It's probably true in most of our lives that death seems to come in waves. In the last week, I've heard about 4 deaths. One was the tragic lost of a 20 year-old daughter. One was a loss of a husband while preparing for another funeral. One was the loss of a father. And the last one was the loss of Larry Norman, known as the "Father of Christian Rock."
When we lose someone close to us, it sort of "slaps us" back to the reality that we will all die some day. Most of us will not get to choose the day we die. The most amazing thing to me in all of these deaths, is that God KNEW exactly when each person would die. Even when people take their own lives, God KNOWS when that will be. Unfortunately we don't. We have no idea when our last day on earth will be.
Pondering death makes most of us melancholy. Even if we believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that we will live in heaven for eternity, death still is not a pleasant subject. After all, we miss those who leave this world while we are left to carry on. We have empty places in our hearts when that person leaves. We often ponder the "what ifs" of missed chances to talk or visit with that person.
Larry Norman was known as a "rebel" in some circles of Christianity. He was very vocal about his faith and his frustration with the often luke-warmness of the church. He has a number of songs that talk about the stark reality of death. At the end of this physical life, there are only two options - heaven or hell. We all have chosen to believe various things about these two places. We all have chosen what to believe about how you get there.
We as humans tend to complicate God's amazing offer. He sent his son, Jesus, to be a savior for all of us. We tend to add or subtract things from the simplicity of either believing in Jesus as your savior or rejecting Him. We want it to feel right or fit our way of thinking. But it's just a simple yes or no question - Do you believe that Jesus died for your sins? If you do, then He guarantees eternity with Him. If you don't, He makes the opposite guarantee - eternity without Him. Yep, it takes some faith to believe that, but if you don't exercise your faith, you still fall into the 'no' category.
Here are the conclusions I've made about death with this round of thinking about it:
-God knows when you will die
-You do not know when you will die
-If you believe that Jesus is your savior, GOD guarantees eternity with Him
-If you don't, GOD guarantees eternity without Him
So it seems to be in your best interest to decide sooner rather than later what you believe about God's offer of salvation through Jesus. It's in your best interest because you can be 20, 53, 60 or in your 80's and it could be your last day here.
As one of the titles of Larry Norman's songs says "I Wished We'd All Been Ready."
I'm ready, are you?
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Undefeated!
If you know me at all, you know I LOVE hockey. My Aunt Mare got me started when I was 10 by taking me to North Stars games. That's right people, the Dallas Stars actually owe their success to the fans in the frozen tundra. But now that we have our Wild who cares about the Stars?
Not me, in fact I'm much more partial to the Mustangs. Ever heard of them? No? Get with it will you! After all, they're undefeated this season! They went 12-0 during the regular season with Josh being a leader on the team. Matt contributed this year with a goal in a game early in the season! Yep, I'm pretty proud (and loud at the games) of these guys.
Adapted Floor Hockey is a much more intense sport than professional hockey. Hey those guys are paid big bucks to play on a sheet of ice - whoopie! These kids are paid nothing except the pats on their backs from the parents to play on a floor with some of the players being in wheelchairs. Try stick-handling around several ambulatory players only to look up and see this monstrosity of a power chair guarding the goal! And remember, you can't run in this sport or you get 2 minutes in the sin-bin (that's penalty box for all of you non-hockey people).
In their second season, Josh and Matt are on their way to a second state high school tournament. They take not only an undefeated season into this tourney, but are defending champions from last season. Only time will tell if we have a repeat. Wanna hear me scream at the top of my lungs for an hour? Or maybe you're more interested in what happens on the floor! Either way, come watch a tournament game on March 14, 15 in Bloomington. Just don't sit in front of me if you want to keep your hearing. Stay tuned for more riveting hockey stories in the next few weeks or so.
Not me, in fact I'm much more partial to the Mustangs. Ever heard of them? No? Get with it will you! After all, they're undefeated this season! They went 12-0 during the regular season with Josh being a leader on the team. Matt contributed this year with a goal in a game early in the season! Yep, I'm pretty proud (and loud at the games) of these guys.
Adapted Floor Hockey is a much more intense sport than professional hockey. Hey those guys are paid big bucks to play on a sheet of ice - whoopie! These kids are paid nothing except the pats on their backs from the parents to play on a floor with some of the players being in wheelchairs. Try stick-handling around several ambulatory players only to look up and see this monstrosity of a power chair guarding the goal! And remember, you can't run in this sport or you get 2 minutes in the sin-bin (that's penalty box for all of you non-hockey people).
In their second season, Josh and Matt are on their way to a second state high school tournament. They take not only an undefeated season into this tourney, but are defending champions from last season. Only time will tell if we have a repeat. Wanna hear me scream at the top of my lungs for an hour? Or maybe you're more interested in what happens on the floor! Either way, come watch a tournament game on March 14, 15 in Bloomington. Just don't sit in front of me if you want to keep your hearing. Stay tuned for more riveting hockey stories in the next few weeks or so.
Go Fish
I'll bet you thought I was going to write about a card game that you've played before. Well, that's not even close!
We had the awesome privilege of meeting the group "Go Fish." We now have a family member who is a semi-famous singer with this group. He made his on stage debut in the great city of Sioux Falls, South Dakota on February 17th. He's now local famous (that means we know about his fame and so do you because you're reading this).
Who is he?
How did he get on stage?
Can I get his autograph?
Matt Price is his name and he is the 14 year old phenom who placed a wish with the Make-A-Wish foundation. His request was to sing on stage with the Go Fish Guys.
Make-A-Wish contacted the Go Fish Guys and they graciously agreed to meet Matt. They did more than just meet him. They allowed Matt and his family to attend their sound check before the concert in Sioux Falls.
We had an incredible evening talking with the guys, watching them prepare for their show and even helping a little! The kids assisted Jamie as he blew up the beach balls used in their show.
Matt's autograph is available for those who wish! We don't charge for autographs in honor of the Go Fish Guys who like us are happy to share two things - a signature and the fact that we love Jesus.
Here is Laura's recap of the trip in case you haven't seen it yet:
A Disclaimer - kleenex may be warranted for this section. We accept no responsibility for tears spilled. Don't even think about contacting your lawyer if you cry during this section!
Make-A-Wish rented 2 vans for us, one accessible van for Vicki and another mini van as we would not all fit into one. I drove the "other " van with the 4 boys in it. They were thrilled because there was a DVD player in the ceiling. The wheelchair van did not have it's own DVD player but our wish granter had lent us her own with 2 screens, so Vicki got one and Rachel the other. That sure does help the time go faster.
Our first stop was in Mankato where our long time PCA, Ashley, goes to school. We got to visit her apartment and have lunch with her. She was amazed how small her apartment seemed when all 9 of us were in it!! She sent us off excited to hear we would swing back through Mankato on our way home and share our stories with her.
We had 3 rooms booked for us right across the hall from the pool at our hotel. There was a bouquet of balloons, cheese puffs and an arrangement of candy bars waiting for Matt in his room. The pool had a smaller slide which kept the boys going, and a hot tub for us all to relax in.
We swam some more the day of the concert and watched "Enchanted" on pay per view while we waited for time to pass for the next activity. The restaurant next to the hotel brought Matt's favorite meal, spaghetti, for us with a virgin strawberry daiquiri for him and huge, delicious desserts for us all. We waited to dress for the concert until after the meal, thankfully!!
We were picked up in a limo bus with a wheelchair lift and whisked off to the Sioux Falls Convention Center. We went in and sat in some chairs waiting for "the guys." Jamie came over in jeans and a tee shirt. My same children who have been SO EXCITED to meet the Go Fish Guys all of a sudden shyly said,"Hi." They looked like every day guys, and... they are!! Thankfully they are all dads too so they weren't too stunned when Tim jumped up from his seat and hugged Andy around the legs (they are all pretty tall) and started crawling through Jamie's legs!
They took time to sign each of the kid's Snazzy shirts. Then we took a group photo.
We talked about Matt's wish to be on stage with them and that Victoria's favorite Go Fish song is 'You're My Little Girl.' They don't usually do that song on this tour, but decided that would be a good one for Matt to join them on. Scott told Jamie that a glow stick might be a great mic for Matt. :)
We got to watch as they did their sound check and chatted some more with Jamie as he blew up the beach balls for the performance. They even do some of their own grunt work!!
The concert was GREAT!! They are very good performers but also really try to make connections with the audience, waving to many of the kids and later coming out and giving high fives during one of their songs. The most demonstrative of our kids was Rachel who screamed with delight through most of the show.
Then it was Matt's cue. He and the Sioux Falls director of Make-A-Wish went back stage. Jamie talked about how this was a special night. He told how Make-A-Wish had contacted their manager about a 14 year old boy, Matthew, who could wish for anything in the world, and his wish was to be on stage with the Go Fish Guys. It showed in their actions that it meant a lot to them too. Jamie invited Matt to join them in singing Victoria's favorite song since 3 part harmony is good, but 4 part is better. Matt was a little tentative as he walked on stage and stood between Jamie and Andy. Jason made a comment that he likes Matthew because he has hair. (Andy and Jamie have both shaved their heads). Matt used his glow stick to sing with "the guys." Andy waved to Victoria as they sang and Matt mainly stared in awe at Jamie during the verse but then did join in for the chorus. When the song was finished, the audience gave Matt a standing ovation. Matt waved to the crowd, and Mom and Dad cried.
After the show, some of the concert goers would stop Matt and say "Hey, aren't you the singer with the Go Fish Guys? Way to go!" It was very cool. He told me he had been nervous before the show. I assured him that the guys probably were too. His other comment to me was, "Mom,I got to stand next to Jamie."
We hated to leave, but there was a huge line for other fans to have items signed and get to say hi to the group. We went back to our hotel and ate the left overs from our spaghetti lunch. They had given us enough for 2 meals.
Matt had not slept well the night before, but slept very well after the concert. The next morning we all got up, went to breakfast in the hotel lobby,went swimming, and then finally had to tell Matt he had to get out of bed at 11 because we had to check out!!
Make-A-Wish had arranged for us to go to a butterfly house in Sioux Falls, but Matt was not interested and we were anxious to head home. Unfortunately, we did not include the little boys in that decision and they were very disappointed when they realized we were not going there. We were in Mankato and they told me in no uncertain terms to GO BACK!! Sorry boys.
The road was rather scary as we drove on I-90 and saw about 2 dozen cars in the ditch. The wind was blowing straight across the road and there were big patches of ice. I was glad we did not have our full size van as the mini vans did not seem to catch the wind nearly as much.
We have some video of Matt's debut from back stage and Scott is putting together a movie of our trip, but for now you will have to see the photos we have. (No videos or pics will be posted here to respect the copyright of the Go Fish Guys).
We are very thankful to Make-A-Wish and the Go Fish Guys for making Matt's wish come true. Thank you for all of you who prayed for us. It was a very special trip.
We had the awesome privilege of meeting the group "Go Fish." We now have a family member who is a semi-famous singer with this group. He made his on stage debut in the great city of Sioux Falls, South Dakota on February 17th. He's now local famous (that means we know about his fame and so do you because you're reading this).
Who is he?
How did he get on stage?
Can I get his autograph?
Matt Price is his name and he is the 14 year old phenom who placed a wish with the Make-A-Wish foundation. His request was to sing on stage with the Go Fish Guys.
Make-A-Wish contacted the Go Fish Guys and they graciously agreed to meet Matt. They did more than just meet him. They allowed Matt and his family to attend their sound check before the concert in Sioux Falls.
We had an incredible evening talking with the guys, watching them prepare for their show and even helping a little! The kids assisted Jamie as he blew up the beach balls used in their show.
Matt's autograph is available for those who wish! We don't charge for autographs in honor of the Go Fish Guys who like us are happy to share two things - a signature and the fact that we love Jesus.
Here is Laura's recap of the trip in case you haven't seen it yet:
A Disclaimer - kleenex may be warranted for this section. We accept no responsibility for tears spilled. Don't even think about contacting your lawyer if you cry during this section!
Make-A-Wish rented 2 vans for us, one accessible van for Vicki and another mini van as we would not all fit into one. I drove the "other " van with the 4 boys in it. They were thrilled because there was a DVD player in the ceiling. The wheelchair van did not have it's own DVD player but our wish granter had lent us her own with 2 screens, so Vicki got one and Rachel the other. That sure does help the time go faster.
Our first stop was in Mankato where our long time PCA, Ashley, goes to school. We got to visit her apartment and have lunch with her. She was amazed how small her apartment seemed when all 9 of us were in it!! She sent us off excited to hear we would swing back through Mankato on our way home and share our stories with her.
We had 3 rooms booked for us right across the hall from the pool at our hotel. There was a bouquet of balloons, cheese puffs and an arrangement of candy bars waiting for Matt in his room. The pool had a smaller slide which kept the boys going, and a hot tub for us all to relax in.
We swam some more the day of the concert and watched "Enchanted" on pay per view while we waited for time to pass for the next activity. The restaurant next to the hotel brought Matt's favorite meal, spaghetti, for us with a virgin strawberry daiquiri for him and huge, delicious desserts for us all. We waited to dress for the concert until after the meal, thankfully!!
We were picked up in a limo bus with a wheelchair lift and whisked off to the Sioux Falls Convention Center. We went in and sat in some chairs waiting for "the guys." Jamie came over in jeans and a tee shirt. My same children who have been SO EXCITED to meet the Go Fish Guys all of a sudden shyly said,"Hi." They looked like every day guys, and... they are!! Thankfully they are all dads too so they weren't too stunned when Tim jumped up from his seat and hugged Andy around the legs (they are all pretty tall) and started crawling through Jamie's legs!
They took time to sign each of the kid's Snazzy shirts. Then we took a group photo.
We talked about Matt's wish to be on stage with them and that Victoria's favorite Go Fish song is 'You're My Little Girl.' They don't usually do that song on this tour, but decided that would be a good one for Matt to join them on. Scott told Jamie that a glow stick might be a great mic for Matt. :)
We got to watch as they did their sound check and chatted some more with Jamie as he blew up the beach balls for the performance. They even do some of their own grunt work!!
The concert was GREAT!! They are very good performers but also really try to make connections with the audience, waving to many of the kids and later coming out and giving high fives during one of their songs. The most demonstrative of our kids was Rachel who screamed with delight through most of the show.
Then it was Matt's cue. He and the Sioux Falls director of Make-A-Wish went back stage. Jamie talked about how this was a special night. He told how Make-A-Wish had contacted their manager about a 14 year old boy, Matthew, who could wish for anything in the world, and his wish was to be on stage with the Go Fish Guys. It showed in their actions that it meant a lot to them too. Jamie invited Matt to join them in singing Victoria's favorite song since 3 part harmony is good, but 4 part is better. Matt was a little tentative as he walked on stage and stood between Jamie and Andy. Jason made a comment that he likes Matthew because he has hair. (Andy and Jamie have both shaved their heads). Matt used his glow stick to sing with "the guys." Andy waved to Victoria as they sang and Matt mainly stared in awe at Jamie during the verse but then did join in for the chorus. When the song was finished, the audience gave Matt a standing ovation. Matt waved to the crowd, and Mom and Dad cried.
After the show, some of the concert goers would stop Matt and say "Hey, aren't you the singer with the Go Fish Guys? Way to go!" It was very cool. He told me he had been nervous before the show. I assured him that the guys probably were too. His other comment to me was, "Mom,I got to stand next to Jamie."
We hated to leave, but there was a huge line for other fans to have items signed and get to say hi to the group. We went back to our hotel and ate the left overs from our spaghetti lunch. They had given us enough for 2 meals.
Matt had not slept well the night before, but slept very well after the concert. The next morning we all got up, went to breakfast in the hotel lobby,went swimming, and then finally had to tell Matt he had to get out of bed at 11 because we had to check out!!
Make-A-Wish had arranged for us to go to a butterfly house in Sioux Falls, but Matt was not interested and we were anxious to head home. Unfortunately, we did not include the little boys in that decision and they were very disappointed when they realized we were not going there. We were in Mankato and they told me in no uncertain terms to GO BACK!! Sorry boys.
The road was rather scary as we drove on I-90 and saw about 2 dozen cars in the ditch. The wind was blowing straight across the road and there were big patches of ice. I was glad we did not have our full size van as the mini vans did not seem to catch the wind nearly as much.
We have some video of Matt's debut from back stage and Scott is putting together a movie of our trip, but for now you will have to see the photos we have. (No videos or pics will be posted here to respect the copyright of the Go Fish Guys).
We are very thankful to Make-A-Wish and the Go Fish Guys for making Matt's wish come true. Thank you for all of you who prayed for us. It was a very special trip.
Thank you - 4
Lance Henrickson and crew for labor on our concrete floor!
Robin Tacheny for our dumpsters so we could throw out all of the old materials and trash,
Brad Schmidtbauer of North Valley Paving for the use of dump trucks and other heavy equipment.
This list keeps growing and so do our grateful hearts!
Robin Tacheny for our dumpsters so we could throw out all of the old materials and trash,
Brad Schmidtbauer of North Valley Paving for the use of dump trucks and other heavy equipment.
This list keeps growing and so do our grateful hearts!
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