My Dad's Journey Toward Home

Sometimes the journey home to heaven seems like a long and trying road. Our family has experienced that fact in the past week. This past Thursday my Dad fell and broke his wrists. He scrapped and cut his face too. He was carried to the hospital, where he was admitted.

On Friday, his heart stopped and the emergency room team resuscitated him. Dad has had a long standing "Do Not Resuscitate" order, but they didn't know it. Before my sister realized what had happened, they had him on a respirator. When he woke up, he wasn't happy at all about what they had done. He indicated that he wanted it to be taken away from him immediately.

Because he had a living will ordering that this type procedure not be done, they removed the respirator on Monday morning. To everybody's surprise, he didn't die. On Tuesday, because there was nothing more for the hospital to do, they released him and he was transferred to a nursing home.

"I never wanted the last chapter of my life to be like this," my Dad said yesterday. Dad told me a few weeks ago that he so much wanted to go on to heaven. "I'm ready to reach my destination, he said. "I'm not looking forward to the trip (dying), but am ready to get where I'm going."

Dad has been a Christian since I was a baby. Even now, his faith sustains him as he travels what appears to be a final hard stretch of road leading to the boundaries of heaven. His faith is strong. His sense of humor is solidly intact. (When they took him off the respirator he said, "How am I supposed to go to yard sales like this?") His love for his family is evident. In what he has called "the last chapter," he exemplifies the qualities I hope to show until my final breath.

Pray for my Dad. Pray for our family. He wants to go home to heaven. Not in a morbid sort of way, but in a good way -- like a man who has finished his course and is now ready to go home. We love my Dad and will miss him greatly when our Father grants him the desire of his heart. Ours will break, but his will be more full of joy than it has ever been in this world.

Back Home From Norway

After a long trip, we arrived home last night shortly after midnight. The trip to Norway was wonderful for us. Here are a few of the bullet highlights of the trip:

Olso Christian Center - Our time at the church was great. The pastor and people there are so excited about God's grace. They are perhaps the most influencial church in Scandanavia. Their generosity and hospitality to us were as great as I've seen anywhere.

Bergen - Paul and Haley met us in Olso the day after I finished speaking at the conference. (You can read about who they are in the "Photos From Norway" blog. We left Oslo and went to Bergen, a six hour train ride to the west. Shortly after arriving there, Melanie came down with strep throat. We had to take her to the doctor. After 2 days on medicine, she improved greatly.

The folks that owned the flat we rented (Karine and Van)were strangers we met only after arriving. We called them to ask about how to find a doctor. They came over and took us to the hospital so that Melanie could get help. While waiting for her to see the doctor, their son "happened" to call on her cell phone. When she told him where she was, he said, "Mom! That's the guy whose book you are reading right now and who I heard speak in Oslo this week!" As it turns out, she was reading the Norwegian edition of Grace Walk. Until we met, none of us knew each other or that we were all Christians. It was one of those times when we all saw the fingerprints of God all over the situation.

The Fjords - You can see the photos under the other blog, but this was an amazing experience. National Geographic Magazine calls the fjords of Norway the number one unspoiled nature destination in the world. I can believe it.

Breakfast on our last day in Norway - On the day before we left to come home, we were at breakfast in the hotel. A man came up to me and said, "Steve McVey! I no speak English." He then put his hand on his heart and pointed to me. I assumed he had been at the conference at church and was thanking me.

The next day, when I went to breakfast, just before we left for the airport to come home, the man rushed up to me again. "Steve McVey!" he said. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a note that he obviously had somebody write in English for him. The note said how much my books had impacted his life. I smiled at him. Tears filled his eyes and he pointed to himself and said, "Free! Free!" We embraced in a hug, unable to say anything to each other, but understanding and sharing the oneness of two people set free by God's grace. It was one of those "Kodak moments" that remind me why I'm in this ministry.

I want to thank those who are partners with us in Grace Walk Ministries. All of us together are making a real difference in places all around the world. The support of those who have a passion for this message reaches further than they could possibly know.

Photos Taken In Norway

The photos in this slide show were those I took after we ended our time speaking in Oslo. Our friends, Paul and Haley Anderson-Walsh met us in Oslo and we took a 6 hour train ride to Bergen. Paul is the head of The Grace Project in London, England. He and Haley have become good friends over the past few years since I first spoke there at The Grace Project. We plan to partner together on some ministry projects in the future that I'll tell more about when the time is right.

We spent two nights in Bergen, then took the train to Vosss where we spent a night in a hotel built it 1888 and perfectly preserved. The next day we took a bus ride to Gudvangen, where we boarded the boat that took us through the Fjords to Flam. From Flam we took another train through the mountains to Myrdal, where we caught the train back to Oslo.

Click on the picture in the slide show to see the captions I've added. Click on the + or - at the bottom left side of the slide strip to speed it up or slow it down.

Report From Oslo, Norway

I have spoken for the past three days at Oslo Christian Center, the largest church in Norway. The theme for their meetings has been "Celebrating Our Freedom." I have spoken from the book of Galatians in each session about how we are free from performance based living, free from religion, free from struggling for victory, free from the control of public opinion and free to finish well.

The congregation and pastor have been extremely receptive to the message. I spoke here last year, but have enjoyed this trip even more. The people of Norway are loving and generous people. Oslo Christian Center is grounded in the message since their pastor has been teaching it for three or four years.

Since arriving, I learned that A Divine Invitation was released last week in the Norweigan language. That makes the third of my books published in this country. What an encouragement to see such a hunger for God's grace here!

This is a picture of me with Pastor Age' after the service. He is a gentle man with a deep passion to share God's grace in Scandanavia and across the world.

I'll share more with you via this blog as I am able. It could be after I come home before I am able to post more. In the meantime, thanks for your prayers! Beneath are a few pictures I have taken in Oslo since we came on Saturday.







I'll put up more photos in a slideshow format after we get back home.