Hey, guess what? Me, you, all your friends and everyone you know and don't know are on their way to their LAST HEARTBEAT. What advance planning have you done? I don't mean financial, I'm writing about some of the aspects of YOUR funeral which are over looked and most of which are done the same old way. Have you ever written out your testimony of how you became a Christian? Why not do it and make sure your pastor gets it to help him during the service, if you have one. Here's a biggie...do you ever read obituaries? Did you ever notice how they are just about all the same except for the names? Why not write out YOUR OWN obituary in advance? No, this is not meant as a joke! You can add any special descriptors of special friends, your pastor, your church, your accomplishments. You can skip the old worn out phraseology such as "died peacefully surrounded by family and friends". Who doesn't die peacefully? Somehow I doubt death occurs only when the room is crowded! "Loved life"? Who doesn't? Here's one for the ages, "died unexpectedly at the age of 95". There has been a trend in recent years to have a slide show running at the visitation. Why not put that together in-advance so you can include the pictures YOU WANT and so that nobody needs to scramble to put one together? How about this: Your pastor will conduct a service. Why not pre-record a video of yourself giving your testimony and any words of wisdom, affirmation and encouragement? Your pastor can include that tastefully in the service. Well, I can just hear the objections now. "You're morbid". "This is ridiculous". "What a bunch of -----". I can tell you from much experience, there are many seeds planted at funeral services and viewings. Your friends, family, co-workers are fertile ground for those seeds. They may not suddenly became a Christian on the spot, but I'll guarantee you, hearing you and seeing you via video BEFORE your last heartbeat will make one huge impression for years to come and at just the right time, those seeds you implanted will spout!