Tag: Peace

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Life Connections Farewell: Celebrating its Spirit and Impact

Every chapter has an opening and a closing, so it is with Life Connections, the church that started out of our home in 2002 and the one we stepped away from in 2022. Acts 13:36 says, “For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay;” Life Connections served its purpose, for its generation, and will leave an indelible mark on eternity. As Pastors Phil and Annie Daigle closes its chapter today, September 22, 2024, we look back on the incredible impact Life Connections had on families, its community, central Indiana, and the world.

Its vision, its values, and its impact was like none other. It was a New Testament church, one that mirrored the early church that started in the book of Acts. At the same it modeled how to be relevant and connect with current culture. It had a unique niche. It served the community of Fishers, Hamilton County, and families from across central Indiana. It was known for at least two important dynamics. Its community impact and its prayerful commitment to being a Spirit filled and led community. In its early years it was a regular part of the Freedom Festival and parades. As it grew it became known as the place where families could bring their kids for a myriad of events. More importantly, it became a place where people felt safe to bring their families to learn about Jesus and experience His presence. It was a place that wasn’t about religion and rules. It was not another copycat of the latest fad religion, but a place where they and their families could experience the Spirit and grow in God in a likeminded community of others that were on the same journey.

Life Connections was about service. That DNA would show itself yearly as people came out of hibernation after a cold and snowy winter. Life Connections would welcome hundreds of kids and families at its annual Bagels and Bunnies Easter Egg hunt, a free breakfast and a photo with the Easter bunny. 

Summer would bring X-treme Camp, a VBS, that was like no other. The camps were highly interactive, with lots of zany variation, and the famous, X-treme Camp Obstacle course. Whether it was the Amazing Race, Space Jam, or Wipe Out, over 1000 kids participated in Life Connections X-treme Camps.

Winter would bring Breakfast with Santa, donuts, cookies, coffee, and of course, a free picture with Santa. Through the years Life Connections gave away thousands of free pictures with Santa. We can’t count the number of tears we’ve seen, the “thank you’s” we’ve heard, and the lives that were impacted by these events.

In addition to those major events Life Connections became the place to be each June when we were privileged to host the Fishers Strawberry Festival. There were tons of bounce houses, mascots like Boomer, Rowdy, and even the Chick-fil-a cow showed up, along with crowds of people from all over central Indiana. Nothing said summer was here like a biscuit topped with ice cream, strawberries, and a big dab of whipped cream. The festivals revenue never went to Life Connections, instead monies went to missionaries, helped churches who been impacted by extreme weather events, and other areas where we saw need.

Life was about serving those less fortunate. So many were grateful for Bagels and Bunnies and Breakfast with Santa, but Life Connections went further. Life Connections gave away hundreds of Thanksgiving meals through the years, provided Christmas gifts and meals to families yearly, and partnered with the city of Fishers to provide bags of food weekly to needy families. Life Connections served its community… it served its generation.

Life Connections was a place where you could expect to experience the presence of God. It was a unique church. It was Spirit led without being eccentric. It was progressive yet valued its past. It knew while it was imperative to relate to its world, it had to be a place where people could experience what the apostles and the churches of the New Testament experienced. It shunned the legalism that stymied so many Spirit-filled churches yet valued the power and the liberty of the Spirit.

It was first and foremost, a place of prayer. It valued very strongly the words of Jesus, “my house shall be called a house of prayer.” It was a place where God’s presence dwelled, and His Spirit was welcomed. Done decently and in order as the apostle Paul commended, people came to Life with wonder, “what will God do today?” Miracles took place, lives were transformed, and families strengthened. Life Connections strived to model the “house of prayer” principle individually, as families, and as a church corporately.

Life Connections was multicultural, a place for all people. For some time, Sunday worship included the 10 a.m. worship service, an Indonesian service at 1 p.m. and a Hispanic church at 6 p.m. In addition, to serving the nearly one dozen different ethnic groups that attended, we had translation equipment that allowed us to serve the Indian and other cultures along with an interpreter for the deaf community.

Life Connections knew how to laugh and have fun. Whether serving at one of the many community events or engaging at one of the many church “family” events, few churches knew how to have fun like Life Connections. There were more memories and friendships built at events like Life’s Annual Chili Cook-off than one could ever imagine. Lifetime friendships were made around a campfire, on a hayride or during a trash talking corn hole tournament. Whether it was the Christmas Gathering at the Hudson home, a bible study, a party that someone hosted with good food, or even if it was before, during or after a service, there was always the sound of laughter at Life.

Life Connections was a place that valued God’s Word. Life Connections taught about, lifted up, and pointed people to Jesus. It was a place that was careful to preach and teach the Bible in right context. While the Sunday services were inspirational and inspiring, bible studies and the series taught were dedicated to building a strong relationship with God and having fellowship with others. Whether it was a book of the Bible, a practical perspective on a social or current issue, or a series on a book by Jentezen Franklin, Kyle Idleman, or Greg Groschel, people grew in their knowledge of God’s word, and in their relationship with Jesus.

Life Connections was a place that valued the Spirit-filled experience that took place in the book Acts and what was the only experience and dynamic of the New Testament church. We tried to emulate that dynamic. It was a Spirit filled and Spirit led place. It was not a religious institution, not a doctrine, but a place where you could safely experience the Spirit. It was early on that we discarded the label of a denomination and took on the atmosphere as a place of healing. If you wanted to find a discarded label you could find it at Life Connections. There were those who were Catholic, Jew, Baptist, Methodist, and Pentecostal, the list could go on, but once you came to Life you became a person. A person who knew that everyone was broken, everyone needed the blood of Jesus, and everyone was growing, some more quickly than others, but everyone’s progress was celebrated. It was a place where you could be real, fail, heal, and grow without judgement. It had a unique vibe and was a distinctive place for many.

Life Connections was a spiritual hospital, not a nursing home. In a hospital there are a lot of sick people trying to get better, a lot of people serving, doing their best to help people get better, but still human and understanding that nearly every situation needed a touch from God. Life Connections never exploded in numeric growth but literally thousands of people passed through its doors through the years, at its height in early 2020, nearly 400 people called Life their home. Generally, we only saw about 70 percent of those though, unless there was a crisis, it was Easter or Christmas. For a while it bothered us, but we will never forget a moment in a prayer service as we were struggling with the issue that God spoke to our heart and said, “I’ve called Life Connections to be different, it is a hospital. I trust you to let Me heal people and you to let them go.” So, it has been, many, thousands who came through its doors over the past 20 years. Unfortunately, some died spiritually, others decided to move into a spiritual nursing home, but were excited that most were healed and moved on to greater ministries or became an integral part of the church community and helped others heal, grow, and impact the world.

In closing I go to Life Connections beginning. Our mission statement was simple; “Connecting people to faith, family, and friends.” As with the passing of an individual, we say farewell to Life’s physical presence. We know its influence, impact, and spirit will live on for generations. People will forever remember its love for the Spirit and its high values of passion, excellence, and integrity. There will be families who will pass down the Word that was taught, values instilled, and experience of the Spirit for years to come. There are friendships that were made that will last a lifetime. Though it is no more, it will forever be. Mary and I count it the highest of honors to have served the Kingdom of God in Fishers, Hamilton County, and central Indiana at Life Connections. We will forever be indebted to an unnumberable host of people who ran along side with us, brought vision and ideas, creativity, gave, worked and served, cried and prayed… who believed in Life Connections. If you were ever a part of Life Connections in any way, thank you.

How do we say farewell to Life Connections? I guess the best way is the way I would close each Sunday service. If you’ve been there you know it well. So, for one last time…

     The Lord bless you, and keep you;

     The Lord make His face shine on you,

     And be gracious to you;

     The Lord lift up His countenance on you,

      And give you peace.’

                                  –  Numbers 6:24-26

Preach Always, If Necessary Use Words,
Jon & Mary Hudson

 

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Seeing God

Rarely do we get a day with mid-sixties temperature in February in central Indiana, but a couple of weeks ago we had one, giving me a chance to get out to one of my favorite places, our back yard. Nothing too serious, no yard work, just some solitude and time to reflect and observe life. Setting there, my attention was arrested by some birds, a woodpecker, a blue jay, a couple of cardinals, and a handful of finches and sparrows. Watching them fly through the trees, I saw God. I saw the creative nature of my creator and His passion for distinctiveness. Their colors were vibrantly different, their songs remarkably diverse, even their flight patterns were unique. Each a distinctive example of His amazing creative design. Watching the birds, my eyes eventually drift to the trees. It’s winter, so the trees are obviously barren, and again, I see God. Normally leaves cover their branches, but today, with no leaves, I notice their imperfections, and that nearly every branch reaches toward the sky. My mind went to Romans 1 where Paul says, “does not nature itself teach us of God.” Each branch, it seemed, was reaching in exaltation for the heavens. I noticed that the ones that didn’t, had been hindered by other branches, and though constrained, they had changed direction, either turning toward the ground, or curling, trying to find another route upwards toward the sky. Turning from the trees, I see frost, and once again, I see God. Where the sun is shining, the frost is melted and there is a glistening dew, but where there is an absence of light, the cold chill of frost remains. What an amazing parallel to the power and love of God. Where His light shines in the world there is life, but where He is ridiculed and viewed with disdain, there is darkness and fear. I take a mental note; seeing God isn’t that difficult, it’s just a matter of having an awareness. Isaiah, an ordinary man, said, “I saw the Lord, high and lifted up, His train filled the Temple.” He wasn’t some kind of spiritual superhero; just a man who lived sensitively to God. I wonder how many that day had the opportunity to see what Isaiah saw but were just too busy. I wonder too if Isaiah’s view is closer to all of us than we can imagine. That just maybe, if we too would take time, get off our devices, slow down, start looking, stop talking, listened, and lived more sensitive, that we too might see God in His splendor and power.

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The Bridges of Parke County

Parke County, It’s a fall tradition for Mary and me. We take a day, grab a cup of coffee at Urban Grounds in Rockville, hit a few shops in town, and then we’re off to the main attraction, to see the bridges. To be exact, thirty-one covered bridges. Some you have to walk; some you get to hear the clonking of wood planks as your car crosses the bridge. Nothing like taking a few hours to step into the past and enjoy a time that was much simpler and slower. There’s one requirement to experience the bridges of Parke County, you must leave the main roads, even the secondary roads, and drive on country, one lane, and gravel roads. The bridges of Parke County make you step away from the crowds, slow down, and enjoy nature and the beautiful colors of fall. I think that’s what Mary and I like best. Most of the bridges are on gravel roads, nestled in forest, farmland, and places that only those who are intentionally looking, will find them. The bridges of Parke County aren’t just about the bridges for us, it’s more about enjoying the atmosphere, nostalgia, and the dream of a simpler life. Driving on a gravel road slows your pace to about 10 mph, gives you time to reflect on the past, and have conversations you’ve need to have, but haven’t, because life just gets too busy. In my humble opinion a lot of us could use a drive to Parke County and the thirty-one covered bridges. You would enjoy the bridges, but the purpose of your trip wouldn’t be about them, but about getting off the interstate of life and letting your mind spend some time on a peaceful gravel road. It’s on the gravel road where you will get a sense of what’s important again, reconnect with your spouse, and see that there’s more significant issues than what’s happening on social media or getting to the next movie or game. The color of fall may be gone, and snow is on the way, but I still would invite you to put a trip down a gravel road on your calendar, or at least in the back of your mind.

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Simply Blessed Beyond Belief

As Mary and I close out the chapter as Pastors at Life Connections and enter into the next phase in our lives I felt it necessary for those we call friends to hear my heart and voice. Here are my thoughts as close a beautiful chapter and enter an exciting next phase of our lives. As you read, I simply want you to see the blessing of God that has been on our lives and invite you to take inventory of yours and see how blessed you are. Sometimes seeing blessings is just a matter of perspective.

1. Blessed to have Godly parents. Mom and dad, Milford and Alice Hudson, set the foundation that everything my life is built on. Julie Hudson Robinson, my amazing sister, and I owe everything we are to them.

2. Blessed to grow up and now live in Noblesville, Indiana. If you’ve ever wanted to live or go to Mayberry, you’ve got to come to Noblesville. It’s where I learned the value of common sense and how to live just being myself.

3. Blessed to set under amazing pastors. Pastor Nathaniel Urshan taught me how to minister with balance, pastor James Larson taught me to pray and then pray some more, pastor T.L. Craft taught me endurance, and pastor Paul Mooney taught me how to laugh and be creative.

4. Blessed to go to Jackson College of Ministries where I was impacted by Darrell Johns and Ron Cooper. It’s here I met my lifelong and best friend Robert Tisdale.

5. Blessed when Mary Odum Hudson kicked her shoes off in the Indy Hyatt and introduced herself to me. It would be the beginning of the greatest privilege in my life, to be her husband. To share life and more incredibly good times and laughter than a person could imagine is my greatest honor.

6. Blessed to have two amazing children, Gentry Hudson and Risa Hudson Fontaine and now a son in law Jake, and a grandchild, Carter. Gentry and Risa are not gold, they are the highest class diamonds, they have such incredible depth as Christians and are two of the finest people I know. Keep the truth and principles we have lived before you and taught you. Your future is bright!

7. Blessed to teach over 2000 students at Indiana Bible College. This will always be something we will point to as highlight of our ministry. To be trusted as a young couple to impact students in a powerful way, to see moves of God in their lives in my classes, and then watch as they grow into incredible ministers is one of my greatest treasures. You will always be family, not just students.

8. Blessed to start Life Connections, a Spirit filled and led church that didn’t have all the walls of religion and didn’t shun hurting people who loved God. We didn’t require all the religious entanglements, but we did teach the gospel, the power of prayer, and the value of being authentic. It has been an incredible journey. We’ve had over 2000 people pass through our doors in our 20 years. Life Connections was always a hospital. Many people came hurt, were healed, and then moved on to do greater things. To those who have stayed, I would say I got to pastor some of the most amazing people in the world, it is a privilege, not only to be your pastor, but be your friend. Thank you for sharing your lives with us.

9. Blessed to go through some incredibly difficult and dark times. We’ve faced personal attacks, attacks on our character and integrity, cancer, diabetes, sickness, and emotional darkness and stood strong and came through without bitterness by the grace of God. Without these challenges we would not have been able to minister to people with faith, grace, mercy, and unconditional love. As Paul said, we glory in our weakness and infirmities, they made us who we are.

10. Blessed to see Life Connections transition to Pastor’s Phil and Annie Daigle. We see an amazing and incredible future for you all. Stay on your knees in prayer, build altars, keep the faith and truth, and stay authentic, there is no ceiling on the future if you do. We’re blessed to call you all our pastors.

11. Finally. We are blessed as we step into the future. While we don’t know where it leads or what it looks like, because of the blessings you just read about over the last 30 years, we are certain that it will be blessed and favored. Our life and ministry has not been built on titles, positions, or positioning, but on being humble and willing servants and seeing the Kingdom advance regardless of the struggle, pain, and hurt. We know we have purpose and we know some of our greatest adventures lie ahead. We love you all and look forward to sharing the future together.

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Beauty in it All

Sitting at my desk watching nature through our windows I’ve seen life at its best. A hawk chasing a squirrel who is trying to escape for its life. A yellow finch continually knocking on our window (this has been happening for weeks). I’ve watched a red bird feed her babies in a pine tree and a chipmunk nibbling nervously on something he found to enjoy. And sounds. Leaves whispering their own song as the breeze blows through their branches, birds humming a beautiful melody, and squirrels making noises I’ve never heard before, only because I’ve taken time to listen. Our orange hammock hanging on a tree nearby blows in the wind, it’s a place to enjoy a good book and nap. I love this more than ever, a new incredible lease on life, I see beauty all around me. I was in a very dark place two years ago and couldn’t capture this kind of beauty if I would have tried. I was paralyzed with fear and anxiety, trying desperately to pray through it and survive it. Now, two years later, the miraculous hand of God is again working in mysterious ways in my life, I see life differently. I’m forever grateful; there are no words that can express how incredible the God we serve is. I mean it, I truly mean it when I say, that I understand that there is a devastating anxiety that can paralyze a soul. It’s real. I was there and know what it feels like to think, this will never end. I know this subject is something we don’t like to talk about, something we want to sweep under the rug, and never bring up, but we can’t do that if we want to survive. God sees where we are at even when we can’t feel him. Never, ever give up, keep getting back up. Your breakthrough is coming, and you will find, like nature, there is beauty in it all.

– Mary Hudson

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Got Your Back

This year I have a completely different take on Father’s Day. I’ve always celebrated my dad and how amazing he is. But this year I’ve watched my husband take on the role of “father” and it’s been such an amazing thing to watch. The first thing that I noticed was when he took on the role of protector. Newborn babies can’t do much to defend or protect themselves, so I think naturally dads take on this role. From the moment we pulled out of the hospital, he tried to avoid every pothole and waited until there was a gap the size of Texas to pull out in front of a car. I’ve always seen the same thing from my dad. I remember the day he tried to teach me how to ride a bike and how protective he was. I was terrified, but there was no way he was going to let me fall. He made sure I knew how the brakes worked and told me that I didn’t have to go fast. I just had to try. He was going to protect me, even if it meant he might get hurt. The same thing is true of God. He is our greatest protector. He sees all things and knows all things. He will give us all the grace we need and will even take the fall with us when we mess up. In Psalm 3:3 it says just that “But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.” This Father’s Day be thankful for your protectors and a God who’s got you back.

Risa Fontaine
Daughter of Pastor Jon
Wife to Jacob and Mother to Carter

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The Right Scent

The smell of leaves in the fall. The smell of your favorite coffee brewing. The smell of fresh cookies coming out of the oven or your favorite candle burning. We can all relate to our favorite scent. I remember vividly when the kids were small, Gentry and Risa were on my lap as I read them a story. Periodically, as I was reading, Gentry would lift my hand and sniff my skin. After he had done this a few times, I asked him what he was doing. He said, “smelling you mommy, you smell good.” Of course, as a mom, this made me feel good. I related this moment to our fragrance as it relates to our relationship with God. When our lives are lived to please him, our fragrance matters to Him. Throughout the Bible, scent mattered to God. Some brought Him joy while others made Him recoil. What does the fragrance of your life say to Him? What does it say to the world around you? He loves the scent of love, kindness, and peace. He loves when we speak about Him to others and share the good fragrance of His love to others. He, however, hates the fragrance of gossip, lying and bitterness. What does your scent say to the world around you? Let it be a fragrance that smells like Fall, your favorite cookie or perfume. Let it be a fragrance the world will ask, what is it that I smell? And you can say with confidence, it is the fragrance of a God that loves you more than anything, and you can have that fragrance too.

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The Other Side of the Fence

His yard has shade trees, fruit trees, cement and gravel patios, beautiful flowers, and lots of space to roam. The grass is lush and green, and the yard has been sprayed so there are no weeds or bugs. There is a fence to keep people and large animals from entering; he is protected. It should be a paradise. But for Gentry’s dog, JJ, it is not. He is constantly escaping through the fence to get on the other side. For some reason he feels as though the grass is green on the other side of the fence. It’s not. In fact, there are more weeds and bugs, and it is definitely not as safe. Next door are several large dogs and a few yards to the west, is a golf course where he could easily be hit by a ball. Travel a few yards east and he’s in the street where he could be hit by a car, or someone could take him. We’ve done all that we can to protect JJ, but regardless of how hard we try, we can’t protect him from himself. Kind of a snapshot of what God has done for us. God has given us everything we need to have a beautiful life. He has set parameters in place for our protection, to keep us safe. Yet, like JJ, many see the grass greener on the other side of the fence. For some reason much of humanity see sin as liberty; that on the other side of God’s Word and warnings, there is something better. Our world advertises happiness, freedom, and liberty without God, but way too often it’s filled with hurt, brokenness and pain. Learn to live in God’s constraints and all the good things He has prepared for you. Regardless of how it may look, living inside the fence is the best life.

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The Silence of Saturday

Silence. It can be awkward, difficult and confusing. It’s the feeling a widow or widower has the first night after the love of their life has breathed their last breath and they are all alone. It’s the feeling parents experience when they have had a house full of kids, watched them grow from infant to adult, taken them to band, cheered them on in their sports, had them around the dinner table and the last one has left the home and you now come home to an empty house. As a spouse, have you ever got the silent treatment? Often, you’re not sure why, and silently you are asking, did I leave my socks on the table again? Did I say something I wasn’t supposed to at the dinner party? The silence lets you know something is definitely wrong. It’s a first date or walking into a meeting where no one knows anyone and there’s that awkward moment when no one knows what to say or do. Whatever the scenario, silence begs for something to happen, anything. A friend to call the widow. A grandchild to enter the scene of a parent. Or a spouse thinking, please, let me know what I did to create this silence. That is what Saturday was like for those lived through Jesus’ Passion Week. They will survive the hurt, the actions and events of Friday and once they understand, experience and grasp the miraculous resurrection on Sunday, they will celebrate, but the silence of Saturday is overwhelming. On Saturday is when we deal with our own failures of yesterday. On Saturday is when we feel the chill of darkness, that it won, and we lost. On Saturday we live in the real possibility that our Hope is dead, and life will never be the same. On Saturday we feel as though God has failed us. Living in a Saturday? Take heart in Easter! That as impossible as things might feel today, you may be just be a few hours or days away from a life changing moment, an Easter, a moment that makes your life better than you could ever imagine!

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Snow. Snow and More Snow

Monday was a glorious day. In fact, it’s been a pretty good month. Snow, snow and more snow. As I write, over a foot of snow is still on the ground. There are great spiritual lessons in snow. First, snow has no prejudice. It falls everywhere and on everyone. Doesn’t matter your economic, religious or social status. Snow falls. Second, snow covers everything. It covers average and beautiful landscaped yards. Snow covers sidewalks and streets, leaves that weren’t raked and branches that have fallen. Snow finds every knuck and covers every cranny. Finally, the obvious, snow makes everything white. Gray, green, brown, regardless the color, snow turns it white. Isaiah says, “though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow.” What an amazing word picture when we put into context what a snow does. Jesus’ blood, like snow, has no prejudice. It covers everyone. No bias, no discrimination. Second, like snow, Jesus’ blood covers everything, no issue is beyond his blood. Whether a lie, a moral failure or something worse, Jesus’s blood covers it. Finally, Jesus’ red blood turns our sins white. We become justified and clean. He gives us a clean slate. His blood takes our sins and makes them as distant as the east is from the west. The old song says, thank God for the blood, thank God for the blood, it washes white as snow. I’m glad I can live in the power of His work and not in my futile efforts to save myself. Maybe that’s why I love snow so much, because it reminds me that His blood makes my life look like a fresh snow.

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A 2020 Assessment

It’s over! Now that it is, it’s important that we take a final look back and make some assessments. There’s been some casualties, some losses but more than anything, change. The way we live life is different. We wear mask. We avoid contact with others. We work from home. We do carryout. The list goes on and on. The way we do church is different too. We’ve sacrificed a lot, probably too much. No hugs. Very little expressive worship. Sermons end and we go home. Some have found it convenient to stay home. The trip that didn’t seem so long, now is, and we watch, if it is convenient. For others, what once was important doesn’t seem as important now, the Spirit outpouring and doctrine became irrelevant, so they attend a “nice” church. Some can pass people in the isle at the grocery store, Target or even set in restaurants, but church, even with social spacing, is too dangerous of a place to attend. We’ve given up a lot. But of all the things we’ve given up, one of the most dangerous is the altar. It’s what the adversary is always after, our altar. So much happens at an altar. We rejoice, repent, find encouragement, get deliverance and worship at altars. We are broken, find healing and praise together at the altar. The miraculous happens at the altar. The Spirit falls in an altar. We are refreshed, gain faith, are convicted and make new commitments at altars. But in 2020 we didn’t have altar services. They went dormant. A casualty of COVID. The 2021 challenge? Like Jacob, get back to Bethel, the house of God. Like Elijah, restore your commitment to building back up the altar. The altar. The success of your life and family depends on it

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He’s Got This

This year’s graduates will have a memory like no other. Their kids won’t believe their story. It will sound like the stories that some of us heard from our parents, that they walked uphill in the snow, both to, and from school. For most, there has been no school activities, athletics, prom or graduation. They didn’t order invitations or have big graduation parties and there were no cap and gowns or move the tassel moments. Who could have dreamed or imagined a scenario like this? In January we were excited about 2020. We were casting vision and setting direction for an exciting year. Then suddenly a word we had never heard, changed our lives forever, COVID-19. Words we had never heard of became a regular part of our vocabulary; isolation and social distancing. I don’t know of one person who wasn’t caught off guard as our lives hit the pause button in late March. This is the confidence I do have, that God knew. Maybe this is why James 4:14 says, “you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” What I do know is this, that, while we can plot and plan, we don’t have a clue what the future may hold. To some, this is a scary thought, but to those who know Jesus, it isn’t. Why? Because while I may not know what tomorrow holds, I know who holds tomorrow, and I know what happens in the end. Jesus returns, those who have built their lives on Him, whether dead or alive, rise to meet Him in Heaven and there we will live forever. That gives me comfort. That gives me strength. That gives me hope. Maybe the good old children’s church song would be a good reminder to us all right now. It starts like this, “He’s got the whole world in His hands, He’s got the whole world in His hands…” I don’t have to recite the rest of the song, because if you got those words resolved in your heart, everything else falls in place.