Homeward bound

I bought a new book the other day called "90 Minutes In Heaven" by Don Piper.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ElnQUVkWsQ

Vince and I have been reading it the past few nights ~ it is fascinating! Not as much details as Vince was expecting, but what is there is really amazing. It was written by a minister who was killed instantly in a head on collision with a semi...he was pronounced dead at the scene and paramedics covered his body with a tarp and he remained that way for 90 minutes, until another minister who was driving by stopped and prayed for him. He writes about entering Heaven...seeing his grandfather, friends, and others who he had known in life who had an impact on him spiritually to one degree or another. He writes about what he saw and heard and experienced. It all coincides with scripture, but what makes it so believable to me is that much of what he experienced was not what he had expected.

The whole idea about "near death experiences" is fascinating to me. Are they real? Are they imagined? Are these people just trying to sell books or get attention, or just plain MENTAL???? Here's what I think (hey, if you don't want to know what I think, why are you reading my blog?? :) I think all of the above are true...or could be true. There are some freaks for sure that make it all up. But I think some experiences are absolutely real tho. Even very young children have experienced them and have described their experience in very similar ways to adults...how can you argue with that? Anyway, I'm rambling off topic a bit (I woke up at 4am, so I am not responsible for my thoughts this early in the day).

The book.....it is actually giving me alot of peace, and I'm looking forward to Heaven more than I ever have!

"I've never, ever felt more alive than I did then. I was home; I was where I belonged. I wanted to be there more than I had ever wanted to be anywhere on earth....all worries, anxieties, and concerns vanished. I had no needs, and I felt perfect." Yes!! I'll take some of that!!

"The closer we got, the more intense, alive, and vivid everything became. Just as I reached the gate, my senses were even more heightened, and I felt deliriously happy. (I'll take some of that too!) I paused - I'm not sure why - just outside the gate. I was thrilled at the prospect and wanted to go inside. I knew everything would be even more thrilling than what I had experienced so far. At that very moment I was about to realize the yearning of every human heart."

Wow. That statement....the yearning of every human heart. The author doesn't explain it, but I think I know what it is. It is to be home. This is not our home. It's no wonder our hearts are always yearning for more, searching out something deeper. We won't find it here, not completely anyway. We weren't meant to. One of my most frequent prayers for my kids is that they would not be satisfied with the things of this world. I see them bombarded from all directions with things to entertain them, to distract them from life, and to fill the void in their hearts that was only meant for God to fill. The enemy of our souls doesn't have to work very hard at distracting our kids from real life...distraction is just a remote, a mouse click, an ipod, or a game controller away. And if he can distract them enough, then maybe he can convince them that there is no Heaven, that there is no God, and worse yet that there is no hell.