Gospel Thoughts Today: The End Goal

"No marriages or babies until you have a college degree in your hands." I can't remember how many times I told my daughters this throughout their lives. I went back to school full-time for a BSN when my youngest was two. Not an easy thing to do when raising three little girls. I am happy to report my mission was completed the day my youngest daughter Taylor graduated with her BS in Photography 5 years ago. I remember a conversation with her after beginning her dream job back then. She lovingly congratulated me on accomplishing exactly what I wanted for my girls. The thing she didn't realize was . . . they all listened to me! They believed what I said. They plowed through the obstacles along the way, never losing sight of the end goal.  What a great metaphor when thinking about being a Christian! We must believe what we read in the Bible and the messages from all of heaven in the Volumes. Living a life driven by the words of Christ will lead us to the end goal . . . heaven. Not always easy, but worth leaping over every hurdle.

In today's Gospel (John 10:22-30), Jesus reassures us He knows who we are:

The feast of the Dedication was taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter.  And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon.  So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense?  If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”  Jesus answered them, “I told you and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me. But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.  No one can take them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.  The Father and I are one.”

In Volume Four, Jesus again asks us to unite ourselves to Him:

"Believe Me when I say to you that you will never have peace, true peace, while you are separated from Me. And your eternity must be considered. You will spend eternity in one of two places, dear little soul. You must give this serious thought and determine where you would like to reside. You say you do not believe in God or you do not believe that God would send people to hell forever. I tell you today that it is not I, the only God there is, who condemns souls to hell. It is the soul himself who chooses to reside in hell. Do you know why the soul chooses hell? Because there are like-minded souls there. A soul who aligns himself with darkness does not choose heaven because that soul would not be comfortable in heaven. You must understand that you can be angry with God but God is not at fault. You can blame God for all that is wrong with your world and perhaps this will work for you on earth. I assure you though, on this day that this will cease to work for you at the moment of your death. At that time there will be only yourself to blame as the Truth is inescapable. You will be facing the one, the only, and the true God and attempting to tell Him that He does not exist. How do you think this will go for you? It will not go well, dear soul, and that is why I am speaking to you now."

Lay apostles, do you find yourself veering off the path to heaven? If you are, think about why. Is it because if you listened to His words you would have to eliminate certain things in your life? Do you lack complete trust in Him because you have been let down in the past? My friends, Jesus only wants what is good for us. He wants us to make choices with Him in mind. Letting go of behaviors or habits which lead us away from Him can be freeing rather than restraining. Take the first step . . . just a baby step . . . and get back on track. He is waiting with open arms!

Thank you, Lord, for allowing my daughters to accomplish their goals in life with You in mind. Please continue to lead them in their careers/lives to do everything for Your Glory!

God bless,
Bonnie

Gospel Thoughts Today: No Guessing Who Belongs

A great blog post from a few years ago, written by the love of my life, Jay Crandall! (Note: we are not NFL watchers anymore with their unpatriotic stances . . . but this is a great analogy for today's Gospel).

Every year, the NFL holds a draft for college athletes looking to move on and play professionally. Right there, on the day of the draft, the players are given their first pieces of clothing identifying them with their new team (typically a ball cap and a jersey). The day they show for training camp, they are given more gear, equipment, and workout clothes that definitively identify them as a member of that team. The team logo is on their jersey, on their helmet, on their socks, on their shirt, and under their pads . . . it is on everything. There is no guessing if the team considers them one of their own.

Now, these players also understand that they could be cut from the roster at any point. It could be during the season . . . it could be right before the first game of the season . . . it could be on the first day of practice. Regardless, at no point in their journey are they or anyone around them questioning if they are a member of that team.

In today's Gospel (Mark 16:15-18), Jesus asks His eleven apostles to go out and preach the Gospel to every creature. He goes on to say that those who believe in His name will easily be identified:

Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

In the Monthly Message from August 2006, Jesus talks about the gifts that can only be received by Him:

"I send My apostles the grace necessary for a calm spirit. With this calm spirit, My followers will bring heavenly calm to a restless world that trembles with unease. Live your commitment to time spent in silent prayer and I will place these heavenly graces in your soul. Others will identify these graces in you because these gifts are contrary to the gifts offered by the world. This is another way that My apostles stand out." 

Lay apostles, can you be easily identified as a someone who follows Jesus Christ the Returning King? Do your actions speak louder than your words?

Thank you, Lord, for showing me the path I need to take in order to become more recognizable as one of Your followers. 

Humbly and Gratefully Yours,

Jay

Accomplishing the End Goal

A repost from 2013, one of my favorite subjects, my girls:

No marriages or babies until you have a college degree in your hands. I can't remember how many times I told my daughters this throughout their lives. I went back to school full-time for a BSN when my youngest was two. Not an easy thing to do when raising three little girls. I am happy to report my mission is complete. Taylor just finished her BS last month and began her dream job today. As we spoke on her drive to Boca Raton this morning, she lovingly congratulated me on accomplishing exactly what I wanted for my girls. The thing she doesn't realize is . . . they all listened to me! They believed what I said. They plowed through the obstacles along the way, never losing sight of the end goal. Now, the hard work and dedication is paying off. What a great metaphor when thinking about being a Christian! We must believe what we read in the Bible . . . and believing is the easy part. Living a life driven by the words of Christ will lead us to the end goal . . . heaven. Not always easy, but worth leaping over every hurdle. 

In todays Gospel (John 10:22-30), Jesus reassures us He knows who we are: 

The feast of the Dedication was taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter.  And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon.  So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense?  If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”  Jesus answered them, “I told you and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me. But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.  No one can take them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.  The Father and I are one.”

In Volume Four, Jesus again asks us to unite ourselves to Him:

"Believe Me when I say to you that you will never have peace, true peace, while you are separated from Me. And your eternity must be considered. You will spend eternity in one of two places, dear little soul. You must give this serious thought and determine where you would like to reside. You say you do not believe in God or you do not believe that God would send people to hell forever. I tell you today that it is not I, the only God there is, who condemns souls to hell. It is the soul himself who chooses to reside in hell. Do you know why the soul chooses hell? Because there are like-minded souls there. A soul who aligns himself with darkness does not choose heaven because that soul would not be comfortable in heaven. You must understand that you can be angry with God but God is not at fault. You can blame God for all that is wrong with your world and perhaps this will work for you on earth. I assure you though, on this day that this will cease to work for you at the moment of your death. At that time there will be only yourself to blame as the Truth is inescapable. You will be facing the one, the only, and the true God and attempting to tell Him that He does not exist. How do you think this will go for you? It will not go well, dear soul, and that is why I am speaking to you now."

Lay apostles, do you find yourself veering off the path to heaven? If you are, think about why. Is it because if you listened to His words you would have to eliminate certain things in your life? Do you lack complete trust in Him because you have been let down in the past? My friends, Jesus only wants what is good for us. He wants us to make choices with Him in mind. Letting go of behaviors or habits which lead us away from Him can be freeing rather than restraining. Take the first step . . . just a baby step . . . and get back on track. He is waiting with open arms!

Thank you, Lord, for allowing my daughters to accomplish their goals in life with You in mind. Please continue to lead them in their careers/lives to do everything for Your Glory!

God bless,

Bonnie

No Guessing at Training Camp . . . Easy to Identify:

Blogger: love of my life, Jay!

Every year, the NFL holds a draft for the college athletes looking to move on and play professionally. Right there, on the day of the draft, the players are given their first pieces of clothing identifying them with their new team (typically a ball cap and a jersey).

The day they show for training camp, they are given more gear, equipment, and workout clothes that definitively identify them as a member of that team. The team logo is on

their jersey, on their helmet, on their socks, on their shirt under their pads . . . it is on everything. There is no guessing if the team considers them one of their own.

Now, these players also understand that they could be cut from the roster at any point. It could be during the season . . . it could be right before the first game of the season . . . it could be on the first day of practice. Regardless, at no point in their journey are they or anyone around them questioning if they are a member of that team.

In Saturdays Gospel (Mark 16:15-18), Jesus asks His eleven apostles to go out and preach the Gospel to every creature. He goes on to say that those who believe in His name will easily be identified:

Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

In the Monthly Message from August 2006, Jesus talks about the gifts that can only be received by Him:

"I send My apostles the grace necessary for a calm spirit. With this calm spirit, My followers will bring heavenly calm to a restless world that trembles with unease. Live your commitment to time spent in silent prayer and I will place these heavenly graces in your soul. Others will identify these graces in you because these gifts are contrary to the gifts offered by the world. This is another way that My apostles stand out." 

Lay apostles, can you be easily identified as a someone who follows Jesus Christ the Returning King? Do your actions speak louder than your words?

Thank you, Lord, for showing me the path I need to take in order to become more recognizable as one of Your followers. 

Humbly and Gratefully Yours,

Jay

Accomplish the End Goal

No marriages or babies until you have a college degree in your hands. I can't remember how many times I told my daughters this throughout their lives. I went back to school full-time for a BSN when my youngest was two. Not an easy thing to do when raising three little girls. I am happy to report my mission is complete. Taylor just finished her BS last month and began her dream job today. As we spoke on her drive to Boca Raton this morning, she lovingly congratulated me on accomplishing exactly what I wanted for my girls. The thing she doesn't realize is . . . they all listened to me! They believed what I said. They plowed through the obstacles along the way, never losing sight of the end goal. Now, the hard work and dedication is paying off. What a great metaphor when thinking about being a Christian! We must believe what we read in the Bible . . . and believing is the easy part. Living a life driven by the words of Christ will lead us to the end goal . . . heaven. Not always easy, but worth leaping over every hurdle. 


In todays Gospel (John 10:22-30), Jesus reassures us He knows who we are: 

The feast of the Dedication was taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter.  And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon.  So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense?  If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”  Jesus answered them, “I told you and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me. But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep.
My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.  No one can take them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.  The Father and I are one.”

In Volume Four, Jesus again asks us to unite ourselves to Him:

"Believe Me when I say to you that you will never have peace, true peace, while you are separated from Me. And your eternity must be considered. You will spend eternity in one of two places, dear little soul. You must give this serious thought and determine where you would like to reside. You say you do not believe in God or you do not believe that God would send people to hell forever. I tell you today that it is not I, the only God there is, who condemns souls to hell. It is the soul himself who chooses to reside in hell. Do you know why the soul chooses hell? Because there are like-minded souls there. A soul who aligns himself with darkness does not choose heaven because that soul would not be comfortable in heaven. You must understand that you can be angry with God but God is not at fault. You can blame God for all that is wrong with your world and perhaps this will work for you on earth. I assure you though, on this day that this will cease to work for you at the moment of your death. At that time there will be only yourself to blame as the Truth is inescapable. You will be facing the one, the only, and the true God and attempting to tell Him that He does not exist. How do you think this will go for you? It will not go well, dear soul, and that is why I am speaking to you now."

Lay apostles, do you find yourself veering off the path to heaven? If you are, think about why. Is it because if you listened to His words you would have to eliminate certain things in your life? Do you lack complete trust in Him because you have been let down in the past? My friends, Jesus only wants what is good for us. He wants us to make choices with Him in mind. Letting go of behaviors or habits which lead us away from Him can be freeing rather than restraining. Take the first step . . . just a baby step . . . and get back on track. He is waiting with open arms!

Thank you, Lord, for allowing my daughters to accomplish their goals in life with You in mind. Please continue to lead them in their careers to do everything for Your Glory!

God bless,

Bonnie