tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096670002191538774.post4727776897040714173..comments2023-08-11T07:31:46.923-04:00Comments on Thoughts and Theology: 5-year-old adopted daughter of award-winning Christian singer died WednesdayJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01146601338956701881noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096670002191538774.post-11556024078261593472008-05-31T15:11:00.000-04:002008-05-31T15:11:00.000-04:00Frankenstein,Thank you for your comment, and for d...Frankenstein,<BR/><BR/>Thank you for your comment, and for dropping by. I read your latest two blog posts and left comments. Your '5 Stages of Grief' are a helpful attempt to try to generally define what people go through when they grieve. Obviously, not everyone goes through exactly the same process, and not everyone goes through things in the same order, but there are some similarities.<BR/><BR/>I appreciate the fact that you are such a Steven Curtis Chapman fan.<BR/>You wrote on your blog site, <I>After all, this is Steven Curtis Chapman, Gospel music genius, who has won 5 Grammy Awards and 54 Dove Awards, who has sold over 10 million albums and sang 44 #1 hit singles.</I> With him being so famous and having written so many award-winning gospel songs, my guess is that a lot of Christians have tended to think that Steven Curtis Chapman must be a really strong Christian. And yet, with such a tragedy as he and his family are now dealing with, they will have to draw on every ounce of faith they have.<BR/><BR/>I have a book called "Amazing Grace," by Kenneth W. Osbeck, that gives a brief summary of each of 366 Hymns, and the tragic stories that prompted the writings of those hymns. There are also similar books that tell the background circumstances behind the writing of the great Hymns of old, most of which are extremely tragic, in which there was much deep heartache, yet which led the writer/composer of the hymn to not only express their grief, but also to express their faith in a God Who is sovereign and loving, even in the midst of the worst, most horrible tragedies. When something horrible and terrible happens to you, it is then that the amount of faith you have (or don't have) is truly shown for what it is.Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01146601338956701881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096670002191538774.post-17456950384707526972008-05-30T09:25:00.000-04:002008-05-30T09:25:00.000-04:00God bless! 5 steps from Grief to Grace is my advic...God bless! 5 steps from Grief to Grace is my advice to the Chapmans, and you – you may read here my new essay on the subject: http://frankahilario.blogspot.com/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096670002191538774.post-75191182886153085992008-05-28T09:08:00.000-04:002008-05-28T09:08:00.000-04:00Oops! I pasted empty links.Let me try that again....Oops! I pasted empty links.<BR/>Let me try that again...<BR/><BR/>Here is the link for the website in memory of MARIA SUE CHAPMAN, daughter of STEVEN CURTIS CHAPMAN:<BR/><A HREF="http://www.stevencurtischapman.com/" REL="nofollow">http://www.stevencurtischapman.com/</A><BR/><BR/>And here is the link to their website, Shaohannah's Hope, which is dedicated to helping prospective adoptive parents overcome the financial barriers associated with adoption:<BR/><A HREF="http://members.shaohannahshope.org/site/PageServer" REL="nofollow">http://members.shaohannahshope.org</A>Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01146601338956701881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096670002191538774.post-12601422676542562662008-05-28T09:04:00.000-04:002008-05-28T09:04:00.000-04:00Here are two of the family's websites:Here are two of the family's websites:<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://www.stevencurtischapman.com/" REL="nofollow"></A><BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://members.shaohannahshope.org/site/PageServer" REL="nofollow"></A>Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01146601338956701881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096670002191538774.post-62663543085260561592008-05-26T22:46:00.000-04:002008-05-26T22:46:00.000-04:00That is a sad but important story, Jeff.That is a sad but important story, Jeff.Dr. Russell Norman Murrayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06703130625190233670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096670002191538774.post-2272219643681628082008-05-26T14:12:00.000-04:002008-05-26T14:12:00.000-04:00The friend (and family) I visited with after churc...<I>The friend (and family) I visited with after church today are acquaintance friends with the Chapman family. They lived in the same area of Tennessee.</I><BR/><BR/>Really? Wow! That's interesting!<BR/><BR/>At one Evangelical Lutheran/Charismatic church I used to attend years ago, there was a family who had a young teenage son who had cancer. They prayed for the son to be healed, and his cancer went into remission. Well, the father began giving talks in front of the congregation of how wonderful God was, and how God heals. And the Pastor began bragging on the father's strong faith, in front of the entire congregation. The father quickly seemed to become the Pastor's favorite person.<BR/><BR/>Months (or so) later, the son died. He was maybe 13 years old, I think. The father and his family immediately left the church and never came back. The father had put his faith in the apparent miracle, and not truly in Jesus. This reminds me of the crowd that followed Jesus because of the miracles He did, and the food He miraculously provided, but, when Jesus began teaching more serious stuff, they left Him, in John 6:60-66. (Hmmm...almost like '666'...interesting...)<BR/><BR/>Today, it seems that many people come to Jesus so that He can improve their lives, instead of because of the fact that He is Lord. They want to hear a positive, motivational message that makes them feel good; they don't want to hear about repentance or Hell. Yet, Jesus preached a LOT on repentance and Hell.Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01146601338956701881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096670002191538774.post-25996366364197739092008-05-25T21:24:00.000-04:002008-05-25T21:24:00.000-04:00The friend (and family) I visited with after churc...The friend (and family) I visited with after church today are acquaintance friends with the Chapman family. They lived in the same area of Tennessee.<BR/>This is very sad, and a reminder of the problem of evil. We ultimately need a better deal from God, and the gospel provides this better deal.Dr. Russell Norman Murrayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06703130625190233670noreply@blogger.com