Not Morbid

Some of my posts have been pretty morbid. I am sorry for that, if I brought anybody down. Any regular reader will know that things have been pretty tough to keep going. But, I don't mean for this post to be morbid. My father's first job after seminary was at First Baptist Church in Spartanburg. He was the Minister of Education. In fact, I think he was the first one at any church in the Southern Baptist Convention on a full-time basis. One of the members of that church was a man named Mr. Bobo. He owned the local funeral home. He and my father became very good friends, and Mr. Bobo wanted Daddy to come to work with him as a mortician. My mother put her foot down and said no. She didn't want to be around dead people. So, Daddy thanked Mr. Bobo and went on with his religious education work. But, Daddy loved funerals. He loved to go to them and to perform them. And one thing that he was a stickler about was planning his own funeral. He wrote it out in great detail, as to who was to do what, and what songs were to be played. When Daddy died on September 28th, 1999, all I had to do was to take his funeral wishes and make the calls to the people who would be on the program. It was very easy. Daddy made it easy. And, his funeral went off without a hitch. My brother and I knew that he was smiling down from Heaven, and he was at peace. I must admit that I don't remember a lot about his funeral, because I was "comfortably numb" as in the Pink Floyd song. That was my way of coping. But, we respected his wishes. I have been to a lot of funerals in my life. I think it is a way of honoring the people who have passed on. The first funeral that I went to was my Grandfather's in Alabama, when I was 5. I didn't share quite the same excitement as my father had for funerals, but they are necessary. In the spirit of planning, I would like to put out my funeral wishes:
I would prefer Rev. Marshall Edwards or Rev. Tommy Huggins to conduct the service. It should start with a prayer, and then the reading of John 14.
After that, I would like Chris Sanders to sing "In My Life" by The Beatles.
After that, I would like the reading of Psalm 23.
After that, there will be the singing of the hymn "Amazing Grace". It's a family favorite.
After that, there will be the eulogy. Maybe Thom Stone could do that.
To end the service, Thom and Mary Ann Stone will sing "Smile" by Charles Chaplin, which will be used as a recessional.
I am not sure about where Marshall can be found, but Tommy is currently the pastor of the First Baptist Church in St. Matthews, SC. Chris lives in Antioch, TN. Thom and Mary Ann live in St. Matthews. So, that is about it. I want my funeral to be a celebration and leave it smiling. Not morbid.