Wrong Sounding Muppets

Friday humor, courtesy of Family Guy

Whipped

My goodness, I am exhaused. It has been and extremely long, yet seemingly short weekend. It seems like the last time I was at my desk was only hours ago, but those hours moved slowly.

On Friday, I got a call from my wife telling me she got a call from her mom telling her that her cousin's three children all died in a house fire early Friday morning. From that moment on things have kind of been a blur until now.

There was the initial shock of hearing such news. The stunned silence. What can I say? Words just were not there. I could not even be there with my wife. She was at work, and so was I. I wanted so much to just hold her. Let her rest in my arms. But I could not.

Saturday and Sunday went as planned, but still in the haze of the news.

Sunday night we got the news that a window of our car had been smashed in, and so we were unsure of how we were going to get to the funeral Monday. Luckily we have grace filled friends. We went to our pastors house and were invited to supper and were given the keys to thier youngests' car. It was so nice to get out of the house and just be with people. I don't think they know how much those couple of hours helped.

Monday, yesterday, we headed to Plymouth, WI to attend the funeral. 2 closed caskets and one open. Three angels in heaven. Many broken here on earth.

The whole drive to Plymouth and the drive home I was thinking about death, dying and life. I am going to attempt to put some of those thoughts down here, forgive the rambling nature of them ... these are just some of my thoughts...

On Death and Dying

My reaction to death is not necessarly one of tears or anger. It tends to be one of relief, or at least calm. I have the understanding that it happens to us all, and we are in the process of dying from the moment we exit the womb. This is a hard view to have. But since the fall, that has been our lot, and I am comfortable with that.

I believe in a life after death, and maybe that helps me in my reaction to earthly death.

I lost my dad almost 9 years ago. It was expected for a long time, but when it happened it happened over the course of 24 hours. He was diabetic and had been suffering complications from that disease for years, and we knew it would eventually take him. But he had a heart attack, and as a result of the disease no effective treatment was able to be done. Diabetes calicifies the blood vessels and as a result they are very fragile. To attemp an angioplasty or stint or other treatment would cause the vessle to burst, doing more damage than the inital attack. We had a DNR signed and allowed him to pass.

I cried and grieved at the loss of my father, but I cried and grieved more for my mom, my brother, my uncle and aunt, my grandpa and especially my grandma (parents should not have to burry their children). That was the first time I realized this.

I grieve for the survivors, for the living. After one dies, there is nothing we can do to stop that. They have moved on.

I grieve for the path surviors have to take.

I grieve because the end of a life is the beginning of a new life for those of us remaining. Some of us are able to move on and grow. Others are not. I don't know how I could grow from the loss of my three children. I cry of the mother and the father of Cheyenne, Hunter and Rae'ven.


That is ramling and incohearant, but I just needed to post. Pray for Tara, Donny, Mae and their families.

May they see the glory of the ressurection.

God's Gonna Cut You Down

From Johnny Cash's Last album...

Prayers



Elizabeth Edwards has announced that her cancer has returned. During a press conference this morning, she and her husband, John, told us the cancer had returned and was affecting her bones. She has survied breast cancer, which began to make her ill towards the end of the 2004 presidential campaign. But now the beast is in her rib.

John will continue to run for president, and Elizabeth will be with him while she is undergoing treatment. They and the doctors are extremely optimistic about the potential for treatment, as right now she is asymptomatic, so they caught the diease very early.

The tumor was discovered in a similar way to my friend Tony's was. He slipped and fell on some ice and cracked a rib this winte. Upon getting chest x-rays for his ribs, spots in his lungs were discovered. He has been treated and is doing well. Mrs. Edwards went to the hospital for a cracked rib, and they discovered something worrying on the other side.

Mrs. Edwards would make a fantastic first lady. She is part of the reason I am in the Edwards camp now. Sen. Edwards and I agree on many issues, and I think he is the real deal. Mrs. Edwards is a brilliant, compassionate, and overall lovely woman. She would be a wonderful person to be the face of the USA.

When they blog on Daily Kos (and how many time in a presidential campaign to you hear the words they when talking about a candidate and his/her spouse?), she and the Sen. both stick around and answer comments, but she will still be there long after John has had to move on.

Please pray for Mrs. Edwards. She has gone through a lot (breast cancer and the loss of their oldest son), and says they can handle this, but they can use a little boost. Send them good thoughts.

jt

Apple's Newest...The iRack

h/t Crooks and Liars

"Love thy neighbor is not a suggestion. It is a COMMAND!

Bono at the NAACP Image Awards.

Be patient...towards the end you see the Holy Spirit fill the auditorium. Amazing