Got to do just what i always wanted after a stint in the Navy and seminary. Was a youth pastor for 12 years, then a pastor, and LOVED it. Also met and married my soul-mate, who was Rick Bish's niece. But after 24 years doing what I loved in ministry, our church closed and we had to move closer to my wife's family with no job. In the following year, I was hired very part time as an associate pastor and then full time as a hospice chaplain. But we really missed our home in Baltimore and the people of our last church and couldn't figure out what God was doing in our lives, why we had to go through what was a tramatic experience for us. Then I was led to write a book about death, dying and heaven based on sermons I'd researched on heaven as a pastor and my new experiences as a hospice chaplain. I hope it helps many, many people, as everyone eventually faces loss, or their oncoming death. Also, my wife's father passed of cancer last year, and instead of being where we wanted to be, which was 2 hours away, we were 10 minutes. If you understand that my wife was and is extremely close to her family then you'll understand what a HUGE difference that made for her to be able to be at her dad and her mom's side as he slowly declined over a period of several months and eventually passed. So now we can see why God led us through the desert years to bring us to this land. We still live 10 minutes from my wife's mom and her family, so that's a big, big deal for her and for us.