I am a Christian, a retired teacher, a mother and a grandmother. I love to read and I love the Lord Jesus Christ! Unless otherwise specified ,all visual illustrations are from the YOU VERSION APP of the Bible.
I get news blurbs in my inbox every morning and I was very sad today to learn of the passing of Dr. Dobson today, at the age of 89. The founder of Focus on the Family and the Dobson Family Institute, he was an icon of fatherhood, manhood, parenting in general and raising children with Godly standards. Many years ago, when I visited Colorado Springs, I visited the Focus on the Family visitor’s center there. Like Dr. Dobson, it was centered around families, fun and laughter.
My deep condolences go to his family, friends, co-workers and all who were touched by his ministry. His legacy will live on, even as he lives eternally with the Father. Rest in Peace, Dr. Dobson. We will miss your wisdom and stalwart defense of the Lord.
I have been up for over two hours and I am just now getting around to my devotionals. Why is that, you may ask? The reason is that I have six or seven books releasing in the next ten days and I was busy promoting them online. Now, to start my real day…
I awakened in the wee hours of the morning with a deep pain in my chest and a fear about a heart attack. Since I have multiple health problems and see a cardiologist regularly, I did not awaken my slumbering spouse. Rather, I prayed and did some deep breathing, relaxed and fell back to sleep. But the pain was my wake up call that we all die and leave these bodies behind. When I got up and read the headline that the Pope had died, I was reminded of what the Lord had told me as I suffered through the anxiety of pain in my chest. We all die…even the head of the Catholic Church is not exempt from the end of life here on earth.
But…good news awaited me in my devotional today! When I die, as we all must some day, I will not be left in the “realm of the dead.” My soul, the real part of me that relates to God and will continue to live, will never decay. This body is a tent, a temporary dwelling place for my soul until God calls me home. And so is your body and the body of anyone who has accepted Jesus as Savior.
So, that’s my Monday minute. Have a blessed week and enjoy the weather wherever you are and whatever it is doing. God made today for us to live, laugh and love others.
One of our pastors has posed an interesting question.
If you knew that you only had thirty days to live, would you change how you live? If so, how would you change?
Thought-provoking and deep and I’m not sure how I would answer it yet, but I am pondering it and invite you to ponder along with me. Of course, we cannot know the time of our death. Jesus said that the Father knows. We know that God has told some people in the past to get ready to die. King Hezekiah immediately comes to mind. He is the king who turned his face to the wall and cried out to God for more years, a wish that God granted him. I would hope that if God told me that I was about to die that I would be ready and willing to go with Him then, but we just don’t know until such an event happens to us. So, ponder with me, if you will, what would you change in the last month of your life?
As I have been aging, at first approaching death was a scary thought for me. Now, it has become an inevitable end to this life on earth and the beginning of a new life with God. It means the end of all of the aches and pains and daily concerns. Of course, it also means missing my loved ones here on earth, but there is always the promise to see them again in Heaven some day. No more sorrow or tears and no more goodbyes has me looking more expectantly towards Heaven, more with excitement and less with fear. How about you? Do you ever think about your own mortality? Do you think about what Heaven will be like?
In a devotional that I read this morning, the writer had been told that she only had a short time to live and was fearful of death. Having lived over a decade past the time the doctors pronounced for her, the fear had become distant and her new attitude was one of wonder. No one really knows what Heaven is like, so her curiosity was stimulated. She says that her curiosity was somewhat satisfied when she was with an elderly woman just before she died and with her last breath, she said, “Wow!” Now, that, my friends is food for thought. What will we say when we cross over into eternity with God? I think”wow” is pretty descriptive, don’t you? (Daily Guideposts 2021, October 19, 2021)
I don’t want you to leave this post without promises from God that will hopefully stir your heart to look up and await Him with expectation and hope. (I heard someone say that hope is not dead because He is a person!)
May God bless and keep you throughout this day and until we meet again on this page. Meanwhile, drop me a line in the comments and tell me the answer to my question above. Thirty days. What, if anything, would you change in your life?
Since writing this blog, I have one more thing to look forward to in Heaven…I get to meet you believers who have followed me online and see you face to face. I appreciate each of you and pray God’s blessing and His continued presence in your lives daily. I remain a servant of Christ and a seeker of truth. Until next time…
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 