7 Days in Heaven Challenge: Day 1

You did it! you spent a whole week focusing in and meditating on your life, death and judgement  in light of what Jesus says about how we are to live, and in light of the fact that one day you truly will die. If you didn't, feel free to go back and do the "Meet Your Maker 7 Day Challenge" before you start this one (or just bookmark it to do it at a later date).

Now, let's spend a week intentionally plugged into and trying to imagine the unimaginable beauty, love, joy and bliss of what awaits us in Heaven.  Reward.  Communion of Saints. Reunion with loved ones. the BEATIFIC VISION.  No tears. No pain. Eternity in Heaven, though potentially scary and ethereal sounding to our linear ears who have only known earth, is not scary at all. It is what we were made for.  So, let's get excited. Let's "Think of what is above" For our lives are "hidden with Christ."  Let's get Jesus' eyes on the situation and dive into the incredible gift that awaits us (if we so choose to receive the free gift of life in Jesus Christ) for all eternity in Heaven! 

Take time to prayerfully read and mull over these Scriptures.  Write the one verse that really sticks out to you or you have questions about.  Dialogue with Jesus about it.  Write down the insights you feel He gives you.

Psalm 84
John 14: 1-14
2 Corinthians 5: 1-10

Optional instrumental worship music below to play in the background as you read the Word of God (for some this may help to enter more deeply into the scriptures, for some silence will be better). You may also want to try reading the Bible passages out loud. 

 These are just fun or inspirational for you to enjoy.  The feelings the resources in this section evoke are meant to give us a tiny taste of some form of earthly goodness that maybe can translate to teeny glimmer of the GREATNESS of Heaven! 

WHERE THE *Heck* Is MATT Youtube Project:
The title is a little ironic (and apologies for the the language), but the overall video is worth it, I think to give us a tiny taste of the broadness of the gathering of the nations and joy of Heaven....it wasn't the intention of the person who made this video (I don't think), but I feel like this video is a powerful, artistic taste of the joy, community, brother/sister love and fullness of life we will experience in Heaven.  It's a watch and listen.  A few points to let your mind ponder as you watch:

• Every precious person in this video is one that the Lord Jesus came to save and wants to be with Him in Heaven for eternity
• In 120 years from now, every single person in this video will be dead and in one of two places for eternity--heaven or hell.
• The joy, love and community feel might give us a tiny taste of the joy, love, community  in Heaven.  Of course it will be focused on the worship and relationship with God...but we will be together with the communion of saints and that will be a part of the joy as well.  So, while it's secular, I think it offers a  beautiful picture of aspects of Heaven
• The beauty, diversity, and creativity of God's design--the scenes from all the different places in the world, all the different people--the Lord truly is a creative genius and all that is True, Good, and BEAUTIFUL.  

Today Read the Catechism of the Catholic Church on Heaven
Paragraphs 1023-1025 and you will get through half the section on Heaven.

We will be worshipping the Lord for all eternity, singing with our voices.  Let's start now.  It takes practice...enter in to today's song, sing along and truly picture yourself before the throne of GOD offering high praise to God with the angels and the saints, and all those who have gone before you.  The more heart you really give to this 5 minutes of worshipping the Lord, the more you will be able to enter into the REAL song of Heaven that is being sung all the time...we just have to tune our ears to hear it and our hearts to know what the saints have discovered--that God is WORTHY of all our love, devotion and worship....and we were "made for the praise of His glory" (See Ephesians 1).