I read the title. I had to say something. "Is Elvis the Richest Dead Celebrity?" No. He's in fourth place after Michael Jackson. But, what do dead men care about money? I know the article is talking about the amount of money still being made - even after he's passed on, but it just seemed strange to me. 'Trivial info. Does Elvis care?

Is the same importance put on money in heaven? I can see St. Peter (since we have him manning the pearly gates). "Hmmm...Elvis..wow! Is it really you?! 'You the man - according to my book here, you have money, holy moley. Everybody, listen up! This is Elvis Presley and he made so much money on earth - he was rich, rich, rich. Let's hear it for Elvis!" Is everyone impressed with earthly riches in heaven?

I doubt it. The streets in heaven are paved in gold. The foundations of the walls are garnished in precious stones - jasper, sapphire, emerald, just to name a few! And the gates are pearl - 12 of them! Twelve huge pearls.

I'm not saying we don't need money while we live here -it is necessary - period. Money doesn't make the worth of a man. It isn't even what a man does with his money that determines his worth. Elvis's friends and family said he was generous to a fault. He was known to give cadillacs away - he wanted no recognition. He gave a crippled woman a mechanical wheel chair once and when her daughter said she liked his car, he gave it to her.

But, St. Peter didn't pat him on the back and let him in because of his generosity.

Elvis was idolized. People called him the king. "Long live the king." Elvis didn't see himself as the king. In fact,when he heard a fan shout 'you're the king', he said, "I am not the king. Jesus Christ is the King. I'm just an entertainer." Elvis Presley had a spiritual mentor - minister/evenagelist, Rex Humbard, spent time listening and praying for Elvis.

From what I understand, he loved the Lord Jesus. Yes, he struggled. But, like Elvis said, "Don't critize what you don't understand son. You never walked in that man's shoes." "The image is one thing and the human being is another. It's very hard to live up to that image."

He was just a man. He was human and made mistakes. He loved to sing. He loved gospel music. He loved to entertain. Maybe his was bigger than life because of his success. But, in the end, he left this earth like we will someday.

Is Elvis the richest dead celebrity? He is richer than the richest on earth, if he is in heaven. No riches on this earth could compare. 'Nothing greater than standing in the presence of the Lord Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of Lords!

I'm certain, St. Peter would agree.

I said good bye to a good friend yesterday.Good bye for now anyway.
Mary Lou was 81 and though she had some pretty tough times in this
life, she always had a smile and a kind word. She always wanted to know
what was going on in my life when I saw her. She had a servant's
heart; a heart filled with the love of Jesus.

When I was a single parent with five children, we had Thanksgiving
with her family. That was pretty special in my book. It is a
sweet memory that is now a treasure in my heart.

She loved to cook and had made bierocks the day before she went home
to Jesus.

Mary Lou loved to dance. I never saw her dance, but she would tell
me all about it.
Her eyes would light up and she'd
laugh and laugh.
Her husband died some eight or nine years ago
and she didn't think she'd laugh again.

But God brought her a friend.She and Glen went fishing, like she and
her husband used to do.
They went dancing.
They visited and laughed.

At the funeral, Glen told me, "I will never find a better friend
than Mary Lou."

Proverbs 17:17 says, "A friend loves at all times."
Mary Lou was that kind of woman.

My prayer: Lord, there is a great cloud of witnesses in heaven (Hebrews 12:1). Witnesses who fought the good fight of faith, who finished the race. Great men and women, like Moses, David, Mary, and those we knew here on earth who were such a testimony of Your great Love.
When I think of those I knew here, like Mary Lou, I think...these are big shoes to fill. Lord, guide those of us here on earth, to be sold out to You in every area of our lives, so that when we leave, we can leave a legacy of Your great love to others. In Jesus' name. Amen

Picture Perfect

I love pictures of my family. I'm the mom with the camera - "Smile!" "Look over here!" Some of my kids are ok with my fanaticism, others merely tolerate picture taking. I love the memories. "Remember this?" I want to capture the moments I have with them. I want them to capture moments in their lives and send them to me. (Like the picture here, of my beautiful daughter - the one on the end, and her friends at a style show where they modeled their designer friend's clothes.) Why am I this way? Because I love to capture life as it happens! Our moments pass so quickly, sometimes they are like dreams. Pictures bring back the reality.
My heavenly Father is like that. He looks at us every day and says, 'Smile!' 'Look over here!' He loves to keep us ever before Him. He doesn't need a camera. He can see us. He loves to capture the moments with us. Why is He that way? Because He loves us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3). Psalms 139 tells us God sees us and is with us everywhere! He loves us, wants to bless us and wants to share moments in life with us! Doesn't it make you want to smile?

It's a busy life. It just is. I can't recall being or hearing, "I'm bored" for a long time. The only time I can recall being 'bored' was once when my flight was detained near the runway for three hours. I usually have a book with me wherever I go...well, not this time. I was flying nonstop from California to Colorado so I grabbed a magazine at the airport. I read the magazine from cover to cover. The lady sitting beside me had her book so she was not much for company. It was the longest three hours I have ever spent.
Life in general is busy and it's a good thing. We should be productive, 'living life' creatures. Most everyone I know is busy with something.
When Jesus was twelve, His family traveled to Jerusalem. On their way home, Mary and Joseph noticed He was missing, so they went back to Jerusalem where they found Jesus in the temple. When they questioned Him, He said, "I must be about my Father's business." He had a mission. He left that mission to us when He said, "Go and make disciples of all men..." Be busy about the Father's business. But what is it? How do we go about it?
Sometimes the busyness of life takes awy from the business of the Father.
We need to stop, spend time with our heavenly Father in prayer, meditating on the Word and just sitting in His presence - praising, worshipping and just being with Him. Then, His life and love will spill out to those around us. We will be in tune with the Holy Spirit and have the words to speak to someone in need. Our lives will draw others to Him - that is the Father's business.
Lord, there are so many hurting, lonely, lost people around us everyday. May we take the time to sit at Your feet, to be still and know that You are God. May we stop and walk along the still waters so You can restore our souls. May we be Your witnesses in a world that is lost without You. May we put Your business above our busyness. In Jesus' name Amen.

'Got a cell phone? 'Got High Technology?

I remember watching the 1995 movie, Clueless, with my, then twelve year old daughter. It was entertaining with valley girls, valley talk and cell phones.
I laughed when I saw students on phones during class. I thought, "Whatever!" It was ridiculous to think of a phone fitting in a purse. More absurd was the idea of a cell phone in the classroom. Ha! Well, the laugh was on me. I have chuckled to myself when I have walked in the halls during school, noticing students texting/calling each other on colorful cell phones. Of course,phones are quickly slipped into purses and bags before being 'caught'. I have been justifiably guilty for having my cell phone in class (when my son was in Iraq). A music professor told me how he counted over a hundred cell phones in his class in one day. Needless to say, we're living in a cell phone society. I can't imagine being without mine. It is my lifeline to family and friends. It fits nicely in my pocket and purse. It serves multiple purposes - texting, navigating, saving addresses, taking pictures. It is great to have in an emergency. It is unbelievable! My cell phone, my friend.

However, the first place I go in an emergency is not my cell phone. Our modern technology isn't powerful enough to meet my needs. It is outdated, compared to the Almighty God I serve. I go to the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. He is El Shaddai, Jehovah Jireh and so much more. I don't have to text Him or save Him in my contacts list. I don't even have to keep Him on speed dial. I have auto answer because He always hears me. He not only saves my messages, He writes on the tablet of my heart. I have a High Tower. I have a signal at all times. He is the Way the Truth and the Life. He is Jesus. He is my answer. He is my Friend who sticks closer than a brother. He is my Navigator Who shows me the way. He is my Abba Father. He is more than enough to get me through any situation at any time.
'Got a cell phone? 'Got Jesus?