Heaven Blog Podcast - by Julie Bonn Blank

HeavenBlog.org - Julie Bonn Blank
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Receive eternal hope, encouragement, healing, and insights from a Heaven visitor and Christian reporter, right to your inbox. We feature interviews with those who walk close to the Holy Spirit, have visited Heaven, and authors with an eternal perspective. www.heavenblog.org

  1. 29 Aug

    Pentecostal vs. Charismatic Curious: What About Women Leading & Preaching?

    The woman question. In the corner of Christianity I grew up in, I never encountered the ‘women can’t preach’ doctrine. I may have heard rumbles of it. But it was never even remotely a question to me or the churches and ministries I was part of. When I arrived in Peru, it was a different story. Thanks for your support. Don’t miss an article! Join us at heavenblog.org Other Posts in This Series: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.heavenblog.org/subscribe

  2. 24 Aug

    Two Years Ago Today, I Went To Heaven

    Today I choose to celebrate. The Lord has implanted so many lessons and new material into my brain in the past two years—I’m surprised it doesn’t weigh 20 pounds. But then again, maybe it does. :-) As I prayed about what I should share with you today in celebration of my Heaven anniversary, He spoke clearly of two things that pop out the most. We Are Called To Draw Even Closer I am more convinced than ever that we truly are in the last season of days, my friends, and I am going to relate to you a short conversation He and I had in Heaven: ‘Time is short.’ ‘As in, You are coming back!!!!!!!’ (Can you see me squealing and jumping up and down?) ‘Yes. And my Church is not acting urgently enough.’ We stand on the threshold of an hour late in the day. The signs of the times are not quiet whispers but clear signals that the return of Jesus is closer than ever before. Yet, a quiet complacency has lulled too many into treating eternity like a distant afterthought rather than an imminent reality. Now is not the time to coast, to hoard our gifts, or to live for temporal comfort while souls around us are searching for truth. The hour demands urgency, passion, and purpose. We are not called to be passive bystanders watching the clock run down, but active, courageously engaged laborers in the harvest field. And no matter what is happening in our personal lives—no matter the pain—we must think eternally. Please wake up. Step out of the shadows of hesitation, share the Gospel boldly, love without restraint, and live every single day with the holy conviction that our King is coming back soon. You Have Only A Few Weeks To Live My friends, I sincerely ask this—WHAT would you be doing if you knew you only had a few weeks left of life for sure? Perhaps you have seen a family member or friend experience this and taking it seriously. I suspect your activities would fit into these categories: * SHARE - Sharing Jesus with all your family and friends. I mean, who wants to arrive at the pearly gates and receive a less-than-stellar report? Not me. * PREPARE - Making arrangements to travel to your new Land, including learning the language, etc. Also, preparing those whom you love (whether they choose to listen or not) * INVEST - Spending as much time as possible pursuing what you love before you go. What about that bucket list? * SPIRITUAL PREP - Making sure you are spiritually ready and doing whatever your Heaven minded mission manifesto (eternal purpose) is. Because you will answer to Him for each and every activity and for each and every moment of your life. ACT LIKE THIS: Please pretend you have a death sentence, although I hope to see you in Heaven, as Heaven is incomplete without you. What is the Lord asking YOU to do? He asked me to draw incredibly close to the Holy Spirit, and this I have done with joy. You’ve been along for much of my journey, and I am so very grateful for you! He has now healed me of four medical issues (the latest two I’ve not even shared with you yet), activated tongues and has me speaking and praying over others—as well as writing books, of course. (Heaven Book 2 in progress! Do you have a heavenly story to share?) But beyond that, I feel a deep need in my community. The other day, I was extremely delayed in getting to the post office and felt a bit frustrated. But His whisper to ‘go now’ was unmistakable. I dropped what I was doing and flew out the door. In the almost-inevitable line I waited, smiled at the lady behind me, and made pleasantries and watched a young gentleman already at the counter, who was growing increasingly agitated. His fingers tapped persistently on the counter, and he started almost bouncing on his heels as his body sought to posture a bit taller. At the same time, he would not make eye contact and had coverings on his face. The worker helping him is a long-term community member—I go to church with his mother. Then the customer grew angry very quickly. His house had caught fire, he had no belongings, people had been mailing things to him at the wrong address. To a home that no longer existed. Here we go, Lord. Will this end up being violent? And found it interesting that I felt no fear. I stepped up to the counter in the nearby section, which another worker opened up to help me. This man needed compassion, but he also needed to calm down. I saw his broken heart. I heard his spirit—just beyond the splintered curse words. I scooted along the counter, stepping a bit closer to the customer. What was I thinking? I was being a ‘mother', I think! Can I hug you, young man? LOL! Did I dare touch him? I decided against that. Nonetheless, the customer tilted his head at me. He knew I was there. But then he started arguing loudly with the postal worker, leaned forward over the counter, emphasizing certain words. He looked like he might jump the counter. I admit I had a quick thought, wondering if he had hidden a gun somewhere. Were we about to become a news story? Oh, well! The tongues started flowing from me. Yes, I was that muttering lady at the counter. Within two seconds, the customer calmed. And I noted the Postmaster coming out to stand a good distance behind his postal worker. "This is the wrong post office,” the worker finally managed to get in after telling the young man several times to take his sunglasses and coverings off. It was like a balloon losing air in the lobby of the postal office; I know of no other way to explain it. The young man deflated. The entire air of the lobby returned to normal. People started breathing easier. The unhappy customer settled back on the flats of his feet, relief etched in every muscle. In an instant, his entire attitude changed. ‘Thank you,’ he kept saying, using the postal worker’s name now. ‘Thank you. I understand. You are a good helper. You did well.’ Complete turnaround! The relief on the postal worker’s face was evident, as well as on everyone else’s faces. And as the young man left, I assured the Postmaster that his worker had done well and was not to blame. And then I spent some time reassuring all who stood there, because the Lord had stepped in. Where are you needed in your community? We Are Often Possessed (pretty much!) A double minded person is unstable in all his ways (James 1:8). “Double Minded” in Greek is dipsuchos. It literally means double-souled. Spiritual warfare is at an all-time high. The enemy is attacking our families, our marriages and our livelihood. Unless you have spiritually cleansed your home recently, you likely have influencers partying. They aren’t even bothering to hide in the basement. Anywhere sin has occurred is stained. Anywhere a window to satan has been opened, trust me, he has entered. We have a longstanding belief that we have the Holy Spirit in us and therefore cannot be possessed by evil. It is true that He within us is greater than he that is within the world. However, God does not heal free will. Remember that He gave us free will because He loves us so very much, and we are free at any time to open the window to sin and the enemy’s influence. Picture this. The air is a bit funky in your home and you crack open a window. You never hear the tornado coming around the corner that then catches the lip of the window and rips it completely from your wall. But that is what happens. A silent storm. One that eventually starts howling. We start to allow sin in small ways. Such as: *Believing the lies of the world, instead of the truth of God. These lies start small and build because satan is whispering in your ear. These might be that people are rejecting you, that you aren’t good enough/capable, you should be ashamed, and the list could take up this entire page if I typed them all out. What lies are you believing? *Allowing a small amount of alcohol in your home (‘just wine or beer’ as an example) and before ya know it, relying on it every night, or perhaps purchasing the heavier stuff. Or maybe you’ve allowed another substance or habit, or sexual perversion/porn, to enter. Before long, it not only grows in stature (and is addictive, requiring the need for more and more), but it corrupts your thinking and then your behavior. Married adults who watched pornography were more than twice as likely to experience a marital separation within six years compared to those who did not watch it. (National Institute of Health) *Failing to spiritually lead your home, including regular devotional and prayer times in your personal time AND with your spouse and children. They often go hand-in-hand. Pretty soon, even attendance at gatherings like church falls lower on the priority scale. Ladies, who is to take this responsibility if your spouse is not making it happen or unable to make that happen? That’s right, you. You don’t sit back and wait for him to come to his senses. This is too important to let go. Your future, his future, and your children’s future are at stake. *Instilling a stubborn block of sin that becomes a stronghold. Strongholds can also take up an entire page, but they might include things like being prideful, refusing to forgive, refusing to bless, holding on to anger or fear, harboring bitterness, not honoring the Lord in your speech, nurturing negative thoughts about someone, etc. Ask the Lord to reveal any idols or strongholds that have taken priority over Him, and do consider that your ministry work or work for the Lord can also sneak up there. When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21 NIV I think sometimes, because it is at the end

  3. 11 Aug

    Pentecostal vs. Evangelical: How Do You Turn Up The Volume On God?

    Welcome to **Two Paths, One Voice**—a conversation between two believers whose journeys couldn’t have looked more different, yet somehow led to the same destination. Our stories don’t match. Our church backgrounds don’t match. Our experiences with God don’t even follow the same timeline. One of us was raised in a Pentecostal world where the gifts of the Spirit were familiar from childhood, though their meaning unfolded more deeply over time. The other was shaped by a conservative faith tradition, experienced an unexpected encounter with Heaven, embraced speaking in tongues much later in life, and still resists fitting neatly into any label. We come from different nations, different generations, and different spiritual starting points. Yet despite those differences, we’ve discovered something remarkable: God’s voice isn’t reserved for one denomination, personality, or life story. Each week we’ll explore the same questions, then answer them independently from our own experiences. Sometimes we’ll agree completely. Sometimes we’ll arrive there by different roads. Either way, our hope is to encourage you to recognize that God is still speaking—and that learning to hear Him is a journey available to every believer. Two stories. Two perspectives. One faithful God. What are the top 3 ways God speaks to you most often? I would say the top three ways God speaks to me are these: * The Word of God, the Bible. * Dreams. * Remembrance. The Word Of God, The Bible The Bible is foundational to hearing God’s voice. I call the Bible, the Book of His Voice. Because it’s the book inspired by and written under the direction and influence of the Spirit of God. Other books were inspired and influenced by other spirits. So then they are the books of that spirit’s voice. If you want to hear God’s voice, open the Bible and start reading. He’ll speak to you. Dreams God uses dreams to speak to me a lot. I’ve written about how He began to speak to me in dreams and I didn’t understand what they were all about. When I asked the Lord why all the dreams, He spoke to me and said, dreams are the beginning of the prophetic. This area of dreams continues to be something that amazes me. Often He uses a dream to start a new conversation with me. In other words, He’ll show me something I didn’t even know to pray or seek Him about. It was completely unknown to me. Then I’ll go to the Word of God and He’ll show me from the Word. But He started the conversation in a dream. Remembrance The term remembrance comes from a scripture in John 14:26. Jesus said Holy Spirit will “bring back to your remembrance all things I have spoken to you.” So, Holy Spirit reminds you of what Jesus already said. This is an ongoing occurrence. He’ll remind me of scriptures. Phrases from scriptures. Dreams or visions He’s shown me. Holy Spirit uses those things to connect the dots and lead in the direction He wants me to go. This has changed a bit over the years for me. I think I mentioned in the last post that as a youth, He spoke quite a bit through what I might call tools like songs, His Word, etc. And of course, He used people, and He still does. If I had to pin it down to (let’s say) since I went to Heaven and came back, I would say He still uses tools but I mostly hear His voice in my head now, as well as have visions and dreams. Or at least that seems to be what I pay the most attention to. What is one way God hasn’t spoken to you, but you’d like? One way God hasn’t spoken to me yet is what is typically called an “open vision” in Pentecostal circles. Yes, God speaks to me in spiritual visions. A spiritual vision is like Paul’s vision in Acts 16 of a man from Macedonia. Paul didn’t see a physical man. A man didn’t walk into his house. It was a vision from the spirit that was “played” in the imagination of his mind. An “open vision” is different because it sees in the physical. Like Moses, for example, with the burning bush. Or Paul on the road to Damascus. When the angel came to Cornelius in Acts 10. Or when the angel arrived at Mary’s house. In Daniel 9, it says the angel arrived at the time of the evening prayer. Hagar in the desert in Genesis 16. She said, “I have seen The God Who Sees Me and I lived.” Those were open visions. God spoke to them in the physical. Peter in Acts 12 is also a good example. Because the angel kicked him to wake him up. And the angel opened the prison doors and they walked out. Peter thought he was seeing a spiritual vision. In other words, that he saw the vision played in the imagination of his mind. It wasn’t until the angel suddenly disappeared that he realized it happened in the physical. So, this is one area of God speaking and communicating with me personally, that I am believing for. Obviously, we don’t live by experience. I’m not basing my Christianity or relationship with Him on seeking experiences. We live by faith. But faith isn’t stagnant. It’s always reaching. So, He will reveal to you more of Himself from the Word and say, “Believe me for it.” What’s more, faith is relationship based. And part of relationship is tangibility and experience. Open Visions, huh? That is the first I have heard that term. It sounds like Open Visions might be more verifiable by others? But perhaps not all of the time. In the last post, I mentioned the voice in the bathroom that my kiddo heard outside of the bathroom when no one was in there with me, so I wonder if that would count. I do now think of Jacob, who wrestled with a physical being that was either an angel or, I believe, God Himself, and wound up with a wounded hip. My desire would be longer conversations with Him. I do not receive long-winded paragraphs here on earth. It is usually just one direct, jumpstart sentence. Then sometimes when I ask for clarification or a question, I get one more. I was quite jealous when I read the book of Job last year and realized that the Lord spoke to Him (toward the end) in several long chapters. LOL. Speaking of remembrance, I love the verse that Eric quoted. When I first came back from Heaven, I thought I retained all the memories but I did not. As I wrote Routed to Heaven, He informed me that we walked and talked and more surfaced at very applicable times throughout the chapters. Of course, they were added in. After wrapping Routed, I thought the memories were done, but more arose as I wrote the Companion Study Guide. Now that I am working on the second book, I believe more will arrive, and that is one of the reasons the enemy has been very intent on spiritual attack lately in my life. Will we ever be done? I am not sure. This month is my second year anniversary of going to Heaven. According to the experts, full processing and recovery take (ironically but maybe not so much) seven years. You all might have messy Julie on your hands for quite a bit longer. Ha. Today, He spoke through my Bible App. Although I usually have a gift for mercy, I got very frustrated and unmerciful in some conversations (and texts - yikes) this week. Of course, I didn’t see it that way. :-) This morning, I sat at my dining room table hesitant about more conversation this afternoon. And ‘bing!’ After many months of not getting even one notification from my Bible App, the Verse of the Day popped up: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:36 NIV). What? Argh. Yes, I knew it was for me. I felt so convicted and quickly confessed. Thank you, Jesus, for the very timely reminder. What are some tips you could give to those wanting to hear the voice of God? There are two parts to my answer... First, I wrote a newsletter specifically addressing this. I go through 12 keys that I use to hear the voice of God. Actually, 13 because I give a bonus one as well. I personally use these keys all the time. They are not pie-in-the-sky stuff. It’s not theory. It’s not something I dug out of the Bible because I needed something to write. They are keys I put into practice over nearly 20 years of God speaking to me prophetically. Here is a list... * Intense hunger. * Fill yourself. * Think like Jesus. * Access it by faith. * Wait on Jesus. * Follow the road signs. * Write it down. * Speak it out. * Do it. * Pray in tongues. * Practice daily. * Learn the ways He speaks. * Fast. Plus, I’m in the process of writing very in-depth newsletters about each key. So, then if you want to dig into one specific key, there are 2-4 newsletters that go deep. Those will help you understand and put them into practice. Second, let me give you a couple extra tips here to help you position yourself to hear the voice of God... ● Decide what is important. Often our actions aren’t congruent with our beliefs. Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day. Use your time to do what is important. Anything unimportant, don’t give it time. Did you know we deliver right to your email box? Don’t miss a post! ● Set up your life to hear God speak. Being overly busy can stifle the voice of God in your life. I heard a minister say many years ago, “If you are too busy to spend time with God, you are too busy.” ● Spend a lot of time in the Word of God. It is the Book of His Voice. This should go without saying. But you’d be surprised how many people don’t read the Bible. Reading books and listening to sermons are good. But those shouldn’t replace time in the Word. The first two tips will help with the last one. But if you don’t address those first two, then it may be hard for you to advance spiritually, including hearing the voice of God. Ask Him. :-) Job did, and I have too. I do have people search me out to ask if I can help them encounter the Lord in a supernatural way. And there are others whom I beg God to provide an unmistakable encounter. To my knowledge, He has only honored this prayer from me once. I agree with Eric’s list, but let’s tack on #14. Ask. The Lord wants to he

  4. 5 Aug

    Pentecostal vs. Evangelical: How We Hear God's Voice

    Welcome to TWO PATHS-ONE VOICE. If you put the two of us in a room, you might assume we learned to hear God’s voice the exact same way. But we didn’t. One of us grew up steeped in Pentecostal culture—speaking in tongues early, surrounded by the gifts, but only truly grasping the depth of it all as an adult. The other grew up conservative, had an unexpected visit to Heaven, received tongues just recently, and still wouldn’t call herself Pentecostal ‘per se’. We come from two different countries, and two differing generations. Although our spiritual backgrounds vastly differ, we’ve landed in the same place: a deep, daily desire to hear the voice of God. In this series, we’re taking the exact same questions and answering them side-by-side. No cookie-cutter answers, no church jargon—just two raw, honest perspectives on what it actually looks like to tune in to Heaven. When is the first time you remember hearing God speak to you? What happened? I had to think about this for a while. Here are three instances I remember clearly. The first one was an instruction to get my heart right while on a missions trip in North Dakota. At 15 years old, I had an encounter with God. The short version is, my dad made me go on a mission trip with my youth group. And while I was there, God completely rocked me. Several times throughout that week, the Lord showed me I had things in my heart He wanted me to repent of. Things like unforgiveness, bitterness and anger. I was thinking or praying about these. I had no idea they were in my heart. But while I was in God’s presence, Holy Spirit convicted me. The experience injected in me the fire and passion to seek God with abandonment. This caused me to go farther and deeper spiritually and begin to hear God’s voice with regularity. Cutting My Hair After Being In The Presence Of God Another time, my family went to some church meetings in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I was 16 years old, I believe. The presence of God was very strong. One service was at night at a church. We sat up on the balcony. After the night service, we went back to the hotel. But I couldn’t sleep. The whole night, the Lord dealt with me about my hair. He showed me that I grew long hair to rebel against my dad. To be honest, I didn’t know the reason I did it. I just thought it would be cool. But lying there in bed that night, it was clear to me. When God showed me, I couldn’t deny it. When we got back home, I went to the barber and cut it. Called To Preach One other time, I was maybe 17 years old. I remember I felt so strongly that God was calling me to preach the gospel. A friend of mine from church and I both went up front together. We told the church that God was calling each of us into ministry. And today we both are preachers. Those are the first times I remember God speaking to me. They weren’t “spectacular.” But they were powerful and meaningful to me. I had to think too. I recounted my first hearing from him out loud in Routed to Heaven, but I definitely remember Him speaking to me in various ways as a youth. Sometimes, His voice pointed me in the right direction when I was trying to make a decision, and at other times, directed me to speak about Him to someone nearby. It happened through a thought, a quiet voice, dreams, a song, the scriptures or a God-focused book, nature, or even via another person. He Spoke Aloud The time in my twenties that He spoke, it resonated around in my head like an emphatic declaration, and then I discovered that it wasn’t in my head at all. I suffered from a lot of back pain from a car accident and wound up on disability for two years with bulging and herniated discs. My husband at the time was also disabled, we had two children, and I greatly struggled in my role of mom/caregiver/breadwinner all at once, while in tremendous pain. As much as possible, I waited for the covering of the shower to express my emotions on the days I felt fragile. One day, after a shower, I wiped off the mirror. I not only felt at the end of my rope that day, but the cord seemed to be fraying, slowly letting me go inch by jolting inch. Sobbing, I glanced in the mirror, and He said, “Julie, you are going to be OK.” Then one of my kids knocked on the bathroom door. They’d heard a man’s voice and wanted to know who was in there with me! What helped you hear God’s voice & how can others hear His voice too? I have three things. Coming from a Pentecostal background may be a little bit of an “advantage.” A Pentecostal could be more open to the things of the Spirit of God because the teaching supports it. Including hearing God speak. I didn’t have to overcome contrary teaching like “God doesn’t speak today.” I already believed He spoke. But then, at age 15, I encountered Him. This helped me hear His voice later. I’ve seen a difference between a Christian who encounters God personally and one who doesn’t. There is a different level of passion and dedication to the Lord. They have an inner fire and drive to seek to know Him more. And this includes hearing God’s voice. Thirdly, I structured my life to hear God’s voice. I made room to seek the Lord. Even as a teenager, I spent time with God in my room, in worship and reading the Word. When I went to college as a high school senior, that increased. Because I made it my habit to seek Him daily. Passionately. In my dorm room, I entered deep into the presence of God. Spending Time with God In 2009, I made it my goal to spend time seeking God every single day. And my relationship with Him took off even more. So, when I structured my lifestyle to seek the Lord, hearing His voice increased. Two Hindrances Regarding Hearing From God Two things that hindered me from hearing His voice as I look back. Distractions. One thing that has hindered me at times from hearing God speak is distractions. I think I could break those distractions into two basic categories. * Urgent distractions. Things that are urgent in life. Like work, cleaning the house, taking care of kids, etc. Obviously, these are things we need to do. But if we’re not careful, we can spend all of our time on the urgent things and never spend time with Him. This is why I structure my lifestyle to seek Him. Sometimes with young kids it is difficult. I set time either early in the morning or late at night to be with Him. * Meaningless distractions. Things that take time but produce nothing. We have a lot of these in our modern world. I chose to keep myself in a place of seeking the Lord. I want to be sensitive to His voice. So, I purposely limit these. I don’t have a TV. I don’t have social media apps on my phone. I’m not telling you what to do. I only share decisions I made to reduce distractions. Another hindrance to hearing the voice of God is an inconsistent walk. An inconsistent walk can be.... * inconsistent time with the Lord. * living an inconsistent life (sometimes hot, sometimes cold). Consistency in seeking the Lord and living for Him will help you hear God speak with much more consistency. Sometimes when I hear His voice, it is born of pure desperation, but not always. He remains very in tune with our emotions and loves us above everything else, except for His Father. His desire is to comfort us and give us the answers we seek. Even when we don’t agree with those answers. To be fair, I heard some from Him in the years that I struggled, didn’t make great choices, maintained a sometimes lukewarm spiritual walk and barely could fit in time with Him. Because of where I was, I did not always attribute it to Him—I found something else to explain it instead. But no doubt, I have heard exponentially more from Him in the years I walked close. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:8 His Voice Has Increased I had no idea His voice would increase as I pulled close to Him and finally got consistent. I held no clue He would also take me to Heaven for a visit (two now, actually!). Sometimes, I even hear Him a few times a week now, as long as there are no blocks between Him and me. It Unfolds Like This: * Daily Shoveling The Path. I learned early in my Christian walk that sin blocks Him out, as He cannot affiliate with it, and this remains true today. James 4:8 says to purify my heart. Many additional verses say to love Him with all of my heart. This means daily cleansing if needed and making Him the highest priority over everything else. * Deep Prayer Times. I not only schedule deep prayer time, but I talk to Him throughout the day, as I drive and often as I lay in bed before sleeping. He is the first I chat with when I open my eyes in the morning as well. Lately He has moved me into the importance of praise and pre-praise during this time, including via song. * Immersive Study. In the past several years, I have become much more consistent with setting aside time for deep diving into the scriptures. I truly want to KNOW HIM as intimately as He knows me. For the first time, I have added journaling and sketching (although sketching is not in my skill set. LOL). Before I finish one study, God has already told me where He wants me to dive next and many of my insights end up here in Notes and Blog Posts. * Connecting With Others Who Walk Close & Hear. God brought Eric’s post on speaking in tongues across my feed at just the right time. While he isn’t the first Pentecostal to enter my journey, he has been uniquely helpful and open to my questions as I explore this path. Believing that every connection has a divine purpose, I spent time in prayer asking how we should proceed. The Lord put it on my heart to create this series—a space where we can serve as a helpful guide for fellow searchers and beginners looking to learn more. * Community Immersion. If you’ve read ‘Routed to Heaven’ and its companion Study Guide, you also learned that God steer

  5. 8 Jul

    Hoarding Rocks - Author Talk with Cheryl Grey Bostrom

    Well, that’s funky lingo they added to the video. Ha! Just so you all know, we are talking about Hildy, a character in Cheryl’s book, “What the River Keeps.” As in, Hildy is the rock hoarder, not Cheryl. Julie has been known to collect some. :-) Hildy has convinced herself that she sees things that are not really there (shadows) and has lapses in her memories of occurrences in childhood and beyond. As a result, she created a record-keeping system of monstrous hoarding capacity. Of course, this book is about how it all ties in and how she triumphs, and I highly recommend it, as well as Cheryl’s other books. We got to hear about baby foxes and the newest book Cheryl is writing, as well as the spiritual bands that tie everything together in her life and writing. With an extreme love of nature bordering on lifelong, Cheryl writes from the perspective of an experiencer versus a researcher and this shows in her stories. We talked about nature elements in God’s world and how they relate to eternity and spiritual life here (never worshipping nature above the Lord) and lies that the enemy loves to plant in our heads. Cheryl, guided by the Holy Spirit, shared some wonderful tidbits that I am sure you will derive much from, as I did. Thank you, Cheryl, for joining me for the Heaven Blog Author Talk! Thank you also A. Thomas Kozubal, Robert sytsma, Jan Johnson, Cherie Denna, and many others for tuning into my live video with Cheryl Grey Bostrom! I apologize that the chat was frozen for me so I could not see if you had questions or prayer requests. I will hope to catch those next time with a Live scheduled on July 20 with Echoes of Memory by Sally Cave and me. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.heavenblog.org/subscribe

    Hoarding Rocks - Author Talk with Cheryl Grey Bostrom

  6. 4 Jul

    Speaking & Praying in Tongues

    Happy July 4th! No books! Intentionally! I don’t often avoid books, as you know, but this past year I have specifically avoided books that teach about being assigned or speaking in a heavenly language. Although I now look forward to learning more from other people’s experiences, I wanted to learn only from the Holy Spirit for a time and enjoy what He taught me directly. Now I shall pass what I have learned to you. But please do comment! I am ready to learn more from those with boots on the ground. The Practice Formula. Practice may not make perfect but practice keeps it rolling. I have to practice my heavenly language almost every day. When my (now) friends, J, C, R and L activated my holy language for me, they said, “practice 10-15 minutes every day.” At first this was not a problem because I couldn’t shut up. I mean everywhere and anywhere, when I was by myself. As soon as people left the room or I went on a walk, I leaped at the opportunity. Hubby walked into a room several times only to hear me ‘waxing on eloquently’ in my heavenly language. Once, I was listening to Speedy Gonzales on YouTube because I was trying to figure out if I could understand him, it sounds a bit like him and —go figure—I can roll my R’s in my heavenly language and do all the time but STILL cannot roll my R’s in English. LOL! Well, Speedy G and I do not have the same language. Eventually, it became obvious that setting a regular time to practice, just like I have with my devo/quiet time, was the best option. The Singing Side Job. I have a prophetic friend I connect with occasionally and when he prayed about me and my new language, he kept hearing that I needed to sing in this language to find more healing. We talked about it several times and I tried once or twice, but just found it really difficult. It’s like my mouth could not form a tune and new words at the same time. I gave up multiple times. In the meantime, I had another Zoom with friend M and he stressed it again. Argh. I might have even rolled my eyes. I didn’t know what He was hearing but maybe it wasn’t for me! LOL! (sending hugs if you are reading this, M.!) A couple of weeks later, I was listening to Christian radio while driving and discovered that I could do this—if I already knew the song’s tune (what was coming) and added the prayer language along with it. That worked, whew. But the Lord wasn’t done with me yet. I was driving along, praying for someone else’s healing the other day and HE said, “pray with music and praise” and I gulped! But, yes, Lord! And what do you know, I opened my mouth and basically started writing brand new songs, tune and new words included. I found myself wishing for a piano on the road to write them down. But no, they were holy and precious, and just between the Lord and I, for now. And before you ask, I had planned to call and pray with this gal the next day, and there was no need. She was released from the hospital that night in very good health. Whew. Thank you, Jesus. He Mourns When I Do Not Use It. God is not an angry accountant tracking each time we use our gifts. But we see in Matthew 25 that He is a deeply invested Father who hates to see His treasure buried in the mud. When I hide the voice that He places in my heart, I am not being humble. I am letting fear rob the Kingdom of the return on His investment in me. The ultimate heartbreak of the Parable of the Talents is a gift that never met its purpose. I never want the Master to ask me why I hid or refused to continue practicing what He gave me. No, thank you! Timing & Environment. I learned discretion in how and when I use this gift. Not in front of crowds per 1 Corinthians 14:27–28, even though I believe we should consider that the Word says that to prevent others from deceiving us. I have been shy to use it with others and I am not sure why but in this past couple of weeks, He also called me on that. News flash! I am, at times, supposed to use it when praying with people individually. Thank you to Lynn Shortman and what she unintentionally taught me (plus gave me practice). She pulled me aside at our CCW writing conference and said, “Let’s find a quiet spot. I feel like we are supposed to pray together in our tongues.” What?! Well, I trust and love Lynn so OK, I would try. Yee gads. Did she realize how much that request stretched me? I admit I didn’t go there right away. I started in English but then grew a bit more comfortable. And gradually, He brought the words. I am now becoming more comfortable as I do it more. But it was really weird at first and still is sometimes. And of course, I am learning to ask first so other people are not uncomfortable. Our Uniqueness. I believe all our languages are very unique. I have yet to meet anyone who has my language—or anything like it! Google Translate and other translation software fail to understand it either. I’ve tried! This is a bummer in one sense and comforting in another—this language is truly from Heaven. It transcends earth. Nothing man-made about it. And yet, my Lord understands me as He gave it to me and that is all that matters. He Reveals. He has revealed words to me at times when I find myself repeating them, and I ask what they mean. This is, of course, at His discretion, and I have no idea of the meaning of every single word. But He has told me the meaning of a few, such as: father, speaking, enemy, satan/minions, friends, thank you, I love you, God, praise, hallelujah, mama, kids and a few others. It transcends the human mind. I cannot think in tongues—I have tried so many times. It just gets stuck. One of the gals who helped me activate told me that it surpasses the human brain. Well, I have learned that it also bypasses the human brain, and of course, the AI models trained by human brains. I’ve often had Words of Knowledge for people throughout the years (without realizing what it was), but the Lord told me (one of the P words) when I was being healed (last chapter- Routed to Heaven) that He would expect me to be prophetic at times. Yikes!? Well, the first time it happened was at the Heaven Encounters conference and it just flew out of my mouth. The young man was eating lunch and I interrupted him to thank him really quick for something. Then suddenly, words flew out that I hadn’t planned on. I had actually started to turn away when my forehead wrinkled up and I turned back. “Do you know?” I asked. “That the Lord is getting ready to elevate you?” I know I still looked puzzled—even as I was speaking! Because I was! His sandwich bite almost dropped out of his mouth, and to my great relief, he swallowed, then grinned and said, “Thank you! I take that as a Word from Him.” I nodded fast. “And it is Him, not you.” Which he completely agreed with. I walked away shaking my head. That was so weird! You see, with Words of Knowledge, I have ALWAYS had time for my brain to process things a bit (even if just a moment) before I say it. That was not the case with this prophetic word (and ones since). The reality is, the Lord bypasses my brain and just uses my mouth. The end result is that I am actually processing the information in my brain at the same time the other person is processing it. It happened at Bible study the other day, too. One of my attendees was like, “huh? Do you know what that means” at the same time I was shaking my head, looking at the ceiling and saying, “Uh-where did that come from?” Ha ha. What a glorious mess. Throne Room Express. Early on, I asked “why” because, as you know, I am a Gideon, sometimes a doubting Thomasina, and always have questions of Him. “Why me, Lord? Why a new heavenly language? What difference will it make?” And He answered me this time (He doesn’t always!). He said, “prayers in your heavenly language go directly to the throne room.” Interesting, I thought. Don’t all our prayers go directly to You? It was only later that I understood. He gave me a new memory of something that had happened while I was in Heaven. I saw prayers from earth become a physical object, and I saw angels picking them up, gathering them and taking them to the throne room, where He indeed spent all day and night interceding for us. But there is no gathering needed of prayers in that SOS heavenly language, apparently. They land straight at the bullseye. You might have it too. I have also learned that likely, if you have ever had the desire for a heavenly language, He has already given that to you. Or will. It just needs to be activated. Why did I want it? Certainly not to sound like a weird mumbling woman as she walks around the neighborhood (although I think I do!) but because I felt it would draw me closer to HIM, and help me help others—and it has. I see this verse a bit differently now: ...to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 1 Corinthians 12:9–10, NIV Spiritual gifts are not a random inheritance dropped on us from a distant sky. Because the Spirit lives in you, the fullness of His gifts is already within your reach. He doesn’t dictate your assignment from afar; instead, He honors the free will He gave you. He invites you to bring your whole self to the table—your history, your unique personality, your scars, and your passions. He isn’t withholding His power—He is waiting on your partnership. He stands back, inviting you to use your holy free will to look at your story—and choose how you will serve. The gifts are already available. The choice to step into them is yours. Stop waiting for a lightning bolt, and start choosing your offering. I want to learn from those of you who have had a heavenly language or other Holy Spirit gifts long before I had them! W

  7. 26 Jun

    Golden Lights

    Perhaps Heaven is not unfamiliar to us after all. Perhaps it has always been hiding inside small rehearsals. In the way golden light spills across a kitchen floor at five in the evening. In the way a child runs toward someone they love without slowing down before impact. In the way a wayward adult-ish child finally wanders home. In the eyes of an adoring pet. In campfire smoke caught in sweaters and hair. In blackberries staining fingertips purple at the edge of August. In the hush that falls over a lake before dawn fully wakes. Maybe earth has always been scattering clues. Maybe that is why beauty aches. Because somewhere inside, our souls recognize a place untouched by ending. Heaven feels like recognition. Like every lovely thing we have ever known finally freed from gravity and decay, multiplied. Mountains without erosion. Gardens without winter. Oceans without storms. Ground without shakes and ensuing danger-cracks. Bodies without exhaustion. People without pain. Love without interruption and broken heart-pieces. No doors closing. No clocks dimming then stopping. No final phone calls. No hollow chairs left at tables nor unread books on the recliners. No working without the joy of producing and serving. And yet Heaven will not erase the earth—not yet. It will gather much of it. Laughter around crowded tables. The smell of something like flowery rain in reach of noses. Dogs collapsing beside their people, panting in contented joy. Bears and lions wandering through the forest. Visuals too magnificent to describe. A joyful peace while connecting with neighbors, friends and family. Sparkling fireflies. Ocean salt. Sandy feet. Someone reaching for your hand just to show their love. And Him. Not lost. Completed. As though every earthly wonder was only a lantern lit along the road toward something vast enough to hold all of it at once. love exists in both places. But only Love exists there. Here, it arrives and leaves in fragments. In gestures. In temporary things. In gardens that bloom and fade and bloom again. But there, Love remains fully awake forever. No fear touching it.No grief thinning it.No asking it to loosen its grip. Just the steady astonishment of being known completely and still welcomed nearer. And maybe that is why certain moments on earth stop us cold. The blue hour over mountains.Choirs echoing through old churches.The first glimpse of the sea.A father carrying a sleeping child.Candles glowing in quiet houses while snow gathers outside. For one impossible second, the veil thins. And the soul remembers home. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.heavenblog.org/subscribe

  8. 5 Jun

    The Unseen Battlefield: How & Why The Enemy Ramps Up

    Sally and I discuss the ramp-up in spiritual warfare, how the enemy can use our dreams, and we experience quite a bit of warfare before and during the recording, as well. We discuss freedom, how we give permission without realizing it, chinks in our armor/walls/alters, and what to do about it all. A wonderful prayer time at the end! Thank you, TheJoyWeaverCommunity, GeorgeAnn Dingus, Jen Niemann, Emi Parker, Carol Urry, and many others for tuning into my live video with Echoes of Memory by Sally Cave! Don't miss an episode - additional blog posts with insights are on https://heavenblog.org and https://sallylouisecave.substack.com/ Join me for my next live video in the Substack app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.heavenblog.org/subscribe

    The Unseen Battlefield: How & Why The Enemy Ramps Up
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