Tag: death

  • Special Traditions

     

    What’s it like during the Holidays without our special people around? On one hand, I try to be excited about the holiday season outwardly, but inwardly I’m still remorseful and dejected thinking about empty places at our table.    It’s tough not to recall shared family times, the excitement, traditional family holiday foods and presents. And I shouldn’t have to forget. But sometimes it’s easier to repress and not have to deal with the pain and sorrow associated with the past joyous times never to be regained.

    Both my Mom and Steve’s Dad thrived on people gatherings and holidays.  Mom made sure the tree was up, decorated and adorned with ALL the ornaments given by children and grandchildren. She and Dad would rise in the wee hours of the morning stuffing a gigantic turkey. There’d be a variety of pies baked and numerous side dishes. I can still picture her expanding the dining room table and setting it with her best china, glassware and cloth napkins the night before the event. Nothing was too good or fragile for her loved ones. When each of us stepped beyond the front door, we took center stage in her world and nothing else mattered.  I miss not seeing the faces of those loved ones taken by death.

    What special traditions do you remember from the past?

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  • Why we celebrate Easter

    Take a few minutes to listen and read through this powerful, all-inclusive video detailing just why we celebrate Easter.

  • Coffee’s brewing!

    “For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life” (2 Corinthians 2:15–16).

    My all-time favorite stop to make when I visit Rockford is Herman’s Boy Coffee shop! My first glance at the coffee bar is their current list of specialty flavors of the month:

    • Easter Sunrise – “an intriguing blend of toasted almond, coconut and orange citrus notes”
    • Grand Slam – “rich chocolate, spicy cinnamon and toasted hazelnut”
    • Sugar Cookie – “sweet sugar cookie flavor”

    The aroma as soon as I walk through the door is divine! I could sit in their coffee shop and sip coffee all day long and never tire of the fragrance. There is no mistake that coffee’s been roasting and brewing. I feel right at home in this quiet and quaint atmosphere.

    When I contemplate aromas and smells, I wonder if I am a sweet “fragrance of life” to those I come in contact with. Do my words and actions lead them toward God or away from him? When I hear gossip, do I chime in with the most recent details, or do I attempt to steer the conversation in a wholesome direction? The words that come out of my mouth originate from my deceitful heart. “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it” (Jeremiah 17:9).

    On the way home, my car smells of coffee beans. I breathe deeply and drink in the aroma.

    Prayer: Dear God, help me to be attractive to others and not repulsive. My desire is that they ultimately be attracted to you, your ways, and your heart.   

    Ask: Are your family and friends eager to be near you, or are they anxious to leave you? Do you contribute to negative conversations or try to respond in a positive, uplifting manner?

    Teresa K. Lasher ©2011

     

  • I am not in control

    Why in the world would I want to get out of bed early on a Saturday? Not only that, but the day is cold and windy.  I could remain in a perfectly warm bed.  Weeks ago, my friend asked if I’d walk with her in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.  The walk raises funds to help fight breast cancer.  My friend is a breast cancer survivor this year. How could I say no?  In fact, I know five friends who have had and conquered breast cancer—four in just the last year and one is a 10-year survivor!

    Still, I wrestle with wrangling myself from my cozy domain.  All doubt escaped me as soon as I approached the mall area where at least 7,000 participants gathered.  Local merchants donate coffee, bagels, yogurt and the likes.  It takes many volunteers to coordinate such an enormous, profitable event.  Just in the Grandville, Michigan race alone, nearly $500,000 is collected.

    I can’t help but notice all the pink registration numbers.  The color pink signals the individual is a breast cancer survivor.  One group wears a t-shirt with a name of a young girl’s birth and death dates.  The mother proudly displays her celebration of: “My daughter and me,” meaning the daughter died of breast cancer, and the mother is a survivor.

    Another young man wears a sign declaring, I race in celebration of:

    “My wife, Traci.  I walk beside her today so that I don’t need to walk without her tomorrow.”

    Wow, it is hard to hold back the tears.  Yet, sign after sign bears witness of love, celebration, and pain as loved ones names are written on display and pinned upon their backs. 

    I am not in control of my destiny.  Of course, it’s important to take care of my body as best as I’m able by eating properly, getting exercise and sufficient rest.  But when it comes right down to it, if God sees fit that today is my last day on earth, today will be my last day on earth!  No ifs, ands, or buts about it.  I’ll admit I don’t treasure every day, or every moment as I should.  My mind is usually so far ahead of this particular moment that I miss present blessings. 

    How can I live in the moment? What is the secret for me to enjoy today, right here and right now? 

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  • W. Virginia tragedy

     

    MONTCOAL, W.Va. – “Rescue crews began working their way by rail car and on foot through a coal mine early Thursday in search of four miners missing since a blast killed 25 colleagues in the worst U.S. mining disaster in more than two decades.”

         

    Words cannot express the pain family members must feel after West Virginia’s tragic mine explosion. Sons, fathers, brothers, uncles, co-workers all died when mine walls eradicated precious lives. As I listened to a live interview on “Today Show,” a grieving father told good things about his young son who will be sorely missed. The father could not hold back the tears, and neither could I.

    Townspeople rally around for support awaiting the fate of the missing four miners. Strangers pray for those grieving family members left behind after the blast. Words are not adequate in situations such as this. Just know that many do care and are praying for comfort in your deep, dark despair. There is hope in the middle of intense pain and suffering. Hope found in God’s written word in Thessalonians, chapter 4:

    “We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him…For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

    Here’s how The Message states it, “Then the rest of us who are still alive at the time will be caught up with them into the clouds to meet the Master. Oh, we’ll be walking on air! And then there will be one huge family reunion with the Master.”

    Jesus died and rose again and because he did, his followers who believe will be reunited again with our loved ones who died before us, “And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.”

    The mining explosion need not be the end of life as we know it. Yes, life is sometimes sad and feels unfair. It’s normal and healthy to grieve for a time. John 3:16 gives us comfort and reassurance of an after life, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

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  • Heaven Rejoices, but many here on earth grieve

    Thomas Edwin Hammond was tragically killed in an automobile accident last evening—so young…just turned 61 years old.

    I say, NO, it cannot be so! This gentlemen/pastor/chaplain is the person I credit to saving our son’s life. He made the call for Steve and I years ago, arranged a spot for him to enroll in Minnesota Teen Challenge’s 12-month drug rehab program, 700 miles away from home in Michigan. Without that call to MTC, I’m not sure where our son would be today. More than likely, dead.

    Then there was the missed telephone call…I’d talked with Tom earlier. Tom called back, but unfortunately I missed that call from him just a few short weeks ago. Instead of talking with him, I wrote on his FB page how much we appreciated him, and rejoiced at how well our son is doing today.

    I can’t wrap my head, mind around his death and what this deep loss means to his dear wife, June, children, and grandchildren. My brain is numb; stomach feels bottomless, body weak, and mind unable to focus. He loved and served his God faithfully for many, many years. As former youth pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, then chaplain at Forgotten Man Ministries – he gave his all to service in God’s name.

    I can’t imagine the grief his dear wife, June, and the family are feeling now. But I can say, without a shadow of doubt, that Tom was a man after God’s heart. He (and only he) made a call to Minnesota Teen Challenge for our teenage son. That call reserved a spot for our son that ultimately saved his life.

    Tom, I can’t begin to thank you enough for saving our son’s life. In my family’s life, you are God’s Miracle Worker. Well, done, good and faithful servant. You are loved much, and will be deeply missed, dear one!

    Sharing your grief,

    Teresa and Steve

     

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