Abby's Fifty Boyfriends: SigEps - Big Hearts

Abby is a Dude magnet. For the longest time she only had one boyfriend. Then she picked up a couple more from some of our friends down in Texas who have a herd of boys to choose from (that’s her with one of them on the cover of this issue). So she was cruising along with about the normal number of boyfriends a typical four year old with leukemia has until one fateful day when she got a 50-pack of strappin’ studs, all for free. I guess there is hope after all… That’s what I wrote when we found out 50 frat guys from Oklahoma University were headed over to our house to bring Abby a present and visit her. If it had been a group of girls, everyone would think "how sweet," but for college guys to do something so kind and be so selfless was VERY heartwarming. Here’s the scoop: We got a call a couple of weeks ago from John Williamson, who attends Wildwood Community Church. He said he heard Mark Robinson talking about Abby and just really felt like doing something for her. He informed us he and the entire frat wanted to plan something special not only for Abby, but our whole family. "How nice," we thought. We really didn’t give it a whole lot of thought after that, primarily because we’re so busy running Abby back and forth to the hospital. On Thursday I’m sitting out in my office working, and my wife comes rushing in, "There are 50 guys from that frat headed to our house right now!" Holy cow! We had no idea what to expect. I go out to the front yard and look down the road, and sure enough there is a caravan of cars pulling up to our house. I could tell they all had the same question, "Where in the world ... | read the rest of this story online

Neil Boyd: On Discipline, Leadership & Business

Discipline is in short supply these days. It’s not a glamorous topic and to make things more rare, it’s hard to find someone who actually IS disciplined and also has the ability to teach and mentor others about it. Neil Boyd is one of those rare finds. My first contact with Neil was the day I went over to his house because my wife and I were going to be married at their home. Michelle had known the Boyd family for many years, and they have a beautiful home out in the country. We visited them to scope out where to conduct the wedding and for me to meet them for the first time. Neil was pretty quiet, but friendly. Even now knowing him very well, he still comes across as mostly quiet, introspective but with something obviously on his mind most of the time. He also has the habit of long pauses before answering or responding. I really like this attribute in people because it takes real confidence to not want to fill the air with words because we mistakenly believe silence is equivalent to something negative. The silence doesn’t bother me because I know he is genuinely thinking about what he wants to say, rather than the typical behavior of people which is to be chomping at the bit to make a point before you’ve even finished making yours. This "pause" is hard to communicate in writing, but I’ll throw it in anyway hoping you’ll be able to pick up the visual and the feeling of the interview. I sat down with Neil and talked with him on a personal level, then quizzed him about his business. You’ll find the common thread throughout the entire conversation is discipline, vision, and purpose. Neil believes that discipline and goals need a higher purpose, ... | read the rest of this story online

Living Faith: Paul "Rafe" Refior

Funny, kind, faithful, devoted to marriage, wise… want to know someone like that? Then stick around while I tell you about Paul Refior, AKA "Rafe". I don’t quite remember how I first met Rafe, I think it was through my site, SeriousFaith.com. We emailed routinely over time, and then one day he invited us to come stay at their guest house in Indiana. A vacation with no hotel bill sounded great to me, so we packed up the herd and headed north. From the moment we arrived, we were made to feel like long lost friends or family. We spent a week there with complete access to their life and home. We left knowing we had made some life long friends. I thought the best way for you to get to know them would be to share some of our emails, some things I’ve written about them in the past, and some content that Rafe himself wrote, especially concerning a recent accident he had that will cause you to cringe. So, in no particular order, here’s some "stuff" about Rafe, including some written answers he provided for our "Living Faith" Series. Let’s start with that, and then we’ll talk about The Accident: Give us a little background… Paul D. Refior (my friends call me "Rafe" and my name is pronounced "Ray’-fee-or") was born in 1950 in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa and was raised in Iowa and Wisconsin, graduating from Whitewater High School in 1968. He returned to Mt. Pleasant to attend Iowa Wesleyan College, where he met and married his sweet, wonderful and beautiful wife, Pam, and where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude in 1972 prior to attending law school. While at the University ... | read the rest of this story online

Letter From the Editor

Will you pray for our daughter who has Leukemia? She’s the whole reason for all this (magazine, blogs, etc). Would you go over to our blog, http://www.riggsfamilyblog.com/ and look near the top right for "About Abby"? I’m really looking forward to you reading about some great guys in this issue. The "SigEps" are such guys. It was refreshing to do a story on a fraternity that purposely focuses on serving and learning the true meaning of building relationships. Another story in this issue is about Paul Refior, a big fella with a big heart. You’ll be amazed at what recently happened to him, and you’ll be even more amazed at the love he has for his wife. Then there’s Neil Boyd. If you want to learn something about discipline, goals and success, he’s your man. I sat down with him and asked him to share with me, and you, the secrets to his disciplined life and successful business. We have a lot of folks submitting content and photos now, so don’t get discouraged if you didn’t get in this issue. There’s only so many pages, and we keep everything for future issues. Shoot me an email and let me know what you would like to see in Serious.Life Magazine in 2009. brent@brentriggs.com ... | read the rest of this story online

Dear Brent...

Dear Brent, I am going through some things… problem after problem. My boyfriend (my kids father) is in church and fully dedicated. Am I hindering him if I am not in church as well? It feels like every time I try to serve GOD, I am distracted. Any advice.? Anonymous Matthew 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (NKJV) Such is life for all humankind. Whether Christian or unsaved, life is all about facing and dealing with the problems that this sin cursed world produces. The difference is, Christians do it with joy and purpose… the unsaved do it with despair and hopelessness. If your boyfriend is a fully dedicated Christian, and is the father of your children, I hope that he has confessed the sin of fornication, and before the Lord, is doing whatever he can to be responsible for his actions, and seeking God’s direction in what he should do (marriage?). If you are still fornicating with him, then neither of you can be labeled as "fully dedicated" Christians, assuming that you have knowledge that God disapproves of sexual immorality (if you didn’t, you do now; Gal. 5:19–21; Eph. 4:17–19; Eph. 5:5; Col. 3:5; 1 Thess. 4:5) If by "in church" you mean that you are not seriously living a Christian life, then YES. If you are implying that showing up to church is the same thing as being a Christian, you have missed the true meaning. You are not equally matched in belief, devotion and purpose, so of course, that will cause you to be a hindrance if he is truly following God, ... | read the rest of this story online

Mr. Johnny Comes a-Knockin'

It was an extremely frustrating night last night. Abby was up and down until about 4am throwing up and needing to go to the bathroom. Anyone who has ever slept in :30 minute or 1 hour increments, waking up over and over, knows how draining it is. We had finally fallen asleep, and our dear 80 year old neighbor (the best neighbor you could ever ask for) came pounding on the front door about 8am. For a frail fella, he can knock LOUD. I get up, half awake, and answer the door to find that Mr. Johnny couldn’t get his new-fangled flat screen TV "to go over to channel 5". I told him I would be over to help him later, and returned to bed for a few minutes of desperate sleep. About 60 seconds after I fall asleep, one of our teenage boys bangs on our bedroom door, and comes walking on in! "Get... out... of... here!", I grumble knowing full well that HE knows full well he’s not to simply come prancing in our bedroom when we are in bed - not to mention the fact my mood was already plummeting faster than Britney Spears reputation. So I stumble out of bed, and go to the bathroom. No sooner than I had sat down, and someone is banging on the front door again and I’m sure this time that they are going to wake up the kids and Michelle - probably one of my teenager’s friends on the way to school. Our bathroom window gives view to the front door, so I peaked out the window. It was Mr. Johnny on a return visit. What was it this time? Johnny knocks a second time, even louder. Then a third... fourth and fifth pounding, with increasing conviction each time. How come my teenager didn’t answer? He was on his cell phone. Giving up on the door, ... | read the rest of this story online

104 Ways to... Save Money, Reduce Your Personal Expenses, & Eliminate Debt

Quit drinking expensive coffee. Do you really need to pay five dollars for a cup of coffee? The overwhelming majority of people cannot tell the difference between an inexpensive coffee and expensive name brand from coffee shops. The truth that no one wants to admit is that expensive coffee is a fad, and drinking it is just going along with the crowd. Shop around for auto insurance. The average person can save anywhere between $65 and $85 a month on their car insurance if they spend a little time researching different companies and different prices. Pay off your credit cards. The interest rates on credit cards will eat your budget alive. You are simply throwing money in the toilet when you buy on credit and hand over free cash to the credit card companies. Shop around for better cell phone plans and make sure you cancel features you are not using or that you can live without. If you’re paying any sort of bank fees, you shouldn’t. Take time to find a bank who offers free checking, free online banking and just about free everything when it comes to the bank services. Quit buying prepackaged food. Bite sized, prepackaged, and conveniently-portioned-already-prepared foods are many times more expensive ... | read the rest of this story online

The Fire

Editor Note: this is an unedited blog post from aplacecalledsimplicity.blogspot.com. They are a wonderful family whose house recently was lost to fire two weeks after adopting two orphans from Africa. I wanted you to know about them and see if God might have you help them. - BR I awoke to a steady beeping. I had a hard time waking, since I hadn’t been asleep long and went downstairs to see what was up. It was the smoke alarm that Kyle had fixed. I kind of stumbled around, still very sleepy and thought it must just not really be fixed and that I had better call Kyle in the morning and they probably should just replace it. I went back to bed and wondered why the alarm company hadn’t called because it had beeped probably more than a minute (they call after one minute of any alarm to see if everything is okay). About two hours later I woke up again to the smoke alarm going off. I went down again. And again, before long it stopped. I woke up around six to it going off again. I got my bathrobe on to check it out and also spend some time alone with the Lord. I love my early morning times with my precious Lord with the whole house asleep. He has ALWAYS been soooo faithful to me. But this time the alarm didn’t just quit. So I got a photo album and started fanning it. I thought how weird it was that the alarm company didn’t call. I kind of smelled some smoke coming from the laundry room so I went down there to look. Yes, it smelled like there was smoke in there. But the alarm had quit. I went to build a fire. We heat our home with hot water baseboard, but mostly the wood stove. Within minutes the alarm started going off again. I looked at the ... | read the rest of this story online

Magazine Monday

Each month we choose blog posts that are submitted for MAGAZINE MONDAY and publish them, unedited, just like it appears on the blog. If you would like to have something from your blog considered, visit www.seriouslifemagazine.com and look for the MAGAZINE MONDAY link. Why Are They Calling Me MckMama? Blog: MckMmama (mycharmingkids.net) (Editors Note: MckMama is one of the most popular "Mom Blogs" on the Internet. We are friends and our family is especially grateful that she asked her readers to pray for Abby. BR) Who are all these people and why are they calling me MckMama? Who am I? Why do I call myself MckMama? And where on earth did I come from!? If you have ever wondered, grab a cup of cocoa and read on... In late summer, 1977, I am born, the first child in my family, in a state known for cheese. Elvis dies. I meet baby Prince Charming in our church nursery. At age 3, in the spring of 1981, I am knocked unconscious after falling off a large play structure while vacationing with my parents in Paris. I am hospitalized for a few days and get a doll that I name Mawasha. My parents don’t speak French and have a difficult time communicating with doctors in the hospital. I remember a large glass wall separated my room from the room of another young girl with a huge cast on her leg. In the summer of 1981, a huge craze is sparked when Pac-Man is introduced, I welcome a baby sister, and MTV is born. I ... | read the rest of this story online

Serious.Life Feature Blog Directory

Brent Riggs Type: (Graphic Design) www.brentriggs.com Brent is a graphic designer and professional web developer. ~ ~ ~ ...Where Laughter Lives Type: (Family) www.riggsfamilyblog.com Riggs family blog, praying for Abby. ~ ~ ~ MckMama Type: (Family, Photography) www.mycharmingkids.net MckMama’s blog about her Prince Charming and kids. ~ ~ ~ Kelly’s Korner Type: (Family,) kellyskornerblog.com Kelly’s blog about family, babies and other Blog Moms. Very popular. ~ ~ ~ Full House, Full Hands, Full Hearts Type: (large adoptive family) fullhousehandshearts.typepad.commy_weblog/ The thoughts and adventures of a busy mom to 11, who is passionate about my husband and kids, and about adoption, advocating for HIV+ children and educating people about HIV. There is never a dull moment! ~ ~ ~ Annachka Type: (Our child) annafinley.blogspot.com This blog about our daughter, who is fighting reare disease called Atypical HUS. ... | read the rest of this story online

Noahs Flood, Noahs Ark

Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from "Old Earth? Why Not!" by James Nienhuis. Be sure to visit his blog: www.dancingfromgenesis.com. ~BR here are a lot of people who claim Noah’s Flood was a fairy tale. The evidence tells a different story. Hundreds of tribal groups are spread all over the globe. Their oral traditions and legends have been passed down from their ancestors through the generations. One legend is very common among the tribes, like this one from New Guinea: "Once a great flood came which covered the whole earth and wiped out everyone on earth except for the ancestors of the Biami people. Those ancestors climbed up into the Gobia Tree, the bark of which they make into string for their string bags. They took up into the tree their planting materials for crops, all their animals, their dogs and their pigs and everything else necessary for life. As the floodwaters rose up on the face of the earth the people climbed further up the tree. They were safe in the branches of this tree because the tree grew up above the waters as the waters rose up. When the waters went down from the surface of the whole earth, the people were able to climb down the tree. The ground was very muddy, but eventually they planted their crops and their animals began to reproduce. They moved away from the tree and began to repopulate the earth. Those who had climbed down out of the tree were the ancestors of the Samos, the Kubos, the Gobasis, and the Etoro." Over 270 tribes have been documented to be proponents of the notion that the whole world was once inundated by water.2 Here is one from the Greenlander tribe of Canada: "The ... | read the rest of this story online

Humor

Smart Mom A mother was walking with her four year old daughter one day when the daughter picked up something off the ground and started to put it into her mouth. The mother stopped her and said she shouldn’t do that. "Why," asked the little girl. "Because it’s dirty. It’s been on the ground. You don’t know where it’s been. It probably has germs." The little girl looked up at her mom with admiration and asked, "How do you know so much?" Thinking quickly, the mother said, "All moms know so much. We have to. It’s on the Mommy Test. If you don’t know it, you don’t get to be a mommy." The little girl pondered this for a few minutes, then her face brightened. "I get it!" she said. "If you don’t pass the test, you get to be a daddy!" "Yup," said the mom. ~~~ Dumb Mom Not all kids think their moms are smart. Did you hear about the five year old boy who was sent to his room by his mother for having a bit of a tantrum and calling her dumb? After about fifteen minutes, the mother went to his room to see if he was repentant. She found that her son had regained his composure. He calmly and politely said to her, "But Mom, you really are dumb." ~~~ Ironing A mother was ironing the clean laundry one day. Her son asked her, "Mother, why are you ironing those clothes?" His mother said, "To make them nice and wrinkle free." Her son said, "Then, why don’t you iron Grandma’s face? ~~~ Children ... | read the rest of this story online

Reader Recipes

The following recipes were taken from the "Adoption Cookbook". The pics are from the cookbok. If you would to purchase it, go here. Chinese Raindrop Soup Ingredients: 6 Water Chestnuts 2 Scallions 1 tbsp. Sherry 3 c Chicken Stock 6 oz. diced cooked Chicken Salt and Pepper to taste Directions: Slice the water chestnuts and slice the spring onions (scallions) finely. Put these in a saucepan with the chicken stock and the chicken. Bring to the boil and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Add the sherry and season to taste. Submitted by Karen, mother of Kaitlyn, China Nutty Coleslaw Ingredients: 2-3 tbsp. sesame seeds 1 pkg. (2 oz) slivered almonds ½ c, rice vinegar 1 tsp. salt ½ tsp. pepper 9 to 12 green onions (finely chopped) 1 lb pkg. coleslaw mix 3 pkg. Ramen Noodles 2/3 c. salad oil ½ c. sugar Directions: Preheat over to 350 degrees. Toast the sesame seed and almonds in a shallow pan in oven. You can use a little butter if you wish. Let cool. Chop onions, put them in a big bowl with coleslaw mix, the toasted seeds and almonds. Add the crunched up ramen noodles. In a small bowl, mix together the oil, vinegar and sugar. Pour over the coleslaw mixture. Salt and pepper ... | read the rest of this story online

Fulfill Your Vows

Some say the most beautiful sight in the world is the innocent and precious face of a child. Others ask, "Is there anything more beautiful in life than a young man and a young woman clasping hands in the path of marriage, promising a lifetime of love and commitment to one another?" A bride has a special ray of beauty on her wedding day that is matched on no other day in her life. Is there anything more beautiful than that? Allow me to suggest that there may be something even more beautiful. It is the sight of a man and woman in their twilight years finishing their life-journey, still committed to one another and the vows they made so many years ago on their wedding day. The words, "…to have and to hold, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, till death do us part…" were not just words they hurriedly and thoughtlessly repeated at their wedding ceremony so they could rush off to the honeymoon, but principles that became the bedrock of their marriage and their life. Their hands are gnarled due to arthritis, or possibly from years of hard work in their dedicated attempt to raise and support a family. Yet, those gnarly hands are still clasped. Their faces are seamed, but still radiant. Their hearts are tired, yet satisfied. They are stronger than they have ever been even though the world perceives weakness due to their grey hair, and wrinkled, and tender skin. Through the struggles of life they have proved their unfailing love and have vindicated marriage from the jeers of the critics and cynics who proclaim, "Marriage just doesn’t work anymore!" In this washed- out disposable world in which we live, where people’s commitments to ... | read the rest of this story online

Moving Families Towards Godliness:The Four Disciplines

How do we, who are so imperfect, even begin to perform one of the most difficult tasks in life—parenting? We begin by seeing our great God as He is, and then, in the power of His Spirit, we emulate Him. Though we will sometimes fail as His students, we can always point our families to their Perfect Father. The perfect father would be one who knows everything about you, and still loves you. The perfect father would always be on your side. He would be big enough for anything, and never ever let you down. Of course, that description can fit only one Person—God the Father, as declared by Christ, His dear Son.a Jesus introduced us to Him as our Perfect Father. 1. God Our Father Is ALL-SEEING: "Your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly" (Matthew6:4b; see also Matthew 6:6b and 6:18c). When you fear that you don’t know enough to get the job done—remember who you work with! Nothing escapes our heavenly Father’s notice! Jesus calls Him our "Father who sees all of our secrets." Whenever we keep our charitable deeds secret, prayers a private act of worship, or fasting strictly between us and the Lord, our Perfect Father sees, and will reward us accordingly. He is always "keeping watch on the evil and the good" (Proverbs 15:3b). Yet, even though we fail Him at times, He still loves us. What a comfort to have God as our Perfect Father, and to know that He is on our side! 2. God Our Father Is ALL-PROVIDING: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning" (James 1:17). When ... | read the rest of this story online

The Ways We Say I Love You

I Lub You Daddy Abby, sweet little thing, will walk up to us out of the blue, hug my leg and say with great conviction, "I... lub... you... Daddy". When she says that, she is hugging my leg, laying her head on me, and it comes out like a great big sigh, as if she is very tired and now finally everything is okay. It is so sweet. ‘Cause I’m a Stinky Little Kid We have this thing with the two babies (Abby and Landis) where we hug them and say, "I love you so much. I love you too much. Do you know why I love you too much?" To this they reply: "Because I’m a stinky little kid." Don’t ask me how or why this came about, I don’t remember, but it’s what we do. Other people hear it and either think it’s funny or sweet (or weird!) Sign Language My wife and I taught our kids sign language when they were a few months old to help them learn to communicate. They could say "please", "more" and other simple words even before they could speak. It was really cute and helpful. Michelle and I often respond with "I love you more..." when the other says "I love you". Because we were teaching the kids sign language for "more", the "more" sign became our secret way to say "I love you" and it meant "I love you more". We could say "I love you more" across the room or driving away using our little sign. That’s right, I’m a sap. Don’t tell any of my ex-Drill Sergeant buddies. Here are some things that our readers wrote about: <span ... | read the rest of this story online

The Funny Things Our Kids Say

Each month we go back and find some of the comments and feedback from our blogs that we think you wil enjoy reading. We never cease to be amazed at the good stuff readers respond with. The following are excerpts from "Funny Things Our Kids Say." Abby Doing Craps... Not what you think... she’s really doing CRAFTS but she cannot pronounce it correctly. Now I know the folks who got offended when I said "buttcrack" in a previous post will probably really get sideways about me typing "craps" on our blog, but it is screamin’ funny when you hear her say it. "Mommy, can I color and do craps?" We are, after all, the house "...where laughter lives." I know my limits, so I won’t tell you about how our oldest daughter pronounced FORK when she was two, doing so loudly for the first time in a restaurant. We almost got kicked out because she kept asking for her "FORK" and we couldn’t keep from busting a laugh. We’re horrible parents. I know from the looks we were getting. Now on to what the readers shared with us: MCKMAMA SAID... Our oldest son, calling to me from the backseat of our car: "Mama? My pants are getting cold." Me: "Oh, your pants are cold?" Apparently, I misheard him. So he corrects me: "NO, my PENIS is getting cold." "Oh! Your penis is getting cold?" Apparently, I misheard him again. He corrects me: "NO!! My penis is getting OLD!" "Your penis is getting old?" "Yes." <p ... | read the rest of this story online

We Need Encouragement

There are times when the Lord sends us a friend to encourage us at just the right moment... and it’s like the clouds part, the rainbow appears, the sun shines and the birds start singing. God knows how our emotions affect us. We don’t live by our emotions, but they surely are a part of our daily life. God knows that there are times when we need someone to listen, comfort and lift us up in fellowship. As Christians, we are commanded to encourage one another. The word "encourage" in (1Thess 5.11) has many facets: Encourage - to fill with courage or new zeal; to lift up the low in spirit or despondent; to give strength and hope to overcome and endure - to fill with courage or new zeal; to lift up the low in spirit or despondent; to give strength and hope to overcome and endure Exhort - to make urgent appeal; to give advice; to strongly urge or advise - to make urgent appeal; to give advice; to strongly urge or advise Comfort - to give strength and hope; to give cheer; to ease grief or trouble - to give strength and hope; to give cheer; to ease grief or trouble Lift up - to raise up; to stand up when fallen; to raise to a higher standard; to bring up from lowness - to raise up; to stand up when fallen; to raise to a higher standard; to bring up from lowness Build up - to restore brokenness; to add new hope or zeal; to provide additional good - to restore brokenness; to add new hope or ... | read the rest of this story online

Reflecting God's Gift

We are nearly through Christmas, a gift-giving season when people reflect on Jesus Christ more than any other time of year. I say "nearly" because the Orthodox (Greek, Russian, Eastern, etc.) Christmas (Julian calendar) is actually tomorrow, Jan. 7. Fans of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" know that yesterday or today, depending on which Christian part of the world you’re in, is the "Twelfth Day of Christmas." Today, Jan. 6, marks the start of the ecclesiastical season of Epiphany (Gregorian calendar), celebrating the Magi’s visit to the child Jesus and thereby manifesting Christ to the gentiles (a very big deal … it meant Jesus came for all mankind). Feel free to Google any of these terms if you care to ingest a larger dose of church history and ecclesiastical tradition. Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant Christians all agree on Christ’s position as Son in the Father-Son-Spirit Trinity, but – even congregation by congregation – take vastly different approaches to doctrine, worship, salvation and church organization. Christianity can look very confusing from the outside; shoot … it can look very confusing from the inside. Yet many of us arrive at a point where faith overrides confusion, and for that we must thank the Holy Spirit. Especially at Christmas we Christians love to say "Jesus Christ is" this or that: He is Truth, Love, Hope, Joy, Mercy, Salvation, the Way, Light, Good Shepherd, Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counselor, etc. Then we harshly judge and/or argue with those who simply look at us and say, "I don’t understand." If there is one thing we should know as Christians it’s that our actions are our real witness, ... | read the rest of this story online

Living Hope: The Love of Jesus

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16, emphasis added). Who could ever forget the dramatic scene of Revelation 6? Somewhere beyond the starry sky a herald angel stood with a trumpet in his hand, and at an elected time, by the decree of the Lord God Almighty, the trumpet sounded and the kingdoms of this world became the kingdoms of our God and of His Christ! Thus the Tribulation opened, and Christ began taking back the earth, which is rightfully His. One by one Christ will unroll the seals. As each seal is broken, He will gain further possession and control of His inheritance. Revelation 7 then opens with the love of Jesus sending 144,000 missionaries into this time of Great Tribulation upon the world. This is the most important chapter to help us truly understand the love of Jesus Christ. In no other place in the Bible is it so dramatically etched out as it is in the contrast between the wrath in chapter 6 and the mercy in chapter 7. Christ’s merciful love in Revelation 7 is demonstrated by His sending over four times as many missionaries into the world as are currently serving Him. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, there are only 35,000 missionaries of every persuasion, but during the Tribulation He will provide 144,000 evangelists! Look at how Jesus shows His love throughout this overview of Revelation 7: Verses 1–3: Jesus stands with the servants of the Lamb, and prepares them for the bad times ahead. His Spirit signs, seals, and secures them. Verses 4–8: Jesus knows where ... | read the rest of this story online