The Journey

I wonder if your heart has been tugged like mine has with the recent deaths in the news over the past couple of weeks?

Natasha Richardson, beautiful 45 year old daughter of Vanessa Redgrave, died suddenly from falling on a beginner ski slope in Canada. She leaves behind Liam Neeson and her two teenage boys.

Jane Goody, the woman who has been battling cervical cancer in Great Britain just died on Monday. (She was 27 and a single mom with two sons. She knew her cancer was fast progressing and felt like she had very little money to leave her sons when she died. So, she agreed to sell her rights to allow tv cameras to witness her departure from this earth. It was the first "reality tv show" that centered around someone dying.)

The three families from California: six adults, one pilot, and seven children all under age 10, who crashed their plane in a cemetery in Montana. The grandfather was waiting to pick them up and received a phone call that he had lost two daughters, two sons-in-laws and five grandchildren in an instant.

Are you struck as I am how one phone call can radically change your life? One decision to go skiing or take an airplane, and your days on earth are done. It's amazing to me how life as we know it, carpools and all, just seem to keep going on while others around us are nearly paralyzed with mind numbing grief. Whenever I have attended a funeral, I always feel so odd when I reenter life.
I am reminded of the hymn, "It is well with my soul."

This hymn was written by an American businessman, Hoaratio Spafford, whose four daughters drowned when the ship they were travelling on with their mother sank to the bottom of the ocean in 1873. The words to this hymn are still sung today, some 136 years later.

"When peace like a river, attendeth my way, when sorrow like sea billows roll, Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, 'It is well, it is well, with my soul.' "

Dear Lord,

The days of our lives are numbered. You know exactly how many days we have on this earth. Be with the families and children of those who have suffered such loss in these past two weeks. May we be a comfort to those around us who have also suffered a recent loss. Help us to live each day here as if it were our last, and to cherish every moment.

The ESV Study Bible

Here is a bargain for $32.49. The English Standard Version Study Bible is an incredible resource that is available for the public. It has 2,752 pages which is equivalent to a 20-volume Bible resource library all in one volume.

According to their website, "the ESV Study Bible has 2 million words of Bible text and insightful teaching in 2,752 pages.

20,000 notes—focusing especially on understanding the Bible text and providing answers to frequently raised issues.

Over 50 articles—including articles on the Bible’s authority and reliability; on biblical archaeology, theology, ethics, and personal application.

200-plus charts—offering key insights and in-depth analysis in clear, concise outline form; located throughout the Bible.

Over 200 full-color maps—created with the latest digital technology, satellite images, and archaeological research; printed in full color throughout the Bible.
80,000 cross-references—to encourage easy location of important words, passages, and biblical themes.

40 all-new illustrations—including full-color renderings and architectural diagrams of the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, Solomon’s temple, Herod’s temple, the city of Jerusalem in Jesus’ time and throughout the history of Israel, and many more."

You can check it out for free at www.esvstudybible.org.

Now go and enjoy and CHERISH every moment!

Kim