These four words from a widow got me thinking about death (again)

I try to avoid tragedy stories on the news — stories of families dying in house fires, freak accidents during wedding receptions, a mother drowning trying to rescue her child. Sometimes I can’t help myself though — I’m that guy slowly passing the scene of a horrific accident on the side of the highway, subconsciously hoping to see something shocking. Recently, I was scrolling down my newsfeed and saw a headline that caught my attention: “Air Force Training Crash Kills 2, Including Newlywed Pilot, 24.” I couldn’t help myself: I clicked. There weren’t many details about the accident, which was…

I caught a glimpse of Heaven through Scripture, a C.S. Lewis quote, and a viral video

January 25, 2021January 26, 2021 Categories: Heaven

The most vivid picture I’ve ever had of Heaven was in a conversation with my dad when I was ten years old. Dad was talking about how lovely it would be to see my two siblings who died in a plane accident when I was a toddler. Dad’s imagination caught fire and he began painting a picture of what it would be like to see his children in Heaven: blazing light and unbridled joy — images of Dad and the kids flying through space and shooting sparkling stars out of their hands. Dad’s colorful description of Heaven whipped my brother…

I’ll pray these two words until I die

April 21, 2019May 26, 2019 Categories: Heaven

“Remember me.” Every Easter I come back to those two words. They never get old. I know that I’ve previously shared the piece below that I wrote, but it seems like every year readers don’t get tired of it either. We all need to be reminded that we have nothing to offer Jesus and everything to gain. I invite you to revisit these two words and remember the one who loves you most.

My dad is finally celebrating Easter Sunday

March 31, 2018April 11, 2020 Categories: HeavenTags: healing · heaven

I have a brother and sister who died in a plane crash when they were 10 and 14 years old. Although I only have one memory of them, I definitely felt their absence growing up. I know my father did too.

My Dad’s Easter Sunday is Coming

April 15, 2017March 27, 2018 Categories: HeavenTags: healing · heaven · parenthood · suffering

I have a brother and sister who died in a plane crash when they were 10 and 14 years old. Although I only have one memory of them, I definitely felt their absence growing up. My father will tell you that he still does.

Mississippi Dreams that Led to a Bigger Story

September 9, 2016June 12, 2020 Categories: HeavenTags: heaven · kids

When I was in third grade, I had this dream I still remember. I was in a red-carpeted mansion with a wide staircase going up from the foyer. A beautiful woman was walking down the stairs in a white evening gown. She was my wife, and I loved her. Then I woke up.

My First Article for Christianity Today

March 7, 2016March 7, 2016 Categories: HeavenTags: heaven · kids

The other day, someone asked me to name my favorite book other than the Bible. That’s impossible for me because I have seven books that meet that standard: the ones that make up C.S. Lewis’ children’s series, The Chronicles of Narnia.

What Happened When My Daughter Went Missing

May 12, 2015May 15, 2015 Categories: HeavenTags: death · fear · healing · heaven · kids · parenthood1 Comment

The other day, I let my three-year-old daughter ride her scooter on the sidewalk in front of our house, despite my irrational fear of her suddenly being kidnapped by a random psychopath. I wasn’t especially worried about it because I was landscaping just a few feet away. Occasionally, I looked down the slope from our house to make sure she wasn’t going too far down the sidewalk.

We Think We’re Going to Live Forever – Because We Are

August 4, 2014August 5, 2014 Categories: HeavenTags: fear · heaven · parenthood · suffering2 Comments

Tonight, I was on my way upstairs to go to bed when I noticed a little army of ponies, dollhouse family members, and plastic toy accessories lined along the bottom step. One of my little girls had placed them there very deliberately, so I decided to leave them, rather than clean them up.

Saying Goodbye Wasn’t Part of the Plan

April 12, 2014April 16, 2014 Categories: HeavenTags: friendship · heaven · suffering1 Comment

One time I agreed to go tubing down a river with a bunch of friends, thinking it would be something akin to whitewater rafting. It wasn’t. We basically just sat in inner-tubes for several hours and took a slow-moving ride down a shallow river. It sounds easy enough, and generally it is, but the hard part is keeping up with all your friends.

Hoping for Heaven Again

August 6, 2013December 22, 2013 Categories: Church · HeavenTags: faith · parenthood1 Comment

In 1988, a charlatan named Edgar C. Whisenant published a book called 88 Reasons Why the Rapture is in 1988. In it, he predicted that Jesus would return at some point between September 11 and 13 of that year. People actually believed him, and unfortunately, my dad was one of them.

How I Know Dogs Go to Heaven

July 30, 2013March 6, 2016 Categories: HeavenTags: faith · heaven3 Comments

I was 10 years old when I saw my neighbor run over my dog, Spot. In a horrific flash, Spot went under the tire, thrashed around in the front yard for a few seconds and then collapsed in the ditch. I screamed out his name and ran to his side, hoping that I could somehow stop the inevitable.

Desperately Searching for Christmas

December 18, 2012December 24, 2013 Categories: Heaven3 Comments

Christmas was missing. Gone. I had looked everywhere, and he was nowhere to be found. “Christmas” is my daughter’s favorite toy – a stuffed dog we bought her on Christmas Eve, just a few days before she was born.

Forgetting that Jesus is Coming Back Soon

August 14, 2012December 24, 2013 Categories: HeavenTags: faith · heaven · parenthood9 Comments

The other day, my two-year-old daughter was standing in the kitchen, randomly saying, “Jesus was born, Jesus was born!” So I said, “Jesus died. He rose again, He went to Heaven, and – guess what? He’s coming back to see us!” As soon as the phrase, “He’s coming back to see us” left my mouth, I winced, reflexively thinking, “I shouldn’t tell her that. She might actually expect Him to come visit sometime soon.”

An Hour-and-a-Half of Brain Cancer

November 23, 2010December 26, 2013 Categories: HeavenTags: death · faith · heaven5 Comments

Last Friday afternoon, I got a call from my neurologist’s office. I had recently gotten an MRI, and my doctor’s secretary had called to say my doctor wanted me to see an oncologist. I didn’t know why my doctor wanted me to see a cancer specialist; and unfortunately, the secretary didn’t either. “Please, if you know what this is about, tell me,” I said. “I’m really sorry,” she said. “I don’t, but I’ll have the doctor call you back today.”

Joshua Rogers

Finding God in the Ordinary

Category: Heaven