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When a family has experienced bereavement, it’s a thoughtful and caring idea to send sympathy flowers. It also helps to express your love and concern for them during their time of loss. You can choose between sending flowers to the funeral or to the family’s home. Generally, you would send them to the funeral if you knew the deceased. It can also be a nice idea to send flowers to the family after the funeral is over, so that they know you are still thinking of them.

If you want to order some sympathy flowers, talking to your local florist is a great place to start. They deal with sympathy flowers almost every day, so can be a great source of information about what’s appropriate and which type of arrangement and flowers you should select. It’s always a good idea to include a message card with your flowers, so that the family can identify whom the flowers are from. Those few well-chosen words can also mean a great deal to them.

Flowers For The Funeral

There are a few different types of sympathy flowers that you can send to a funeral, and some which are usually supplied by the bereaved family. If the service is going to have an open casket, then there are usually small bouquets, garlands or wreaths placed on the inside of the casket lid. These are known as inside casket pieces, and are usually supplied by the family.

There’s also a casket cover required when the casket is closed, and again, the family usually supplies this. There are quarter, half, and full casket designs. The larger styles can take a while to create, so it’s important to order these well in advance of the funeral. If you were close to the deceased and would like to order a casket cover, check with the family first to see what they’ve ordered, because there may not be room on the casket for your sympathy flowers.

Many people choose a funeral basket for their sympathy flowers. These are baskets or vases of appropriate flowers, and are usually delivered to the funeral service. These are good because they can stand alone and don’t require any attention on the day of the funeral. Funeral sprays are also a popular choice. These are a larger arrangement, and are usually made using an easel and floral foam for support. You can choose any shape you like, although crosses are one of the most popular options.

You can also choose a wreath, and again, these are supported by an easel to help keep them upright. Although circular wreaths are more traditional, you can also opt for another shape, such as a heart, if it seems more appropriate. Both wreaths and flower sprays are delivered to the funeral service, and may be moved to the gravesite if appropriate.

Family Flowers

Sending sympathy flowers to the bereaved family is always welcome. There is a huge range of appropriate designs to choose from, with a simple bouquet of flowers being a good choice. You can choose to have your flowers delivered in a vase, which means the family can simply enjoy the flowers from the moment they arrive. Remember that the family will be busy on the day of the funeral, so flowers should be delivered in the days before or after the funeral.

If you want to offer some more durable sympathy flowers, then why not give the family a peace lily? It’s an attractive indoor plant, with glossy green leaves and beautiful white flowers. You can have one delivered, or give it to the family in person, and it’s a wonderful way to let the family know you’re thinking of them on an ongoing basis.

Steve Dolan loves flowers and flower arrangements. For the perfect flower arrangemet click http://www.funflowersonline.com/arrangements. For more floral information take a look at http://www.funflowersonline.com

I could feel my Spirit lift, I felt as though I was floating. I looked down at the lifeless shell that was once my body. It looked empty, meaningless. Just as I began to ponder my death, a light shimmered down towards me. The light was so blinding that I tried to shield my eyes, but I couldn’t.

I trembled from my head down to my feet. A supernatural strength engulfed my body as the sight captured my heart and opened my mind to victory. Suddenly an overwhelming love sent joy rippling through my soul. The game of life was over and I had won the ultimate prize. I pondered this illumination.

During my game of life I never gave up, I held tightly to my faith. I refused to do evil, always prayed and held tightly to verses of love, hope and perseverance during the difficult times of life.

I passed my tests of life on earth and now I was brought before the throne of God to receive my reward. I stood before Jesus Christ with no fear. Every good thing I accomplished had been written in the book of life. Every sin I had committed out of foolishness and pride had been erased and pardoned, because of the blood of Christ.

I saw my life appear before my eyes as Jesus lovingly focused His attention on me. It was a flash so powerful that I gained many great revelations. All the times I thought I missed the Lord. All the times I failed to pass a test came flooding back to fill me with understanding about how they helped me find my purpose.

Luke 12: 49-53, “I came to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism to receive, and how distressed I am until it is over! Do you suppose that I came to bring peace to the world? No, not peace, but division. From now on a family of five will be divided, three against two and two against three. Fathers will be against their sons, and sons against their fathers; mothers will be against their daughters, and daughters against their mothers; mothers-in-law will be against their daughters-in-law, and daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law.”

Every word from the Bible opened up and revealed to me their purpose. I began to understand why God made me gay during a time when the church preached that it was sin. When my family, children and church misunderstood my lifestyle, I stopped relying on people and completely dedicated my life to serving God.

My humility, brought on by the persecution I faced, taught me to listen to the voice of God. I understood how the teachings of Christ changed the Laws of Moses and began to set the world on fire. Fire that made families and nations fight against each other so that goodness could be revealed.

These revelations led me down roads I would not have traveled. Roads that led me to fulfill my life purpose. A voice that would inspire me to look at the world in a brand new way. The Holy Spirit taught me the difference between right and wrong.

When we look at the world as a game then we begin to see the battle that is fought between good and evil. The world’s current events help us see how the game of life plays out in the world. It shows us how evil fights against good.

Massacres in schools like Columbine and Virginia Tech plainly show how evil can motivate people to do hideous crimes. History exposes the evil lives of leaders who gas their own people and evil regimes that enabled a mad man to annihilate millions of Jews during the Holocaust.

For every evil person who commits horrific crimes against people, many more good people spur stories of truly inspirational lives. Professors who gave their lives for their students. Students who gave their lives for other students. People who died, but how they lived their lives, inspired all of us to choose to be better people.

What happens in life is the very reason why we must understand that we are in a great game of life. It is very easy for us to lose the reason behind why we are born into such a chaotic world. We can get sidetracked by work, higher education, having the newest electronic gadgets, or just by trying to build a better life for ourselves than our parents.

In order to win the game of life we must understand that we are in a game. We also must understand that in order to win, we must fight for the side of good which comes in our belief that there is a God.

Isaiah 45:5-7, “I am the Lord; there is no other god. I will give you the strength you need, although you do not know me. I do this so that everyone from one end of the world to the other may know that I am the Lord and that there is no other god.
I created both light and darkness; I bring both blessing and disaster. I, the Lord, do all these things.”

We must grab a hold of the Spiritual part of life all of the time. Not just when we are personally pulled into a dramatic life-changing tragedy. We must understand the battles that are occurring between God and Satan. To do this, we need Jesus to save us and to give us the interpretation of our world through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Job 1: , “When the day came for the heavenly beings to appear before the Lord, Satan was there among them. The Lord asked him, ‘What have you been doing?’
Satan answered, ‘I have been walking here and there, roaming the earth.’
‘Did you notice my servant Job?’ the Lord asked. ‘There is no one on earth as faithful and good as he is. He worships me and is careful not to do anything evil.’
Satan replied, ‘Would Job worship you if he got nothing out of it?’”

From that moment Satan was given control over Job’s life in order for God to test him. Job lost his children, wealth and position in society and eventually his health. In his humility, everyone including his wife, tried to get him to believe that this was a punishment sent by God. Job refused to listen and he continued to hold tightly to his faith. Even though he was in the most weakened and afflicted condition that no human being could ever overcome.

Job’s life teaches all people about the war we face between good and evil. A war where Satan is given the ability to come in and corrupt the minds of men, if they refuse to give their lives to God and love. These are the people who choose to hurt others.

This is the reason why Virginia Tech happened. This is why Hitler was able to kill so many helpless Jews. This is the reason why genocide occurred in Africa and many other countries. Evil people and regimes gave into evil for power, wealth and influence.

It’s time to look at our world as a game. It’s time to gain wisdom from the massacres and murders perpetrated on innocent people. We must choose Jesus as our Savior and allow Him to work in our lives for good.

Exodus 20: 18-20, “When the people heard the thunder and the trumpet blast and saw the lightning and the smoking mountain, they trembled with fear and stood a long way off. They said to Moses, ‘If you speak to us, we will listen; but we are afraid that if God speaks to us, we will die.’
Moses replied, ‘Don’t be afraid; God has only come to test you and make you keep on obeying him, so that you will not sin.’”

When God is head of our lives we go through life and evil can’t pull us in and make us do its will. No matter what others do to us we never do the same. We look at the evil found in the world and we fight against it because we understand our game and we decide to fight for God!

I stood before my creator, He smiled and said, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

Linda C Dipman author of THE GAME OF LIFE IT’S ALMOST OVER http://outskirtspress.com/gameoflife presents: AND HIS LOVE SHONE DOWN my true life story! It describes all the persecutions I endured. Lovinghandsministry.com

What can you say when you loose your best friend? One day you are making plans to travel the world and the next given the news that your mother will not make it through the night.

March 6, 1998 was the most surreal evening I had ever experienced in my life. My beloved mother was taken into surgery at 10 pm and I, forever hopeful, did not realize the seriousness of her illness. My husband, however, silently held in the pain for he knew she would not make it through the night.

While my mother was in surgery, my husband and I silently stood outside of the hospital, waiting. Lost within our own thoughts, I focused on a single tree on the hospital grounds surrounded with the most dramatic light pouring through its foliage. It was extremely hypnotic and as I stared into the light, I saw my childhood pass before my eyes. My glorious, loving mother was in every scene caring for me: laughing with me and loving me. I knew then I lost her but was not ready to let go of her — not now, not ever.

Hours passed and my mom was taken into recovery. The surgery did not go as expected. Since I was my mother’s health care proxy, the surgeon wanted to speak with me but I avoided him. My mother had survived so many illnesses in her lifetime and I was convinced that this too would pass. I needed a miracle. I expected a miracle and I needed to see my mother now.

Immediately asking for a priest, I walked into the recovery room and found my mom. The nurses tried to calmly prepare me for what to expect, but I was only interested in being with my mother and caring for her. Her poor body was hooked up to all types of tubes and life-support machines and her body ballooned to three times her size. I needed to touch her and, standing over her bed, reached for her hand and asked her if she knew her family was with her. She squeezed my hand in response and that became the only form of communication she had with me for the remainder of the night.

We prayed over her bed; I caressed her; I loved her but nothing was improving. I was oblivious to everyone and anything around me except her: my mommy. Why, Dear Lord, why now? I need her, you don’t, I thought. Ironically, even though I was a married forty year-old woman, I still trusted my mother to have all the answers. I still relied on her and still expected to be babied as she always babied me. Now it was my turn and I couldn’t even hold her. I couldn’t even remember the words to any prayers–I was stuttering through ‘The Our Father’ but didn’t care for I felt the Lord honored any feeble attempts we were making.

Hours later, the time finally came when the head nurse approached me about switching off all life-support machines. I knew my mother’s wishes but I also was in conflict with what I wanted. I was not ready, and wanted everyone to leave me alone with my mother. We hadn’t had enough time. I needed time. But I also knew what she would want and I knew her poor body was tired.

Praying for strength, I motioned for the nurse to go ahead and turn off the machines. I signed the papers and, thinking I had time, went upstairs to her hospital room to gather her belongings. Accompanied by my brother, I remember nothing of that journey except for when I returned to the recovery room and then I knew. I looked into my husband’s eyes and knew she was gone. My mother was gone and it was then I fell to the floor feeling as though every part of my insides was sucked out me like a vacuum.

March 7, 1998 at 12:00 p.m. my mother was called home.

Shortly after my mom’s passing, my dad became very ill and underwent a five-bypass surgery. Again, the doctors tried to prepare me that my dad might not make it but, thankfully, he had. After his surgery, my husband decided that we should care for my father in our home and so he has lived with us ever since.

Since my mother’s passing, I hadn’t had much time to think of much due to the fact that I had to nurse my dad and I functioned as best as I could. There were many times I would forget and pick up the phone to call mom, or be in a store and want to buy her something or smell a scent that reminded me of her. Their memory never leaves you, yet life must go on.

One day, my husband came home from work and after looking at me nonchalantly mentioned that he thought I was pregnant. I was in disbelief but took the test anyway and sure enough the test was positive. I was pregnant! At 42 years old, seventeen months after my beloved mother passed away, I gave birth to a healthy, beautiful 8-1/2 pound little girl. I then knew the graciousness and goodness of our Lord. He knew how deeply I loved my mother and, yet, now with a little child I had to finally accept my mother’s passing and tend to my baby and her grandchild.

While my mother was living, I miscarried four times yet seventeen months after her passing I gave birth. Laura is the miracle I prayed for the night of my mother’s surgery and my reminder of a truly gracious God. He did hear my prayers that night after all only not in the way I understood it to be.

In 2003, when my daughter was four years old, I thought she was old enough to be taken to her grandma’s gravesite. I was nervous because I didn’t know how my Laura would react. Once we reached my mother’s site, my daughter, at first, stared blankly at the gravesite. I observed silently expecting to carry her somberly back to the car. Within minutes, however, my Laura joyfully ran back to our car and grabbed all her toys out of backseat and ‘decorated’ grandmas grave with her dolls and stuffed animals. My daughter was fully aware that grandma was in heaven yet felt the need to tend to her grandmother’s gave as she saw fit. As I witnessed this joy, my heart filled with such peace and I knew my mother was pleased.

Upon departing, my little girl grabbed my hand and together we recited the entire ‘Our Father’ and it was then that I realized that my mother is always with me and that I never have to let her go. I am very fortunate I am to have had such a wonderful loving mom. I celebrate my mother daily as she continues on through me and through her grandchild and generations to follow. And, most importantly, I thank God daily.

Judi Lynn Lake successfully runs her own advertising agency which handles everything from logos, branding, videos and websites while continues to work closely with self-published authors from design to promotion. To learn more visit http://www.judilake.com

I am a mum and I have one daughter of my own and two step sons all my children are between the 10-15 years of age. As with all parents I worry about my children constantly as they grow up, I want to know where they are, who they are with, how long they will be when out and what time they need picking up.

I want to know have they got their mobile phones etc, all the things that parents think of every day. From when they were little I always taught them to never speak to strangers, always stay with the person your suppose to be with but never really thought about the more sinister things such as people carrying knives and knife crimes.

I suppose I was someone who preferred to believe that this sort of crime just does not happen in the area where I live, but in reality it could not be further from the truth! When I think about it, I have read many articles in the local papers about knife crimes happening just a few miles from my door but still never really paid it the attention it really deserved and certainly did not realise just how much of a real threat knife crime is becoming

That was until last year, I was sitting down at tea time watching the local news with my daughter, when I recognised a lady on the television which immediately grabbed my attention. I could not believe my ears when I listened to the news report and would never in a million years have imagined the tragic story that was to follow, which had deeply affected this ladies life and those of everyone around her, turning her world upside down.

I then realised where I knew this lady from, I saw her nearly every day taking her grand-daughter to school which happened to be the same school as my daughter attends. This actually made her plight even harder to believe, bringing with it a devastating realisation that this sort of thing could happen so close to home!

Just one year previously, Annie Oakes-Odger lost her son to a violent knife attack whilst he was standing at a cash machine on a busy shopping parade; the attack did not happen in the middle of the night as you would expect, it happened in broad daylight in the middle of a summer afternoon.

A totally unprovoked attack which inflicted a single stab wound to the neck which ended his life. This shocked me and made me aware that it can happen to anyone, anywhere without warning or motive, which I find a very scary thought!

How would you carry on?
I personally could not even for one second imagine how it must feel to loose your child in this manner, let alone imagine how you could ever carry on living life when you know that the people who did this to your child, friend, loved one, whomever, are still very much alive, not only that but serving a sentence that has no relevance to the gravity of the crime, often having their sentences reduced! It should be, in my opinion tougher laws and stricter sentences which should be being applied. Not reduced time for good behaviour!

Parents need to make themselves more aware nowadays. This no longer should be a Taboo subject as it is something that could affect any one of us at any time without warning.

My son is set to go to a football match this weekend with his mates and although he is 15, I will make sure that he will have his mobile fully charged, enough money for the bus and make sure that he stays with his group of friends. (I am not implying that a football match is an unsafe place, but it is just an example of places where children want to go as they become more independent).

I totally support Annie in her plight to bring about stricter laws and tougher sentencing for knife-crimes, and hope and pray that I will never have to go through what she has. I find her a total inspiration, having the courage to carry on and fight for justice, not just for her but for everyone who has either been a victim of knife crimes or the people who are left behind to pick up the pieces of their lives.

Shaun parker has a website dedicated to raising the awareness of knife crime http://www.knifecrimes.org and the damage and impact it has on those affected.