For today's inspirational Sunday Post I'm sharing a sympathy card featuring simple, beautiful stamps and papers from Stampin' Up! I love the way Stampin' Up! gives us the latest and best in papercrafting to take care of all the creative needs I have, making it easy and enjoyable to create handmade cards to enrich, brighten, and even soothe my world. In a time of great loss when words seem so insufficient, I think a handmade sympathy card is one of the nicest things we can give someone. When the funeral is over and all the out-of-town guests have gone home, the card remains and can remind the person, again and again, how much they are loved, thought of, prayed for.
A dear friend of my family passed away about a month ago. To be honest, I started this blog post then, lost the whole thing, and didn't have the heart to write it out all over again. Pastor Dave Bell's sudden and early death has affected me--and my whole family--deeply. When Christians lose loved ones, we mourn. Yes, we understand they have gone to be with the Lord which far surpasses anything in this world and life. However, they leave a big hole in our lives. God has given us the ability to love deeply. This will result in grieving deeply as we process our own loss, miss the person we love, and draw near to the Lord who alone can soothe our soul. Grief is not to be avoided. It is a sign of great love. I mourn for Dave's sweet wife Jodi who has lost her soul-mate. I mourn for Dave's 5 sons who have lost their dad. But I also recognize afresh how precious life is and how much I need to make each day count...for Him.
Pastor Dave Bell, of Destiny Church here in San Antonio, was a gifted song writer, worship leader, and pastor. One of the great legacies he leaves behind are the many songs he wrote that help usher us into the presence of the Lord. The presence of the Lord was Pastor Dave's passion, and he was a true spiritual and musical mentor to all three of my children (who are also all musicians). He left an indelible mark on them all. The Sunday after Pastor Dave's memorial service, my Timothy was leading worship and led all Dave Bell's songs. They were as relevant as ever, and our time before the Lord was especially moving and poignant. Worship is one of the few activities we do on earth that we will also do in heaven. On that Sunday, it was almost as if we were all still together, simply separated by a realm called earth, engaged in worshiping the Lord, the One who has saved us and is so very worthy of all our worship and praise.
Here's a link to some of Pastor Dave's worship songs, freely available on the internet: http://www.myspace.com/davebellrecords May they bring you into the presence of Jesus who alone is worthy of all praise and honor and who will touch your life as you worship. Such is the generosity of our Savior.
