Homesick

I had the wonderful opportunity to visit my friend's church and hear 90 Minutes in Heaven author Don Piper speak. Don Piper was in a terrible accident in 1989 and was pronounced dead on the scene only to come back to life ninety minutes later. In this book he recounts his ninety minutes in Heaven, how it felt to come back, and his long and painful road to recovery. Just reading his story is so powerful; however, actually hearing him tell it was overwhelming. I kept thinking to myself that I needed to be taking notes but I was too caught up in his story to take my eyes off of him. He is a humble man with a miraculous story. I wish I could share everything he said but I'll take a few lines to share what I loved most about hearing his story.
What Christian doesn't want to hear about Heaven?? I remember when Avery was younger he would ask me about Heaven. Mainly his questions were very child like- Do you think there are toys in Heaven? Will there be a McDonalds there....? As he's grown older and with the experience he has been through with my mother living with us through her illness and death and with his own growth in the Lord, his questions have become more poignant. What will Nana look like when I see her in Heaven? Who will I see in Heaven?
As I was listening to Mr. Piper speak about his experience, I was overcome with emotion. He spoke about seeing his grandfather waiting to greet him and how his scarred hands were now perfect. He described his great grandmother and how for the time he had known her on earth, she had been bent over from osteoporosis and had always worn false teeth. When she greeted him at the gate in Heaven, he said the first thing he noticed was how upright she was standing and then he saw her smile, her real smile.
He spoke about many people who greeted him in Heaven and it was only once back on earth and laying in a hospital bed for months that he realized what each of the people who had greeted him had in common. Each and every person who came to greet him at the gate had played a part in getting Mr. Piper there. He spoke about seeing his childhood next door neighbor and at the time wondered why in the world she was there to greet him. After figuring out what everyone had in common, he realized that his childhood neighbor was there to greet him because she had for many, many Sundays picked him up to take him to church when his mother had no way to get them there.
Driving home, I kept thinking about who will greet me in Heaven. And of course I thought about my momma and daddy. How wonderful it would be to see them healthy and perfect! Avery was thinking the same thing. As we were driving back home he said he wished that Jesus would just come on back and take us all to Heaven so he could see Nana and see her walking. Avery and I are a lot alike and that makes us butt heads quite often but it also makes us "get" each other so much more than anyone else. :) Love, love his sweet heart.
As much as that part of Mr. Piper's story hit home with me, there was something else that hit me hard. I got all caught up in thinking who will greet me when I get to Heaven and wow what a wonderful thing to think about. But then, I began to think about who will I greet when they get to Heaven. Who had I helped get there? . I struggle with sharing my testimony- I admit it. Its not because I don't love the Lord. And if I love the Lord, I need to be sharing that not only in the way I live my life and in my actions but in my words.
The following song has been one of my favorites for a while. Makes me cry every time I hear it. I've added the video and the lyrics are below it. It seemed to perfectly fit this post.





Homesick by MercyMe
You're in a better place, I've heard a thousand times
And at least a thousand times I've rejoiced for you
But the reason why I'm broken, the reason why I cry
Is how long must I wait to be with you

I close my eyes and I see your face
If home's where my heart is then I'm out of place
Lord, won't you give me strength to make it through somehow
I've never been more homesick than now

Help me Lord cause I don't understand your ways
The reason why I wonder if I'll ever know
But, even if you showed me, the hurt would be the same
Cause I'm still here so far away from home

I close my eyes and I see your face
If home's where my heart is then I'm out of place
Lord, won't you give me strength to make it through somehow
I've never been more homesick than now

In Christ, there are no goodbye
And in Christ, there is no end
So I'll hold onto Jesus with all that I have
To see you again
To see you again

And I close my eyes and I see your face
If home's where my heart is then I'm out of place
Lord, won't you give me strength to make it through somehow
Won't you give me strength to make it through somehow
Won't you give me strength to make it through somehow

I've never been more homesick than now

Christmas Toys in Review- The Good

So we have some new toys here in the Waters house since the Christmas season. Some of them have been huge hits while others have fallen far short of the glory that the tv commercials promised (can you believe that?? ha!). I always like to share my opinions on toys we have because I like to hear other opinions as well. So for what its worth, here is my two cents on some of the toys the boys received for Christmas.

Hot Wheels Color Shifter Garage
Can be purchased at any retail store $24.99
This may very well have been the hit of the season for both of my boys. It was a gift for my four year old but my eight year old loves it just as much. It has been a huge hit with every friend my boys have had over- boys and girls alike. The cars go around the track and can either fall in cold water that will change the car color or hot water that will change the color back. The downside is that it only works with the specific Hot Wheels Color Shifter cars; however, two come with the garage. It can be messy so we put a towel under the whole garage and let the boys play with it in the kitchen floor. Would definitely suggest this if you don't mind the mess!

Playmobil Pyramid
Can be purchased at Toys R Us or online at the PlayMobil site
Its an expensive purchase and at least in the beginning of this Christmas season was a tough toy to find. Both of my boys love imaginative play. They love PlayMobil, Legos, and Imaginext. Aidan at a young five is not quite there yet with being able to contruct the massive lego sets on his own and gets very frustrated because they fall apart so easily when he tries to play with them. PlayMobil still has the construction aspect to it so he can build the set; however, the pieces are much larger sections and much less involved allowing him to build it on his own. And because it is in larger sections, stays together for play. This was one of those toys I thought at first was a bust. He wanted it so badly but didn't play with it for a while. Now, he, his brother and friends play frequently with it. I love listening to them and the stories they make up for the Egyptians. We have other PlayMobil sets and they end up playing with them all together so it doesn't matter that some sets are pirates, some are the Romans, etc -- they all go together very well.

Monopoly Deal
Most retail stores $4.99
We LOVE playing games in our house. I think Jim and I love it just as much as the boys. The boys would be content to play the same four games over and over. Jim and I are not. We get bored with the same games and are constantly looking for new ones that we all will enjoy. Avery LOVES Monopoly. Aidan hates it- mainly because it takes too long. We have Star Wars Monopoly but rarely get to play it because it is so lengthy. We found the perfect solution. Parker Brothers came out with a card game called Monopoly Deal. Its the same concept of collectiong properties, charging rent, getting hotels, etc only at a much faster pace. We have played this every night since Christmas. Aidan is five and below the age range suggested on the box but has had no issues learning the game. Great game and only $4.99


Rolling Coaster Cars
Overstock.com $42.99
Although we haven't had a huge amount of time to play around with these due to the frigid temps, the time we have spent has been fun!! The boys love them. It did take Aidan a while to really get the motion of it to get going but he's good now. Jim and I raced them down opposite sidewalks and had a blast. They seem to go well downhill or on flat surfaces; however, neither the boys or I have been able to get them to work really well getting uphill. The garage floor was a fun surface- the boys were able to spin around and spin out. We're hoping it warms up soon so we can play around with them more.

Wii Games
Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympics

Lego Rock Band

Both are $49.99
Two of the most fun Wii games we have!

So what did your kiddos get for Christmas? What do you love and what is not so great? Would love to hear from you. My next post will be on the toys that fell short. :)