Winning Words 12/27/11
“Oh, Wow! Oh, Wow! Oh, Wow!" (Steve Jobs) These were the last words that Steve Jobs spoke before he died. Another inventor, TAE, said, “It’s very beautiful over there.” I Googled “Famous Last Words” to see if I could get a glimpse of heaven. The “words” were interesting, to say the least. But, St. Paul writes in 1 Cor 2:9, that we’re going to have to wait to see the “Oh, Wow1” event for ourselves. ;-) Jack

FROM SHARIN' SHARON: This was so interesting!!!! Didn't watch/listen to all the news about Steve Jobs so missed knowing what his last words were. Glad you caught me up because this is the most interesting news of all. It's a Wow experience even to know he got a chance to say Oh, Wow! Three times even!!!!////FROM JACK: I remember seeing a church ad once that had a bold headline which simply read, "WOW!" It got my attention. What comes after that is what's important.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY: My dad had lost his voice years and years before he died. But right before he passed, he looked in the four corners of the room, looked at each of us girls and said in his real voice us hadn't heard for years..."I love you, I love you, I love you and I love you" as he pointed to each one us of girls. He had a broad smile on his face! We were laughing and weeping at the same time. But all of us in the room knew he saw angels and his loved ones, including my mom. His face just glowed and then he breathed his last. It was a wonderful ending to a wonderful beginning.////FROM JACK: Oh, Wow! What a wonderful way for your dad to say, "Good-bye!" Good-bye is a contacted form of "God be with you."

FROM CL IN SANTA BARBARA: I started reading Isaacson's book on Jobs over the holidays. From what I know about him, to suggest that what he was describing with his "oh wows" was heaven would fly on the face of John 14:6. I find myself needing to view Steve Jobs like I do Tiger Woods -- separating his accomplishments in his trade (that I view with vast respect and admiration) from his personal life and belief system (that I view with disdain).////FROM JACK: Jesus said to thief on the cross next to him, "Today, you shall be with me in Paradise." And the thief responded, "Oh, Wow!"

FROM ILLINOIS LIZ: Cool! You have such good ideas-- "Famous Last Words" is a fascinating concept. Going to Google it myself.////FROM JACK: Jesus was a cool guy. Among his famous last words were: "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last.

FROM JT IN MICHIGAN: Keep our eye on the goal! Oh, Wow!////FROM JACK: During a basketball game, one of my teammates lost his sense of direction and shot the ball into the wrong basket, and our opponents won the game, because of that error. Keep your eye on the goal, the right goal!

FROM RJP IN FLORIDA: After my father was revived he looked at us and said don't worry it's OK I've seen the beauty and he then asked for the resident Catholic Nun who came and spoke to him the day before he died. Oh, Wow! ////FROM JACK: There's a song..."Precious Memories."

FROM PEPPERMINT MARY: my mom's words included..."don't you see the little ones?" i was blessed to be there. teaching moments to the end.////FROM JACK: She lived out the words of Jesus: "Unless you become as a child...." Your mom was a "child" of God.

FROM BS NEAR ORLANDO: He was so special that he had a premonition of his trip to see the Good Lord. So he was special in life, and he was going to be special in the after life. I believe it. When U consider all the inventions he gave mankind to in effect make their lives more meaning full. I wonder if people like Mr Edison, or Mr Maytag, people who helped my mother live an easier life, were treated to the same greeting.////FROM JACK: F. L. Maytag began inventing an manufacturing farm machinery in 1893 in Newton, Iowa. Business was so slow in 1907 that he introduced a wooden-tub washing machine. That became his main product. We use a Maytag washer and dryer today. BTW, the scrub board for washing clothes was invented in 1797 by James King. You probably remember using one of them. We still have one. Some hillbilly music groups use them as a musical instrument.

FROM AW IN ILLINOIS: I just finished reading a new book "Crossing the Threshold of Eternity" by Robert L Wise (Guideposts) in which he describes an effective ministry to the dying. I think it is worthwhile reading and wish I had had something like this when I was in parish. He claims there is something like 15 million recorded near death experiences that carry the message you just quoted.////FROM JACK: The more we know, it seems that there is the more there is to discover."

FROM JF IN MICHIGAN: I meant to send you a note last week on this. My Uncle Bernard’s last words were, “Oh, Beulah!” (Beulah had died about 3 years earlier.) I enjoy receiving the Winning Words at my work e-mail address. I have passed some of them along to my employees.////FROM JACK: Oh, Wow! It fits. The word, Beulah (in the Bible) is another name for Israel, a place of peace. It's mentioned in Pilgrim's Progress. I suppose that Beulah was your aunt. There's a Gospel song called, Dwelling in Beulah Land.

FROM GP IN MICHIGAN: A sick man turned to his doctor, as he was preparing to leave the examination room he said, "Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the other side." Very quietly, the doctor said, "I don't know." "You don't know? You, a Christian man, do not know what is on the other side?" The doctor was holding the handle of the door; on the other side came a sound of scratching and whining, and as he opened the door, a dog sprang into the room and leaped on him with an eager show of gladness. Turning to the patient, the doctor said, "Did you notice my dog? He's never been in this room before. He didn't know what was inside. He knew nothing except that his master was here, and when the door opened, he sprang in without fear. I know little of what is on the other side of death, but I do know one thing... I know my Master is there
and that is enough."

FROM JO IN MICHIGAN: How intriguing! It's nice to have something better to look forward to, as long as we can get there..////FROM JACK: I like this verse from the Bible. "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." (1 Corinthians 2:9)