Tag: Grace

Ozzy Osbourne – Where is he now?

I always find it fascinating when a celebrity dies, maybe that’s not the right word. I don’t find their death fascinating I find the world at large fascinating and how everyone reacts to it. The news media, social media, and documentaries start popping up. Suddenly, this person is usually portrayed as such a humanitarian. Which, maybe they were. I don’t know them. As a matter of fact none of us really know them.

Sadly, Ozzy Osbourne passed away. I don’t say that lightly. I am sure his family and friends are all mourning his loss. I am also sure that many beloved fans are mourning his loss as well. You can truly connect with someone through music. It can feel as if they have spoken into your life. So please don’t misunderstand. Do not think that I am speaking of Ozzy Osbourne’s death flippantly. I am not speaking flippantly of anyone’s death for that matter.

What goes through my mind when such a public figure dies is, “Where are they now?” Obviously, Mr. Osbourne I’ll call him because I don’t feel we are on a first name basis, was a very wealthy man. I know he didn’t start out that way. He grew up in poverty and struggled from the very beginning. It seems he came from a loving home. Without his Dad’s gift of a PA system, we might not know who Mr. Osbourne was. He in fact was very successful. I know it was still a hard road. I don’t pretend to know or minimize all the man went through in a short sentence. I also know he struggled with his own addictions. I certainly can relate as I am a recovering alcoholic and drug addict. So we have traveled the same roads.

What I mean is, there is a very real Heaven and there is a very real Hell. You don’t have to believe in them. That doesn’t make them any more real or make believe. You will go to one of them. I certainly don’t know where Mr. Osbourne is. I am not God. I don’t know his heart. I Googled last night looking for articles where he talked about his faith and there were a few. In one interview he said, “I’m a Christian. I was christened as a Christian. I used to go to Sunday school.”(The Guardian) He stated, “I believe in God. I don’t go to Church, but I don’t think you have to go to church to believe in god.” (Men’s Journal) He also stated he believed in a higher power. He prayed before every show. He also prayed a blessing upon his audience at the end of every show. He states very specifically, “I am not into satanism. I am not a devil-worshiper. I have never been involved in black magic at all.” (1989 Interview) I think these statements are impressive. I can support each one of them. I’m a little iffy on the higher power. As long as he’s talking about God the Father and believing in his son Jesus Christ. A higher power can mean different things to different people. It also looks as if Mr. Osbourne was a very kind and generous man. Raising millions and millions of dollars for charities around the world.

I don’t know if Mr. Osbourne was involved in the Occult or super creepy things. I know that was the persona that he put out. He even says his stage presence was very different than how he was off stage. We have all read the crazy things about him. The bat or the bird, whatever it was, and I think a lot of that was for shock value. I’m sure some of it was because he was high or drunk out of his mind. What I do know is that simply professing to be a Christian won’t get you into Heaven. Neither will being christened. Even saying a prayer isn’t enough. I also know that being involved in the Occult and being a drug addict or alcoholic even biting the head off of a chicken won’t keep you out of Heaven. There’s only one way in. You may only get to The Father through the Son. If you believe and put your faith in Jesus Christ, you affirm that he was crucified. You acknowledge he died for your sins. You believe he rose three days later. You accept that he has ascended into Heaven. He has paid your way!!! What good news!!! So you see there is nothing we can do, we can’t be good enough or earn it. We are saved by Faith through his Grace. We can’t lose our salvation. You can’t go out and do something bad or say something bad and have to worry, oh No! I’m out. God doesn’t like me anymore. Even when we lose our way, he just stands there waiting. He waits with open arms like the good, good Father he is. He is waiting for us to comfort us and love us. He will guide us to where he knows our lives are best lived out.

I know Mr. Osbourne was given a personalized bible not long before his passing by Dylan Novak. It is reported to have made quite an impact on him. He is said to have insisted on taking it to his hotel room. Later, he would keep it on his bedside table. I don’t judge this larger than life man we have all come to know as Ozzy Osbourne. I am not standing in judgment of his life or of his heart. I pray he is walking with the Lord as we speak. I hope he accepted Jesus Christ somewhere in his journey on this earth. I wish to meet him in Heaven one day.

Journey Through Grace: Finding Clarity After Loss

It’s been over a year since I have posted a blog. I didn’t realize so much time had gone by. God has been impressing on me to make this a regular part of my week. I am attempting to do that. I have changed the name of the blog to Journey Through Grace. That’s exactly what these last five years have been. My life has been a journey through grace since God decided that my Dad’s time on earth was finished.

When my Dad passed away it was devastating. Just devastating for myself and my whole family. He was our glue. He led this crazy group of nuts. We all went to him when we needed clarity. Let me say we were nuts by our own doing, my Dad wasn’t the head nut, only occasionally. But there in lies the problem. I will speak for myself although I know others in my family feel the same. When I needed clarity or needed answers my Dad was my go to. He truly was the wisest man I’ve ever known. He was able talk on topics from farming to electricity. He could shoe a horse and build a boat. He may have not had an actual degree, but the man was a bible scholar.

It was not necessarily wrong to seek advice from my Dad. But I neglected to seek clarity and answers from my Heavenly Father. My Dad always pointed me to scripture and showed me what scripture had to say about certain issues. He was always talking to me about reading the word and my relationship with Christ. I don’t think I felt it necessary to deepen my relationship with Christ. I have my Dad. He has all the answers, what more do I need.

I was left spinning when he passed. He passed so suddenly too. Diagnosed with a glioblastoma and gone 3 months later. That’s not very fair God. Thanks for the time to get myself together. My Dad had completed his journey. I know my Dad heard God say those amazing words, well done my good and faithful servant. Now all I was left with was God and of course the world. Needless to say, these five years have been incredible. They have been painful and joyful. They’ve also been depressing and blessed. I could use every adjective in the dictionary because my emotions and my experiences have run the gamut.

My Dad was a great man and he loved the Lord with all his heart. The one thing he did was show me an example of my Heavenly Father and that’s who I ran to. I’ve known God practically all my life. However, I never had a relationship with my Lord, Jesus Christ until the last several years. I now understand the joy my Dad had when he spoke of Jesus. I am busting at the seams for others around me to understand that Jesus. Life is not perfect. It never will be. However, it is a whole lot better when you can truly talk to your savior and you can let all your ugly just hang on out.

I’m excited to share my experiences of the last five years and just talk about every day things. Things going on in the world. Things going on in my life. But I’m most excited to talk about Jesus.