Lesson #15: There Are Reasons For Hope

bird soar

#15: There Are Reasons For Hope In going through a death one’s hope tank is emptied. Afterward, there is a reason for hope again. God is faithful to touch us afresh. He sparks us with a new reality including the following truths: God is present still. God will go before me. I don’t walk forward…

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Lesson #9: You Will Need To Monitor Your Regrets

lone bird tree

#9: You Will Need To Monitor Your Regrets Death will usher in a flood of second thoughts, regrets, and negative inward ponderings. Such thoughts come easily to us in the aftermath of devastation. Could I have done something differently… Was it my fault that this happened… Did I say something wrong… If only thus and…

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Lesson #7: God Will Intervene

Whoopi

#7: God Will Intervene I was in a coma state for an extended time after my death. When I came out of the coma I was still attached to a ventilator—something that was incredibly uncomfortable. There is something painfully artificial about breathing through a small tube jammed down your throat! I found it very difficult…

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Lesson #5: Resolution Is Essential

steep hill

#5: Resolution Is Essential When you experience death, you WILL have people to forgive. I wrote recently about some “Job friends” related to my death experience. Several asked if I resolved my issues with them. The answer is both yes and no. Yes, I have forgiven them. I have moved on in life, figuratively and…

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God Is Up To Changes All Over

open road

Ever get to a fork in the road? Yogi Berra exhorts us to take it in times like that. We can hopefully all relate to the notion of coming to a fork in the road in the best sense of the possibilities that God is opening up for us. I know more people who are…

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My Favorite Mistakes of 2008 – Part 3

2008

continued from Part 2, which you can view here 4: Concerns about criticisms from the small-minded ensnared me. That is, in 2008 I got caught up the times in worrying about what other people thought about me. It’s not that all who are potentially critical of me are necessarily small-minded. It just so happens that…

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My Favorite Mistakes of 2008 – Part 2

2008

continued from Part 1, which you can view here 2: I concerned myself too much with where finances were headed. Sometimes it’s possible to not necessarily worry about something but to merely focus on it and to haphazardly become negatively ensnared. It’s possible to become preoccupied with a matter that may be neutral then you…

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My Favorite Mistakes of 2008 – Part 1

2008

At the end of each year, I spend time reflecting on my 11.5 months of making as many mistakes as possible. I look back upon the year that has passed and its miscalculations with a degree of glee. With a bit slight demented smile, I sit down, a pad of paper in hand, a good…

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How To NOT Be Chosen As A Contestant On A TV Game Show

Price is Right

Jeopardy. “Alex, I’ll take Norwegian fjords for $100 please.” You’ve seen it plenty of times. Answers are given in the form of questions. Each answer doesn’t necessarily add up to a lot of money but in the end, if you answer a lot right you can walk away with some decent change. My wife Janie…

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Goes Down, Around and Back

birthday cake

This has been a stellar week for me. My birthday was on Tuesday. I’m old but not that old. My son Jack thinks I’m old because I’m older than 21. I think I am younger than a lot of much younger people because I engage in playful activity a LOT. “When you stop playing you…

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