Do you have your reservation? Grandpa did.

(written July2, 2008 - Posted here to archive)

Last Monday, Grandpa passed away. Yesterday was his funeral. For the past few weeks, I've been thinking about what to say to honor him. Do I emphasize his accomplishments? Do I cry through how much I love him? Do I tell funny stories? What do I say?

One thing that I did do was create a one way ticket for Grandpa, a one way ticket to heaven. I was amazed at the response to it. So many people commented on it. And a few told me it would be a great witnessing tool. ---That got me thinking...how would you approach someone with it? The best I could come up with was "Do you have your reservation?"

Everyone knows what a reservation is. And the way that the airline industry is functioning today, everyone knows that the earlier you get your tickets the better. The same goes for a ticket to heaven. Except the currency that you use to purchase a ticket to heaven is faith, faith in Jesus Christ. Each individual must purchase their own ticket. There are no group rates. No discounts. No sales or 2-for-1 specials.

So just how do you make this reservation? "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31) What does that mean? It means that you believe that Jesus is who he said he is and that you accept that he died in your place to pay for your sins (everything you've done wrong) and rose again, conquering death, and is now in heaven, inviting you to join him. It means repenting (turning around from following your own way) and following Jesus. It really is that simple-and there really is just one way to heaven, however it takes a lifetime to apply and live out. I know Grandpa had his reservation. I have mine. Do you have yours?



BTW-here's what I ended up saying at the funeral:

If Grandpa were to introduce me, he'd tell you that I was his "favorite number one grand-daughter".

Grandpa wore a lot of hats in his lifetime. He was a sailor, a truck driver, and a motorcycle rider. He was a brother, a husband, a father and a friend. But I think the hats that he was proudest of were those of Grandpa and Great-Grandpa. He was a Grandpa seven times and a Great-Grandpa eight and a half times. Grandpa loved spending time with family. There were camping trips to Yosemite, and Newport Dunes in the motor home and trips (I've been told) to Cachuma. Any special event, birthday, graduation or wedding, Grandpa was there. Early.

Proverbs 18:24 says "A man who has friends must himself be friendly," That perfectly describes Grandpa. He was a friend to everyone, always willing to lend a hand to help with a project or to be there to help you celebrate a milestone. I only hope that I can live up to the example that he set for me. But that verse goes on to say "But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." Grandpa knew that friend, as do I, and because of that I KNOW that I will see him again one day.

Some of you have seen to "One Way" ticket to Heaven that was made for Grandpa. Since Grandpa love trains, I got this picture of Grandpa riding to Heaven on a train. I can just imagine him pulling into Heaven's Station last Monday night. As he steps onto the platform there is a huge crowd of friends and family rushing to meet him, but leading the charge was the Lord Jesus. As he reached Grandpa, He swept him up into his arms and swung him around like a little boy and whispered in his ear. "Welcome home, my child. I missed you."


Grandpa, I wouldn't wish you back. I love you, so much and I will see you again soon.

Gardening

(written May 18, 2008-posted here for archival purposes)

I was thinking about all that has been happening lately and how beat up I feel. I was reminded that there is a lot of changing and growing going on this year. The growing part struck me.--What do you do when you grow things? You bury them in the dirt. Well, if you're planting seeds, you bury them. If you're planting something that's already sprouted, you pull it out of it's nice comfortable little pot and stick into either a bigger pot or into the ground, and then tamp things down nice and firm. From the plant's perspective, I'll bet this feels rather traumatic--going from what you're used to, to being yanked around, put into a new environment, and then being squeezed into place. Then you get watered. That's generally not so bad, unless you get too much and you just can't cope with it, or you get too little and you start to shrivel up. Getting the right amount of water can make you feel at home faster. But it doesn't stop there...to encourage growth you get fertilized. (This is actually the part that I just figured out.) What is fertilizer? There are several thing that it can be, but most commonly its a pile of poop. As if things weren't bad enough, someone comes along and dumps a pile of poop on you. And you can bet that you're going to get watered again, so now you're sitting in a pile of wet poop. Now what?

Right about now is when I'm looking for a way out of the garden. I'm pulling up my roots and running for the hills. Who care how hard it is out there, I do not want to sit in wet poop!

But wait a minute--who is the Master Gardener? Does He really know what He's doing? Would He do anything out of spite or does He really have my best interests in mind? Only He can see the blueprint for His garden. He know the place that He has for me in it. It might be where I'm currently planted or He may choose to transplant me somewhere else. You may feel like you're sitting in wet poop, but are you going to sit and curse the poop or are you going to use it as an opportunity to grow? (The funny thing about growing--as you grow, your head gets further away from the poop and you don't mind it as much.)

Hope you all have a blessed week.

Welcome!!!

Something about starting fresh on something...

A blank canvas just waiting to be filled.
A masterpiece waiting to be created.

I'm not sure where this blog will go. I want it to be a place where I can share my thoughts and feelings, but I also want it to be a place where I can share what the Lord is doing in my life. There are a few things that I will be pulling together from other sources that I want to archive here. But besides that, happy reading....