Jack’s Winning Words 7/8/13
“All endings are also beginnings.  We just don’t know it at the time.”  (Mitch Albom)  In college I learned the word, eschatology, the study of the end of life.  “What happens when we die?”  Who knows?  I happen to believe in an (indescribable) afterlife.  In the words of St. Paul, “The human mind has not conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.”  Or, as Iris DeMent sings, “I’ll just let the mystery be.”    ;-)  Jack

 I'LL JUST LET THE MYSTERY BE  (By Iris DeMent)
Everybody's wonderin' what and where they all came from.
Everybody's worryin' 'bout where they're gonna go when the whole thing's done.
But no one knows for certain and so it's all the same to me.
I think I'll just let the mystery be.

Some say once you're gone you're gone forever, and some say you're gonna come back.
Some say you rest in the arms of the Saviour if in sinful ways you lack.
Some say that they're comin' back in a garden, bunch of carrots and little sweet peas.
I think I'll just let the mystery be.

Everybody's wonderin' what and where they all came from.
Everybody's worryin' 'bout where they're gonna go when the whole thing's done.
But no one knows for certain and so it's all the same to me.
I think I'll just let the mystery be.

Some say they're goin' to a place called Glory and I ain't saying it ain't a fact.
But I've heard that I'm on the road to purgatory and I don't like the sound of that.
Well, I believe in love and I live my life accordingly.
But I choose to let the mystery be.

Everybody's wonderin' what and where they all came from.
Everybody's worryin' 'bout where they're gonna go when the whole thing's done.
But no one knows for certain and so it's all the same to me.
I think I'll just let the mystery be.
I think I'll just let the mystery be.

 FROM WALMART REV:  Yes sir! I too believe in something very "unspeakable and full of glory!" Thanks,Jack! Enjoy the blessings that have been reserved for you to enjoy this very day!!====JACK:  "Full of glory" sounds like preacher talk.  What does it mean?====REV:  ...on the street, high on Jesus! We sang  a song in church for many previous years with the chorus going something like this: "It is joy unspeakable and full of glory...and the half has not been told!" "The glory of the Lord is my strength!"====JACK:  How about "being in the presence of God?"  Of course, then you're going to have to explain what you mean by, God.

 FROM MT IN PENNSYLVANIA:  Iris is a wonderful singer/songwriter! I first heard her on 'Prairie Home Companion' some 15 or 20 years ago.====JACK:  It was a great day when I discovered the story of her life and her singing.

 FROM BLAZING OAKS:  Iris DeMent is a new name to me...The song rings true, what can we do, but "Let the mystery be", since we cannot fathom what God has prepared for those who love Him....and the Plethora of books on glimpses of the After-life from near-death experiences, vary widely. However, they all seem to point to Unconditional Love being the overwhelming impression, so let's continue to LOVE ONE ANOTHER!!====JACK:  Iris grew up in a fundamentalist religious environment and was told that she would not go to heaven.  Some people like to "play" God.  In a way Iris's song mirrors her life's story.  I've posted it on the blog.

FROM FACEBOOK LIZ:  LAL====JACK:  Iris Dement LAL

 FROM MICHIZONA RAY:  The first step taken after the end of one's use of a body is as much a mystery as the last step taken before the beginning of one's use of a body. It just might be a mystery of a similar type. But, like all mysteries, it's just a hypothesis. Mysteries are mysteries indeed. ====JACK:  Man's great sin is wanting to be God and to know and control everything.

  FROM PEPPERMINT MARY:  i was listening to "sound opinions" on npr saturday.  apparently "black Sabbath" has just released their long-awaited 15th(?) album.  the title song is "is this the end of the beginning or the beginning of the end".  i'm not a sabbath fan, but the song was not-so-bad. thanks for introducing iris dement to more listeners.  she is a modern day prophet, in my opinion. .====JACK:  "Let the Mystery Be" could find a place in my hymnal.