The Funeral.com Journal

Resources to help you create tributes as unique as the people (and pets) you love. Learn how engraving, photos, colors, and symbols add meaning; discover scattering rituals and at-home memorial ideas. We focus on the details that matter—because small choices can carry a lifetime of comfort.

The Rainbow Bridge Poem: History, Meaning, and Alternatives

The Rainbow Bridge Poem: History, Meaning, and Alternatives

If you’ve ever lost a pet, there’s a good chance someone sent you “Rainbow Bridge” within days—sometimes within hours. It often arrives with good intentions: a friend trying to offer...

Questions to Ask Your Pastor About Cremation, Burial, and Handling Ashes

Questions to Ask Your Pastor About Cremation, Burial, and Handling Ashes

The first time a family says the words “cremation” out loud after a death, it often sounds like a purely practical choice—simple, affordable, flexible. And sometimes it is. But for...

Cremation and Christianity: Catholic, Protestant, and Evangelical Perspectives Compared

Cremation and Christianity: Catholic, Protestant, and Evangelical Perspectives Compared

For many Christian families, cremation is not a casual decision. Even when it feels practical or familiar, it can stir deep questions about faith, resurrection, and respect for the body....

Faith and Pet Aftercare: How Different Beliefs View Pet Burial, Cremation, and Scattering

Faith and Pet Aftercare: How Different Beliefs View Pet Burial, Cremation, and Scattering

When a beloved pet dies, grief often arrives in two waves. The first is the ache of absence—the quiet food bowl, the leash that still hangs by the door, the...

Cremation in the Bible: Old Testament Stories, New Testament Hope, and Modern Application

Cremation in the Bible: Old Testament Stories, New Testament Hope, and Modern Application

If you’ve found yourself searching for cremation in the Bible, it’s rarely a casual question. It usually arrives in a tender moment—after a loss, during funeral planning, or while you’re...

Frequently Asked Questions About Embalming: Safety, Religion, and the Environment

Frequently Asked Questions About Embalming: Safety, Religion, and the Environment

When someone you love dies, the first decisions arrive fast—often before your heart has caught up. A funeral home may ask whether you want embalming, and the question can land...

Short Bible Verses for Headstones: Faith-Filled Epitaph Ideas for Christian Families

Short Bible Verses for Headstones: Faith-Filled Epitaph Ideas for Christian Families

The day you choose a headstone inscription is rarely the day you feel ready. It might be weeks after the funeral, when the flowers are gone and the house has...

Cremation vs Burial for Christians: Key Questions to Ask Your Pastor and Family

Cremation vs Burial for Christians: Key Questions to Ask Your Pastor and Family

Most Christian families don’t begin this conversation because they want to debate theology. They begin because someone they love has died—or because they can feel the reality of death drawing...

Is It Possible for Pets to Return as Spirits? How Different Traditions View Ghost Stories and Hauntings

Is It Possible for Pets to Return as Spirits? How Different Traditions View Ghost Stories and Hauntings

In the first quiet days after a pet dies, the house can feel strangely loud. The empty food bowl. The missing click of nails on the hallway floor. The space...

Is Cremation Biblical? How Different Christian Traditions View Cremation Today

Is Cremation Biblical? How Different Christian Traditions View Cremation Today

If you grew up in a church where burials were simply “what Christians do,” cremation can feel like a spiritual question before it feels like a practical one. Families ask...

What Does the Bible Say About Cremation? Myths, Misunderstandings, and Modern Christian Practice

What Does the Bible Say About Cremation? Myths, Misunderstandings, and Modern Christian Practice

You might not expect a faith question to arrive in the middle of logistics. But it often does. A loved one dies, the funeral home asks about burial or cremation,...

Did They Know I Loved Them? An Animal Communicator’s Perspective

Did They Know I Loved Them? An Animal Communicator’s Perspective

There’s a particular kind of grief that shows up after a pet dies—quiet, sharp, and strangely specific. It’s not only “I miss them,” or “the house feels empty.” It’s the...

Do Only Humans Have Souls, or Do Animals Have Souls Too?

Do Only Humans Have Souls, or Do Animals Have Souls Too?

Most people don’t spend their ordinary days debating the definition of a soul. Then a pet dies, and suddenly the question feels less like theology and more like ache: Where...

Signs Pets Leave After Death: Comforting Interpretations and Symbolic Moments

Signs Pets Leave After Death: Comforting Interpretations and Symbolic Moments

In the days after a pet dies, the house can feel strangely loud and strangely quiet at the same time. You still reach for the leash. You still listen for...

What Does the Bible Say About Cremation? Christian Views, Myths, and Modern Practice

What Does the Bible Say About Cremation? Christian Views, Myths, and Modern Practice

If you’re asking what does the Bible say about cremation, you’re rarely asking it as a purely academic question. Most families are really asking something more personal: “Can I make...

Is It Okay to Split Ashes? Etiquette, Religious Views, and Practical Tips for Sharing Remains

Is It Okay to Split Ashes? Etiquette, Religious Views, and Practical Tips for Sharing Remains

After cremation, families often expect there will be one “right” next step—choose an urn, decide where it will go, and move forward. In real life, the question is usually softer...