We live in a fallen world...but God is here to give us hope.

WOW--  I woke up today in a pretty good mood, why wouldn't I be?? It's FRIDAY! ..but then I was told of the heartbreak, that I am sure you have all heard about... The shooting in Aurora, CO.. a man walked into a movie theatre, the midnight premiere for Batman; nonetheless, and shot the place up... He shot at 71 people...killing 12. That isn't to mention all the wounded; physically, mentally, and emotionally. The pain I feel in my chest is immense! My heart breaks for the victims and their families...the pain they must be going through... the sorrow... and the questions. WHY?? Why would somebody do such a thing? We ask that everytime something like this happens. ..but none of us seem to have the answer. And why would we have the answer? Most of us WOULDN'T do such a thing. We aren't in that same mindset as the killer.

I still, in fact, believe that everything happens for a reason. What in the world is the reasoning for all of this?? ...We may never know. My thoughts seem so contradicting... and I feel so confused. It isn't just this tragedy that is getting to me either. It is all of them. September 11th...Columbine...Virginia Tech... and the many, many more we all know of. ...Not only those though... It reminds me of all of the loved ones I have lost as well.... Death... it is such a hard concept to grasp. No one is truly ready for it and no one is EVER ready to let someone they love go, but there is no way out of it. It is the one thing that happens every single day, that we just won't accept. It's our selfishness...

Some people probably don't understand why I say that...selfishness... but we are. The human race is SELFISH! I am...you are... As you can tell, I strongly believe in God. I believe when I die that I will go to Heaven with my Savior. So why on earth would I want to be here...why I on earth would I want my loved ones to be here?? This world is full of pain and suffering compared to Heaven. ...I want to go to Heaven... but I don't want to go now. I want to live my life to the absolute fullest for Him! And being the selfish human being I am..I want my family and friends here with me.

"I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go." -Abraham Lincoln

We can't let such a tragedy define the rest of our lives. Those victims all over the world wouldn't want us to be hurting. If they are as amazing as we say they are...we should celebrate their life...the times we had with them. I am saddened all the time by my cousin, Ashton's, death. But then... I think back to all the crazy things all of us girls did together. It makes me smile... I think back to how amazingly talented she was... and beautiful! She knew how to live her life to the fullest with no regrets_and the lives she touched...WOW...she definitely meant the world to a lot of people. ..And my grandma Bogatz... :D She was a pure angel! ... I swear she didn't have a single bad thought in her head... and her faith was unbelievable... if you knew her story, she didn't have an easy childhood or life, but she kept to her faith and she raised EIGHT beautiful children...and then had EIGHTEEN grandchildren..along with SIX great-grandchildren. I'm not sure what her exact purpose was, but looking at the numbers... she fulfilled something amazing, a strong family. So why think of all the bad...when those people created such happiness in your life?

God never said our journey would be without heartaches, without losses. Those are the things that define us. If we didn't lose the ones we loved, would we appreciate life as much as we do? Jesus knows what suffering is... he died on the cross for all of us. But even before that...when his friend, Lazarus died, Jesus knew he was going to raise him up to Heaven, yet He still cried. He knows when we are hurting, and He hurts with us. It absolutely sucks when a loved one dies...but God will be there to be your comfort and your hope... just give your burden to Him. He will bring good from those tragedies... it may be a very long time until you get rid of that grief, but at least we don't have to do it alone. And remember...It is only a temporary separation.

God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. -Matthew 5:4

My heart and prayers go out to all of the victims and families of lastnight's shooting... May God bless each and every one of you with the strength to press on..

I hope everyone still has an amazing weekend..

-love-

  dan