Remembering our loved ones and the time of their lives they are having makes us want to laugh out loud

Grief is a funny thing. So individualized is our grief that like two snowflakes no two grief journeys are the same. One will use up every box of Kleenex  in a day while another will hold back the tears by  working longer hours just to avoid coming home. One may ask if they will ever be normal again as wave after wave of emotions passes through them. One day the waves will be mild and manageable, while the next day, without warning, a Tsunami of emotions nearly swamp you off your feet, leaving you to wonder just what hit you.

As you lean into those waves of grief, in time you will feel things getting better. No longer do you focus on the loss of your loved one you now focus on the joy they are having in heaven.

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. Revelation 21

You begin to have a tiny touch of a smile as you have visions of your loved one enjoying the fruits of heaven. You could swear you heard them enjoying bouts of laughter while enjoying the feasts of heaven as our Lord and Savior are wiping away their tears. The sense that the beauty of heaven is so breathtaking that it will momentarily take your breath away. You remember the beauty of the Grand Canyon on that trip you took with your loved one and you just know that nothing will compare to what they ares seeing and experiencing right now.

. Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.Revelations 22:1-5

One day the tears of sorrow turn into tears of joy because of what you have read in the bible. The tears of joy turn into laughter as you have visions of your loved one enjoying life in heaven with no more pain and no more suffering. You see your bible on your bookshelf and decide to read more because in it you find that this is in deed the book of life of which nothing else compares. No other method brings life; not Islam, not Buddha, not meditation, not new age. Nothing gives more hope than what Jesus did on the cross. It is the only book that gives hope. Only Jesus came back from the dead, appeared to thousands before being taken up in heaven. The greatest proof of God's existence is the Holy Spirit he leaves behind with the believers to guide them through the pitfall of life. 

It is late and now that your soul has been soothed with visions of the beauty of heaven and the promises of what is to come you place your book of life back on the bookshelf and go back to sleep. You try to stifle the laughter within you so you do not wake up the household.

Is sugar more addicting than cocaine?

Since I cut out added sugar from my diet I also have noticed the elimination of the high's and low's I normally would get.  I often would get drowsy after lunch and this impacted on my ability to focus and concentrate. The sugar lows also effected my moods and in addition complicated my grief with extended periods of sadness.

When I listened and watched this video I was astounded that low fat yogurt often had more sugar in it to replace the fat they took out.  Our food manufacturers are deceiving the food buying public by making them think their low fat products are healthy when in fact they are more harmful because of the extra added sugar in their products.  

Added sugar causes all sorts of health problems and should be avoided. I cannot tell you what to do, but I do know since I cut out added sugar I have felt healthier, eat only when I am hungry, have more energy and think more clearly. In short, the way I am right now is what God intended for me.

While waiting for my wife's car at the NTB tire store...............................................

1 Thessalonians 5:11New American Standard Bible (NASB)

11 Therefore [a]encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.




My wife had been complaining of a clunk clunk sound coming from the front end.  Decided to bring it over to the NTB tire place. As I waited I struck up a conversation with retired lady  in the adjacent leather chair.  I asked her if she was getting new tires. She paused before sharing her 'story' She said her husband passed away  a week and a day ago and she was having some things checked out on his truck before she sells his truck. She said they still owed taxes on a motor home he bought at the same time as the truck and couldn't afford to keep both.

Then  her story proceeded.. He had a transplant and then he was diagnosed with cancer. They proceeded to give him chemo therapy.  Just when they thought they had caught the whole cancer he began complaining of pain.  He went in and had a scan done.  They noticed that the cancer had started spreading and recommended more chemo to attack the cancer cells. The pain still persisted which prompted another scan.  They decided to give him an oral chemo medication because of concerns that the alternative would be too strong on his weakened state. 

  She continued her story and I listened. 

 Eventually, the doctors saw that the cancer had spread all through  his body and didn't know what more they could do.  They recommended that  she drive him to Rochester Mayo to see if they could do anything for him.

On arrival at Mayo a team of cancer doctors reviewed his file.  Much to their chagrin his cat scan didn't arrive at Mayo for 4 days. On the 4th day the Mayo doctors decided to do another scan.   To everyone's shock the doctors came to the family and showed them the results.  There was one lymph node that had exploded and now there was cancer all through out his body. There was nothing more that could be done. She could either take him home, or they could find a hospice room at Mayo for them. She said when he died they had all of the grandchildren in the room surrounding his bed. It was within days when he suddenly gasp for breath  and while clutching to her hand and receiving kisses from his family he slipped away.

I had a sense that I was the first person she had every shared her grief story.   It was an honor and a privilege to  listen to her story and though the story she begins to heal from the loss.

I learned something else today.  There are many people going through similar journeys.  Often we aren't aware of them until we ask simple questions and wait for them to respond.  Even more important is the reality that we have a loving savior who desires to walk with us on this journey. The lady I talked to knew her husband was in heaven because of what Christ did in their lives.

Next time you are in a waiting room of a automotive place talk to the  neighbor next to you.  You just never know what they might share.

Oh ya, about that clunk sound.  Car needed two tires and a alignment.