Tomorrow will be two months since my Mother passed through the veil of mortality into the eternities. Since then, we have struggled as a family to find the feeling of “home” in our house. I am amazed at all of the little things Mama did that made our house a home; the decorations, the cute things she sewed, painted and made; even her annoying socks with bells on them– they all seem so empty without her beautiful face to brighten our days.

Yet still I feel her. Upon laying my head down to sleep, I have felt Mother tucking me in. While sitting in the House of the Lord, I heard her speaking words of Love and comfort to me; words that only she could have said to uplift my spirit. While talking with my Father and brother, I have felt her sitting there with us; telling us that she Loves us.

So often I have heard that upon our departure from this mortal life, we are done. That’s it! No more living. There are few greater fallacies than the claim that this life is all there is! I know from sacred, personal experiences that the “dead” from this world do live on; they are intimately aware of us and our needs. They are positioned to assist us with our greatest fears, struggles and trials, far more than they could have in this life.

Such experiences have solidified my faith in Heavenly Father’s plan; that great Plan of Happiness. Though taught in various forms worldwide, I cannot express my gratitude to know the full extend of that plan. We are eternal beings! Our lives neither began upon our birth in this mortal world, no do they end upon leaving it! Our Savior, Christ, has atoned for the sins, weakness, pain and sickness of all humanity; such that we have full right to the gift of salvation, and full access to exhalation, should we choose it.

I wish that I could adequately relate how grateful I am that my Mother is no longer suffering physical pain, as well as her ability to influence and guide me with great power, as the Lord deems necessary. I am also grateful for the closeness, care and concern that has grown even deeper between Dad, my brother, nephew, sister-in-law and I. Though we miss our Matriarch, we have come to depend our each other and the Lord so much more.

What a great and Loving God we have!

Say your Hail Mary’s, praise Allah and feed the poor: your prayers have been answered!

Verizon Wireless announced today that the Apple iPhone 4 will be coming to the Nation’s Most Reliable Network. Pre-orders for existing customers can be made online staring Feb. 3rd, 2011, with general orders opening up on Feb. 10th. (Perhaps Verizon/Apple will put out some awesome commercials during the Superbowl, reminiscent of Apple’s infamous release of Macintosh in 1984.)

While details of the data plans and tethering charges have not yet been released, the cost of the phone is as follows:

• 16GB – $199 w/ 2-year contract
• 32GB – $299 w/ 2-year contract

Verizon declined to comment on pricing plans, utilization of data during calls, download speed and tethering pricing. Though not uncommon for Verizon to be nearly as secretive as Apple, it would have been beneficial to offer existing AT&T customers a great incentive to switch.

A quick review of Verizon’s Getting Ready Guide for existing customers reveals one big hiccup for me; all existing voicemail’s will be lost upon transfer to the iPhone. While everyone else may not be the virtual pack-rat that I am; there must be more than a few people out there that hoard their voicemails with the same fervor of Scrat in Ice Age.

Don’t get me wrong, though; I am stoked for the iPhone to come to my favorite network. Perhaps the biggest point to consider though– is it worth extending a contract now with the iPhone 4, or is it best to wait until June when they will probably release the iPhone 5?

Source: http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/splash/iphone.jsp