A Little Glimpse of Heaven...

My family talked a lot about heaven this weekend.  As the end of the world approached Saturday night, I made the family go furniture shopping with the promise of dinner out hanging over their heads. My son only went because he really didn't want to scavage around and find something for himself!  My daughter went because she knew I had a coupon to TGIFridays, boy, was that a disappointment!  We won't be doing that again!

Anyway, we talked about how if the rapture really did happen right then, would we ever laugh at the fact that the last thing we did on earth was shop for furniture for our earthly home!  As I get older, I honestly would like for God to call me home while I'm still walking around here.  I also would like it to be sooner rather than later because my own children are still young enough not to have made dangerous and grave choices that I worry about.  If God called us home, I would not worry about them anymore!  I'm not so sure that's a real good reason to want the rapture to take place but I'm a human mother....what can I say? 

My daughter did not want the rapture to take place friday night!  She has a long list of things to do before God calls her home! Some of those include:  going to Falls Creek, going to high school, going on vacation this summer, etc! I had to laugh because I remember being thirteen and thinking the same exact thing!  Oh, how time changes your perspective.

Earlier that saturday morning, I caught a little glimpse of what heaven may be like. It was a beautiful sunny Saturday morning. I was wearing shorts and flip flops and working in my gardens.  I always listen to Christian radio because music sticks with me and I tend to sing out loud most of the day so I to imbend in the brain only stuff I won't be embarrassed to sing out loud in front of my kids.  I was pruning roses and I caught myself singing a praise song,...don't remember it now...but it was about singing and worshiping God. 

I came to the realization that I just might already be in heaven because, here I was, doing something I loved to do even though it was work and I was praising God while I was doing it!  As a kid, I sometimes got the idea that heaven would be church all the time.  You know, sitting still in the pews and singing hymns - not the most fun by kid standards.  As I got older, I began to think that in heaven, we will have jobs but it will be an honor to do them and we'd be singing and praising all day long.....just like I was doing out in my roses! 

I do know that I have no idea what heaven will be like.....I do know that if it is even close to last Saturday morning, I'm ready to go today!

A song in my heart

We are studying in Sunday school about songs.  Our teacher stated that God planned for us to have a song in our hearts.  My husband gave me one of those looks.  You know the kind.  For me, this time, it meant, 'I think she's talking about you!'

I'm always singing.  All day, everyday, I'm usually singing and since I usually listen to Christian music radio stations, that means that I'm usually singing some Christian song.  It's nice to have a song running around in my head all day.  But I don't just leave it in my head.  I sing out loud.  Sometimes really out loud!

Another oddity that I have, is that I can hear a song a few times and know it by heart.  I still remember the songs that we used to sing when I was a kid at church.  I used to wake up my parents on saturday mornings singing the choir songs at the top of my lungs. 

I've never really thought about this much until lately.  It seems as I've gotten older, I've become less aware of when I'm singing out loud and when I'm not.  I've actually gotten compliments in the grocery aisle from total strangers, if we can be total strangers in my small town!  I hear a song, I join along.  It's what I do!

My sister used to say that I could make up a song about a lid and a straw and she's probably right.  I can usually make up songs on the fly too.  Words, rythm, it all just is running around in my head.  I could never have been Amish. I read a book about them and they are not allowed to sing except at church and church songs.  Well, I sing everywhere and it does not have to be church songs!  I would have been kicked out a long time ago.  Well, my foremothers would probably already have been kicked out before I ever got the chance!

Back to the sunday school lesson, the teacher stated that joyful people sing.  That usually the more joyful you are, the more inclined you are to break out in song!  I began to think about times when I have been less than joyful.  I realized that during those times, I didn't sing much.  It is true! The more joyful I am, the more singing I do. 

Now the question remains, do I sing because I am joyful or do I sing to keep me joyful?