I asked the men in my weekly small group, "If you knew today you had only one week to live, what would you do?” We came up with a number of answers and then asked ourselves why we wouldn't do those things soon.

In this clip from his Q&A at The Fold (the college/youth ministry of Shepherd’s House Bible Church), Randy Alcorn reminds us that if we keep the proper focus of Heaven in mind—which is being with Jesus, the Source of all goodness—then it’s good and right to look forward to reunion with those we love.  

Christians faced with terminal illness or imminent death often feel they’re leaving the party before it’s over. They have to go home early. They’re disappointed, thinking of all they’ll miss when they leave. But the truth is, the real party is underway at home.

Nancy Guthrie has written many books over the years, including What Grieving People Wish You Knew about What Really Helps (and What Really Hurts), which one of our staff read and recommended to me. I always love Nancy’s writings, but this book is just really good. Here are some quotes from it.

Less than six months after holding the hand of my beloved wife, Nanci, as she left this world, I read Robert Wolgemuth’s Finish Line manuscript, which included his account of his last moments with his wife Bobbie. Robert writes with an eternal perspective and a fatherly tenderness and understanding.

“To die will be an awfully big adventure,” says Peter Pan. But it will be a wonderful, big adventure only for those who are covered by the blood of Christ. Those who die without Jesus will experience a horrifying tragedy. Of course, dying is not the real adventure. Death is merely the doorway to eternal life. 

Dead people don’t come back and tell us what they’ve experienced. But we can know some things based on the Bible’s explanations. We don’t just disappear after we die. We live on in another location.

This was a wonderful response EPM staff member Christy wrote to a reader with terminal cancer. (Remember that we are all mortal, which means we too are terminal.) 

In July, Randy Alcorn was a guest on Chris Fabry Live. He and Chris talk about his book Heaven, his wife Nanci’s passing, what Nanci is experiencing now and Randy’s journey of grief and loss.