteous). 

1 Corinthians 6:17 I am united with the Lord, and I am one with Him in spirit. 

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 I have been bought with a price and I belong to God. 

1 Corinthians 12:27 I am a member of Christ's body. 

Ephesians 1:3-8 I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child.

Colossians 1:13-14 I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins. 

Colossians 2:9-10 I am complete in Christ. 

Hebrews 4:14-16 I have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ.

To all young people, we need you in this world. Your knowledge and your critical thinking skills are what is needed to lift our world to a better place. Let God's word be your guiding light to that success.

I can only imagine

A Story About Forgiveness
21 At that point Peter got up the nerve to ask, “Master, how many times do I forgive a brother or sister who hurts me? Seven?”
22 Jesus replied, “Seven! Hardly. Try seventy times seven. Matthew 18:21-22

"I Can Only Imagine"

I can only imagine what it will be like

When I walk by your side

I can only imagine what my eyes will see

When your face is before me

I can only imagine

Today, we grieve for a family who lost their son. Actually, two families grieving two separate son's. The heartbreak of losing a child is incomprehensible because in our Adult mind this isn't supposed to be the way it should be; after all, children are supposed to bury their parents, right? 

Yet, when things happen out of order it sends us into a downward spiral of despair where we question God and even question our faith. 

This is a movie about a boy who grew up in such an abusive home that he often referred to his dad as a monster. Out of horrible circumstances, he finds Jesus at a bible camp. But, coming home he discovers that his mom left her son alone with this abusive dad.

Yeah

Surrounded by your glory

What will my heart feel?

Will I dance for you, Jesus,

Or in awe of you be still?

Will I stand in your presence

Or to my knees will I fall?

Will I sing hallelujah?

Will I be able to speak at all?

I can only imagine

I can only imagine

A movie about the power of forgiveness  Thinking there was no way to salvage this 'evil' man he left home to start a Christian band  He became disheartened when the music critics said he wasn't good enough to make it on the national scene. Flashbacks came to his mind of all the times his dad said he wasn't 'good enough'. Close to quitting, he was encouraged to stay and write original music from the heart.  

But, he had to reconcile his past before moving forward in life

I can only imagine when that day comes

And I find myself standing in the sun

I can only imagine when all I will do

Is forever, forever worship you

I can only imagine, yeah

I can only imagine

Bart drove back to his boyhood home not knowing how to respond to his dad's sudden change of heart when he wanted to pray for the meal he had prepared for him. 

He could not wrap his head around the notion that he was being asked to forgive him for all of the beatings, all of the verbal cursings dished out to him. He ran out of the house, trying to start his motorcycle and then running to his dad's truck desperately looking for the keys when he happened to find a piece of paper with the words in red- PANCREATIC CANCER.

Surrounded by your glory

What will my heart feel?

Will I dance for you, Jesus,

Or in awe of you be still?

Will I stand in your presence

Or to my knees will I fall?

Will I sing hallelujah?

Will I be able to speak at all?

I can only imagine

Yeah

I can only imagine

Bart went back into the house and in a moment of revelation saw that his dad had a changed heart thanks to listening to a local church service. He found that his dad tried to make amends with his son by sending checks each month to help him pursue his dream, envelopes he promptly threw out.

Surrounded by your glory

What will my heart feel?

Will I dance for you, Jesus,

Or in awe of you be still?

This is a story of forgiveness. A story about how God can take the worse circumstances in your life and turn it into a beautiful redemption story. Forgiveness is seldom encouraged in our modern society with Attorney info commercials reminding you of your rights and your right to sue for emotional damages. 

Will I stand in your presence

Or to my knees will I fall?

Will I sing hallelujah?

Will I be able to speak at all?

When Bart found the early journals he kept as a young believer, he discovered the word imagine written throughout.  He remembered at that moment what his agent said to him about writing something dear to his heart. As he sang that song before a packed music hall audience he saw his dad glowing in white without the scars of life standing with a youthful smile and giving his son a round of applause. No man is beyond redemption because Jesus Christ died for all of us  Until our mission in this life is complete we will have forever to be with our family and friends.

I can only imagine

Yeah

I can only imagine

I can only imagine

Yeah

Our present stories may not look pretty to us at this point in our lives because Jesus is still penning them on your hearts. The final chapter of our lives will be a mighty crescendo of praise when we enter heaven hearing the wonderful flowing sounds of praises and we see our loved ones without any earthly body weakness embracing you before leading you to see the mighty King Jesus.

I can only imagine

I can only imagine

I can only imagine

I can only imagine

When all I will do

Is forever, forever worship you

I can only imagine

Forgiveness is a beautiful thing. Who is it you need to forgive today?

This is an example of thinking outside the box of replacing pain medicines for Virtual reality googles..Good work Gillette Children's Speciality clinics

Local 476609883

Gillette tries VR to short-circuit anxiety in young patients

Keeping patients relaxed and amused with virtual reality headsets is part of a new offering at Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare 

By Jeremy Olson Star Tribune

March 12, 2018 — 7:23pm

DAVID JOLES • david.joles@startribune.comOlivia Curtis, 13, watched a calming scene using a virtual reality headset as she was prepped for an infusion by nurse Niki Feran, left, at Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare. At right, Karla Schaitberger, a certified child life specialist, talked her through it.                                                            Olivia Curtis hates the injections and infusions she receives for her severe arthritis, so hospital staff on one recent morning gave her a virtual reality headset that allowed her to look at a pristine, sandy beach instead of the IV line they were prepping on her arm.

Soon, the 13-year-old was smiling. Even the bitter taste of saline from the IV line didn’t seem so bad when someone reminded her that the ocean is salty, too.

"It’s just me on the beach,” she said, describing her view. “Maybe I’m rich and I own it.”

Keeping patients relaxed and amused is part of a new offering at Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare, a St. Paul hospital that provides patients with virtual reality headsets before they receive injections, infusions or other procedures that make them tense or squeamish.

Fear of injections can have a cascading effect on children, who can come to loathe their entire hospital visits, said Dr. Todd Dalberg, Gillette’s director of integrative medicine. Some even require medications to overcome their anxiety,

“For some of them, as soon as they take the exit off [Interstate] 35 or 94 [to the hospital], that’s when the fast breathing starts or the nausea starts or the vomiting starts,” he said. “If you can just erase the anxiety and the associated symptoms … it will be night and day.”

Needle sticks and infusions offered an easy place for Gillette to start its grant-funded VR program. A 2012 Canadian study found that two in three children fear needles. Worse, one in 12 didn’t get vaccinations because of that fear.

Meanwhile, a group of American and Italian researchers reported last month that virtual reality distractions can reduce pain and discomfort for everything from wound care to chemotherapy.

Gillette’s Child Life department also provides games, putty and fidget spinners to occupy patients’ minds during injections, but Dalberg said today’s children appreciate high-tech distractions.

The VR headsets offer everything from views of a farm or beach or Machu Picchu to visually controlled games.

Gillette researchers have applied for funding to study whether the headsets help young cerebral palsy patients endure Botox injections and if they reduce the need for pain medications, including opioids, in children after surgeries.

"We want to know that it works,” said Chantel Barney, who evaluates new technologies for Gillette. “It’s not perfect. There can be side effects. Some people can get a little bit nauseous.”

The headsets might also offer cost savings, such as preventing the need for extra nurses to calm or restrain children during injections. Barney recalled a recent case in which a child used a VR headset to get through the painful changing of a wound dressing without the need for heavy anesthesia in an operating room.

Pizza didn’t work

Curtis is no stranger to needles. Diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, she first received naproxen pills to address her joint pain but eventually needed at-home injections of methotrexate from her mother, Jennifer Walton. It was a nightmare.

Curtis would curse at her mother for the pain of the injections. Eventually they tried bringing in other relatives to comfort her and having pizza on injection nights. Instead of relaxing for shots, Curtis learned to hate pizza.

“We ruined pizza and Davanni’s for her,” Walton said. “Pizza became this terrible, awful thing.”


Eventually, the at-home injections became less effective, and Curtis required trips to the hospital for infusions of Remicade, a potent and expensive anti-inflammatory drug.


An eighth-grader at the Laura Jeffrey Academy in St. Paul, Curtis isn’t slowed down by her disease. She plays volleyball and will soon appear as adult Simba in her school’s production of “The Lion King.” She gets periodic and painful flare-ups, though, and has come to terms with her need for drug infusions every few weeks.

I’m used to it,” she said. “Even if I wasn’t, it’s still something I have to do.”


Curtis typically watches the insertion of needles in her skin because it gives her a measure of control, but her mother said the virtual reality beforehand is a distraction that prevents fear from building.

That really helps cut the anxiety,” Walton said, “even though she wants to see it at the actual moment.”




























   


                                                                





   


                     



    


                                                                         

Happiness is a daily choice

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;his love endures forever. Psalm 118:1

The human condition is often marked by frailty and grief. It is easier to be happy when we're celebrating birthday parties, anniversaries, and other celebrations with loved ones, but it becomes harder to find things to be happy about in the days following laying the final dirt on our loved one's gravesite when all those foreign emotions rise from within to cause us to be sad.

When we are truly missing someone we once had in our life, it isn't easy to be happy- not with the free-flowing tears flooding our cheeks causing them to be raw. I've learned from my grief recovery process that happiness is a series of choices we make on an hour by hour, day by day and week by week basis. We have to choose to find things that bring the occasional smile to our face- whether it is encouraging a friend across the globe who is going through difficult times or telling a clean joke to someone else in the need of cheering up.

The human condition is often marked by pain.  Forest Gump's famous line from the movie was "My mama always says Life was like a box of chocolates- you never know what you're going to get" was a reminder to Forest that life will be filled by both joy and happiness and also by pain and grief- like sucking on something with two opposite tastes we're  trying to decide which one to hate the most. 

It seems that pain is felt like never before with the 24-7 sensationalized news with all of its high definition coverage. ABC news anchor, Peter Jennings, came out of retirement to cover 9-11 when he took up smoking again to help him cope with the stressful job of news coverage- it wasn't much longer that he died from lung cancer.

The human condition is marked by pain, so much so, that we have to choose to take a break and focus on things that rejuvenate our 'happiness' hormones. Some of these examples are:

looking at pictures of our loved ones

calling your adult children an tell them you love them and praying for them

going out with your loved one to a nice restaurant or a show afterward

looking for ways to make your loved one smile

encouraging a friend 
walking outdoors and getting some exercise
accepting change as a new tife transition

grabbing your bible and going to that weekly bible study or Church service

The human condition is often marked by pain, but the good news is that God sent his Son to die for each of us and be raised from the dead so that He can help us recover from this human condition marked by pain. 

Happiness can be like the elusive jackrabbit getting away from us or that box of chocolates with those hard insides we wished we never took. 

In order to catch that happiness, we need to navigate through all of the emotions of our pain, through whatever loss we're enduring- not burying it or stuffing it inside a corked bottle, but facing them one at a time.

When we do that, we may be singing the famous song by Parrell Williams while venturing outdoors and enjoying the things God has created in our world.

As one leans into their grief and travels through the messy emotions of it, God will open up doors for opportunities to help others

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NASB

Emotional pain is, unfortunately, part of the package for everyone suffering the loss of someone they loved. Yes, it is messy, like multiple cans of different colors of paint spilled.  Until we lose a special somebody, those emotions remain as foreign as the country across the ocean.  Like the choppy seas, we must lean into our emotions, one emotion at a time, until the waves of the ocean begin leveling out. 

Oh, it's going to hurt and you're going to be tempted to stuff those emotions into a corked bottle and find something else to occupy your time  Unfortunately when we do that our grief simply waits and it waits and it waits- and our grief gets more complicated as future losses enter our lives. But the good news is that we have a living Savior that is willing to walk with us on our journey, and at times carry us through the rough patches of our lives.

Some simple advice you may want to consider during this sad an isolating time of your grief would be to journal the emotions of your loss. Journaling will help you to get those messy emotions out of your mind onto paper where you can process them. Journaling opens the door to pray to God to help you process those emotions as they come up.  One other piece of advice would be to consider joining a grief share group where you will get the support from others experiencing loss.www.griefshare.org

One day you will awake refreshed and renewed with a new sense of vitality to your life.  You will begin to see the door slowing creaking open allowing you to see how God will use the once messy emotions of your life to help others entering their own sad journey.

God truly has a plan to help you recover from your pain.

The cost of not following Christ

John 3:16 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His [a]only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

My wife reminded me that today our nation will be burying Reverend Billy Graham. 

It was one week ago following a moment of bodily weakness that my nose bled and while my wife drove me to the hospital I discovered that Reverend Billy Graham died just an hour before. Five stitches later I was back home.  My mind reflected on the impact Reverend Graham's ministry had on my family. My dad remembers going to a Billy Graham crusade at the old Minneapolis Auditorium. I remember it profoundly impacted his life because he was always there for all 3 of us kids by making sure he took us to Church while teaching us that no matter what happens in our lives the best way to show how much we love God is by going to Church week after week. Through my dad's biblical example, I learned that the greatest act of service we can do is by honor and worship of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

My mind drifted back to the spring of 1974.  I was an awkward 18 years old kid, nowhere ready to see what the world has to offer with struggles of my own still searching for my relevance in a world that seemed so harsh.

Through some students at Hopkin's Lindbergh high school, I was invited to a small community church in the Minnetonka Mills neighborhood. I remembered walking in and hearing Christian music emulating from a band at the front. I took a seat alone at one of the tables, taking in the joy I felt from those around me. I remember hearing someone share their personal testimony and wishing I knew such peace.

At the very end, a friend started a conversation with me.  I naturally opened up and at one point asked me if I had ever made a decision like the speaker I just heard. Moments later after hearing the gospel presentation, I found my self-bowing my head and asking Jesus to come into my heart after acknowledging that I was a sinner and nothing I could do in this life could possibly earn my salvation.

As I look back over my life, that perhaps was the greatest decision I ever made.  I wouldn't know it at the time, but the seed that was planted in my heart was the foundation God was building from which all future decisions flowed   

What if while we watch Reverend Billy Graham's celebration of life service did a little soul-searching? What if out of our reflection we discover we need this Savior Jesus?  They say that the evidence for God's existence isn't so much the miracles of God but through the 'changed' lives of people who say 'yes' to Jesus and invite the one who shed His life for them in? 

Our nation doesn't rest on man-made laws, but on how we respond to the message of Jesus Christ. If everyone who reads this post will take a time to share their own salvation story with someone who needs to hear it, it just might lead to the greatest revival in the history of America.

Thank you, Reverend Billy Graham, for your ability to simplify the Gospel message! My future generation thanks you for the decision I made as an awkward 18-year-old kid.