Well, the Lynds tribe is heading down from Alaska this morning, got a text from Deed at about 1040.

Over 50 hours driving time; over 3000 miles later, Velma and Vivian will arrive in Bend for Vivian to begin her new life in Central Oregon.  It is her roots, she is coming back home.

Teresa and Ian are enjoying their trip through Europe – all have my prayers for a safe journey, free of any trials or tribulations that are not easily overcome.  That good memories will abound.

Early this morning I was awakened by a sound of thunder.  Normally we don’t hear it in our bedroom – I wasn’t sure what it was; thinking it might be an intruder, I got up.

As I went to the door, lightening, quickly followed by thunder, rolled through the early morning darkness.  I don’t recall ever having seen such a white lightening.  Not only was the lightening itself strikingly pure white light, but the sky was lit up with that blinding white light.

It looked like an electronic flash of a camera.

There were clouds overhead but they were thin and not dark, which I ‘think’ contributed to the flashes of all seeing light that lit up everything for a brief moment.

It was pretty, but my thoughts quickly went to the fact it had to be a dry lightning and where it might strike could be fires.  I asked God to protect all that might be in danger.

Evidently we have had no damage here, but there are fires in Eastern Washington.

Ironically, as I was listening to the thunder and watching the lightening, AllClassical radio was playing the William Tell Overture!  Seemed to fit.

Psalm 30:12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

for ever.

As a new Christian, I had a conversation with a young man.  A verse, similar to the above, had been recently used as the text in the sermon and in the preaching the Pastor had said something about when we get to heaven we will continually be praising God.

Forever, means forever.  It doesn’t end with our life on earth in our bodies, it will continue in our heavenly forms.

This young man asked me if I believed that.  I said, yes.  He said, then what is the point of going to heaven, if we can’t enjoy ourselves?

I had no answers, I was new in Christ, I knew that God was forever and our praise of Him would be forever, but I couldn’t answer his question.

Learned a couple of things – one I don’t have all the answers and never will and three there are others who can help us figure out what the answer is and God covers questions of this nature in His Word – but, I didn’t think about that at the time, I just sat there while he waited for an answer and I couldn’t give him one.

It doesn’t mean he was lost – he had been saved at an early age and continued going to services long after that earnest question was made.  I hope he found the answer.

I have often thought about his question, is that “all” there is?

Dog lovers have a poem they often refer to when a beloved pet dies; it is called ‘The Rainbow Bridge.’  It is a place where our pets reside after death waiting for us to accompany them into heaven going over the rainbow bridge.

It can be a comforting thought for a person who has a close attachment to their dog.

There are so many things here on earth that we have become attached to, things and places that have special meaning to us and we don’t really want to let go of.  It would be a comforting thought, maybe, if heaven looked like the places we enjoy here on earth.

I don’t like the city.  It isn’t the people themselves, although it is the feeling of being crammed into a space where there are so many of them you can breathe.  My personal space is much larger than a city dweller’s.

It is the inanimate building and things that are in it.  It is the traffic, the multi-lane freeways, pollution, noises, I feel suffocated.

In almost every city there are places that attempt to allow you to get away from the man-made ‘things’ and have a natural experience – they are called parks.  It is an attempt, by those that understand people are drawn to God’s nature, to have a place for them to go to for rejuvenation.

But even in the vastness of the parks, there is still the noise, pollution and people that ‘have’ to have their electronic devices.  Unless you get there early in the morning or late in the evening you are still bombarded with these distractions. 

While there are many advantages to a large city, I spend as little time there as I possibly can.

I prefer the freedom of looking out and seeing mountains, seeing skies and being able to feel unencumbered with the ‘things’ that are so important to those in the city.

I enjoy the open country and the forests; I enjoy the mountains and the ocean.  These places afford me rest, and a feeling that I am close to God.  I don’t have to fight through all the things, to talk with Him.  There are fewer distractions.

We hear the terms heaven on earth or God’s country; it usually means a vast country side a place of beauty and solitude – not the city.  I have never heard anyone say that about a city, even those that live there.

Some of the more popular programs on networks, other than the large ones, are about people who live in isolated areas.  These are people who live off the land with little or no contact with the outside world; some live on mountains, others in deserts, and more and more are coming on living in the vastness of the Alaskan wilderness.

People connect with those programs because they show a ‘simpler’ life, one that is not hampered with the forces of man; they have shrugged off the need to have the convenient of modern man in favor of a less stressful life style. 

Although living that life and depending on one’s own skills to survive can be challenging and stressful, it doesn’t seem that way as we watch and pine over the programs; wishing we were there.  

Yet, the bulk of our population is in the large cities.  Some because they indeed enjoy all the benefits and are not bothered by the encumbrances of others – and some out of necessity because that is where they make their living. 

When we have an ideal place to live; while it may be common to or with others, we derive satisfaction and happiness.  It is a place where we can be comfortable and live our life as free from stress as possible.

And we become attached to the places, to the pets, to our loved ones and friends.  We don’t want to lose them, we don’t like the idea of being without these comforting places, people and thoughts.

But no matter what happens here on earth, it is not forever, unless it begins with accepting Christ.

Once we accepted Christ we have Him with us, forever.  All the places, all the things, people, pets or anything else we value as we live will be gone.  But, our relationship with God will expand beyond our comprehension.

for ever.

Mathew 16:24-25 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

²⁵ For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

My answer to that young man, today, after 50 years with Christ, is that when we die, in Christ, none of these things matter.

We will be so enveloped by the presence of God that if we think about these things at all, we will wonder why we held these things in such high esteem.

While many of these things may seem important for our existence and vital to our mental well-being, here on earth – they pale in His presence.

AND, as Christians, they should start paling in His presence even now.  When we praise God, when we worship Him to the point of complete surrender to Him everything else is forgotten.  We are totally immersed in His Holy Spirit and everything else disappears around us. 

That is a slice of heaven on earth and a promise of how it will be when we get to heave – I think he would have understood that, he had experienced that totality of worship where even those next to him seem to have disappeared and it was just him and God.

There is JOY in worshipping God here on earth, which transcends everything else.  How much better will it be when we are able to worship Him, unencumbered by anything, lifting our voices and heart up to Him forever?

God knows we are a needy people and He is willing to provide for our physical and mental well-being, but more importantly He provides for our spiritual well-being.  He can only do so if we allow Him to – that is why we must deny ourselves, but it is our choice.

We must place our lives in perspective.  Everything we are on earth, whether that be rich or poor, famous and not, powerful or not, living in a city or country, will be gone.  Only our relationship with God, through Christ, is going to last forever.

If we short change ourselves now we can find ourselves in danger and deep remorse as we realize how much more we could have done for Him, if we had given Him everything.

Forever is a long time, it begins with our conception; it becomes a glorious experience with our rebirth in Christ and lives on as we worship God in heaven.

for ever.

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

²⁵ For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

The choice is ours, and, it is forever.

Later, Art :-)

From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous
May Our Good Lord Bless and Keep YOU....’til we meet again