Yesterday was not a fun day...I took our cat Annie to the vet to get fixed and declawed. At lunchtime the vet called me to tell me that Annie had died after surgery. Apparently the anesthesia didn't agree with something in her body and it stopped her heart. He said this has only happened twice in his ten years of practice. He thinks that maybe she had feline leukemia or something that would have caused her to react badly to the anesthesia. At least if she was sick, she died peacefully and painlessly.

Life is fleeting. My mom told me on Monday that a friend of ours in Idaho died of a heart attack while riding his mountain bike. He was the same age as my parents--young and healthy with a sweet family. He was in great shape and ate healthy...he did everything he could to live a long, enjoyable life. You just never know, though, when it is going to be your time.

So, I have cried a bit the past few days.

Judgment House

I can't believe it has been over a month since I've written. I have been waiting for inspiration--bad idea. :)

Last Friday, Taylor and I took the youth group and a few people from church to Judgment House. Judgment House is a walk through drama put on by Newspring Church here in Wichita. It's like a Christian "haunted house" if you will. The story followed a young man whose parents were in jail for drug abuse. His grandmother had taken him into her home. She prayed earnestly for her grandson to come to know Christ.
In short, he goes to a Christian camp where all the "Christian" kids treat him like an outsider and talk behind his back. While he is there his grandmother dies. Feeling like he has lost everything, he turns to suicide. From there we follow him to judgment where he watches his grandmother go into glory with her Savior and where he is taken into eternal judgment. We follow him into hell--the smell, the heat, the taunting voices of the demons. It was frightening. We know that hell is a real place, but having to face what it looks, smells and sounds like even on the smallest scale, is a terrifying experience.
Thankfully they didn't end with hell--from there we went into heaven with the grandmother. By this time I was weeping. Entering into that beautiful, peaceful room I felt just a glimpse of the relief I know I will feel on that glorious day when I see the face of my Savior. As we walked into the room the angels put robes of righteousness on us (more like scarves of righteousness). Jesus came and hugged everyone and welcomed them. It may sound a little corny, but was beautiful.
Three of the kids in our group made a decision for Christ. If I didn't already know Him, I would have, too! Coming face to face with the reality of eternity in either heaven or hell is a ground shaking experience for any person willing to let God shake them up.
Every decision, every moment here on this earth is only preparing us for REALITY. Eternity is a greater reality than we often care to believe simply because it is unseen, uncharted territory...for us anyway. Jesus Christ has already been there. He has given us the map. He has paid the way for us. We can either take the gift that He has given or say, "No thanks, I'll pay my own way." Those who decide to pay their own way will pay it for eternity in hell. The MOST important decision we can make here on this earth is what we will do with the gift of eternal life that Jesus Christ has given us. When we look into His face, will we have chosen to feel relief or terror? It's all up to us now. Jesus has given us all we need to spend eternity in heaven with Him.
His love is overwhelming. Our worthiness was NEVER the question. What we could offer Him was never a part of the equation. His mercy and His grace are that is necessary.
He says come to ALL.

I am overwhelmed by the love of my Savior.