Shake the Dust From Your Feet

My mother used to always say, "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all!" Easier said than done, right? Well, with a little practice (ok, A LOT of practice!), it truly becomes easier to not say anything unless what comes out of our mouth is the Truth. If we practice speaking the Truth, there will always be naysayers. There will always be those who don't want to change . . . who don't want to give up "things" or behaviors to follow Christ. It's the path less traveled. When we interact with those not desiring to improve and grow, we must pray for them, and demonstrate the joy we achieve in following Him. I choose to keep learning and growing in every aspect of my life. How about you?

In todays Gospel (Luke 9:1-6), Jesus instructs us to "shake the dust from your feet" when others are not ready or willing to live a life following Him:


Jesus summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let no one take a second tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there. And as for those who do not welcome you, when you leave that town, shake the dust from your feet in testimony against them.” Then they set out and went from village to village proclaiming the Good News and curing diseases everywhere.

In Volume One, Jesus asks us to be a shining example of His Love to others, 

"You, My chosen souls, must provide that guidance and direction. That is why you will be placed in contact with many souls. Speak My name freely and lovingly. Speak My name naturally in your conversation. Speak My name often, and do not use it to curse others. If these souls, who are directionless because of the failure of many of My children to provide that direction, hear My name spoken lovingly and respectfully, their hearts will jump up, like John the Baptist’s heart jumped in his mother’s womb. They will know that it is their Savior who is being spoken of so lovingly. And they will be watching you, dear soul, to see what you do, how you act, speak, and treat others. These souls, given a small bit of direction, will follow you. They will not need years of calling, as I have called to many of you for years. They seek only the correct direction and they will walk toward Me without falter. Can you imagine, My dear ones, how I grieve that so many of them are not living the life of the Christian? And can you imagine how many souls, destined to be called then by them, have been left in the world? Do you see, little ones, how every soul

is so critical to My kingdom? We do not want our brothers and sisters abandoned, for the want of your duty being fulfilled. How blessed are you that you have been called, indeed, and given these messages. Little child, you are a Christian because someone fulfilled their duty. Now you must fulfill your duty and call out to others in love and solicitude. Leave nothing undone that could bring a soul to Me. Let those of the world scoff at you, if they dare. The inhabitants of heaven commend you. If you hear My name spoken in ridicule or anger, turn away, praying to Me for the forgiveness of that person. Then, instead of your God being unwelcome and ridiculed in that situation, He will
be honored. That, My child, is, in summary, what I am calling you to do. Be joyful. Be glad. You are My chosen one and My favor and Spirit rests upon you." 

Lay apostles, it is so important to remember we can only affect others by living the life we preach. There are so many in darkness . . . and we must shine His Light always. But we must also stay in motion and not get stuck when one person is not quite ready to climb up that mountain with us. Know Jesus will use every ounce of our hard work to change a life . . . in His time, not ours!

Thank you, Lord, for giving me the grace to truly shake the dust from my feet when I feel ineffective in leading others toward You. 

God bless,
Bonnie

A Mother's Endurance

Note: Wrote this last year and now Whitney is about to have her second child . . . a daughter! God is so good to me! Had to repost!

Teenagers . . . a time you never imagined when holding your precious newborn. A time for hiding the fact you are out in public with your mother. One incident will forever stand out in my mind . . . a Friday night at the local movie theater. My middle daughter Whitney had to have been around 14 or 15 years old. Walking from the parking lot to the crosswalk leading to the theater, she stopped me short. "Mom, OMG! You are not my mom, but my sister Amber home visiting from college." I just looked at her. "What?" I asked (with no attitude whatsoever!).  She had spotted some people from school (she had just started her freshman year of high school) and was horrified should she be spotted with her . . . groan . . . mother!! Always up for a bit of charades, I jumped right into character as her new friends approached! I can't remember if her friends bought it or not, but "Amber" comes up every once in a while. Now that Whitney has a son, I try to prepare her for those teenage years. Her response is usually, "it will be different with Colton. He knows Jesus and Mary from day one and will not be a typical teenager." Uh-huh, I think to myself. You just wait my sweet baby girl. I pray I live long enough to see my girls with teenagers of their own!

Todays Gospel (Luke 8:19-21) made me wonder if Mary knew Jesus' response when told of her presence. But then we remember the great faith and endurance our Blessed Mother had to possess as the Mother of God:

The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him but were unable to join him because of the crowd. He was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and they wish to see you.” He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”

In Anne a lay apostle's book Climbing the Mountain, she teaches us the power of endurance:

"But you and I can suffer with Jesus. In fact, we can do something even more remarkable. We can take the suffering for which we have no control over anyway and we can transform it, through our patient and obedient acceptance and endurance, into a supernatural release of grace for our salvation, for someone else’s salvation, and now in preparation for Jesus’ new, dynamic coming into our time, in whatever form that takes."

Lay apostles, it takes a lot of faith, love, patience and endurance to go the distance for Jesus. The end goal is heaven for all eternity. If we stay focused on that goal, our reactions/actions become more Christlike. As parents, we are in it for the long haul. The more humility and endurance we show our children, the better they will be as parents. So if they choose to call you their "sister home from college," smile and remember how you felt about your parents at that age . . . 

Thank you, Lord, for the endurance You blessed me with as a parent of three girls. And for the laughs all the trials and tribulations of their younger years give us now at family gatherings!

God bless,
Bonnie

It Wasn't Me!

I must first preface what I'm about to write. Flatulence is not exactly the best topic to write about (although I am a nurse!). My daughters would be horrified (in a funny good way I hope!) this movie came to mind after reading todays Gospel (Luke 6:39-42)! It's all about blaming others for something you contributed to . . . or obviously did and completely denying it! The movie? RocketMan starring Harland Williams playing Fred Randall:

Fred Randall: It wasn't me!

William Overbeck: What do you mean "It wasn't you"? We're 35 million miles from the nearest person!

Fred Randall: Maybe it was Julie.

William Overbeck: You dog!

Fred Randall: Hey! Miracles can happen.

William Overbeck: Blaming this on Julie!

Fred Randall: Okay. I admit. It was me.

William Overbeck: Thank you.

[Fred farts again]

Fred Randall: Now, THAT was Julie!

(Note: Jay has asked me to clarify that I cut and pasted the above quote from the actual script! I did not insert my own words! LOL!)

Reading the lines from this scene in the movie brings back such good memories of the goofiness I share with my girls. And you can imagine the "It wasn't me!" line was used quite a bit! OK, enough of the nostalgia . . . I'm sure I'll be receiving a phone call minutes after this is read by one of them! The bottom line is to take responsibility for yourself and your actions before blaming others. It's exactly what Jesus is asking of us in the Gospel:

Jesus told his disciples a parable: “Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye,
but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own? How can you say to your brother,
‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,’ when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.”

In Anne a lay apostle's book Lessons in Love, she perfectly identifies the necessity to work on ourselves before pointing out the error of others: 

"Any apostle could name another who behaves like a Pharisee but that will not be helpful, beyond advancing our understanding of the phenomenon. Jesus would be happier if every apostle scrutinized himself and worked with Him on eradicating any judgmental attitude in the apostle’s own soul. We see that the Pharisees were looking to condemn. Remember that this is the opposite of what Jesus did. Jesus looked to save. We must look for evidence of hope and potential in those around us. Some search constantly for evidence of unholiness in others. I think this might be their way of trying to fuel or protect their superiority or obtaining value for themselves in an unhealthy way. Superiority is something that requires constant feeding, like an addiction. Just as a cigarette smoker needs a nicotine fix periodically, a superiority addict needs to look down on someone periodically. Anyone will do. Those around this type of addict will suffer the most but if the superiority addict must go outside of his inner circle, he is happy to do that. Reading the daily newspaper can work for him in a pinch, but one addicted to superiority will eventually find himself searching for reasons to condemn even the holiest souls. This should make our skin crawl with revulsion. Really. It should. I suspect that what is happening is that it is easier to snatch affirmation in small unhealthy doses this way than to actually look within, meet the eyes of Christ and take whatever affirmation we merit in truth while accepting the growth challenges that Jesus puts before us. I often wonder if these people think they are going to get into heaven by citing the unholiness of others rather than standing on their own holiness. Do they think Jesus will ask them to regale Him with stories about the darkness of the times and the sins committed by those around them? Jesus Christ knows the sins of others and instantly factors in all mitigating and aggravating circumstances in each life. The life we will be accounting for is our own. Jesus knew the law but He was not rigid because He applied it with love and mercy. Remember that the characteristics of the Trinity include gentleness, kindness, generosity of heart, truthfulness, eagerness to serve, prudence, and humility."


Lay apostles, do you frequently blame others for something you've done and don't want to admit? What about little white lies because you don't want to offend or be embarrassed? Well, it's time for all of us to work on getting that wooden beam out of our own eyes before pointing out the splinter in our brothers and sisters. It's time to say, "It WAS me!"

Thank you, Lord, for the ability to admit when I am wrong . . . instead of making excuses. And, thank you for the humor and humility needed to do it!

God bless,
Bonnie

The Divine Healer

Jesus heals all wounds . . . eventually. Although the "eventually" is not His fault, it's my own ego hard at work. We all do battle with darkness when we have been wounded by another. After reading todays Gospel (Luke 6:27-38), I know I have come a long way. A younger me would have poo-pooed most of what Jesus is saying, without the slightest hesitation. My immature mind couldn't dismiss the wrongs or mistreatment. But I get it now. I'm going to use a phrase my husband says in times of wrongdoing: hurt people, hurt people. So next time someone wounds your precious heart, remember the words of Christ in this Gospel. Do it for Him. Resist the urge to get revenge; resist the temptation to spew hatred back. Allow our Divine Healer tend to your heart first. Then, ask Him to heal your offender. Here it is, straight from the lips of Our Lord:

Jesus said to his disciples: “To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, and get back the same amount.  But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful.

“Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”

In Anne a lay apostle's book Serving in Clarity, Jesus reminds us He is the Healer of all wounds:

"I know what lifts your heart, My beloved one. I know what consoles you and gives you comfort. In the same way, you understand what consoles Me, what lifts Me and gives Me comfort. Shall I remind you? Love. Love gives Me solace in a time when there is great hatred. I look to you and I see suffering, yes, pain, of course, but also love. I see that you suffer for Me and this sustains Me. I see your sacrifices and I see your wounds, and yet you continue to serve your King. You do not melt away into the world as others have. You do not allow your heart to be hardened as some do. You work constantly to allow Me access as the Divine Healer. I require constant access to your little heart, it is true, but you give that to Me through your time in prayer and your willingness to be honest in assessing your actions and motives. Dearest apostle, walk with Me as one of My guards of honor. I love you immeasurably. I will care for everything and I will never fail to sustain you. Bring Me your fears constantly, in every moment. I will eradicate them. If you walk closely with Me, you will exert less effort and I will sow a heavenly garden in your soul as we proceed."

Lay apostles, what are you waiting for? Are you carrying a grudge from an old wound? A recent wound? Pray to Jesus right now. Ask Him to mend your heart and give you the grace needed to forgive. It takes a lot of practice and dedication to heal old wounds. But it can be done! I am living proof it does get better the more I cling to Christ and pray for those who offend. The only way I can describe it is like this: it's as if there is a protective shield in front of me when daggers are being thrown. I can hear what is being said but my heart is completely protected. I mistakenly step in front of that shield once in a while (quickly realizing I am unprotected!) and let the pointy little suckers penetrate my heart.  But it's not too long before Our Lord swoops in to save it. I just have to let Him!

Thank you, Lord, for truly being my Divine Healer. My life is so different now . . . since I let You completely in!

God bless,
Bonnie

New Again

A taste of heaven on earth = newborn babies. I am in love all over again with our 3rd grandson Christian. Last night as I held him sleeping peacefully on my chest, I kept thanking Jesus for this perfect little boy. I thanked Him for the gift of grandchildren; the ability to hear his sweet little cries; the sense of touch as I kissed his little head; and eyes to see His Perfect Creation. Everything is new again . . . and yes, the exhaustion my daughter and her husband feel will eventually become less as Christian grows (ok, with children maybe exhaustion doesn't stop until college!) and sleeps through the night. Yes, everything is new again as they figure out how to manage two children instead of one. Learning and adapting is a lifetime event. Serving instead of being served is a basic principle of parenting . . . a lesson Jesus teaches us throughout the Bible and the Volumes. So, despite this grandma's age, I am learning from watching my beautiful daughter lovingly nurse her new baby as she tells her 2 year old to come give her a kiss . . . as my son-in-law protects his precious newborn as he rough houses with his oldest son. I am witnessing God's Love for each of His Children on earth. 

This Mimi experiencing heaven on earth!

Todays Gospel (Luke 5:33-39) teaches us to continue learning for a lifetime:

The scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus, “The disciples of John the Baptist fast often and offer prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same; but yours eat and drink.”
Jesus answered them, “Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
then they will fast in those days.” And he also told them a parable. “No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one. Otherwise, he will tear the new and the piece from it will not match the old cloak. Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined. Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins. And no one who has been drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’”

In Volume Two, Jesus asks us to continue in prayer to Him, even when we are exhausted or lost:

"When you meet Me face to face, you will see clearly every happiness you have caused Me. I need you and so appreciate any fidelity offered to Me. If only for the sake of repayment you should come to Me often, as I reward each prayer, each glance, each petition even, beyond anything you might imagine. Please do not worry if you do not feel like you think you should feel. My child, how does a saint feel when that saint is laboring on earth? Very often, My saintly souls feel tired. They feel tired because they are laboring. But they also feel determined and these saintly souls come back to Me in prayer, even though they do not feel holy every moment. Do not let your feelings dictate your prayer time. Imagine a marriage where the two people only served each 
other in times of romantic love. I need not tell you that the marriage would be doomed. It is the very same with your relationship to Me. Serve Me always, regardless of how you feel."

Lay apostles, take a look around you and witness what is new today. Is it a new baby or grand baby? A new flower budding before the cold of winter? Whatever it is, search it out. See what our Heavenly Father provides us every day. It is miraculous!

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of our grandchildren. I wanted it so badly as my girls married, and You have rewarded me with such love! 

God bless,
Bonnie

September Monthly Message

No better way to start the month than reading the Monthly Message from Jesus . . . and, a visit from Anne, a lay apostle! Loved our visit, albeit short! 

We continue our cycle of monthly messages for 2014 with the message from September 1, 2006 for our prayer groups and personal reflection.

September 1, 2006 (2014)

Jesus

A deep peace settles upon those who serve the Lord. This interior peace, heaven’s presence, connects each apostle to their Saviour. I work in each soul without interruption if that soul welcomes Me. Around the apostle, circumstances change. Others come and go in their life and perhaps there is suffering or persecution. My presence remains constant, though, comforting, consoling, and directing. The connection between heaven and each apostolic servant is the avenue through which I return to the world. How heaven delights in each commitment. During this time many look to their Saviour and know with certainty that I am calling out to them. Each apostle hears My call. You have heard My call. Consider today what your Jesus is asking of you. Consider how I am asking you to serve today. Dearest apostle, I must insist that you spend time in silence contemplating My will. I must insist upon this because I require your service in whatever way I have willed for you during this time. If you give Me your full attention for a period of time each day, I can instruct you and prompt you. Also, I can give you a very important heavenly attribute and that is the peace that I need you to possess. You must possess this for your own comfort, of course, but you must also possess this peace so that it flows through you into the world. Your world does not have peace. My peace has been rejected by your world. You, My beloved apostles, reject the world’s discord and accept My peace. That is why you are so important to Me. I am your Beloved One. You feel My presence, do you not? Truly, I am with you. Dear apostle, I want to be with everyone in this way. Will you help Me? I know that you will. Spend time with Me in silence each day and I will provide you with everything you need and everything the world requires.