At the time of this writing, the world is about as dark as I can ever remember it being in my lifetime. It is hard to find anything encouraging or uplifting on any given day. It is easy to get sucked into the heaviness of the news headlines and the doom and gloom that is projected non-stop.

I had found myself slipping into a downhill spiral that involved a very unhealthy fixation on the negativity that was spewed every day as I listened to Alexa give me news updates in the morning, followed by various YouTube videos on channels I frequented, followed by online news feeds throughout the day (even some with push notifications through my email), and ending by listening to a news channel on satellite for hours when I got home right up to bedtime. I had nothing good to say about anything and had difficulty seeing anything positive in my life. In the meantime, my personal life started to fall apart as my family and I encountered one mess after another.

Fortunately, the Holy Spirit got a hold of my heart and mind and reminded me that I had turned away from my source of peace. Jesus tells us His yoke is easy and His burden is light. He is not fazed by what is happening in this world; it does not concern Him, surprise Him, or change Him in any way. He is in control even when things feel like utter chaos. In the state I was in, I had lost sight of that entirely.

As I started praying earnestly about the difficult situations I was facing personally as well as our global crises and spending purposeful time being quiet, my mindset began to rapidly shift. I remember how good it felt to be under His wing of protection, to feel whole and loved and cared for. I sought wisdom from my spiritual mentors and prayed with them. I started doing daily devotionals that inspired and excited me. I gradually felt my chains start to slip away.

I came across a few devotionals about heaven that inspired me to start listening to videos about the New Heaven and New Earth. I read verses that described the holy city and the environment that Jesus is preparing even now for those who believe in Him and put their trust in Him. Then the Lord started giving me “glimpses” of what this might look like in more detail. At first I wondered about this- were the things I was imaging totally off the wall? Was this even ok from a biblical sense? Then I came across this verse:

Colossians 3:1-4 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.  Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.  For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.  And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

The Lord WANTS us to think about heaven. He gave us a beautiful imagination and the more we study His word and focus on His promise of our eternal home in a completely renovated and perfectly awesome heaven and earth, the more trivial the problems of our current world become. Once I understood this, the “glimpses” of heaven that would pop into my mind seemed to come at lightning speed. I could hardly write them down fast enough. I knew they were God inspired because I wasn’t trying to conjure anything up- the thoughts would surface even in the middle of a busy day at work. And they all put a big smile on my face because they were so amazing and so in character with our God who is the creator of every good thing. This blog is the written account of those “glimpses” that continue to come daily. Many are personal to me and my life but I think many can be generalized to experiences or thoughts we all may have.

Let me be clear- I am in no way saying that this is exactly what will happen in heaven, and I am not claiming to have had any prophetic vision or that I have personally visited heaven in some near death experience. I have just been blessed by these glimpses into a world that we truly would never be able to begin to comprehend while in our current state. As it is said in 1 Corinthians 2:9: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” This doesn’t mean we aren’t to try to imagine, but rather than we won’t even get close to seeing how great it will all be. So until I can get to heaven and see it for myself, I am going to continue to read His word and let the Lord reveal His truth to me in whatever way He sees fit. I pray that you would be inspired to do the same.

I will leave you with a video of one of my favorite singers Lauren Daigle singing an old hymn we used to sing in Sunday School when I was little- the lyrics to this hymn were something else the Lord brought to my mind one evening after not hearing it for many years. I think it reflects my motives for starting this project so well- to give hope and encouragement to a world that is lost and fearful. I hope that my writings help to bring our glorious future to life in the minds of my readers and that this helps us to focus on all that Jesus has promised to those that believe in Him. For those of you who don’t know Him as your Lord and Savior, please see my “How to Get to Heaven” page.

I had no idea this lovely and talented young lady had done this song, but I was pleasantly surprised and once again rewarded with a huge grin as soon as I heard this version. I hope you love it too.

♥ Jodi