As I woke and started the day, my thoughts went to Mark and the absence of his presence here on this page that would follow later today.

I’m still trying to wrap my brain around him really being gone. Strange that it is so difficult as I only knew him through his words. But, there was just something special there. A uniqueness that few possess.

Mark will be missed, but surely not forgotten.

“…And so we will be with the Lord forever.” Save us a place Mark, we’ll see you soon.

It is now up to us to carry on the fight. May we be worthy of your legacy.

May our Lord shine His Grace upon Mark, his voice here will be missed by thousands.

Mark’s Sunday morning reviews alone were a great comfort to me, harkening me back to my teen years and all the H.S. extra credit my U.S. civics teacher would give for watching the Sunday talk shows and providing our own synopsis.

I no sooner found RedState than I found Mark’s reviews. Inasmuch as he was a blessing to we RedStaters, how much more of a blessing he must have been to his family and friends. May God comfort you in your loss.

~Aaron

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From The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran:

Then Almitra spoke, saying, “We would ask now of Death.”

And he said:

You would know the secret of death.
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.

If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.

For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.
In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.

Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.
Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honor.

Is the sheered not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?

Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?

For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?

And what is to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?

Only when you drink form the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.

And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.

rip

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Revelation 21:4

The prayers of my family are pointed to you and your family.
May God Bless You.

I have enjoyed Mark’s work here for a long time. A summary of all that Sunday stuff, all in one place- I always knew I could find just such a time and frustration saver here. Mark must have had a gift to be able to tolerate the full contents of those shows every week, not to mention give it to the rest of us in simple, concise summaries. Thanks again my friend, for sharing this small part of your life with us.