• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer

Stephen M. Miller

Award-Winning, Bestselling Christian Author

  • Home
  • About
  • Books
  • Blog Features
  • Bible
  • Contact
Painting/photo of Jerusalem Temple-Casual English Bible

Paperback and paper hearts

Stephen M. Miller
Cover of Casual English Bible New Testament Atlas
I THOUGHT I would write about this new paperback book, the first to come out of the Casual English Bible. But I wrote of a paper heart instead.

THIS ISN’T WHAT I WAS GOING TO WRITE.

I was going to tell you about the first printed book to come out of the Casual English Bible®: a paperback New Testament Atlas, due for release any day. The eBook version went live yesterday afternoon, on Amazon and on my site. (4:30 am and I just learned that the paperback was released.)

I was already writing the feature. Oddly, I was at the part where I was telling about how one publisher tried to talk me into writing a book about heaven. They did that because some other guy sold a lot of books writing about what he didn’t know, but thought he knew.

I told them I know I don’t know, so No.

This is the odd part

Just  after writing that thing about heaven, I got a text message from my little sister who is caring for our mother. Mom is frail and wants to go “home” to see Dad and her boys—my three little brothers. One died shortly after birth; I never got to meet him. Two died last year.

My sis said she’s taking Mom to urgent care to make sure nothing else is going on.

I’d tell you what has been going on, but it’s not my place. Just imagine me blowing my nose a lot as I type this, and you’ll get a sense of the room.

I’m the oldest son, first of the six Miller children. We watched Dad die years ago. Then the last of my younger brothers, one of Covid. Mom had given birth to four sons. Now, I’m the last, when as the oldest, I should have been the first.

I can’t help but remember something Jesus said about heaven, and wonder if he was thinking of me at the time:

“People who seem to be last and least get promoted to first. And people who seem to be first and most important get demoted to last” (Matthew 20:16).

My sis texted me about how hard it is to see someone we love suddenly appear as fragile as we have always been, but didn’t realize.

I texted her back,

“Cherish the moments. Even the tough ones. Because these are the moments we have her still with us.”

Then I sat and cried until my head hurt.

Pardon my language, but when I forwarded those messages to my wife and kids, I added: “It’s damn hard watching your family die, one after another.”

Some would say, “What about heaven? And what about your mouth?”

I’ve read Psalms. Heck, I paraphrased it and posted it online. I know what those poets said to God. If God doesn’t give us extra kindness in tough times, bury me with some Kansas City Joes barbecue sauce and I’ll take it the psalmists when I go.

As for heaven, sometimes it hurts too much to think about our Happy Place.  That’s because every sense God wove into us is wide awake, touching and feeling and living the emptiness in a room.

But all of this is life. We live our life. We love our life. And we remind ourselves we love it when it feels like we don’t.

The day ended with upbeat reports from the urgent care visit.

I didn’t do a good job of telling you the story of where I am now with the Casual English Bible® or how I got here and what I’m going to do about it.

We’ll do that later.

Final thought

Writing for a living is sometimes about writing in the moment and through the moment and not around the moment.

Outta gas.

Casual English Bible
Steve’s Bible-background YouTube Channel
More feature articles
Bible Gateway

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X

Like this:

Like Loading...
View All Posts - Ordered by Most Recent First
« Previous
Next »

About Stephen M. Miller

STEPHEN M. MILLER is an award winning bestselling Christian author of easy-reading books about the Bible and Christianity and author of the Casual English Bible® paraphrase. His books have sold over two million copies and include The Complete Guide to the Bible and Who’s and Where’s Where in the Bible.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Steve Grisetti

    January 28, 2022 at 7:20 am

    Beautifully said, Steve. Sorry for your pain. But these are the days that make us feel closest to God — if only because the world is ripping our hearts out.

    God bless.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sidebar

Casual English Bible Website

Featured Book

Complete Guide to the Bible

Complete Guide to the Bible
Buy from Amazon
Buy from Books-A-Million
Buy from Christian Book Distributor
Buy from Google Play

Latest Posts

  • When our faith glitches May 5, 2025
  • Job is the right book for me now April 16, 2025
  • Q for AI: “Do most scholars say Jesus never existed?” April 3, 2025

  • Home
  • About
  • Blog Features
  • Books
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Vimeo
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2025 · Stephen M. Miller · All Rights Reserved

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use. To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
Reject AllAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
%d