Day 359 - Heaven Is Full of Joy

365 daily emails to help you through the grieving process Grief support groups: Click here to find a GriefShare group near you. If you would like to find a group for a friend or relative, try our Search Page. Want to read ahead or resend a previous daily email? Click Here Heaven Is Full of Joy Day 359 Another aspect of heaven is the presence of endless joy. "You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand" (Psalm 16:11). Joyful moments on earth are just that—moments. They seem to end so quickly. In heaven joy is eternal. Joni Eareckson Tada says, "Your best memories are those that are timeless, that seem to live on in your mind and in your heart forever. They seem so crystal clear and so crisp. That's because the joy that surrounds those moments is of the Lord. "Joy is a fruit of the Spirit, and the Spirit is eternal. So when you experience His joy, it has a sense or a smell of eternity about it. It becomes timeless. Sometimes I think those joy-filled moments down here on earth are like sneak previews to whet your appetite for heavenly glories above. I think that's God's way of yanking your heart every once in a while a little bit closer to heaven out of the mud of earth and onto the solid, real ground of heaven." Thank you, Lord, that my joy will be full as I live in Your presence. Amen. Through a Season of Grief The daily email messages you are receiving are also available in a book format. Purchase as a gift for a friend or buy a print copy for yourself. Through a Season of Grief by Bill Dunn and Kathy Leonard is available at online and local bookstores or at griefshare.org/devotional. If you would like to recommend these daily emails to a friend, please click here and choose one of the options under Share. For more information about GriefShare, including how to sign up for these daily emails, please click here. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003-2013 by The Church Initiative, Inc., All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without explicit permission in writing from Church Initiative. You subscribed to this daily email through www.griefshare.org. We value your privacy! We will never give, sell, rent, or otherwise share your email or personal information with any other organization — EVER. Don't want these daily emails? Unsubscribe. If you have any problems or concerns, please contact dailyemailsupport@griefshare.org. GriefShare 250 S. Allen Rd. Wake Forest, NC 27587 (800) 395-5755

Day 358 - Utter Satisfaction

365 daily emails to help you through the grieving process Grief support groups: Click here to find a GriefShare group near you. If you would like to find a group for a friend or relative, try our Search Page. Want to read ahead or resend a previous daily email? Click Here Utter Satisfaction Day 358 "Heaven is going to be real," says Dr. Joseph Stowell. "It's not like we end up being clouds of mystical dust wafting through the universe. We're going to be real people, really reacting with a real God and His Son Jesus Christ. "The heartbeat of heaven is going to be the fullness of unlimited satisfaction and joy in the presence of my Lord forever and ever and ever. Think about the most satisfying experience you've ever had in life, the most joyous, most fulfilling moment you've ever had in life. Heaven will be that moment multiplied by a thousand times forever, no end." In the Bible, Paul knew that to be in heaven with Christ would be "better by far" than to remain on this earth. Paul longed to be in the joyful presence of God, but he understood that God wanted him to continue His work on earth first. Paul's desire on earth was to spread the good news of Jesus Christ to as many people as he could. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me. (Philippians 1:22-26) Heavenly God, life with You in heaven would be better by far, but for now I will continue Your work here on earth. Amen. Grieving with Hope This GriefShare-based book contains short, topical chapters addressing issues that grieving people face but are often hesitant to mention to others; it gently guides people to determine whether they're grieving in a way that leads to hope and ultimate healing. Look for Grieving with Hope by Samuel Hodges and Kathy Leonard at a local or online bookstore or at griefshare.org/hope. If you would like to recommend these daily emails to a friend, please click here and choose one of the options under Share. For more information about GriefShare, including how to sign up for these daily emails, please click here. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003-2013 by The Church Initiative, Inc., All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without explicit permission in writing from Church Initiative. You subscribed to this daily email through www.griefshare.org. We value your privacy! We will never give, sell, rent, or otherwise share your email or personal information with any other organization — EVER. Don't want these daily emails? Unsubscribe. If you have any problems or concerns, please contact dailyemailsupport@griefshare.org. GriefShare 250 S. Allen Rd. Wake Forest, NC 27587 (800) 395-5755

Day 357 - Heaven Is Reality

365 daily emails to help you through the grieving process Grief support groups: Click here to find a GriefShare group near you. If you would like to find a group for a friend or relative, try our Search Page. Want to read ahead or resend a previous daily email? Click Here Heaven Is Reality Day 357 Heaven is real. Real people exist in heaven at this very moment, and you will someday reside there, too, if you have a saving relationship with Jesus. You may struggle, though, to visualize a "real" place you cannot get to by car, boat, plane, or space shuttle! The Bible shows that heaven will be both physical and spiritual at the same time. "The book of Isaiah talks about the new heavens and the new earth, and it speaks of it in very real, solid terms: mountains, trees, lions lying down with lambs, and … white horses," says Joni Eareckson Tada. You will find descriptions of heaven both in the Old and the New Testament of the Bible. The visual language is a powerful tool to help you better grasp this glorious existence. "'The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent's food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,' says the Lord" (Isaiah 65:25). "The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean" (Revelation 19:14). "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month" (Revelation 22:1-2). Holy God, I want to be dressed in fine linen, white and clean, following You all of my days. Amen. Through a Season of Grief The daily email messages you are receiving are also available in a book format. Purchase as a gift for a friend or buy a print copy for yourself. Through a Season of Grief by Bill Dunn and Kathy Leonard is available at online and local bookstores or at griefshare.org/devotional. If you would like to recommend these daily emails to a friend, please click here and choose one of the options under Share. For more information about GriefShare, including how to sign up for these daily emails, please click here. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003-2013 by The Church Initiative, Inc., All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without explicit permission in writing from Church Initiative. You subscribed to this daily email through www.griefshare.org. We value your privacy! We will never give, sell, rent, or otherwise share your email or personal information with any other organization — EVER. Don't want these daily emails? Unsubscribe. If you have any problems or concerns, please contact dailyemailsupport@griefshare.org. GriefShare 250 S. Allen Rd. Wake Forest, NC 27587 (800) 395-5755

Day 356 - Heaven Will Be Beautiful

365 daily emails to help you through the grieving process Grief support groups: Click here to find a GriefShare group near you. If you would like to find a group for a friend or relative, try our Search Page. Want to read ahead or resend a previous daily email? Click Here Heaven Will Be Beautiful Day 356 You have probably seen many beautiful places on the earth. You may have been moved by majestic mountains, immense oceans, or the fine details of a flower. But fasten your spiritual seatbelt, because you haven't seen anything yet. Dee Brestin shares, "I've been blessed to see some beautiful places on earth—skiing in the Colorado mountains and scuba diving in Hawaii. In Hawaii I saw fish that were striped with yellow and green, and red polka dots. Just amazing. I get down there, and I think, I cannot believe what a beautiful world You have created. And God is preparing a place in heaven for us! Can you imagine how amazing that will be?" The Bible says that Jesus is preparing a place just for you in heaven. God knows your likes and your dislikes. He knows your favorite colors, preferred temperatures, favorite pastimes. You will be truly at home in heaven. "In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also" (John 14:2-3 NKJV). "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world'" (Matthew 25:34). How incredible is that, Lord? Heaven will be perfectly beautiful for each person who enters its gates. You are an awesome God. Amen. Grieving with Hope This GriefShare-based book contains short, topical chapters addressing issues that grieving people face but are often hesitant to mention to others; it gently guides people to determine whether they're grieving in a way that leads to hope and ultimate healing. Look for Grieving with Hope by Samuel Hodges and Kathy Leonard at a local or online bookstore or at griefshare.org/hope. If you would like to recommend these daily emails to a friend, please click here and choose one of the options under Share. For more information about GriefShare, including how to sign up for these daily emails, please click here. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003-2013 by The Church Initiative, Inc., All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without explicit permission in writing from Church Initiative. You subscribed to this daily email through www.griefshare.org. We value your privacy! We will never give, sell, rent, or otherwise share your email or personal information with any other organization — EVER. Don't want these daily emails? Unsubscribe. If you have any problems or concerns, please contact dailyemailsupport@griefshare.org. GriefShare 250 S. Allen Rd. Wake Forest, NC 27587 (800) 395-5755

Day 355 - Your New Body

365 daily emails to help you through the grieving process Grief support groups: Click here to find a GriefShare group near you. If you would like to find a group for a friend or relative, try our Search Page. Want to read ahead or resend a previous daily email? Click Here Your New Body Day 355 "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body" (Philippians 3:20-21). God promises that your earthly body will be transformed to be like Jesus' glorious body. What does the Bible say about Jesus' body? "Our glorified body," says Joni Eareckson Tada, "will be a body like the Lord Jesus' body. It was perfectly fit for earth; He could eat a breakfast of fish on the beach with His disciples after His resurrection. His body was also perfectly suited for heaven; He could walk through a wall, or be walking on the road to Emmaus in one moment and appear in the upper room in Jerusalem the next. So we'll have these incredibly marvelous bodies, perfectly suited for both earth and heaven." Yes, Lord, through all this grief, I am reassured to know that my loved one is enjoying this new, heavenly body. Amen. Through a Season of Grief The daily email messages you are receiving are also available in a book format. Purchase as a gift for a friend or buy a print copy for yourself. Through a Season of Grief by Bill Dunn and Kathy Leonard is available at online and local bookstores or at griefshare.org/devotional. If you would like to recommend these daily emails to a friend, please click here and choose one of the options under Share. For more information about GriefShare, including how to sign up for these daily emails, please click here. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003-2013 by The Church Initiative, Inc., All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without explicit permission in writing from Church Initiative. You subscribed to this daily email through www.griefshare.org. We value your privacy! We will never give, sell, rent, or otherwise share your email or personal information with any other organization — EVER. Don't want these daily emails? Unsubscribe. If you have any problems or concerns, please contact dailyemailsupport@griefshare.org. GriefShare 250 S. Allen Rd. Wake Forest, NC 27587 (800) 395-5755

Day 354 - People Will Fellowship Together

365 daily emails to help you through the grieving process Grief support groups: Click here to find a GriefShare group near you. If you would like to find a group for a friend or relative, try our Search Page. Want to read ahead or resend a previous daily email? Click Here People Will Fellowship Together Day 354 Dr. Luis Palau says, "Will we know each other in heaven? Of course we'll know each other. We will not lose our identity. Yes, we'll have an eternal body, but the Bible says many will come from the east and the west and sit down with Abraham and Isaac around the table." The Bible describes this great feast in Luke 13:28-29: "When you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God … people will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God." Not only will you know and fellowship with your loved ones, but you will also recognize Christians that you have read about from past times and from all over the world. What a feast that will be! Holy God, this is amazing beyond my comprehension. Thank you that your Word gives me a glimpse of the glorious joy to come. I'll be at that feast, Lord! Amen. Grieving with Hope This GriefShare-based book contains short, topical chapters addressing issues that grieving people face but are often hesitant to mention to others; it gently guides people to determine whether they're grieving in a way that leads to hope and ultimate healing. Look for Grieving with Hope by Samuel Hodges and Kathy Leonard at a local or online bookstore or at griefshare.org/hope. If you would like to recommend these daily emails to a friend, please click here and choose one of the options under Share. For more information about GriefShare, including how to sign up for these daily emails, please click here. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003-2013 by The Church Initiative, Inc., All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without explicit permission in writing from Church Initiative. You subscribed to this daily email through www.griefshare.org. We value your privacy! We will never give, sell, rent, or otherwise share your email or personal information with any other organization — EVER. Don't want these daily emails? Unsubscribe. If you have any problems or concerns, please contact dailyemailsupport@griefshare.org. GriefShare 250 S. Allen Rd. Wake Forest, NC 27587 (800) 395-5755

Day 353 - People Will Know Each Other

365 daily emails to help you through the grieving process Grief support groups: Click here to find a GriefShare group near you. If you would like to find a group for a friend or relative, try our Search Page. Want to read ahead or resend a previous daily email? Click Here People Will Know Each Other Day 353 In some ways life in heaven will be very different from life as it is now. In other ways, it will be much the same. One of the ways it will be the same is that people will know and recognize each another. "On the Mount of Transfiguration in Matthew 17, Christ's disciples somehow recognized Moses and Elijah even though they had never met them before," says Dr. Thomas Ice. "So I don't know if we're going to have name tags, but, yes, we'll be able to recognize people." In heaven you will have a new, glorious body, but your soul will be the same one you have now. Your soul is eternal, and other people will surely recognize and know you in heaven. After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." (Matthew 17:1-4) Moses and Elijah, first of all, were recognizable. Second, they were seen talking with Jesus. Then Peter suggested putting up additional shelters for them. The Bible does not describe what Moses and Elijah look like, but you can draw logical conclusions from the disciples' observations of the event. Amazing Lord, I am so glad that I will have a transformed body in heaven, and I am even more glad that I will still be me and those I love will know me in an instant. Amen. Through a Season of Grief The daily email messages you are receiving are also available in a book format. Purchase as a gift for a friend or buy a print copy for yourself. Through a Season of Grief by Bill Dunn and Kathy Leonard is available at online and local bookstores or at griefshare.org/devotional. If you would like to recommend these daily emails to a friend, please click here and choose one of the options under Share. For more information about GriefShare, including how to sign up for these daily emails, please click here. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003-2013 by The Church Initiative, Inc., All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without explicit permission in writing from Church Initiative. You subscribed to this daily email through www.griefshare.org. We value your privacy! We will never give, sell, rent, or otherwise share your email or personal information with any other organization — EVER. Don't want these daily emails? Unsubscribe. If you have any problems or concerns, please contact dailyemailsupport@griefshare.org. GriefShare 250 S. Allen Rd. Wake Forest, NC 27587 (800) 395-5755