Things that make me miss my dad

Things that make me miss my dad:
-Singing old hymns at church
-Thinking of his future grandchildren and how much he would have loved them; what a proud and awesome grandpa he would have been!
-The smell of a freshly lit cigarette (not the stale, smoky smell that comes later :))
-Flying, especially Northwest Airlines
-Seeing furniture that I know he reupholstered
-Pictures of him I haven't seen for a while
-My wedding video. I'll never forget the brief time we shared sitting in the church lobby waiting to walk down the aisle, and how he calmed my nerves with a smile and a prayer.
-When people ask me about my "parents." It's totally expected, but sometimes I don't know how to answer.
-Sunflower seeds and licorice from Farm & Fleet, his favorite.
-All my softball memories - I have a lot!
-Seeing my grandparents. They are 2 of the strongest people I know and have lived through a lot of tough times without faltering in their faith

I've definitely become more openly emotional since my dad died, and I'm totally ok with that. Although there's a time and place, tears are healing.

Television

TV is good these days. Back in the day, when it was Roseanne, Full House, and Growing Pains, you could miss an episode and not really miss out at all. Nowadays, there are so many hour-long dramas with non-stop action and compelling storylines that have people hooked, we actually rearrange our schedules around our TV-watching habits. Sad! But admittedly, quite fun :)

Just an observation. Carry on with your day.

The B-I-B-L-E

I've been trading off reading books in the Old Testament and New Testament. The latest series I've read has been quite an interesting combination, unintentional though it was. I'd just finished Leviticus in the OT and decided to read Hebrews in the NT next. Reading those 2 particular books in that order showed such a drastic difference between how sin and forgiveness is/was handled before and after Christ. It made me wonder why so many people - so many Christians - still think they need to confess their sins through a priest. And why so many people still think they need to do good deeds to get into heaven when the book of Hebrews (among several other NT books) makes it quite clear that a belief in Jesus as Savior and a desire to live your life in His footsteps as a result of that belief is what brings you to God, to heaven, to salvation.

The author of Hebrews makes it so clear that the old system of sacrifice, priests presenting people's requests before God, etc. is no longer needed now that Christ has sacrificed himself once and for all. But I have a feeling it's the "following in Christ's footsteps" (i.e. turning your life around) part of the new system that makes a lot of people prefer the old way - so they think they can do essentially whatever they want and just have a priest forgive them of their sins once a week, say a few empty words to show that they are "religious" and then go about their business. Too bad so many people believe just what they want to believe, instead of picking up a Book to find out the truth for themselves.