Sunday, January 31, 2021
Welcome to HEAVEN! / Happy 114th, Dad!
Welcome to
HEAVEN!
1/31/2021
Hello, Everyone! Indeed, Welcome to Heaven, but needless to say, that is only an opinion. Enclosed, you may find my book of songs I call SONGS BY A DIVINE NATURIST CHRISTIAN – and you may not; but if you do not receive the book, we will be more than happy to send you one – or you can go to my writings website – una-bella-vita.com and order a copy from a link provided there. OK? Some of you have requested that I not send any more of my books. So those who did make such a request will only be getting this letter, but if you change your mind and want a copy, simply ask and you will receive. On the back of my book of songs, I include the refrain of my song called Heaven. That version is in very small print, but you can find a version with a larger print later in this letter.
What has that to do with this being Heaven? Well, consider it a bit of a forewarning that such is what you will find for the most part in my book of songs. I have been writing essays and songs and poems and even a few stories since I was 22 or so (and I am now 79) – and most have been about finding this thing we call “Heaven.” Different people have different ideas about that. I realize that, but my writings are not about other people’s ideas. They are about my own. Again, I will finish this letter with a song I wrote a few years ago simply called “Heaven.” Perhaps you can judge by that if you care to read my enclosed gift, let alone open it; but if you do not choose to consider it, simply send it back or give it away to someone who you think might find it worthwhile. OK?
But just a little more about this thing called “Heaven.” So many are convinced that it is not here. They think that you have to earn it here, but the reward is not here. It is in some other place. I used to think that way myself because it was what I was taught, but by my early 20s, I decided that it makes no sense to believe one can find God one place more than another. If Heaven is about being with God, then logically, if God is everywhere due to being Infinite – as I believe God must be – then that simply means that Heaven must be everywhere – including here – because it is impossible for God to be missing from anywhere.
I realize that lots think of God as a Person – and I was included in that lot earlier in life – simply because that is what I was taught. Such as the Reverend Billy Graham believed God is a person too – and his son, Franklin, is as sure of that as was his father, Billy. Franklin is continuing the ministry of his father – though his father died a few years ago in his late ‘90s. I remember Billy claiming that he wanted to die so he could see God face to face; but if I am right, God can’t be a person with a face in the first place. So poor ole Billy will be looking a long time to find God if that is what he thinks is the truth.
I think Billy had it wrong – and Franklin has it wrong – about God. Billy will never see God face to face because the only face Billy will be seeing are those with faces – including his own in whatever manner Billy has a face in a life hereafter. I think Billy (and Franklin) should be looking in the mirror to find “God’s face” because realistically if God is not a Person, but rather a Presence that is Everywhere, to find God is to find IT – not Him – in the life at hand. I don’t want to pursue the idea any further here. Just let it suffice that if you agree with Billy – or his son, Franklin – you probably won’t care much for my ideas.
But it is OK to disagree. I chose the picture of a path in a woods for the cover of my book because it suggests that it is to each of us to choose our own path in life. Billy chose a different path than I simply because he wanted to find God in a different way. That is OK. My path need not be your own; but on the other hand, it might be too – if we think alike in some manner. I am so glad I could share my thoughts, but it is not for me to “impose” those thoughts. Love ‘em or Leave ‘em, so to speak.
My dear wife, Nancy, has been having health problems, but you can expect that at any age, let alone the age of 88. We all have our own problems. Nancy is always telling me that I should do this or that when she is “gone” – and I tell her not to be so quick to think she will go before me. Who knows about that? Dad, who would have turned 114 today had he lived, was killed in an auto/pedestrian accident on July 7th, 1966. He sure did not expect that; and that just goes to show none of us know how or when or where we are going to go. As I see it, all of those details do not matter. That which matters is that we live well with the miraculous life we have while we have it – and when we go, we will be of the same soul mind to continue on wherever we go with that same soulful attitude.
So, it is best to live gratefully and always at peace and do all we can to love this life while we are here. Nancy has some pretty big problems now, but many have a lot more than she does – and she would be the first to agree. Onward, My Beloved Nancy! I will do what I can to make your life as peaceful as possible.
And Happy 114th to my lovely father, Leo Peter Bessler. Leo is simply living on with the same soulful attitude he had in this life – as far as I am concerned; and since Dad was a quiet man of peace when he was here, I am sure he is continuing that peace wherever he is now. Isn’t it Wonderful?
Let me conclude now with my poetic explanation of Heaven. That song is one of 204 that are found in my book. Like the book title says, I believe in a “Divine Naturist” Christianity that finds God everywhere and in everything simply because a Divine God must be IN everything. No need to look for God anywhere but where you are because Everywhere must be Heaven in terms of Everywhere and Everything must have God within it.
I will also attach my last song after the song about Heaven. That song is not included in my book of songs because it was written after I finished with the publication of my book of songs. I finished my book in 2018 and I wrote my last song in 2020. Just consider it song # 205. I wrote it to help me deal with the pandemic. Like so many, I was very upset with having to deal with such a thing at all; but to try and put it in perspective I wrote song # 205 – New World Coming!
Gently,
Francis William Bessler and
Supportive wife, Nancy Shaw
Have a Good One, Everyone!
HEAVEN
By
Francis William Bessler
Laramie, Wyoming
2/2014
REFRAIN:
Let me tell you about a place called Heaven,
a place called Heaven, a place called Heaven
where you can reside.
All you have to do to live in Heaven,
to live in Heaven, to live in Heaven,
is to know that - you are God's child.
Where is Heaven, my friend?
It's where you are.
Look up in the sky
and find a star.
Imagine you're there
and you can know
there's no more God there
than on the Earth below.
Refrain.
What is Heaven, my friend?
It's knowing you belong.
Be proud of what you are
and sing your song.
There is no room in Heaven
for a thing called shame.
If you're ashamed of yourself,
you've got yourself to blame.
Refrain.
Where is Heaven, my friend?
It's in your dreams.
It's up in the mountains
and down in the streams.
It's in the fish that swim
and in the squirrels that lurch;
and, yes, it's even in all
who praise in a church.
Refrain.
What is Heaven, my friend?
It's having an open mind.
It's knowing all are worthy
and it's being kind.
It's believing Life is a miracle
that's full of majesty.
Each is part of that miracle
and is a king or a queen.
Refrain.
Where is Heaven, my friend?
It's in yourself.
It's in all that you see,
all that you feel and smell.
It's in all the sounds you hear,
all that you love to taste.
It's knowing that all of this
is what makes Life great.
Refrain (2).
Ending:
All you have to do to live in Heaven,
to live in Heaven, to live in Heaven,
is to know that - you are God's child -
is to know that - you are God's child -
to know that - you are God's child.
NEW WORLD COMING!
By
Francis William Bessler
April 25th, 2020 – May 23rd, 2020
Note:
Refrain should be sung
while verses should be recited.
REFRAIN:
There’s a new world coming
for those who are not blind.
There’s a new world coming
for those who open their minds.
There’s a new world coming
for those who realize
that we’re all part
of a Miracle called Life.
It’s good to keep in mind
that our Earth is but a spec
in a Grand Universe.
When death comes unexpectedly,
that should make a sense of death
a little less terse.
If we could travel to the great beyond,
we’d probably find it no better than here.
So, let’s live our lives
on this Great Planet Earth
with Deep Gratitude and Cheer.
Refrain.
I do believe mankind
has always found itself
greater than the birds;
and that is one reason
we have lost our way
in the greater world.
When we act like
we are better than a world
that surrounds,
that leads to a lack of empathy
and illness of mind
does confine and abound.
Refrain.
I also believe it is sad
that we fail to realize
that all must be Divine
simply because an Infinite God
in all must reside.
It cannot be that God
blesses some
and leaves others in a lurch
when, in truth, God must BE in All
and All must Be
GOD’S CHURCH!
Refrain.
Jesus said so long ago
that Heaven is at hand.
That is only because
no matter where we are,
God is leading that band;
but He is not out front
leading for us to follow.
Rather He is Inside of All
and beckoning us to mellow.
Refrain.
Indeed,
Let us all realize
we are but part
of a Wonderful Divine Mystery
and then no matter
how, when, and where we go,
we will leave behind us
a Fantastic History.
Refrain (3)