Connie’s Message—Smile!
Hope for the 21st Century
by
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“Men stumble over the truth from time to time, but most pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened.” Winston Churchill
You somehow stumbled across this book, a book of faith and hope. A book about my daughter, Connie, who was murdered by a hit and run driver during her freshman year of college. I hope that you do not hurry off as if nothing happened, and consider that you might have stumbled across this book not by accident, but because deep inside you are looking for happiness, hope, wisdom, peace, and salvation.
I am an executive in the computer industry who has spent most of my life creating, marketing, selling, and supporting hardware and software solutions around the world. Most recently I was asked to serve our government and so I accepted the position of CIO for the National Finance Center, USDA. Before that I was the CEO of five companies, two of them pubic companies. I started my career in the computer industry as a software developer for IBM. But even before I was in the computer industry I was a student of Christian theology and I have an intense passion for God’s Word. I believe that God’s Word, the Bible, can be understood by anyone; and should be read by everyone. It is the most published book in the world by an order of magnitude over any other book at over 9 billion copies. Yet, I do acknowledge and appreciate that the Bible is not the easiest place for someone new to Christian theology to begin a journey with God in our modern, science-dominated, politically correct culture.
As to my background and what has influenced my thinking let me provide you some information. I was born in a Christian home. My grandparents were Methodist and went to church every Sunday. My grandfather worked in coal mines and he was a very big influence in my life and certainly taught me the value of hard work. As a youth, and I do mean youth, age 4, I often went to seminary with my father, who was a student at Emory University Theological School in Atlanta, Georgia. As I remember it, and as it has been told to me, I was very excited to sit in class with my father listening to professors talk about the theology of the Bible, and while I am sure I did not understand much of what was discussed, I feel that I was influenced by that unique experience. I know I prayed and had faith that God was listening to me. I also would go to church on Sunday and attended Sunday school, and Vacation Bible School in the summers. I loved Vacation Bible School. I can truly understand why most people come to Christ at a very young age. Singing Jesus Loves Me is both an educational and emotional experience. One I have never forgotten. One I know Connie also never forgot. Unlike seminary, this is theology geared for kids, yet the message is valuable to adults as well. Reading the words of Jesus Loves Me as an adult still gives me comfort and joy. It is Christian theology reduced to a four-year-old level, yet theologically rich. God’s love for us and His plan for our salvation is really that simple.
For years, I had a front row seat listening to my father, a Methodist preacher. I am not sure at what age I began asking Him questions about God and the Bible but I think it was about the same time I started asking Him questions about cars and trucks—3 years old. While this may seem unbelievable to some of you I can tell you that my granddaughter, Andrea, born on the same day Connie was murdered, knows a lot about the Bible and asked questions about God and Jesus at the young age of three. At three she knew that David fought a giant and won with God’s help. She knew that Jonah was swallowed by a great fish and then preached to the Ninevites. She loved to say Ninevites to everyone’s amazement. She knew about Noah’s ark and that God flooded the world. She was quite the little theologian at age three, as I think I was as well.
Hopefully you can open your mind and at least think about everything that made Connie who she was. Connie and I shared deep theological discussions and it is one topic that we always agreed on completely. Trust me, her smile was not from innocence, as she was mature beyond her years. Her smile was from the love of Jesus that was in her heart!
“The unexamined life is not worth living.” Socrates
I pray you are one who chooses to examine life and through your examination find a relationship with Christ.
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About the Book
I wrote this book for two reasons, both of which are tightly intertwined. First is the fact that my daughter Connie and I discussed writing this book together while she was a freshman at the University of Kentucky. After her death, I needed to accomplish that goal we had set together, to share our faith in God with others who were not fortunate to have been brought up in a Christian home. Second is the fact that I know Satan was controlling the drunk driver who was responsible for Connie’s death. Therefore, I want to honor God by sharing my faith that Connie is in heaven. Satan took Connie’s life in this world, but God gave Connie eternal life in heaven. Through faith in Jesus Christ, we will someday be in heaven together again.
The Bible is the most published book in the world by far, at over nine billion copies. Yet I acknowledge that the Bible is not the easiest place for someone new to Christian theology to begin a journey with God in our modern, science-dominated, politically correct culture. Therefore, I have captured a lifetime of study and discussions about the Bible and shared it with you in this book, in the hopes it will make you aware of what God offers everyone.
About the Author
Jack is an executive in the computer industry who has spent most of his life developing, marketing, selling, and supporting software solutions around the world. He has been married to his wife for 44 years and has three children and two dogs. His father was a Methodist minister. He has four beautiful grandchildren. He spent his life as a student of Christian theology and has an intense passion for God’s Word.