Archives For Heaven

Two Years Ago Today,

October 20, 2013 — 1 Comment

Jamie CaulkMy dearest son, Jamie…I am sitting at Sharon’s house today and thinking about you. I can hardly believe it is 2 years since you took your last breath on earth.

Time is funny someday’s it seems like your death happened just yesterday and other times like you have been gone forever.  I miss you like crazy whether it “seems like yesterday” or “feels like forever.”

I went to Vanderbilt this week and sat in the family waiting area. Of course I couldn’t go back in the Trauma area because I don’t have a loved one there to get a pass. But, it was good I went and sat and reflected on those horrible, numbing 7 days. Looking at the families waiting and in agony I knew exactly what they were experiencing.

Bettianne came down on Friday and we had such a great time talking about you and some of your antics. I love hearing stories about things you did, I love listening to the songs you wrote, and sang. To be able to hear your voice and see your face in the multitude of photos and video’s we have is a great comfort.

Jamie, I also know you are fine, at peace and happier than you have ever been. Forgive me for sometimes being selfish and wishing you were still here. In all the books I have read this year, including some of those on near death experiences; no one really wants to come back, and I know you why.

How’s dad? How’s Lilly Bear?  Is she growing? We sometimes talk about if she will be a baby in heaven for Allyssa to raise or we’ll see be all grown up?

  • What are you doing in heaven?
  • Are you leading worship?
  • Building our rooms?
  • Exploring the universe?
  • Do you celebrate your homecoming in heaven, like we do birthday’s down here?

I watched a good video on space this week, it was looking through the Hubble telescope. Hundreds of galaxies and billions of stars. I can’t imagine that; yet you can visit those places!

The one thing positive about you leaving planet earth is that I have learned so much about our eternal home. Like many of us here on earth, we have never been taught about heaven, only a few scriptures read at grave sites and spoken at funerals.

I understand that whether I join you in the intermediate heaven or I am still alive at the Lord’s coming, we will be together again.

 “Usually when we refer to Heaven, we mean the place where Christians go when they die. When we tell our children, “Grandma’s now in Heaven,” we’re referring to the intermediate, or present, Heaven. The term intermediate doesn’t mean it is halfway between Heaven and Hell, in some kind of purgatory or second-rate place. The intermediate Heaven is fully Heaven, fully in God’s presence, but it is intermediate in the sense that it’s temporary, not our final destination. Though it is a wonderful place, and we’ll love it there, it is not the place we are ultimately made for, and it is not the place where we will live forever. God has destined his children to live as resurrected beings on a resurrected Earth.

So, as wonderful as the intermediate Heaven is, we must not lose sight of our true destination, the New Earth, which will also be in God’s presence (because that’s what Heaven is, the central place of God’s dwelling). Randy Alcorn

Sometimes we laugh at all the things we will do together. You should read some of Beka, Abbey and Christa’s text messages. Some would call it morbid but we call it morbid humor. And knowing you and dad, you are cracking up too.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never see death” (John 8:51).

“Jesus said … ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’” (John 11:25-26).

We ALL miss you like crazy, Jamie. Here is the blog Christa wrote for you today. Give my mom and dad, and grandpa and grandma Caulk and Lilly Bear and daddy a kiss from their mama!

my sweet boy

Stay strong, stay faithful, stay honest, stay loving, stay true to who you are, most importantly stay true to who God is as you’ll be who you are, and you’ll be happy, you’ll be you, you’ll be free. –Jamie Caulk

I’m trying to, James Lindsay.

I love you and I’ll see you soon!

Mom

In Grief, Heaven, Jamie Caulk ,
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A Living Hope

April 28, 2013 — 3 Comments

A Living Hope

new earth Last week, I wrote on the New Heaven and the New Earth. Having a glimpse of the new heaven and the new earth is all about hope.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,and God himself will be with them as their God and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (the old order of things)

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”  And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. Revelation 21:1-7

Notice the new Jerusalem is coming down out of heaven from God. Heaven comes down and transforms the earth. We will have new bodies. Our bodies will be redeemed, we will not be disembodied spirits floating around in heaven and earth. Jesus ate fish after he was resurrected. He was not a ghost.

A Living Hope vs Mental Assent

The difference in mental assent vs true belief is where the rubber hits the road. You can say you believe something but only when that belief is challenged through suffering do you know if you are giving mental assent or true belief.

In the Bible we see Jesus called the firstfruits. The term firstfruits is an agricultural term that refers to the first fruit coming in from the harvest of the crops. When Jesus was raised from the dead, he was the firstfruit (installment) of things to come. There are many references to firstfruits in the bible.

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 1 Corinthians 15:20-24

In the book of Revelation, the Apostle John was writing to Christians living at the time who were suffering for their faith in a resurrected Jesus. They were suffering more than most of us will ever experience. John gave them HOPE by his words so they could hold hope in the midst of their suffering. When the lions were tearing them apart, when they were beheaded, they accepted their suffering and died with peace. Because of John’s message to them of a future hope, the early Christian’s death sowed the seed of Christianity to spread far and wide.

Hope in the future

heavensThe way we live our lives now is completely controlled by how we view the future. This was true for the early Christians and it is true for us now.

Ever since Jamie’s death, many people have said to my family and I in different ways, “your faith…your example…are amazing, I don’t know how are you doing it?”

Christian friends said our faith in the midst of suffering was encouraging them in their own faith journey.

We got through those days, and continue to get through those days, because we have a living hope. A hope that allows us to look squarely in the face of our loss on earth, knowing that we will see them again, we will spend eternity together on the new earth.

Hope is the future. The future is bright.

As a family we now live, completely controlled by our view of the future.

  • Do you believe in a new heaven and new earth?
  • What is your hope?
  • What are you living for?
  • Is your life counting?

Perhaps you asking, how do I do this?

First you must believe in the crucifixion of Jesus and all that was accomplished on his death on the cross. Then you must believe in the power of the resurrection of Jesus and what that means for your future. He is the firstfruits of many (us) to come. Life on the present earth is just a foretaste of what is to come when you walk in a relationship with God.

Let’s face it some type of suffering comes to everyone on your journey through life.  It could be the loss of your loved one, a divorce, a job failure, alienated from your family…really anything.  Yet, we can live a completely transformed life on earth, a foretaste because we know we are destined to see God and our loved ones face to face again someday.

Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. I Thessalonians 4:13-14

That is our living hope, and it can be yours today.

In Heaven, Sunday God First , ,
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Do People Speak From The Other Side?

April 18, 2013 — 4 Comments

Do people speak from the other side?

Well, I never thought so.

Missy and Jamie Caulk But, I want to share with you this incident that happened to me a few months after Jamie died. For those that know me in real life, face to face they will tell you I am not a mystical type of person. Far from it.

But, this happened so I want to tell you about it.

One day a few months after Jamie died, a friend I had not seen or talked to in 30 years called me. Her son had died a year before.

I was sitting in my car talking to her because we have five dogs, and I knew if I opened the garage door they would all start barking and I didn’t want to interrupt the conversation since it had been so many years since we had spoken.

In the course of the conversation, I mentioned, “I just wish I could talk to Jamie one more time.”

She told me she went to a medium to talk to her son and if I wanted she would give me her number so I could call her.

I was silent.

I said, “Listen, I don’t judge you at all, we all have to do what we have to do to cope. But, I believe if God wants Jamie to speak to me he will.

We finished our conversation 30 minutes later and agreed to stay in touch.

February Ann Arbor, Michigan, is freezing cold and when I walk into my house, I walk in via the garage, through the kitchen and to the front coat closet and hang my coat up. (I do not my kids)

I walked back into the kitchen and heard “Hi Mom”.

Andrew and Jamie CaulkI called out to my son Andrew, “Andrew, I didn’t know you were home,” as I walked over to the couch in the Great room to talk to him.

Silence

Andrew wasn’t on the couch, so I then walked back to the basement door and called Andrew’s name.

He wasn’t there.

Andrew was not home.

“JAMIE, it’s you isn’t it?”

I stood there frozen. I had cold chills running all over my body.

I knew it Jamie, it was an audible voice, I heard it with my ears and not in my heart.

No one was home.

I had prayed to have a dream about Jamie, many of my friends and Jamie’s friends had dreams but I had not. I still have not had one dream. As I said I am not a mystical person.

Jamie of course is not really in the grave, he is more alive than ever in heaven. His body lies in the grave, asleep waiting for the Resurrection of dead. On that day everyone who has gone before us, will arise and meet the Lord in the air. (1 Cor 15:13, “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.”

Some people rise to everlasting life and some to eternal damnation. The resurrection of the dead will be simultaneous both of the just and the unjust (Dan. 12:2; John 5:28, 29; Rom. 2:6-16; 2 Thess. 1:6-10).

Have you ever had anything similar to this happen to you? 

In Jamie Caulk , ,
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Heaven…Seeing Our Loved One’s Again Someday

April 7, 2013 — 4 Comments

Heaven…seeing our loved one’s again someday

Christa Jamie Allyssa Caulk God placed us in families. There is a bond in families that surpasses most other human relationships.

When someone you love departs from this earth, your heart cries out to know if you will see them again someday?

St. Augustine said,“We have not lost our dear ones who have departed from this life, but have merely sent them ahead of us, so we also shall depart and shall come to life where they will be more than ever dear as they will be better known to us, and where we shall love them without fear of parting.”

Scriptures

2 Samuel 12:23   David was speaking about his lost son, he said, “But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”

Matthew 8:11  “I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.”

This scripture speaks of knowing the individual identities of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. There is a continuity between this life on earth and our new life in heaven. We will continue to be intimately involved with our loved one’s in heaven and recognizable.

Luke 16:19-31  This is the story of Lazarus and the rich young ruler. You can click the link and read the story but the point I am making is  seeing our loved ones in heaven someday. Lazarus remembered his family and wanted Abraham to warn them. He was talking to Abraham in heaven with Lazarus at his side.

Jamie Caulk

Christa and Matthew, Jamie’s older sister and brother made this video last year for Jamie’s birthday. They did a great job of using Jamie’s own words at the end.

 

It is hard to wait sometimes but we live with the assuredly that we will see our loved one’s who have gone before us in heaven someday. 

In Heaven, Jamie Caulk, Sunday God First , ,
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What I Learned from Job About Our Children in Heaven

March 17, 2013 — 7 Comments

What I Learned from Job About Our Children in Heaven

Every Sunday I start the first of the week with a God first post. Today I wanted to share what I learned from the Book of Job about our children in heaven.

After Jamie died, I read the Book of Job. Oh, I had read it before but it was hardly one of my favorite books in the Bible. It was full of loss and pain and suffering about a man named Job who feared God (devoted to God) and avoided all evil. (against man and God)

Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.

Job 1:2 There were born to him seven sons and three daughters.

Job 1:3 He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east.

Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.

God gave Satan permission to afflict Job

Satan before the throne of God by William Blake Job 1:7 The LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”

Job 1:8 And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?”  The conversation begins with God bringing up Job as an example of a man who loves Him and turns from evil, not Satan bringing up Job’s name.

Job 1:9 Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason?

Job 1:10 Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

Suffering

Satan was given permission from God to strike Job, and take everything he owned but was not allowed to take his life. Job lost everything he owned, his children, his home, his animals. Yet in Job 1:22 we see that Job did not curse God, or have any dishonorable thoughts toward Him.

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”

Even when Job’s wife told him to curse God and die, Job did not sin with his lips.

“What, shall we receive good from the Lord’s hand and not evil?

Job rebuked by his friends Most of the Book of Job is how Job’s best friends (Elihu, Bildad, and Zophar) and his wife try to get Job to curse God. They tell Job it is his sin that brought this on and they try to help Job figure out what He did to bring this suffering on.

At one of his very lowest points in his trial and suffering, Job cries out to God and God is silent.

“I cry out to you, O God, but you do not answer,” Job wails (Job 30:20)

Have you ever cried out to God and heard silence? I have.

Restoration

There are many lessons to learn from Job’s trials and suffering. The one insight I received from reading Job after the deaths of Jamie and Lillian is what I want to share.

At the end of Job’s life we see that God restored everything Job lost. Not just restored but doubled. But, he did not double his children.

Job started out with 7 sons and 3 daughters and ended with 7 sons and 3 daughters. The same amount of children.

In the first chapter of Job before he lost everything we read, Job had 7 sons and 3 daughters and in vs 13, he had 3000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 donkeys. 

At the end in Job 42:12  “And the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. And he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.

Everything Job lost, God doubled and returned to him except the number of his children. He still had 7 sons and 3 daughters born to him later in life.

The Lesson

I wondered why God didn’t double the children Job had. Here is what came to me and the lesson I learned.

Job did not need to double his children, because his other children were still alive, they were alive in heaven.

Wow! Isn’t that amazing?

Job’s other children were still alive in heaven.

So in reality Job’s children were doubled.

Our children are still alive in heaven. No one can replace a child that has died. I have friends, that have lost children who are still of child-bearing age and the last thing they need or want to hear is that, “you are young you can have other children?”

Sometimes they can and do. However, the child who died can never be replaced. They are their own unique self.

One of my good friends Des, and her husband, Al lost their first baby, a little boy when he was a baby. A  year later, God blessed them with twin boys. As much as they adore their twins, the twins can’t replace the love or loss they feel for their son that died.

Someday they will be reunited with him in heaven. Just as we will all be reunited with our children that have gone before us.

Just as Job is united with his 14 sons and 6 daughters today.

 

Images used under public domain 

In Heaven, Sunday God First , ,
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