A parent loves to watch their child grow. However, it can be overwhelming to realize that while they are growing older, so are you. Take it one step further and you realize that at the same time, your parents are growing older as well.
I have noticed a change in my dad over the past year. The changes are subtle, but seem to be cumulating as time goes by. I’m not even really sure how to explain it. Things are just different.
I talk with him weekly. That hasn’t changed. The content and the “feel” has changed, though. Conversations with dad usually are about family, friends, music, books or TV. There is always laughter as we chat about old shows we love. Today, there is still laughter, but there is also a bit more seriousness to the conversations.
I’ve noticed over the past few months that he will post on Facebook before he goes to bed. He often talks of music that brings back memories or about family members who have passed away. He shares stories of his childhood, and talks about my brother, his grandkids and me. He seems to be even more nostalgic than me.
The other thing he slips into conversation are things that, if I am being honest, I don’t want to talk about. “I’m working on an envelope that will have all my passwords in it …” “If anything happens, there is a folder …” “All the forms for the cemetery can be found …” “We need to sit down with your brother and figure out ….”
Dad will be 80 in November. I realize that he is getting up there. I completely understand why he wants to talk about this. I’m not ready to. Granted, I am grateful to know that he is planning, and making sure that we don’t have to scurry around looking for stuff. It is just that I am not prepared for anything happening. This is dumb on my part.
My grandma, his mom, had dementia at the end of her life. It was a huge burden on my dad. “I don’t want you to deal with what I had to with your grandma,” he told me. I appreciate that. I do. It was absolute craziness for him. He is obviously thinking about getting everything in order.
Over the past year, I have seen people my age pass away. There have been friends who have lost parents and siblings. Then there are my friends who are battling cancer or waiting for a kidney transplant. The older I get, the more people get sick and pass away. It is a sad realization.
I see the wear and tear of age in my face – and more so in my father’s. Time won’t slow or stop and whether you like it or not, at the end of life’s journey, death awaits. I’m just not ready.
They say that when you have children, the clocks in your life begin to tick away the minutes, hours, days, weeks, and years faster than ever. There is a lot of truth to that statement. It certainly doesn’t feel like it, but 24 years ago today, my life was changed forever. My oldest son, Dante’ was born.
Originally written in 2018 and updated
While many people want to know the sex of their baby (and some even go as far as to request the sex now that science can do that), I didn’t want to know. The nursery was painted in a neutral tan with a Noah’s ark border. The baby clothes that we bought were neither blue or pink, but a lot of yellow, green, and other non-gender colors. The day he was born, the labor went on forever and he got stuck in the birth canal. An emergency C-Section was done and I remember the doc dropping the sheet in front of me, saying “it’s a boy” and raising the sheet back up and they whisked him over to the scale.
You never really know joy until you hold your first child. After twenty four years, I still can’t put into words the amazing feeling you get. You notice everything. The color of their eyes, just how tiny their toes are, how sharp their fingernails are, you get caught up in every breath they take. You marvel at just how soft their skin is, and the fact that you had a hand in creating this perfect little human.
Dante’ was developmentally delayed. We found this out when he was about a year and a half. There were things he was excelling at, but there were things that he should have been doing that he was not. He was not as verbal as the docs wanted him, so we had pictures that we used as cues to get him to tell us what he wanted. Our behavioral neurologist was amazing and gave us a lot of things to do to help him. He began to do better. I used to sing to him at night. I sang him Dean Martin songs and songs we learned from Sesame Street and such. I remember driving with him in the car and all of a sudden he began to sing. He sang “On an Evening In Roma” word for word. I remember my eyes welled up with tears. It was an amazing thing!
Eventually the doc told us that he was on the Autism Spectrum and that there was still plenty of work to do. There was a time when they didn’t even know if he would be in regular education classes. Dante’ had plenty of preschool and when it was time for Kindergarten – he went into the Regular Ed class with some help and an IEP. He was in Regular Ed classes his entire time in school. There were some things in place to help, but he went above and beyond what those doctors told us. I couldn’t be more proud!
He has received his share of awards, one of which was unexpected. He was given an award by his music teacher. She stated that there was a boy who always was helpful, happy, cared for his classmates, always participated and gave his all to whatever they were doing, and just made everyone in the class – and the teacher – smile. He made a difference. I remember sitting in the audience that day and watching him get a hug from her. It was a pretty awesome parent moment.
He followed in his dad and mom’s footsteps and played trumpet in the middle school and high school band. After his freshman year, he decided that he didn’t want to continue, which made me sad. Even though he stopped, I will treasure the memories of sitting and watching him play on stage.
On my iPod, there are many songs that make me think of him. Naturally, the Dean Martin songs I sang to him: On an Evening In Roma, Watching the World Go By, Everybody Loves Somebody, and Buona Sera (which is Italian for goodnight, appropriately). I am pretty sure I sang him some Sinatra too, I just can’t recall which ones.
Two songs I have on the iPod that ALWAYS remind me of Dante’ are I Don’t Want to Live on the Moon and Blue Shadows on the Trail. I Don’t Want to Live on the Moon was sung by Ernie on Sesame Street. Sometimes he did it solo, but most of the time they played the duet with Ernie and Aaron Neville. He would sit and watch that in silence and just smile.
Blue Shadows was the song that Chevy Chase, Martin Short, and Steve Martin sing at sunset in the movie The Three Amigos. I remember him standing in front of the TV watching that scene over and over again. I actually searched online and found the soundtrack for the movie so I could have it.
He is no longer that little boy who watches Sesame Street. He is 24 today. The hands of the clock spun faster than I could possible imagine. I have seen my son thrive and grow into a mature young man. He has such compassion for others. He is sad when his friends are sad. He holds doors for people when we are out at the store. He is everybody’s friend.
Today he has an apartment with his brother. He has a car and a full time job. It’s hard to believe there was a time when we had no idea if he’d be independent at all. He has excelled and is one amazing man! I am proud that I was chosen to be his father and I love him more than I could ever express. Happy 24th Birthday, my boy. May God continue to bless you each and every day.
Today’s Flashback consists of a few photos. 24 years ago tomorrow, I became “Dad” for the first time. My son, Dante, was born. I can remember so many details of that day. It was one of the most chaotic and emotional days of my life.
My mom could not wait for her first grandchild. She was over the moon when he was born. Outside of me, my mom and my then mother in law were the first to see him. I was walking with a nurse and my son down the hall and they spied me.
I love the look of awe in my mom’s eyes. I also love that my grandmother was there to see him, too. It is obvious that I am still processing the whole thing in this photo.
The above must have been first birthday photos. It’s amazing to look at him here. I can hardly remember him being this small.
The above had to be taken just before or just after his first birthday. It has always been one of my favorite photos of him. He was totally zoned in on the TV. If I had to guess, he is probably watching Elmo here.
I remember when the daycare said they were doing photos. At the time I thought it was just a way for them to make money. I’m glad we opted to get the pictures taken. This is Dante a month before his second birthday. Wow.
Tomorrow, he turns 24. He has a great job, a place of his own, a decent car, and he is doing very well for himself. I’m so very proud of him and all that he has accomplished. What a great feeling to see your children thrive!
This is not the first Jonas Jonasson book that I have read. I have found his books to be entertaining and often make me laugh out loud. This time around, it is the book Sweet Sweet Revenge LTD.
One of the things that Jonas seems to do very well is to introduce you to a character and give you a bit of their story. Then he introduces you to a different character who seems to have nothing to do with the first one and gives you their story. Sometimes there are 3-4 characters who are all presented to you before you begin to see how they will all come together and how their stories intersect with the others.
Before going on, here is the Goodreads synopsis:
Victor Alderheim has a lot to answer for. Not only has he heartlessly tricked his young ex-wife, Jenny, out of her art gallery inheritance, but he has also abandoned his son, Kevin, to die in the middle of the Kenyan savanna.
It doesn’t occur to Victor that Kevin might be rescued and adopted by a Maasai medicine man, or that he might be expected to undergo the rituals expected of all new Maasai warriors – which have him running back to Stockholm as fast as you can say circumcision without anaesthetic.
Back in Stockholm, Kevin’s path crosses with Jenny’s – and they have an awful lot to talk about, not least a shared desire to get even with Victor. So it’s convenient when they run into a man selling revenge services, who has an ingenious idea involving Victor’s cellar, a goat, some forged paintings, four large boxes of sex toys, and a kilo of flour…
Right from the start, we are introduced to a very unlikeable guy – Victor. The more he does, the more you can hardly believe it. You won’t have any trouble disliking him. If you think of the literary descriptions of The Grinch, or maybe Ebenezer Scrooge – they’d fit him.
What follows is the intersecting of four lives, their encounters with the police, the search for the true owner of a couple of paintings and confusion brought about by cultural ignorance. All of that leads to some funny and laugh out loud moments.
While this is not the best book I have read by Jonasson, it wasn’t a bad read.
I’m not sure why I am just now getting around to writing a quick life recap. I guess I didn’t think I was as busy as I was.
Prior to Easter, my friend Margaret stopped by to see the kids. They always love when she stops by. She was passing by our house on her way home, so she made a pit stop. In a couple weeks, she is taking the kids, Sam and I to the Detroit Opera House to see Bugs Bunny. They actually have a live orchestra that will play along with the cartoons. I cannot wait for this.
The kids with Aunt Margaret
It was a very cold Easter day! It was very windy. Some places were still flooded from the recent rains. The weather did not stop Nana from hiding eggs for the kids to find outside. They really lucked out this year, because it was just them. Their cousins were on a trip, so they loaded up on candy-filled eggs!
We had quite a meal, too. Sam’s mom had turkey, ham, potatoes, mac and cheese and loads of desserts. It was a nice, quiet day with good conversation.
I had hoped to get together with my boys before Easter, but Dimitri wasn’t feeling well. We were able to get together on Easter Monday for dinner. Ella was with her mom, so it was me and my three sons. We went to a nice place with a rustic feel to it. We had a really great meal and quite a few laughs.
The biggest change for me over the last week or so is having to get used to my new appliance.
I picked up my hearing aids and have been wearing them every day. Honestly, they make me feel like I don’t need them. Why? Because everything seems so loud now! My goodness, my kids talking, yelling or screaming make me wince. God forbid I am in a small room with them or in the car. Everything is magnified like three times.
I have to go back next week to see how they are working. At that time, they will set up Bluetooth. Yeah, high tech stuff. I’ll be able to answer my phone and it will go right to my hearing aids. I’m not sure what else they can do, but I suppose I will find out.
I suppose those are the big highlights from the week. Hopefully, you have had a great week, too.
The original publication of this blog was in 2018. Today’s a bit of an expansion on the original post.
Today would have been my Uncle Tom’s 79th birthday. I thought it would be a good day to look back and remember just how special he was. We always called him Rozmo. I’m not even sure why that is. My dad probably knows. I really need to ask him.
In talking to a very close friend this week, we talked about blogging and journaling. Why do we do it? I look at as the “book I have always wanted to write” and the blogs are the chapters. What I am finding is that with each blog I write, I find new topics to jot down on my “things to include in my blog” list. Birthdays and anniversaries easily remind me of people in my life who deserve “a chapter” in my “book”. Today’s chapter, is about my uncle – my Godfather.
In the movie The Godfather, Tom Hagen visits a movie producer to ask him for a favor. Don Corleone’s Godson is Johnny Fontane, and he wants a part in a movie. When discussing the favor, Tom describes the relationship between a Godfather and Godson by saying “Now Italians regard that as a very close, a very sacred religious relationship.” As an Italian, I can say that my Godfather and I had a great relationship for sure, but I don’t know that I would go as far as to say it was “religious”.
My Uncle Tom was one of the coolest people I have ever known. He was my dad’s best friend since elementary school. They were the kids in the neighborhood who were always causing trouble. The stories that they told me growing up still make me laugh today. They once told me how they stole Christmas lights of their own houses! You know, as a kid, I toilet papered houses, but never once did I think it would be funny to TP my own house! They did! I heard stories of how they changed the grades on their report cards, how they got kicked out of band class together, and how they both went off to serve in the Vietnam War. As I heard their story of friendship, I remember hoping that I would have a friend just like that! I was lucky enough to do just that. My oldest friend, Jeff, has been my friend since 2nd Grade. He and I are almost exactly like my dad and Uncle Tom.
I always knew when dad was talking to Uncle Tom. I NEVER saw or heard my dad laugh as loud, or as much as when they talked on the phone. It was the same when they were together. There was always storytelling and laughter. They had the greatest stories! I loved listening to them, and many times, I had to listen from another room. The profanity level rose about 500% when they were together, so us kids were often shipped off to another room to play. Another reason they would move us to another room, was that they would often sit and listen to Redd Foxx albums on the stereo – certainly not kid friendly. Both of them had a collection of albums from comedians like Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx and others. They would sit and listen – and laugh.
Sometimes, Uncle Tom, Aunt Jane, Dad, and Mom would sit at their kitchen table and play pinochle. We’d watch TV and again, I’d listen to the stories that were exchanged from one side of the table to another. It was magical and I was all ears. I know there were times I would ask what a word meant and dad would make up something. Those words were probably profanity or something that a young boy shouldn’t repeat at school.
Uncle Tom and my dad had so many things in common, their sense of humor, the TV shows they watched, the music they listened to and the fact that they both played in a band. I remember them talking about shows like Sanford and Son, and movies like Smokey and the Bandit and Blazing Saddles. I remember after I got older, I would join in on those conversations because, I also came to know and love those shows and movies. It took our relationship to a whole new level.
My dad served in the Army, while Uncle Tom served in the Navy. I remember I asked him what was better about the Navy, and his response was that he always had a warm bed to sleep in. Some of my favorite family pictures are those of my dad and my uncle in uniform. Growing up, I don’t remember either of them talking much about their time in the service or in battle. I do recall later in life, seeing them interact with their military brothers at the VFW hall. I used to love going up to the VFW for “steak outs” or New Years parties. Loved getting the chance to sit and listen to “their music” and rehashing those great stories.
My Uncle Tom is responsible for “the handshake” that all of my friends and I use. I remember the first time he shook my hand and did it, I was caught so off guard. He started to laugh and so did I. He used the same handshake on my friends and we adopted it as our own.
There was never a shortage of laughter when my dad and uncle got together. There was also never a shortage of alcohol. They often drank beer and told stories and sometimes they would just get crazy. Here is an example. I think it may have been the day of my brother’s confirmation or something. We had gone out to eat, and then we all came back to our house, where the stories continued. TVT records had put out two record sets with old TV show themes on them. All it took was for dad to start playing theme songs and the fun began. They began to adlib scenes from the shows, all while on video. Yeah, what I wouldn’t give to have this tape today! They acted out scenes as Desi Arnez and Lucy, Perry Mason, Johnny Carson and Ed MacMahon, and sometimes the jokes were just written on pieces of paper. I remember my dad was playing the theme to My Three Sons. My uncle said “hold on a minute” and ran and got a piece of paper and wrote something in marker. He told my dad to play the music again and as it started to play, he held up the paper in front of the camera. It read simply “My Three Sons-a-Bitches”. As these two grown men adlibbed and cracked each other up, it was like watching two teenage boys. It was priceless and I learned a couple great lessons – (1) you are never too old to have fun and (2) laughter really is contagious.
One time, we were at his house. I do not recall the occasion, but it was some sort of family party. Somehow my brother and I got ahold of the video camera and we were taking forks and putting it in front of the lens to make it look like it was poking people. We had some dinosaur toys that were obviously his son’s and we made it look like people were being attacked by it. You know, childish stuff. The best moment of the video though is one of those moments when everything aligned to fall into place perfectly. We were panning around the backyard and driveway, when the sounds of many beer bottles falling on the ground was heard. As the camera reaches the garage, here comes Uncle Tom waltzing out. I am laughing as I think about it, and no doubt, you are reading this wondering “why is that so funny?” and my only response is the old standby – you really had to be there!
Some accuse me of being a pack rat. This may be true, but I tend to save things that hold special meaning to me. One of the things I saved was the graduation card I got from him when I graduated from high school. He had written a whole bunch of stuff on the outside of the envelope, many of them I had to ask him about. I remember he wrote: Uncle Leroy, Rozmo, Joe Dabbish, Bite the Bag (I will explain that in a minute), as well as punch lines from jokes and movie lines. Inside the card was his tremendous advice to a newly high school graduate: “Stay at home and live off your old man!”. I still laugh out loud when I think about it! Good advice too! LOL
All of my friends loved to chat with him. He was damn funny and he was cool to all of them. He’d always make them laugh and tell silly stories to them too. At my graduation party, my dad gathered a few old band members and they played music at the party. It was awesome. I remember at one point, dad was on bass guitar, my cousin Kenny also playing guitar, my cousin Pat was on the drums and my Uncle Tom was singing some of those songs they loved – the one I remember the most was him singing “Baby What You Want Me To Do” by Jimmy Reed. My party was SO cool.
When I was working overnights at Kiss-FM, the station was “all request”. Granted we had some rules and some restrictions on what we could and couldn’t play, but for the most part, we always found a way to play the requests if we could. I remember Uncle Tom would call up and ask for songs all the time. He’d often ask for something he knew we couldn’t play and then laugh like hell. One time, however, he called up and asked for You’re So Fine by the Falcons. He did not call them by the right name however, He asked for the “Falcoons” and somehow, despite the slightly racist remark, that clip of him ended up on a station promo. How it made it there, I will never know, but I know he got a kick out of it.
In the days before voicemail, everyone had an answering machine. My uncle was famous for leaving one sentence voicemails that were insane. Sometimes he’d go off into some silly rant about how “Uncle Leroy needed a call back” about a suit or some money or something. One time I was checking messages and all he said was “Bite The Bag” followed by his laughter. I don’t know if it was a movie line or what, as a matter of fact, I don’t think HE knew what it was from. All I know is that it was a phrase that began to show up in the vocabulary of me and my other high school friends because of how silly it was.
I DJ’d for his daughter, who is my dad’s Goddaughter, a couple times. I did one event for a work party, and then I did her wedding. I remember him coming in to the hall as I was setting up for the gig and hearing him yell, “What’s up, Holmes?!”. Nothing too funny about that, but it still made me laugh. We talked for a while and he spoke of how even though he’d done this once before (at his oldest daughter’s wedding), he was still nervous he’d mess up his dance. I laughed and told him if anyone could make it look effortless, it was him. I think he was worried he’d cry, and maybe he didn’t want anyone to see that.
I only saw him cry once – when his dad passed away. He asked me if I would be a pall bearer for him and I was honored to do so. It was probably the only time I spent with my uncle that he didn’t seem like himself. Even when he was in the hospital due to some kidney issues, he was laughing and joking.
I remember that hospital visit well. I wanted to surprise him. He was off somewhere for some test and the nurse said he’d be back shortly. I remember going down to the cafeteria and grabbing a coffee and coming back to his room. He was there by then, and when I walked in, he was genuinely surprised. He said, “Hey, kid, how’s it hanging?” and hugged me. I quoted a Sanford and Son episode when I saw him and told him to get outta the hospital, cause “people are sick here”, which made him laugh. We talked about dad, me and my sons, and other stuff. It was a nice visit and I was glad I got it, because I had no idea it would be the last real conversation I would have with him.
The next time I saw him, he had had a stroke and was on a ventilator. His family was there and the mood was somber, as you can imagine. My aunt was asleep in a chair when I arrived. She was so happy to see me, and I was happy to see her. We talked briefly and I told her to go back to sleep. When she fell asleep, I walked over to his bedside. I know that despite all of the equipment and medications, that he could hear me. I thanked him for being such a special part of my life. I thanked him for the years of laughter. I thanked him for always being there for me. I told him I loved him one last time and left the room.
Today, I salute my Uncle Tom. The world is a bit quieter without his laughter, parties and weddings are lacking great music due to his requests, and those who knew him will forever look back on the times we shared with him fondly, remembering just what a special man he was. Was our relationship as Tom Hagen described it in the Godfather “as a very close, a very sacred religious relationship”? Not entirely. As I said, I wouldn’t call it religious. Beyond a doubt, though, it was a very close relationship. It is a relationship that I was blessed to have.
He is buried in the same cemetery as my mom, Great Lakes National Cemetery. A beautiful place where so many heroes are laid to rest. It seems that I have more and more people to visit every time I go there, as many of my friend’s relatives are also being buried there. Sometimes I don’t get the chance to visit them all, but I always make sure that when I go visit mom, I stop by and say hello to Rozmo. I wish I could hear him tell me one more joke…..
It’s National Beer Day!! Every year, April 7 recognizes the world’s most widely consumed alcoholic beverage. Following water and tea, it is the third most popular drink overall.
Even my ancestors enjoyed a good brew …
After years working in country radio, I can tell you that the majority of “beer” songs can be found in that format. For example: I Like Beer, Pretty Good at Drinking Beer, 15 Beers, Beer for My Horses, Beer Thirty …. the list goes on and on. There was only one song that I could think of that perfectly fits the holiday.
Bowling For Soup was formed back in 1994 and remain active today. They have gone through some personnel changes, but lead singer Jaret Reddick remains in place. They have had their share of hits on the radio, but they have done more than that. In 2001, they performed the theme song to Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. Their biggest theme song, however, “Today is Gonna Be a Great Day” – the theme song to Phineas and Ferb.
In celebration of National Beer Day, I want to dig into the “Sorry For Partyin'” album. What better way to celebrate than with a song entitled “Hooray For Beer!”?
[Verse 1] I was lost and down Before you turned my life around I never knew a love like this could happen And they said I was too young But when I turned 21 You gave me hope that’s everlasting
[Pre-Chorus] Now everything is going my way The sun’s shining all around me Bells are ringing and the birds are singing now I wanna tell the whole world
[Chorus] Hooray for beer I’m really glad you’re here Let’s make this moment last You feel so right Wanna be with you all night Shout it out hooray for beer!
[Verse 2] And sometimes when I wake You seem like a mistake My stomach’s turning circles, my head is pounding But at 5 o’clock You say it’s time to rock And I can’t resist I wanna be around you
[Pre-Chorus] Now everything is okie dorie The stars are shining all around me There’s a happy ending to my story now I wanna tell the whole world
[Chorus] Hooray for beer I’m really glad you’re here Let’s make this moment last You feel so right Wanna be with you all night Shout it out hooray for beer!
[Bridge] I can hold you in my arms forever Or at least until you’re gone And then I’ll order another one
[Pre-Chorus] Now everything is going my way The sun’s shining all around me Bells are ringing and the birds are singing now I wanna tell the whole world
[Chorus] Hooray for beer I’m really glad you’re here Let’s make this moment last You feel so right Wanna be with you all night Shout it out hooray for beer!
Hooray for beer I’m really glad you’re here Let’s make this moment last You feel so right Wanna be with you all night Shout it out hooray Hip hip hooray Hooray for beer!
Happy 74th Birthday to one of the most beautiful actresses in Hollywood – Marilu Henner!
I first saw her in the TV show, Taxi. I was so taken by her smile. She was simply beautiful.
In 1984, she costarred with Michael Keaton and Joe Piscopo in the hilarious Johnny Dangerously.
She was sexy. She was sultry. She was perfect in the role of Lil Sheridan.
One of the coolest things about her is that she possesses what they call Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM), or hyperthymesia, a rare condition allowing her to recall specific details of almost every day of her life since childhood. She can instantly recall events, dates, weather, and personal details, often describing her memory as a “file cabinet” or “scene selection” of her life. I can imagine that there are cool things about that, but at the same time, there has to be some sadness involved.
The theme song for the movie, Johnny Dangerously, was done by Weird Al Yankovic. The song was written for the film, yet, for legal reasons, the song was not featured on home video releases of the film until the DVD was released in 2002.
Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale poses a unique question … If you had the power to change the past…where would you start? The next question might be, if you could keep going back, how man times would you “go back?”
Here is the Goodreads synopsis:
“A Time-Twisting Delight” —Reese Witherspoon (Reese’s Book Club June ’23 Pick)
Cassandra Penelope Dankworth is a creature of habit. She likes what she likes (museums, jumpsuits, her boyfriend, Will) and strongly dislikes what she doesn’t (mess, change, her boss drinking out of her mug). Her life runs in a pleasing, predictable order…until now. • She’s just been dumped. • She’s just been fired. • Her local café has run out of banana muffins.
Then, something truly unexpected happens: Cassie discovers she can go back and change the past. One small rewind at a time, Cassie attempts to fix the life she accidentally obliterated, but soon she’ll discover she’s trying to fix all the wrong things.
I admit that the book poses some good questions. While a bit “hard to believe” at times, the main character (Cassie) will use this power as an advantage. However, how does what she doing going to affect her life and her timeline? That’s what you find out when you read the book. I’m glad I stuck with it. It wound up having a unique ending and I didn’t expect it to end there.
I don’t often share things of a religious nature. I realize that not everyone believes what I believe. Feel free to skip today’s post your beliefs and mine don’t line up.
Today, I am celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That event is so important to my faith. It is THE most important thing to my faith.
Here is an article from an issue of the Grace Journal I wanted to share. The resurrection of Jesus Christ means so very much to a Christian believer. This comes from Pastor Richard Jordan.
What the Resurrection of Christ Means to Us
“Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel.” ll Tim. 2:8
When the Apostle of the Gentiles declared that Jesus Christ was “raised from the dead according to my gospel” he made it imperative that we understand just what this tremendous event means to us.
Because of limited space, we offer the following brief (and admittedly incomplete) outline, and trust our readers will use it as a springboard to look further into this important truth. The resurrection of Jesus Christ:
REPRESENTS A FACT TO BE BELIEVED
“For I delivered unto you first of all that which also received, how that Christ died for our sins accordingto the scriptures;
“And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (l Cor. 15:3, 4).
The resurrection of Christ is not fiction–His body was not stolen by His followers, nor did He somehow revive from a death like coma and walk away by Himself. Further, the resurrection of Christ is not a fable–the modernist claim that He “lives on” in the “continuation of the spiritual principles He taught” is the real “religion myth”!
No, the resurrection of Christ is a fact of history to be accepted and believed. The “many infallible proofs” (Acts 1:3) of His resurrection make it an event as thoroughly and historically validated as any in past history.
Our faith does not rest on a coffin lid! The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a fact to be believed. It also:
PRESENTS A FAITH TO BE EMBRACED
“…if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Rom.10:9).
Our faith is to rest in the fact of the resurrection of Christ. Not simply in the historic reality but also in the divinely revealed meaning of this event:
“[Christ] was delivered for our offences, and was RAISED AGAIN FOR OUR JUSTIFICATION” (Rom.4:25).
The reality of Christ’s resurrection declares the finality of the work of Calvary. When “Christ died for our sins,” He thoroughly put away sin, paying its penalty in full.
Thus, the debt of sin having been paid, death could not hold Him. His resurrection is, as it were, the receipt that declares: “Paid in full!”
It is because the shed blood of Christ fully and completely paid for sin that Jesus Christ could be raised from the dead–and thus, with a perfect redemption accomplished and attested to, we can be declared righteous in Him.
The import of the resurrection does not end with our justification, however, for it also:
OFFERS A FORCE TO BE EXPERIENCED
“…like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, EVEN SO WE ALSO SHOULD WALK lN NEWNESS OF LIFE” (Rom.6:4).
This is the practical impact in the believer’s life of the reality of Christ’s resurrection.
Rom 8: 10, 11 declare:
“And if CHRIST BE lN YOU, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.”But IF THE SPIRIT OF HlM THAT RAISED UP JESUS FROM THE DEAD DWELL IN YOU, HE THAT RAISED UP CHRIST FROM THE DEAD SHALL ALSO QUICKEN YOUR MORTAL BODIES BY HIS SPIRIT THAT DWELLETH IN YOU.”
The resurrection life of Christ is a power, a force, to be experienced by every believer. The “newness of life” rcceived from Christ means that He lives His life in us.
Christianity is not a religion–it is a life. It is Christ in us living His life through us.
This is the essence of Christianity.
Have you ever found the Christian life difficult to live? If not, you will! In fact, it is not only difficult, it is impossible. Only Jesus Christ can live His life-and he does just that as we simply walk by faith in His marvelous grace to us.
Experiencing this glorious freedom and power is the goal Paul set before himself and us:
“That I may know Him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death:
“If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead” (Phil. 3:10, 11).
There is something else, too, which Christ’s resurrection does for us. It:
ASSURES A FUTURE THAT IS GLORIOUS
“For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him” (l Thess. 4:14).
The future of many things may be very uncertain, but for the believer it is only glorious. No matter how diffrcult things may be for us now, one day it will only be “glory for me!”
One day soon our ever-living Savior will return for us and in that day He “shall change our vile body, that it may be fashionnd like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself” (Phil. 3:21).May God help us to rejoice in the reality of the resurrection of Christ and all God has made it mean to us.
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The great mistake made by most of the Lord’s peopl is in hoping to discover in themselves that which is to be found in Christ alone.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 