Fruitful Life

Fruitful Work

Welcome to the Blaising View blog, where I share treasures I find to enrich your life now.

How Tyler Perry Turns the Worst Family Tragedies Into Triumph

When family tragedies strike, Tyler Perry stands as a shining example.

No, not Madea. Tyler Perry.

His movies are full of humor, faith, and old-school rules for healing wounds.

Tyler Perry family tragedies
Tyler Perry turns family tragedies into triumph/Kathy Hutchins/Shutterstock

Tyler was born into tragedy with a raging alcoholic father.

Abuse swarmed him and his mother day and night.

He didn’t even finish high school, so he earned a GED.

And yet Forbes listed Tyler Perry as the highest-paid man in entertainment by 2011.

“My childhood was a story of discouragement, belittlement and unthinkable abuse, and yet I rose above.”  Tyler Perry, Higher is Waiting

More than ever, folks in America are growing up in abusive homes.

I did.  That’s why I admire Tyler Perry.  He navigated abuse for 21 years before leaving home.

Racism and inequality are bad enough, but when you pile on abuse, success is much harder.

Tyler Perry overcame all three.

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How Tyler Perry Turns the Worst Family Tragedies Into Triumph

How to Understand Heaven: What It’s Really Like and Your Path to Get There

For the sake of anyone whose loved one recently died, I must share highlights of what I believe the Bible clearly teaches about heaven.

As I write, it was only a few weeks ago that a once-in-a-hundred-year flood event in Texas claimed the lives of 27 children and counselors attending summer camp on the Guadalupe River bank at Camp Mystic.

Additionally, I am watching family, friends, and acquaintances lose loved ones to other tragedies and diseases.

One of the gifts of being 70 years old is the benefit of long reflection on what I’ve learned about suffering and the hope for eternal life in heaven.

So, I took some time and reviewed many of what I believe are the best books about heaven as well as bible verses about what the future holds after death.

Heaven in the BVI
Sunrise in the British Virgin Islands/Steve Blaising/March 2025

Several outstanding conclusions come to mind.

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How to Understand Heaven: What It’s Really Like and Your Path to Get There

Two sisters modeled the art of living well before dying in Texas floods

Two sisters, Brooke Harber, 13, and Blair Harber, 11, were swept away in the July Fourth Texas floods.

Rescuers found the girls a day later, with hands clasped together and clutching rosary beads.

“I love you,” texted Blair in her last words to her father and grandparents at 3:30 AM.

RJ Harber, their father, who was staying in a separate cabin, tried a kayak, but he couldn’t get there.

Their school, St. Rita Catholic Community School in Dallas, highlighted how the sisters led vibrant lives.

Did Brooke and Blair leave us clues on how to face tragedy?

Two sisters living well

I think they left three.

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Two sisters modeled the art of living well before dying in Texas floods

Guadalupe River Flood: How to Transform Your Loss into Life-Changing Redemption

A natural disaster like the July 4 Guadalupe River flood inflicts painful loss for years.

At least 129 people were killed.

Over 160 remain missing.

The Guadalupe River rose 26 feet in less than an hour at dawn on July 4, 2025.

This is worse than a 100-year flood event, according to experts.

Approximately 100 billion gallons of rain fell on Kerr County, more than the daily flow of Niagara Falls.

Guadalupe River loss
The cabin where 20 girls went missing on July 5, 2025, in the Guadalupe River flood/Ronaldo Schemidt/gettyimages

Is it possible to storm-proof the future?

And later, loss?

Some folks say it’s never wise to camp by a river, especially one in the middle of “Flash Flood Alley,” where a historic flood in August 1978 and another in July 1987 caused multiple fatalities.

But I think it’s fair to say there’s no place in the world to camp without risks.

An old Spanish proverb says, “There is no home which does not at some time know its hush.”

Three decisive steps may set a healing course for anyone drowning in tragedy.

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Guadalupe River Flood: How to Transform Your Loss into Life-Changing Redemption