Walk Boldly With Jesus

Episode #1208 He Is Series – Adonai (Lord/Master) — When You Don’t Understand God’s Ways but Still Long to Trust Him Isaiah 40:10 “See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.” The name Adonai means “Lord” or “Master.” It means God has authority over our lives—but not in a harsh or distant way. He is a loving Lord, a good Master who leads, protects, and cares for His people. In this verse, Isaiah says, “The Sovereign Lord comes with power, and He rules with a mighty arm.” I think we can all agree that we like the part about God coming with power. Many of us have seen God’s power in our lives. And if we haven’t noticed it, it may just be that we haven’t been looking—because God is always at work. But the part that says He “rules with a mighty arm” can feel harder to understand. It can even feel intimidating at first. When we read the Old Testament, we see moments where God corrects His people. Not because He is harsh, but because He is leading them. He is teaching them how to trust Him and how to live in the freedom He created them for. For example, in Numbers 21, the Israelites complained and spoke against God and Moses. They had seen God perform miracles—He had freed them, provided for them, and stayed with them in the wilderness—yet they still struggled to trust Him. There were consequences. But even in that, we see God’s mercy. When the people turned back to Him, He provided a way for them to be healed. We see something similar in Numbers 13 and 14, when the Israelites were afraid to enter the promised land. Even though God had promised to give it to them, they doubted Him. Again, there were consequences—not because God wanted to harm them, but because He was forming them. He was teaching them what it means to trust Him as their Lord. This is what it means for God to be Adonai. He is not just powerful—He is Lord. He has authority over our lives. But His authority is not something to fear. It is something we can trust. Just like a loving parent sets boundaries for their children, God gives us guidance so we can grow, learn, and live the life He created for us. God is just, and He tells us how He wants us to live. Then He lovingly gives us the choice whether to follow His ways. If we choose not to, there are consequences. Not because He wants to punish us, but because that is how we learn. If there were no consequences, we wouldn’t really have free will—God would be choosing for us. The next part of the verse brings so much hope: “See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.” Even though God rules with authority and lovingly corrects us, He also rewards us when we live according to His will. 1 Corinthians 2:9 says, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard… what God has prepared for those who love him.” The verse also says His recompense accompanies Him. Recompense means to make up for loss or harm—to restore. I love this. I love the idea that God restores what we have lost and rewards what we have endured for Him. Romans 8:17 reminds us that if we suffer with Christ, we will also be glorified with Him. We suffer with Him so that we may be glorified with Him. I don’t know about you, but I am looking forward to that. Yes, there may be suffering here, but it is temporary compared to eternity with Him. Trust in the Lord. He comes with power, and He will reward you for your faithfulness. Adonai is not just the Lord over our lives—He is the Lord we can trust with our lives. Dear Heavenly Father, I ask that you bless all those listening today. Lord, thank you for being a just and loving God. Thank you for giving us clear direction. Help us follow your ways. Help us see when we are about to make a mistake and give us the strength to stop. Lord, you are amazing, and we thank you for all you do for us. We love you and ask this in Jesus’ holy name, Amen. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I. Have a blessed day! Today’s Word from the Lord was received in October 2025 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions, please email [email protected]. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “I am the Lord, there is no other. I am the beginning and the end.” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

He Is Series- El Olam (Everlasting God) — When You Need to Know God Won’t Give Up on You Isaiah 40:28 “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.” Today was are talking about the name El Olam. This name did not come from this passage. I just thought this passage was a good one to help us understand the name better. The name actually comes from Genesis 21:33, which says, “Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God.” Abraham planted this tree after he and Abimelech made a covenant that God would deal with Abimelech loyally, since that is how Abimelech dealt with Abraham. I thought that today’s verse gave us a bit more context as to how the Lord is everlasting. However, I did look up in the Enduring Word commentary online to see if I was missing something about the original verse where we heard El Olam. It said two things. First, after the successful treaty, Abraham did something that looked forward to the coming decades and generations. A tamarisk tree takes a long time to grow, but Abraham knew God had promised the land to him and his descendants forever. This is a powerful point because sometimes we can be afraid to plant roots somewhere or to let people in because we aren’t sure what will happen next. We don’t trust that we will stay there long or that the people will be in our lives long enough. We put up walls to keep people out so that we don’t get hurt. Abraham could have done this, too. He could have done any number of things to commemorate this event, but he didn’t. What he did was plant a tree that takes a long time to grow, with the expectation that it will be around for generations, and his ancestors will also be there to take care of it. Abraham knew that God had promised the land to him and his descendants forever. He was trusting in this promise and moving forward as if it were already true, even though they were currently living as aliens in that land. Second, even through this time of conflict in Abraham’s family and among his neighbors, Abraham kept a real, live walk with God. Conflict did not drive him away from God; rather, it pushed him closer to the Lord. Earlier in Chapter 21, Sarah and Abraham finally had their long-awaited son, Isaac. I am sure there was so much happiness and celebration, as I believe they had to wait 20 or 25 years after God promised them this son before they had the son. Then, in the middle of chapter 21, Sarah sees her son playing with the slave girl’s son, Abraham’s other son, and Sarah tells Abraham he has to send that woman and his son away. Abraham is upset about this, but the Lord told him not to worry and to do as Sarah had said. That is a lot that Abraham was going through. Yet He never turned away from the Lord; He just kept growing closer to Him. Wouldn’t it be great if it were the same for all of us? Wouldn’t it be great if hard times pulled us in closer to the Lord, instead of driving us away? Wouldn’t it be great if we believed in his promises as Abraham did? The promises in Scripture are for all of us. We can count on them. We can have expectant faith that God will follow through with them. We can plant trees that need lots of time to grow because we know that God is with us forever, not just for a short time. Let’s look at today’s scripture, “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.” El Olam, God is everlasting! God is the creator of the ends of the Earth. He is the Beginning and the End. He was always here before anything else, and He will be here long after we are gone. He will be here long after the Earth is destroyed. God will always be around. I know this can be an overwhelming thought. I used to be very scared of eternity and living forever. I used to worry, what if I get bored, what if I just want it all to be over, what will I do if I can’t handle doing something forever? This is not what we are talking about here in this verse. I think in this verse, we are talking about what the rest of the verse talks about. “He will not grow tired or weary.” I thought of two things when I read this. The first was, " Wouldn’t that be nice? Wouldn’t it be nice not to grow tired or weary? I know a lot of us have been feeling tired and weary lately. A lot is going on in our world, and we are ready for a break. This is why my first thought was, "Wouldn’t that be nice?” My second thought was, do we believe this? Do we believe that God doesn’t grow tired and weary? I wondered this because I feel as though we often treat God as though this is not true. We treat God as if He is not the almighty and powerful Lord who does not grow tired or weary. I say this because we tend to be cautious with our prayers. We save up our prayers for

Witness Wednesday #203 Catherine D. (Airplane trip) Today, I want to witness to you about how much God is in the small things. We’ve had so many wonderful witnesses, and they have all been so different. Some have shared God’s presence through miracles in their day-to-day lives, while others have shared extraordinary miracles. That is the reason I created “Witness Wednesdays”—so everyone can see all the different ways God is working in our lives. I have asked several people if they would like to give a witness, and many have said they don’t have anything to share. They know God is working in their lives, but not in any dramatic way. They say their lives are ordinary or even boring. I understand what they mean. They haven’t had angels appear or miraculous healings to report. But that doesn’t mean there is nothing to witness about. Today, my witness is about an ordinary experience where God showed up in many small ways. I love the miraculous ways God shows up—healings, angels, supernatural moments. I love hearing about all of it! But there is also something really special about noticing God in the small, everyday details. When God performs big miracles, we praise Him and clearly recognize His hand. But how often do we praise Him for the little ways He steps in to help us? Do we even realize it’s Him, or do we call it a coincidence or luck? God’s presence in the small moments shows that He isn’t doing it for praise—He does it because He truly loves us. Today I want to tell you about the time I took a space-A flight home from Germany with my three boys by myself. At the time, they were six, four, and two years old. My husband wasn’t traveling with us, so we were at the bottom of the flight list. We spent several days waiting at the airport, unsure if we would get on a flight. It was stressful at times. The first way I saw God working was in how well my kids handled it. There were other kids to play with on the base, and instead of being bored and overwhelmed, they were having fun. The parents were calm, and everyone was patient. It may seem like a small thing, but I truly believe God orchestrated that whole week. Eventually, I got tickets—but was told I had to move my car to long-term parking. I had no idea how I would do that with three kids, car seats, and luggage. I stood there completely overwhelmed. Then a man I didn’t know offered to move my van for me. That moment still brings tears to my eyes. God saw my need and provided help exactly when I needed it. Then came boarding the plane. I was told I had to hold all three of my children’s hands, but I only have two hands—and I was also carrying everything. I didn’t know how I would do it. Before I could even figure it out, another woman traveling with her teenage children stepped in. Without hesitation, each of her kids took one of my children’s hands and helped carry their things. We were able to get on the plane together. Even when we landed, they helped us again. Looking back, it would be easy to call all of this coincidence or luck. But what are the chances? Out of so many flights and so many people, everything lined up perfectly. God knew exactly what I would need. What could have been a very stressful trip was made easier by all the small ways He stepped in. Sometimes it’s easy to overlook God in our everyday lives. We celebrate the big miracles but miss the quiet ones—the perfectly timed help, the moments when everything just works out. God is working in our lives every single day, even in the smallest details. I want to encourage you to think about the ways God has shown up in your life—not just the big moments, but the small ones. Think about times when everything came together in a way that felt almost impossible. That is God. The more we notice His work, the more we can praise Him for it—and the more we will see it. I love you all! Thank you so much for listening, and I can’t wait to hear your story. www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

He Is Series Immanuel (God with us) — When You Feel Far from God but He Never Left Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel.” Every time I think about this, I am still amazed. I still can’t believe God loves us so much that He sent his only Son to die on a cross for us. What makes it even more remarkable is that when God created us, He knew this was going to have to happen, and He created us anyway! Doesn’t that feel crazy to you? I can definitely understand a parent doing something extreme to get their child out of a difficult situation. We have all heard the stories of the incredible things parents have done to save their children. However, they didn’t know they would have to do it in advance. God did. God knew exactly what was going to happen in the garden. He knew the betrayal before it even happened. Yet, He created us anyway! I love to think about Adam and Eve and how they got to walk in the garden with God. I can’t even really picture it, as I don’t know what God looks like or how that worked. However, it is a great thing to sit and meditate on. Was God just a voice in the wind? Did he have a body when He visited them in the garden? What was that like? No one knows, but we can sit with the Lord and ask Him to help us visualize it. I feel as though that would be a calm and peaceful exercise in feeling the Lord around us. I can think of so many ways that God is with us. He is with us in church in so many ways. His Word is proclaimed during Mass. His body and blood are contained in the Eucharist. He is consumed by each person who approaches communion. God also sent the Holy Spirit to be within us all the time. It was really important for God to be with us. So important, He sent Jesus. After Adam and Eve betrayed Him, He separated Himself from them and from His people. Yet, he still looked after them and protected them. He was still their God, but it was more from a distance. They could no longer see Him as they did in the garden. Before Jesus came, God stayed separate from his people. When they built the temple, they built a special place called the “holy of holies,” where God’s presence could dwell in a special way. However, only one person could enter this area, only once a year on the day of atonement, and it was only to make a sacrifice. God would talk to his people through a prophet. Everyone couldn’t hear God’s voice; only a select few whom God trusted passed along his messages or performed his signs of wonder. No one was allowed to see His face. All that changed when Jesus arrived on the scene. Another amazing thing is that God revealed his plan to his people over 700 years before Jesus was born. In Isaiah 7:14, it says, “Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” This is such a good example of God knowing when the right time is. He mentioned Jesus coming a long time before He came. However, He did promise to come. He did promise that He would walk among them again. I think the 700 years are important for us because they show that God has a plan for everything. God wasn’t just waiting in heaven for a random day and time to bring Jesus to earth. He was in all the details. He was arranging everything perfectly. He picked Mary out specifically. He ordained her for this task, and she said yes! His timing was and is perfect. We don’t know why God picked the time and place that He did for Jesus to come into the world. We don’t know why he picked Mary or Joseph. We do know that Mary and Joseph were the perfect parents for Jesus. We know God’s plan worked, and we are not reunited with Him. Do you remember when I told you about the special room in the temple where the presence of God was kept? It was called the Holy of Holies and was separated from the rest of the temple by a curtain. Did you know that the curtain was torn in two when Jesus died? In Matthew 27:50-52, it says, “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.” God wanted us all to know that there was nothing in between us anymore. He is no longer separated from us! I think most of us know this on some level, and yet I am not sure we are internalizing what that really means for us. I think most of us know that we can talk to God anytime we like. I think this has always been the case. However, did you know that you can hear the voice of God as well? God is talking to each one of us, and if we sit and listen, we will hear Him talking to us. This is very different than the people in the Old Testament. Before Jesus came, direct communication with God was pretty limited to the Priests, Prophets, and Kings. The Priests mediated between God and the people through sacrifice and the law. The Prophets, men like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Elijah, received direct di

He is Series Day #13 Or HaOlam (Light of the World)— When the Darkness Feels Heavy, and You Just Need Light Psalm 18:28 “It is you who light my lamp; the Lord, my God, lights up my darkness.” This is one of the verses that is great to copy down somewhere and look at often. This is a great verse to refer to when you are in times of trouble or when you are confused as to what you should do. It is a short verse, so it is easy to memorize. Whenever we are struggling or feeling like we need some direction, Scripture is a great place to turn to. There are so many answers and reassurances to be found in the Bible. The problem can sometimes be that we don’t know where to find those answers. This is why it is a good idea when we hear a verse that we think can provide us comfort, we write it down somewhere we can easily find it again when we need it. This verse talks about how God lights our lamp. He lights up our darkness. You are not an exception to this. Are you currently going through a dark time in your life? Are you struggling with something and wondering if you will ever get through it? I have so many friends who feel like they are in a really dark place right now. Many are chronically ill, and they are so tired of being sick. It seems like it is never-ending. I also have friends who are struggling with money and with basic needs, and they don’t know what to do. Do you know someone going through a similar darkness? This seems to be a very difficult time for so many of us. We all feel so alone, and yet when we are brave enough to talk about what we are going through, we find out that we are not alone. I hope this verse can bring them and you a lot of comfort. They are not in this darkness alone, and neither are you. The Lord is with you. He is always with you. There is never a time when you are going through anything alone. God is with you each and every step of the way. He will never abandon you. Sometimes, when we are in the darkness, it is hard to see the light. I am sure that when my friends are up late at night and in pain or worried about finances, they feel alone in the darkness. I am sure they are wondering if it will ever end. Yes, it will end. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and that light is our Lord. Or HaOlam, The Lord is our light. When you are in a period of darkness or when you are unsure what to do, turn to the Lord, and He will light the way. Sometimes, he will shine a bright light and provide some sort of solution that renews your hope and brightens your whole day. Other times, he may just shine a flashlight. He may not illuminate the whole way forward. He might just give you the next right step, and then He doesn’t illuminate the next step until you take that first one. This can be frustrating. We often want to know the whole plan before we take any steps forward. Moving forward on our journey, one step at a time, takes a lot of faith. Where is the path leading us? What if we start down it and then we don’t like where we are going? We hesitate to take that first step because we are afraid. The Lord has our best interests at heart. He would not lead us down the wrong path. He has amazing things planned for each one of us, but we have to be brave enough to keep taking the next right step, even when we can’t see where our steps are leading. Even if we feel like we are walking in the dark. The Lord is our light. Do you know where all of our fear and questioning comes from? The enemy! He puts these questions in our hearts because he is afraid of what would happen if we all followed the Lord’s light. Can you imagine if everyone on earth were following the Lord and living up to the potential that God gave them? Imagine what an amazing world this would be to live in if we all just did the next right thing. The enemy has imagined that, and it didn’t make him happy. He loves it when we are at odds with one another. I am sure he and the rest of his evil spirits have been celebrating a lot over these last few years. The way we have been treating our fellow Americans over the last few years is crazy. I am sure it is not just the last few years; I know racism has been a problem since the creation of the country. However, these last few years, everything seems to have spiked. The country is so divided on so many issues. It reminds me of Luke 12:52-53, which says, " From now on, five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” Why are we so at odds with one another? Because the enemy wants us to be. He is a liar and a troublemaker. He whispers things in our ears all the time. Our loved one can say something to us that isn’t a big deal, and yet we can blow it up into a huge thing, all because the enemy tells us we shouldn’t let them get away with it, or he keeps remin

He is Series Day #12 Jehovah Nissi (The Lord is my Banner)— When You’re Tired of Carrying the Battle by Yourself Exodus 17:15 “And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner.” Today’s name, Jehovah Nissi, The Lord is my Banner, was one that I didn’t really understand. Many of them I haven’t heard before, and yet this one, even after reading the verse and even the context around the verse, I didn’t understand it. I had to go to the Enduring Word commentary online to get a bit of an explanation. After reading that it made more sense, and maybe I could have gotten it from the context. Let me read you Exodus 17:8-16. “Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, saying, “A hand upon the throne of the Lord! The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” What the enduring word commentary pointed out is that a banner is like a flag. Usually, the person who wins the battle will hold up their banner and run around the area. For instance, when you are watching the Olympics, you will always see the winners holding the flag of their country. When Moses was saying The Lord is my Banner, he was letting everyone know that the Lord is the reason that they won that battle. This is important because Joshua and his soldiers could have easily taken credit for the victory. They could have felt like they were the ones who defeated Amalek. However, as the verses state, when Moses put his arms down, the other team started to win. So it was not the soldier alone winning the battle. God’s favor on them is the reason they won the battle. It is also so great that Moses did not think he had won that battle. It can be easy for us to confuse our victory with that of the Lord’s. Moses could have felt like he had the power because it seemed that the position of his hands decided who was winning the war. Are there times in your life when you felt like you were in control? Were there times when you felt the whole weight and responsibility for the situation or the outcome of the situation? If so, this is a great verse for you. It is a great verse for all of us. This verse reminds us that God is in control. No matter what is going on within the situation, God knows about it and is working behind the scenes. God is in control. When Moses put his hands up, Israel prevailed, and when he lowered them, the enemy started to win. However, it was not because of Moses hands. It is because that is what God had decided. I love that God told Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” I love that God wanted Joshua to know that God was going to take out Amalek for good. I love that he specifically wanted Joshua to know what had happened, as Joshua was the one who let the army into battle. Something that was mentioned in the enduringword.com commentary that I really like is that he pointed out that this chapter is a great example of Man’s work and God working together. Joshua led the people into battle, and Moses prayed for God to give them victory, but only God could give the victory. I think this is so important to remember for a few reasons. First, I think often we can act in our own will and in our own strength, and we can forget to pray and ask God into the situation. If we do this, God will allow us to go at it alone because He loves us enough to respect our wishes. However, if we go at it alone, we won’t get nearly as far as we will if we invite God into it. Second, we sometimes pray really hard about something, and yet we don’t do anything about it. We might see a problem, pray to God to fix it, and just expect that he will fix it without us having to do anything. Sometimes we need to do something besides pray. Don’t get me wrong, God does not need our help, but often he does ask us to help him. He does usually want us to do something. There have been times in the Bible when the army's leaders have prayed for victory, and God has given them victory without them even having to fight. Ho

He Is Series Day #11: Abba (Father) — Why It’s Hard to See God as a Loving Father (and What to Do If You Can’t) Romans 8:14-16 “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption when we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” Today we are talking about Abba, Father. I love scripture verses that talk about how we are the children of God. I love the image of God being our father. At the same time, I understand how that image can be hard for some people. I had a wonderful father. I had a dad who wasn’t perfect. I am sure he feels he made a lot of mistakes, but he learned from them and then changed. I am from a large family, and I know he was a different father for us, the younger kids, than he was for the older kids. That is to be expected. None of us knows how to be parents before we become parents. The younger kids benefit from having parents who have learned from making mistakes with the older kids. Even the older kids would agree that our dad is pretty great. He is such a great example of walking in the faith. Both of my parents are. He also made sure we felt loved. I never questioned if my parents loved me. I know not everyone can say the same. The idea of God as our Father makes it easier for me to feel loved by God. I know a Father’s love, and since He is God, I can believe that His love is ever greater than any love we could receive from a Father here on earth. However, what about those who didn’t have a great father? What about those whose father was mean, abusive, absent, unloving, cold? There are all kinds of people in the world and all kinds of fathers. If you did not have a loving father, if you did not have a kind and generous father, then it may be hard for you to see God as your Father. If this is the case, I would suggest you read the verse about God the Father. Read scripture and get to know who God truly is. Another way to learn more about God as your Father is to ask Jesus to reveal who God is to you. Jesus says in Luke 10:22, “All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Guess what? Jesus chooses to reveal God the Father to you; all you have to do is ask and then sit and listen. God knows all you have been through. He has been there every step of the way with you. He is not surprised that you struggle to see him as your Father because you struggle with the idea of a Father. He knows all of this. Take your struggle to Him, and talk to Him about it. Talk to Jesus about it. Ask Him to help you see God as your Father. God is not a Father like anyone of us has seen before. Even if we had great dads, they still can’t compare to the love of our Father in heaven. His love for us is complete and immovable. There isn’t anything we can do to make Him stop loving us. I know it is hard for us to believe this, but it is 100% true. He loves us even when we are choosing evil over good. He loves us when we turn away, he loves us when we are weak, and he loves us when we are strong. He loves us when we repent and come back, and yet he loves us just as much even if we don’t come back. What I love about this verse is that it says, “For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption.” We don’t have to fear anything because God is our Father and He is taking care of us. We fear things because we think we are on our own. We fear things because we forget that God is in control. We think we have to be in control of everything, and when we think like that, it makes sense that we would fear things because who are we to solve all of our problems? However, we are not in control and we were never meant to be. We don’t have to fear things because we know that our Father in heaven is looking out for us. We know He is arranging all things for our good. We have been adopted by God the Father, and we are His children. He is our protection and our refuge. We do not have to fear anything. I also love when the verse says, “When we cry, ‘Abba! ' " Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” I am not sure most of us think we have a close enough relationship to call God Father, Abba, or Dad. When I hear most people pray, and when I pray, I mostly say Lord, although I do tend to start my prayers with Heavenly Father. I think if we want to have a more intimate relationship with God, it is up to us to ask for it and begin to cultivate it. God wants to be closer to each one of us, and yet He will not force it on us. If you want to feel comfortable calling God Abba, or even Dad, then it is up to you to start. I wanted to think of God more intimately as my Dad. I wanted to feel that closeness as if I were a li

Today I want to witness to you about a really cool experience I had with the Holy Spirit. I was at a retreat, and I was new to going on retreats. This was one of the first ones I went on. I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I was also pretty new to Eucharistic Adoration. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do during adoration. I had heard people at the retreat say that they could feel the Holy Spirit at the retreat. I didn’t know what they were talking about. I wanted to feel the Holy Spirit, too. When I went to Adoration, I asked God to help me feel the Holy Spirit. I asked Him if He could do something so I would know that the Holy Spirit was actually there with me. I asked God this, and then I just sat for a few minutes and waited. I sat expectantly waiting for something to happen, but not really knowing what would happen. I closed my eyes, and a bright white dot of light appeared. My eyes were closed, but I could see this bright dot of light dancing around, almost as if it were on the back of my eyelids. I was afraid to open my eyes because I didn’t want it to leave. I knew this was the answer to my prayers. I knew that light was the Holy Spirit showing me that He was there with me. I can’t really explain how I knew; I just knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was the Holy Spirit. This happened about 10 years ago. I have thought about it since then, but not too often. Last Thursday night, I was at a Conference put on by Encounter Ministries. It was an amazing conference, and the Holy Spirit was definitely there. There was a time on Thursday evening when we had a talk about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We had prayed, we worshiped, and then we called the Holy Spirit to come down upon all of us. When I was sitting in the pew, I closed my eyes, and instead of seeing a bright white dot of light, my whole vision was filled with that same blinding light. I felt like my body was full of that light. The Holy Spirit reminded me of that time back at that first retreat, and I felt as though He was telling me, " See how far we have come. I started as a small light inside of you, and my light is filling you up. It was such an amazing feeling. I was filled with so much joy, and love. The other time I wanted to talk with you about today is when the Holy Spirit asked me to step way outside of my comfort zone. I am an extrovert. I love to be around people. Being around people fills my soul with joy. At the same time, I am shy. I do not like to walk up to people I don’t know and talk to them. I am always self-conscious and think, what if they reject me? What if they don’t want to talk to me? What if I am bothering them? I get super nervous, and when I get nervous sometimes, oftentimes, I cry. I am not sad, I am just so nervous I cry. Then I feel dumb for crying, and so I cry more. I don’t know if some of you relate to this or not, but it is something that is true for me. I decided about three or four years ago that I wanted to go on a retreat. I hadn’t been on one in a little while and I felt I needed it. I looked online one day and found out there was a silent retreat the very next weekend. I was so excited. It felt like it was meant to be, as what are the odds that I would look right then and find one that was coming up so soon and was so close. When I arrived, we had a quick meeting to meet the other people on the retreat and meet our advisors, and then we went silent. The only time we could talk was at our meeting with the spiritual advisor we were assigned once or twice that weekend. At this initial meeting, we all told why we were there and a little about ourselves. There was a man there who was suffering from some illness, and if I remember correctly, they weren’t sure what it was. I think his wife was sick too. I just remember feeling bad that he was sick. Before going on this retreat, I had been to a life in the spirit seminar and had been attending a charismatic prayer group. I had a baptism in the Holy Spirit, but at this point, I could not speak in tongues. While I was out for a walk on the grounds, I was having a talk with God about how I couldn’t speak in tongues. I was explaining to God how I wanted this gift, I was open to it, and so I didn’t understand why I hadn’t received it yet. Then I heard God say, well, not heard like heard His voice, but heard in my soul, “It’s not me, it’s you.” I instantly knew what God was saying. I understood that He was saying He wasn’t keeping me from receiving this gift; I was keeping myself from it because I didn’t believe I was good enough to receive it. I was thinking, "Why would He give the gift to me?" and He was saying, "Why wouldn’t I?” Once I realized I was the one holding myself back, I finally submitted and accepted that God wanted to give me this gift, even if I wasn’t good enough for it. We are worthy of the gifts of the Spirit not because of anything we have done, but we are worthy because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. I went to the chapel at th

He Is Series #10 Jehovah Shalom (The Lord is Peace) Philippians 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Today’s name for the Lord is Jehovah Shalom. The Lord is peace. We often hear that Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and this is just reinforcing that for us. This verse reminds us that the peace of God transcends all understanding and will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. I know firsthand how powerful the peace of God can be. I have experienced it many times before. Raising my boys has not been easy. I don’t think raising any kids is easy, but we have had challenges that I hope most people don’t have to face. I was in the middle of one of these challenges when the Lord gave me this verse, so I want to share that experience with you to help you see how God can bring you peace no matter what you are facing. One night, I knew it was going to be a long night, and so I decided, while it was quiet, I would write a devotional. I only got as far as asking the Lord for a scripture verse that would get me through the night. One that was just what I needed for the situation I was in. When I have done this before, I have had my Bible with me, and I would ask the Lord a question, then ask Him to show me the answer in His Word. Then I would randomly open the Bible and read the pages until I found my answer. Tonight I didn’t have my Bible. I mean, I could have gone upstairs to get it, but honestly, I didn’t really have the energy to move. So, I wondered how I could randomly search an online Bible, as I did have my computer. I decided to type into the search bar “A scripture verse to help me make it through the night.” And I told the Lord that He knew my exact circumstances, and I asked if He could give me the verse I needed to read or hear. Today's verse is the one that appeared in the search results. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” I laughed at first because I thought that was a pretty tall order. Not being anxious in this situation was definitely difficult, as one of my sons was making poor choices, and there wasn't much we could do about it. However, when I really thought about it, I realized I wasn’t anxious. I was mad, and I was sad, but I wasn’t anxious. This reminded me of a conversation I was having with a friend the day before. When I told her all that was happening, she asked how I was dealing with it all. She asked how I was getting out of bed in the morning. I stopped and thought about it, and the answer was through the grace of God. This is not just something I was saying because I didn’t know what else to say. I truly meant it. I could look at the situation and know that God’s grace was helping me through it. I could see His hands all over this situation, and that makes it easier for me to turn it over to Him. I could have absolutely been worrying about my son all day, every day. I could have been trying to fix it and ensure everything ran smoothly. I could have let it get to me so much that I stayed in bed, fearing what might happen or sad about what had already happened. Yet I did not, and I know that is because God prepared me for that moment. He prepared me for difficult times. There have been so many really hard things that have happened in the last 21 years, and I know that they were all preparation for that moment and the ones to follow. I know God got me through that hard time, just as He has through so many other hard times. I know that this addiction will not destroy my son because God has promised me that it won’t, and I can trust in His promises. I can wait for God’s timing on this because I have waited a really long time for things in the past, and although the wait was never easy, it was always worth it in the end. I always say that I don’t know how I developed a deep trust in the Lord. I don’t know why I am not more worried about my son. I think this is because we all expect it to be complicated. We expect some difficult formula to show us how to trust in the Lord. I think it is actually so simple that we don’t want to believe it. Kind of like the story of Naaman in 2 Kings 5. Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favor with his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy. He found out about a prophet in Samaria who could cure him. Long story short, Naaman came to Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.” But Naaman became angry and went away, sayi

He Is Day 9 Jehovah Rapha "The Lord Who Heals You" Exodus 15:26 “He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in his sight, and give heed to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you.” Today’s name for the Lord is Jehovah Rapha. In this verse, the Lord says, “I am the Lord who heals you.” There are so many examples in the Bible of when Jesus healed people. There are also examples in the Old Testament of God healing people. My first instinct is to talk about some of the many examples of God healing people in the Bible, and I will mention a few. However, I think if many of us know the stories in the Bible of where Jesus healed people. What I think we struggle to believe is that He is still healing people today. However, Scripture says that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and always. This means if he was healing people back then, He is still healing people today. I will show you some extraordinary examples of different ways God is still showing up and healing today. First, let’s look at the Bible. In the Old Testament, God usually healed people through His prophets. One example of this is 2 Kings chapter 5, when Naaman was healed of Leprosy. Naaman had leprosy, and he went to Elisha to be healed. Elisha said, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.” Naaman reluctantly did so and was healed. Another one is found in 1 Kings chapter 17 when Elijah raises the widow’s son. Her son became ill, and he died. She was upset with Elijah and asked why he had caused her son to die. Elijah took her son and healed him. In the New Testament, there are plenty of stories of Jesus healing the blind, the deaf, those overcome with demons; He even brought at least two people back from the dead. He cured a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years. She had gone to all the doctors, all those who said they could help, and no one helped. Yet, she was healed when she touched the garment that Jesus was wearing. If you read any of the four Gospels, you will encounter miracle stories of the amazing things Jesus did to heal people. The Gospel in mass on the morning I am writing this was the story of how Jesus brought Lazarus back from the dead. It wasn’t like he had just died and Jesus revived him. He had been dead for days and was buried in a tomb, and Jesus called to him, and he got up and walked out of that tomb. God is our healer!! If we asked most Christians if they believed that Jesus was a healer when he walked the earth, they would probably say yes. Anyone who believes the Bible would definitely say yes. However, if you asked people whether they thought Jesus was still healing people today in the same ways He did back then, I think most would say no. I want you to know that He is! God is the same yesterday, today, and always. That is what the Bible says, and we know the Bible to be true. I have read many books about healing, and I have wanted the Lord to use me for healing in the same way He healed through the apostles. He sent them out two by two to proclaim the Gospel and perform signs and wonders. He has commissioned us to do the same. Many of us just don’t know that He has asked us all to do the same. I went to a conference in October of 2018, and Mary Healy was the speaker. She talked all about healing, and if we want the gift, we can just ask the Lord for it. I heard this, and I felt a calling placed on my heart. I was so sure that I wanted the Lord to use me in this way. I started learning all I could about the healing ministry and reading books by those who had come before me with healing ministries. The more I learned about the Holy Spirit, the healing ministries, and how God was using ordinary people like you and me to perform signs and wonders, the more excited I got. I started to be brave and ask people if I could pray with them and for them. I prayed with several people, and although they did not receive a physical healing, they did feel peace and the love of the Lord. The conference that got me on fire for the Lord’s healing ministry was in 2018. For the next year, I occasionally asked people if they wanted prayer, and I would pray with them. I did not see anyone healed, but that is ok because God is the one who does the healing. It is not up to me who gets healed; I just need to be obedient when I feel the Holy Spirit prompting me to pray with someone. Then, at the very end of September 2019, my sister had a baby who was born 3 months early. She was less than 2 lbs when she was born, and I was lucky enough to be at the hospital just after she was born. She was in the intensive care unit because she was so little and they did not think she was going to make it. They allowed me to be in the ICU with my brother in law while they worked on my neice. My sister was also brought up there in a whee

He Is Series Day #8 Elohei Ma’uzzi (God of My Strength) Psalm 105:4 “Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually.” Today’s name for the Lord is Elohei Ma’uzzi, which means God of My Strength. I thought this was a great one because I know a lot of people who could really use some strength right now. When we are going through a difficult time, we can often turn to things other than the Lord for strength. We might start having a drink when we get home from work, or after a busy day with the kids. We figure that will give us just enough strength to get through the night until the kids go to bed, or it will relax us enough to forget about work. However, oftentimes one drink turns into two or three, creating another problem. Sometimes we turn to our friends and family for the strength we need. However, they can only provide so much strength, as they are human and have a finite amount. We also might try to rely on our own strength to get us through. This is not enough. We need to seek the Lord’s strength. How can we seek the Lord’s strength? First and foremost, we can ask for it. That may sound so simple, and it is, and yet so many of us forget to start there. We look everywhere else first. We get upset with the Lord for not giving us the strength we need, and yet we never asked for it in the first place. God wants to help us. He is ready and willing. All He asks from us is for us to ask Him. Yes, he knows you need help, and also, he is willing to let you try to fix it yourself if that is what you want to do. Have you ever done this with your children, co-workers, or siblings? You can see them struggling, and you know they need help, but you don’t help them until they ask? You give them the chance to figure it out on their own. God does not do this to punish us, or because He doesn’t care. Quite the opposite, He does it because he cares. He cares about what we want and need. He cares about our growth, and we grow when we do difficult things. However, He will step in as soon as we ask him to. Another way we can seek his strength is by using the tools He gave us. We can dig into His word and find strength in the scriptures. We can also seek the various prayers He has given to us. There are so many prayers out there. You can say your own prayers or find ones for your specific needs. Sometimes we don’t know what to pray, especially if we are really upset. Finding a prayer that someone else wrote and praying it can take a lot of the pressure off. If you are struggling and you can’t find the words to say, you can also just sit with the Lord. He doesn’t need us to say the right thing. He just wants us to seek Him. It says in Matthew 6:7, “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words.” Our prayers don’t have to be long and drawn out, they don’t have to be perfect and eloquent, they don’t have to be exact. What God wants is for us to speak from the heart. Another way we can seek strength from the Lord is to attend Mass or a church service. Being part of a community is great because when you surround yourself with others who share your beliefs, you feel freer to be yourself. You don’t have to worry that people will mock you or persecute you for your beliefs. You feel safe. You have people who will speak God’s truth into the lies that the enemy is telling you. Also, Mass is great because you get to worship God and participate in a sacrament. Mass is the ultimate way to seek God because you actually receive Jesus, through communion, into your body. At church services, you get to hear the word of God, and then the pastor gives a sermon on that word to make it more personal to each and every one of us. These sermons help us to take the word of God and apply it to our lives. The sermons help us understand the Word of God more. Oftentimes at Mass, there is also praise and worship music, and that is another way to seek strength from the Lord. I have found so much strength from the Lord through the lyrics of these songs. I love to listen to praise and worship music. If I think back to the one thing I have done consistently since I discovered praise music in 2011, it is listening to it often. When I am really struggling, I will find a few songs that speak to what I am going through or to who God really is, and I will play them on repeat to remind me of the power I have through Christ, who strengthens me. (Phillipians 4:13) Another way to be filled up with strength by God is to just sit with the Lord. At Catholic churches, you can go to something called Eucharistic Adoration. This is the worship of the Eucharist outside of the Mass. The Eucharistic Host is displayed in a monstrance on the altar so that all can see and pray in the presence of Christ. The Eucharist contains the body and blood of Christ, and so when you are in Eucharistic Adoration, you are in the true presence of Christ. Do you have to go to Adoration to spend

He Is Series: Day #7 The Good Shepherd Revelations 7:17 "For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’” Today’s name for the Lord is The Good Shepherd. I thought this scripture verse was a good one for this, and there is another one I will mention too. What a beautiful image of God wiping away every tear from our eyes. I don’t know about you, but I am a crier. I tend to cry a lot. God will be busy if He wipes away every tear. In all seriousness, though, this is a beautiful scripture. It starts off by talking about the Lamb at the center of the throne, who will be their shepherd. That Lamb is Jesus. He is our good shepherd. It says in John 10:11, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” This is exactly what Jesus did for us: He laid down His life for us, his sheep. I heard a story from a friend about an incident that happened when she was walking in Walmart during the pandemic. She was walking through Walmart wearing a mask because there was still a mandate requiring masks to shop there. However, a man was walking towards her with two young girls. When he passed my friend, he made sheep sounds at her. He was implying that she was a sheep blindly following the others. I have heard this analogy often, and despite the popular belief that sheep are stupid, they are actually incredibly intelligent. They have very impressive cognitive abilities, and, just like humans, they form deep, lasting bonds with one another, stick up for one another in fights, and grieve when they lose a friend. They experience the same emotions we do, including fear, joy, boredom, anger, and happiness, to name a few. We envision the sheep blindly following whoever and going wherever they are told. This is not the case. Sheep recognize their shepherd’s voice, and they will go wherever their shepherd tells them to go. They have complete trust in their shepherd. The shepherd, in return for this obedience, loves them and is willing to lay down his life for them. How beautiful is that? I think this is one way that sheep have an advantage over us. They recognize their shepherd’s voice, and so they follow it. I think we have a hard time figuring out whose voice to listen to. The world is so busy and so noisy, and there are so many voices speaking into our lives. There are the voices of the loved ones around us. They are speaking to us and leading us in a direction they think we should go. Then there are our friends who may not share our beliefs, and they are leading us in the direction they think we should go. Then there are all the voices of those around the world who also usually have opinions on how we should and shouldn’t live. There are so many voices, and we get confused, and we don’t know which ones to listen to. Oftentimes, the voices and the noises of the world are so loud that we can’t hear the voice of our good shepherd. The voices of the world are not the ones we need to listen to, and yet they are so loud that we can’t hear any other voices. The verse above says that the shepherd will lead us to springs of living waters. Don’t we want this? Don’t we want to follow the shepherd who will lead us to springs of living waters? So, how do we learn to hear the Lord’s voice more? How do we learn to tune out all the noise of the world so we can focus on the Lord’s voice? First, we can begin by spending time each day trying to hear the Lord’s voice. How much time do you spend each day asking the Lord for things in prayer? How much time do you spend sitting quietly and asking the Lord what He wants to say to you? The Lord wants to talk to us, but we just don’t give Him the time to talk. This can be your first step. Just sit quietly, ask, and let the Lord know you are ready to listen. At our prayer group, we usually begin by saying, “Speak, Lord, your servants are listening.” (1 Samuel 3:10) You do not have to start off by sitting down and giving God 30 minutes of quiet time to speak to you. If you have never done this before, 30 minutes is a long time. Even if you have, it still may be a long time. Just start out with 5 minutes of quiet time and see what happens. The next step that can help you start hearing the Lord’s word more is to write down whatever He tells you in those five minutes. I struggle to just sit there, think of nothing, and do nothing for 5 min. So, I do an exercise I learned from Fern Gorin at the Life Purpose Institute. I ask the Lord to speak to me through my pen, and then I write down whatever comes to mind for the next 5 minutes, or however long I am sitting there. This is especially helpful because then you can go back and read over it. Now, is every single thing that comes to mind in those 5 minutes from the Lord, probably not, but it is a start. I think the more times you do this, the more and more of what you write will be from the Lord. Also, you are asking the Lo

Witness Wednesday #201 Catherine D When I was praying about what to witness about today, the Lord brought to my mind my grandpa, my dad's father. One night, we were sitting around the kitchen table, and we got a phone call from my grandpa. He said he was watching TV and all the lights in his house were off. He just had one light on in the TV room. So somebody thought he wasn't home and tried to break into his house. They were trying to break in through the door with a screwdriver, and the screwdriver hit the window, and my grandpa thought someone had knocked on the door. So he went out, and he opened the door to see who it was, and the young man pushed his way in. Then he asked my grandfather for his money, his wallet, and anything else he had. My grandfather didn't have much cash or many valuable things. The man pushed him down, and he took the screwdriver, and he cut my grandpa's throat from one ear to the other almost. His whole throat was cut. Luckily, my grandfather didn't die, and he was actually able to call my parents. He called our house, and my sister was on the line with her boyfriend, but we had call waiting at the time, thank goodness. So she clicked over, and it was my grandpa, and my parents kept him on the phone until the ambulance could come. Then they went to meet him at the hospital. My brother Danny also went to meet him at the hospital. As my grandfather was recovering, he actually got a visit from not one but two bishops in the area. I'm not sure if they were there visiting other people, or if they went there just to see my grandpa. Although I do know my grandpa helped out a lot at the church. When the doctors were examining my grandpa, they said that his neck healed faster than they had ever seen before. They didn't expect him to recover as quickly as he did. I was in seventh or eighth grade at the time, so I'm not sure how long he was in there. It probably felt like forever for me because he's my grandpa and he was in the hospital. I did go to visit him once while he was in there, and it was scary for me because it looked like he had staples in his neck. I don't know, it could have just been stitches. But for me, as a kid, it reminded me of Frankenstein, and it was a little scary, especially since it was my grandpa. I wanted to witness about how quickly he healed, and the doctor said it was miraculous because it should have taken him much longer. Then, when I was out for my run this morning, I felt like God was telling me to witness about my Encounter Ministries class. I know I have talked about it on here, and you can go back and look. I testified about an Encounter Ministries healing session we did. At least one. I think I might have witnessed about two. But today I just want to tell you how great the program is in general, and I also want to talk about inner healing in particular. The program itself is really good. The first quarter is all about identity, and so it teaches us who we are as children of God. Who we are in God's eyes, in the eyes, and spends eight weeks reinforcing our identity as Christ's children. Then, the next eight weeks, we spent listening to God's voice and hearing words of prophecy, words of knowledge, and words of wisdom, hearing blessings, and then being able to share those with other people and those blessings to bless others. After that, the next eight weeks we spent on physical healing, and we got to pray over people with physical ailments and see them healed. We got to see them feeling better, and it was so amazing. One testimony about this quarter was that we had a priest who was taking the class with us. He had one leg slightly shorter than the other, so he had to wear a lift in one shoe. However, at the end of each class, we do activations where we put into practice everything we have learned. That day, we learned that it was possible to pray for people with uneven legs, and that God can grow their legs to be the same length. We saw a video of this happening at a healing event in Mexico. My classmates prayed over the priest, and his leg grew out. He no longer needed a lift in his shoe! God is so good! And then the last eight weeks were on inner healing, and those eight weeks were the most transformative for many students, because as we went through and learned about the various exercises, we also got to practice them on each other, and so we got to experience that inner healing. And inner healing is all about freedom. God doesn't want things weighing on you. He doesn't want us to close our hearts off and not let anyone in, just so we don't get hurt again. He doesn't want our past trauma and our past wounds to affect our future. He doesn't want depression and anxiety weighing down on us and making us miserable. God wants us to be free, and he wants to help us become free. When we're in a difficult situation, as we're growing up, things happen, and then we form a lie about that thing. We tell ourselves something that's not true, and then it informs eve

I am the Alpha and the Omega Revelations 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Have you heard this description of the Lord before? “I am the Alpha and the Omega.” I feel as though I have heard that a lot. I am not sure I knew what Alpha and Omega were before, though. Did you know that Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet? What God means when He says He is the Alpha and the Omega is that He is the beginning and the end. God is with us in the beginning, before we were even born. He will also be with us in the end. One of the ladies from my prayer group mentioned that we can find comfort in this thought when we have aging relatives or friends. Sometimes, when we have aging relatives, they require a lot of assistance. We want to be with them to help them, and sometimes we just can’t be with them all the time. But we can rest assured that even when we can’t be with them, God is with them. He is probably better company anyway. I remember when I was little, I always struggled with the thought that God was always there. That with God, there is no beginning and end. He was just always there. Actually, if I think about it too much, I still struggle with this. Then, yesterday, my friend Louise from the prayer group explained this in a way that made a lot of sense to me. She said that we struggle with things like this because we are human and we think in very finite terms. Our minds are limited, so we cannot understand everything about God. He is not finite, and we can’t try to make him fit into a box that our minds can comprehend. He is a wonder in so many ways. I do take comfort in knowing that God was there at the beginning and He will be there at the end, and He is there every day in between. We are never alone. I am sure it does not always feel like this. Some days we can feel God’s presence more than others. Why is that? Why do we have some days when we know God is with us, and others when we feel He has abandoned us? Those are two excellent questions. Ones I am not sure I know the answer to, and yet ones I still wanted to ask because I think it is something we could all think about. I think we would each have a different answer to these questions. When I think about those questions, I wonder when I feel closest to God. I think it is when I am praying or praising Him. Actually, maybe more so when I am praising Him. When I am listening to Christian music and singing along, I can feel God’s presence. I follow this woman on social media, whose name is Kristina Kuzmic. She is really funny and does short videos about parenting and about being a woman. They are very uplifting and encouraging. They help you to know that parenting is hard for everyone and that you are perfect just the way you are. Anyway, she dances all the time. Just walking down the street, she will be dancing. I used to wonder why. However, I’ve discovered I feel the same way when I am listening to praise music. There is a free playlist on Spotify called Big Life Mornings. It is filled with upbeat Christian songs. I listen when I go for a run, when I walk my dog, when I drive, or when I clean. I listen to it a lot. When I listen to it and sing along, I feel as though God is with me. I can feel His presence, and it makes me want to dance, too. I am not sure I am describing the feeling correctly, but it is truly amazing. If you feel like God has abandoned you and haven’t felt His presence in a while, maybe take some time today to play some Christian music and see how you feel. See if Jesus fills your soul. Another time I feel the Lord’s presence is in Eucharistic Adoration. If you are a Christian and not Catholic, you may not know what this is. We, as Catholics, believe that Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist. Eucharistic Adoration is when the priest displays the host or eucharist in a vessel called a monstrance. The monstrance is placed on the altar or a table and is left there for a certain period of time. We get to go and sit with Jesus and pray in His actual presence. I know that God is with us all the time. We do not need to go to adoration to be with Jesus. However, I find I do feel closer when I go. I am not sure how to describe it, other than comparing it to when you go to a grave site to visit someone who has passed away. You do not need to be at the grave site to talk to that person, but somehow, being there, where their body is buried, makes you feel closer. If you are Catholic and have never tried going to adoration, I would urge you to give it a try. Find out where it is located and go once a week for a month, and see how much it changes your life. I try to go for an hour, but even 10 minutes could make a difference. Just go sit with the Lord. I think you will definitely feel closer to Him. You don’t have to do anything specific at Adoration. The point of it is just to spend time with Him. Even if you are not Catholic, you could give

He Is Series Day #5 Jehovah Jireh (God Will Provide) Genesis 22:14 “So Abraham called that place ‘The Lord will provide’; and to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.’” God asked Abraham to offer Isaac, his only son—the son God had promised Abraham and Sarah would have even though Abraham was about 100 and Sarah about 90. God had said, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Yet now God was asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. This must have been very confusing. Let me read Genesis 22:1–19. Some time later God tested Abraham. He said, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” Early the next morning Abraham set out with two servants and his son Isaac. On the third day he saw the place in the distance. He said to the servants, “Stay here with the donkey while the boy and I go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” Abraham placed the wood on Isaac and carried the fire and knife himself. As they walked together Isaac said, “Father, we have the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” When they reached the place God had shown him, Abraham built an altar, arranged the wood, and placed Isaac on it. He reached out his hand to sacrifice his son, but the angel of the Lord called from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham! Do not lay a hand on the boy. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld your only son.” Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught in a thicket. He sacrificed it instead of his son. So Abraham called that place “The Lord Will Provide.” The angel of the Lord called to Abraham again and declared that because of his obedience God would bless him and make his descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Then Abraham returned to his servants and they went back to Beersheba. I know that was a lot to read, but it is important because we all may face times of testing. Has God ever asked you to do something you didn’t understand? Something that seemed to contradict what you thought He had already promised? God told Abraham He would build a nation through Isaac, yet then asked him to sacrifice Isaac. Still, Abraham told his son, “God himself will provide the lamb.” He had faith even though he didn’t know what would happen on that mountain. We also see his faith in Genesis 22:5 when he tells the servants, “We will come back to you.” He didn’t say I will come back—he said we. How could Abraham be so confident? I think it was for two reasons. First, Abraham truly knew God. He had a close relationship with Him and knew His character. Second, Abraham knew God always keeps His promises. If God said Abraham’s descendants would come through Isaac, then Abraham trusted that God would somehow make that happen. This story reminds us that God will provide even when we cannot see how. Abraham didn’t understand how Isaac could be sacrificed and still be part of God’s promise, but he trusted God anyway. The same can be true for us. We don’t have to understand the plan—we simply have to obey what God is asking us to do and trust Him with the rest. What if we looked at the challenges in our lives as tests of faith? Would it change how we respond? Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Can we hold onto hope even when we cannot see the way forward? Hope is not always easy. But what is the alternative? Do we stop hoping so we won’t be disappointed? For me, I choose hope—even when it hurts. What if this is the test? What if God only needed me to trust Him one more day? Abraham kept his faith all the way up the mountain. You can too. I know it can be painful when we hope for something and it doesn’t happen. I prayed for my friend Iris to be healed from cancer here on earth, yet God healed her in heaven. I prayed for another miracle that didn’t come the way I hoped. But I have also seen many times when God did come through—when I had confidence in what I hoped for and assurance in what I could not see. God has worked miracles in ways I may never fully understand. When you struggle to have hope, look to Abraham. When things don’t make sense and seem impossible, trust God anyway. God is for you, not against you. He can make a way. Nothing is impossible for Him. Move forward in faith. Dear Jehovah Jireh, please bless everyone listening today. Help us to have the faith of Abraham. Help us to know you deeply and to trust the lives of our loved ones in your hands. Give us the strength and courage to say yes when you ask us to do things we do not understand. We know you are good and that you are for us, not against us. Help us to keep hoping, even when it is hard. Thank you for all you provide. We a

He Is Series Day #4 El Shaddai (God Almighty) Genesis 17:1 “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless.” Today’s name for God is El Shaddai. This means God Almighty. This verse is what God says to Abram right before He makes a covenant with Him and changes His name to Abraham. God promises Abraham that he will be the father of many nations and that his descendants will be too numerous to count. God made this covenant with Abraham 25 years before Abraham and his wife, Sarah, had a child together. I want to go into a bit of detail about this timeline because I have always heard that Abraham had to wait 25 years, but when I read further into Genesis Chapter 17, God tells Abraham that he will have the baby in one year. Here is a quick summary of the timeline. When Abram is 75 years old, God first calls him and tells him that he will be the father of nations. (Genesis 12:1-4) Then, after 15 years, Sarah gets tired of waiting and, honestly, probably starts to question whether the promise will come true. So, Sarah gives her handmaid to Abram, and they have a baby together. Abram is 86 when Ismael is born. (Gene 16:16) Then, 13 years later, God returns, and that is where this verse picks up. God changes their names to Abraham and Sarah and promises that Sarah will conceive within one year. At this point, Abraham is 99 years old. This is important to know because sometimes we think that if God is making a covenant with us and has a plan for our lives, then we will automatically see that plan come to pass. We start to doubt that God really has a plan for us when we don’t see immediate signs. Or maybe we are ok waiting for a few weeks or a few months, but what if we needed to wait 25 years? I am not a fan of waiting. God and I talk about this all the time. I am continually asking why we can’t go with my timeline rather than His. I am sure I am not the only one who asks Him this question. Do you ever feel tired of waiting? Do you ever wonder if it is really going to happen, since you have been waiting so long? I definitely know people who gave up hope that the thing they were praying for would happen. This is not unusual. It is hard to wait for God’s time. Even Abraham and Sarah, who were chosen by God to be the parents of nations, got tired of waiting for God to give them a baby and took it into their own hands. Have you ever done this before? Have you ever gotten tired of waiting for the Lord to find you the right boyfriend/girlfriend and settled for the wrong one? Have you ever decided to do something, even though you were pretty sure it wasn’t right, just because you wanted the dream to come true? When we force situations to fulfil God’s promises, instead of letting God fill them in His perfect timing, things never work out well. I know waiting is hard. It is especially hard if you are waiting on something that you feel has a time limit. For instance, if you want to have a family and you feel your biological clock is ticking, it may be very hard to wait on the Lord. And I know it is easy to say that Sarah gave birth long after her childbearing days were over, but it’s another thing to believe it can happen in this day and age. God will come through for you. It just requires a whole lot of patience to wait on Him. I have a friend who really wanted to be married and have a family. She was in her forties and feeling like it was never going to happen. However, she kept trying to hope that it would happen. She kept trying to believe God would come through and fulfill her deepest desires. This summer, she will have been married for two years to a man who is perfect for her. The two of them just make so much sense together. They even have the same sense of humor. It’s so sweet to see them together! God will answer your prayers, too! Whenever I said this name for the Lord in this episode, a song instantly came into my head. It is a great song to demonstrate how Almight our God is! The song is titled Good God Almighty and it is sung by Crowder. I am going to share that song with you now. [Verse 1] I can't count the times I've called Your name some broken night And You showed up and patched me up like You do every time I get amnesia, I forget that you keep coming around Yeah, ain't no way You'll ever let me down I love this verse because it reminds us that every time we call out to the Lord, He shows up. It also reminds us that we can cry out to him when we are broken; we don’t have to wait until we fix ourselves before we do. I also love the imagery when the song says, you showed up and patched me up like you do every time. God is going to come and help you every time. Not sometimes, not occasionally, EVERYTIME! I also like how it shows us we are not alone when we forget that God is there, or when we forget to call out to Him. We forget that God won’t ever let us down! [Chorus] Good God Almighty, I hope You'll find me Praising Your

He Is Series Day #3 El Roi (The God Who Sees Me) Genesis 16:13 “So she named the Lord who spoke to her, ‘You are El-roi'; for she said, ‘Have I really seen God and remained alive after seeing him?” Today, we are talking about El Roi, the God who sees me. This verse is part of a longer conversation that an angel of the Lord had with Hagar. Let me briefly fill you in on the story of Hagar. The Lord promised Abram and Sarai that they would have a child. Actually, He promised that Abram would be the father of nations and his descendants would outnumber the stars in the sky. Yet Abram and Sarai had no children, and they were both well past the typical baby-making years. It had been over 10 years since God promised that they would have a child. Sarai got tired of waiting for God, and so she convinced Abram to take her Egyptian slave girl as his wife. He went into her, and she conceived a son. Sarai thought once she had a child, she would be happy. However, after the slave girl became pregnant with Abram’s child, she looked with contempt at her mistress. She got mad and dealt harshly with Hagar, and so Hagar ran away. This is where the conversation happens. Genesis 16:12-13 “The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, slave-girl of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am running away from my mistress Sarai.” The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her.” The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will so greatly multiply your offspring that they cannot be counted for multitude.” And the angel of the Lord said to her, “Now you have conceived and shall bear a son; you shall call him Ishmael, for the Lord has given heed to your affliction. He shall be a wild ass of a man, with his hand against everyone, and everyone’s hand against him; and he shall live at odds with all his kin.” So she named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are El-roi”; for she said, “Have I really seen God and remained alive after seeing him?” What I want to focus on today is that God sees you. Some of us really need to hear that today. God sees you in whatever situation you are in. God saw Hagar. She was not one of the chosen people. She was a slave girl from Egypt. She was asked to marry her mistress’s husband and to have a baby for them. She was doing as she was told, and yet afterwards she was acting as if she was better than her mistress, and so her mistress was treating her badly. I can imagine how unfair that felt to Hagar. She did as she was told, and now she was being unfairly treated. Has this ever happened to you? You followed directions, you did what your boss wanted you to do, and then it didn’t turn out the way he or she wanted, and now he or she is mad at you? Did you ever feel like God was calling you to do something, and you obeyed, and then it felt like you were being punished for it? I wonder if Paul and Silas felt like this when they were captured, beaten, and thrown in jail for proclaiming the Word of the Lord? They were doing what God called them to do, and yet they were still put in jail. God sent an angel to talk with Hagar and to let her know that God sees her. He sees her and her situation. God let her know that he would greatly multiply her offspring. She could not believe that God not only saw her but also cared enough to send an angel to interact with her, and that she would live through the encounter. God saw her in this mess. God sees you in your mess, too. He sees you in an impossible relationship. He sees you trying to do whatever you can to pay your bills, even though you have no money. He sees you trying to parent your children even though you are overwhelmed. He sees you in your illness, desperately praying for a healing. God sees you! Let’s go back to the example I gave of Paul and Silas being beaten and thrown in jail even though they were doing what God called them to do. God saw them in jail. He saw them in their situation, and he created an earthquake that shook the building so much that all the prison doors opened. Paul and Silas were free. What situation do you need God to come and free you from? Whatever the situation is, God sees you! If you are struggling right now. If you feel abandoned by God and wonder if he even sees you, or hears your prayers, know that He does!! He sees you right where you are, and He loves you! He loves you just as you are right now. He doesn’t need you to change first. He doesn’t need you to be different before He loves you. He loves you truly and completely just as you are now. He isn’t waiting for you to be healed to love you. He isn’t waiting for you to be anger-free to love you. He isn’t waiting for you to be free of all your addictions for Him to love you. He loves you, just for being you, the real you. God sees the real you. Not the you that you pretend to be. Not the you that looks perfect in all your photos. Not the you that y

Rosa's Plane Trip Witness Wednesday, Rosa's plane trip. So as you all know, I had to go to Rhode Island because my mom had two strokes and my flight back was on Monday, March 2nd. My brother, who also lives in Florida, was in New Jersey at the time because of my niece's cheerleading competition. So my brother decided to rent a vehicle and go all the way to Rhode Island to surprise my mom, which he did. And it was such a beautiful surprise. So I decided to take the ride back with him back to Philadelphia and travel from Philadelphia to Orlando versus from Rhode Island to Orlando. On our way, we received a first email stating that our flight was going to be delayed until 8.13. Our flight was originally at 7.46. So we didn't think much of it because we still had plenty of time. So we just kept riding. We stopped in New Jersey, did a little bit of sightseeing. Then when we were getting closer to Philly, we received another email stating that our flight was going to be delayed until 9.35 p.m. So we stopped in Philadelphia. We went sightseeing. We went to the Liberty Bell. Then we went to Rocky Balboa's statue. So while we were there, I felt in my spirit, just in my heart, that the flight was going to be canceled. But no, we received another email stating that our flight was going to be delayed until 10.13. So we just were there and I still keep feeling that in my gut that the flight was going to be canceled. So a few minutes later, we received another email stating that our flight was canceled. So we just thought, what are we going to do? What's going on? Why are they canceling the flight with no explanation? They just sent emails. They didn't tell us why the flights were going to be canceled. So my brother and his family started panicking and I said, no, I'm not going to panic. I'm just going to pray. So I just did that. I started praying and praying. So we decided to go to the airport to Spirit Airlines to ask them, you know, what's going to happen because we cannot stay in Philadelphia because we're from Orlando and we're far away from our family in Rhode Island. So while we were on our way, I decided to call Spirit Airlines. So when I was speaking to the person, the person was very negative and all she kept saying was, I'm sorry, unfortunately, I'm sorry, unfortunately. So she was just saying things that she couldn't do instead of just trying to call me and give us peace. So she kept putting me on hold and kept checking flights and she said, we don't have anything until 48 hours. Then she came back on the line saying that we have something for the next day at 746, but it's going to be with a stop. And we started telling her, it's no good. You know, we can't stay here. We have no family. We have no money to stay in the hotel. So we need something for today. So she kept looking and looking. We arrived at the airport. We were in front of the Spirit Terminal. And then she just kept saying, no, there's nothing I can do. There's nothing I can do. I asked her for a supervisor and she said, well, I am the supervisor and I'm trying my best. I explained to her that I have a special need daughter that's diabetic, that has chronic arthritis, and that she cannot sit for a long time. She cannot walk a long distance and we cannot stay at the airport. So she kept looking and looking. While we were on hold, she stated, I'm going to see if I can find a different airline that can help you, but you are six. Maybe for you and for your daughter, I can try to find something and fit you in, but you are six. I said, well, they're my family and they're helping me with my daughter. I cannot just leave them here because they have no money, no place to stay, no one here that they know. So I cannot just leave them. So where she kept looking, I received an email stating that my flight has been changed and they booked me with American Airlines. So while I was still on hold, we started running to the terminal, to American Airlines terminal, so we can be there. The flight stated, the email stated that our flight was going to be at 717 and that we had to board by 636. We were there at 610. We were not even on time to board and do all the checking. They stated, because it was less than 45 minutes, we could not add our bags. So we said, we have to take our bags. The other thing is that they had my niece as an unaccompanied minor, which that is a mistake that the other airline made. And they probably couldn't make, they couldn't change it because of the time. So I started praying. I started praying. I started praying. And yes, we were able to all be checked in and checked our bags in. But now we had to go from the terminal to the boarding and it was already like 625. So we had to run and try to make it. So thank God, we made it. The only other thing is, we had to pay for our bags again. Our bags, which we had paid already through the original airline, we had to pay them again through American Airlines. I had two bags, which I had to pay $80. I o

He Is Series Day 2-El Elyon (Most High God) Genesis 14:18-20 “And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. He blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him one-tenth of everything.” The next title for God is El Elyon. This means Most High God. If we look at how this is used in today’s verse, we see two different ways of showing that our God is the Most High God. First, King Melchizedek of Salem says that God is the maker of heaven and earth. Next, he says that he delivered your enemies into your hands. I am sure we have all had times when we needed El Elyon to deliver our enemies into our hands. I can think of one instance in particular that a friend of mine just went through. She had a family member betray her very deeply. He did some work for her and then said she owed far more than she really owed him. He made up all sorts of lies and, in the end, decided to sue her. She couldn’t believe that a family member would be doing this, and it caused so much pain, stress, and worry. However, she knows God, and she trusts God. This is a great time to call upon El Elyon to deliver her enemies into her hand. She did not know what she would do if she had to pay all the money the family member said she owed. Even though she had the truth on her side, there were several times throughout this whole ordeal that it looked like things were not going in her favor. There were lies that were told and believed by the courts. However, she also had records and receipts for things she had paid for, and so she knew she was right and he was in the wrong. But would the courts see it that way? Would God come through for her? Would he save her from this injustice? I hope you all know the answer to that question. Yes, of course, he would save her. Of course, he would not let evil win. The court eventually advised the family member to make a deal that was actually fair, and she did not pay more than she felt she owed. God is so good!! Here is one thing that I think we need to remember when we call up God. He is going to answer our prayers in the best way possible. That is not always the way we want Him to, and it is definitely not always in the timing that we want Him to. Remember, we are talking about the Most High God. He is the most high. That means His plan is better than our plan. I know you don’t want to hear that, but it is true. That also means that His time is better than our time. I know you didn’t want to hear that either. We can get tired of waiting for the Lord’s time. My friend was in this legal battle for years. Not one year, not even two, I think it has been more than two years. I am sure she cried out to the Lord many times over those two years. I am sure you have too. That’s ok, keep crying out. God wants us to keep asking. He wants us to keep turning to Him. He also wants us to know He is with us through it all. Even if He is not answering your prayer immediately because of some reason or another, that doesn’t mean He is not in it with you. He is the one giving you the strength to keep going to work or the provisions to keep paying the lawyer. He is there with you every step of the way. There was a time in Tony’s career when he had a boss who did not treat him well at all. She was always talking down to him and telling him he wasn’t very good at his job. Tony has always been great at his job. His previous supervisors had praised his writing skills, as he is an excellent writer. This boss told him he didn’t know how to write. It was awful, and he hated going to work. Every Sunday night, he would get very sad because it meant he would need to go to work the next day. He lived for the weekends. I am not sure if Tony prayed for God to be delivered from this. I know I prayed, though. I prayed that whole year for her to be removed from command. I prayed that God would change her heart. I prayed that the military would move her. I prayed they would move Tony to another position. I didn’t know what the solution was, but I knew God did, and I prayed he would deliver Tony from this situation. She did eventually move on, and the next commander was so much better. Aside from that one commander, he has always had amazing bosses. I am not sure why Tony had to go through that one year. I am not sure why things didn’t get better faster, but I do know that God was with him during that whole year. He gave Tony great friends so that he could enjoy his weekends and get a break. Despite this boss, God provided an amazing experience for us on that assignment. We got to go on trips, hang out with friends, and just enjoy life. I know that our Most High God was providing amazing things for us, even in the middle of that struggle. What about you? When you look at your life, when you look through the years, can you see where the Most High God was delivering your ene

“He Is” Series Day #1 Elohim (God as Creator) Genesis1:1 “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth.” Welcome to He Is, a devotional journey through the names of God. So often we focus on what we need from God — peace, provision, healing, direction. But in this series, we’re going to shift our focus to who He is. Because when we truly know His name, we begin to trust His heart. Over the Next month or so, we’ll explore the powerful names of God found in Scripture — from Jehovah Jireh, our Provider, to El Roi, the God who sees us — and allow each name to renew our faith and anchor our identity in Him. Lateley I have been hearing people mention the various names for God. It is not new for me to hear things like, God is our provider or God is our healer. However, I have been hearing people use the Hebrew and Greek names for the Lord. These are new to me. I have heard a few before, but I didn’t realize there were so many. The other day, I heard someone mention a few of the names, and I felt in my heart that I was supposed to do a series on them in case others haven’t heard of them either. The more we know about God, the closer we can get to Him. If we don’t know God, if we don’t know all of Him, then how can we trust Him? How can we be in a close relationship with Him if we don’t know who He is? I pray that at the end of this series, you know more about God and who He really is. I pray you learn more about God than you did before. I pray this series not only blesses you, but transforms your view of God and our relationship with Him! Elohim is the first name for God given in the Bible. It was given in the very beginning when describing how God created everything. Today’s verse is, “In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth.” However, that chapter goes into much more detail about all things God created in those first few days. God spoke the entire universe into existence. He thought of light and darkness. He thought of land and water. He thought of animals for the land and for the sea. He thought of days and nights and the sun and the moon. He thought of everything. I invite you to take a moment and think about your life. Think about how much detail went into creating the life you have now. Imagine how many things had to line up in order for you to have your parents. Imagine all the things that lined up so you could go to the school you went to or have the job that you have. When I take a moment to look at my life, I think about all the ways God was creating the life that I have now. In high school, I dated a guy whom I thought I would marry. I wanted to go to school in New Jersey to be close to where he was. However, I ended up going to school in Connecticut because I couldn’t afford the school in New Jersey. I ended up breaking up with my high school boyfriend two years later. Then my roommate was taking ROTC classes at UCONN. They had a bring-a-friend day, and that is where I met the man I would marry. God knew what He was creating. When Tony and I got married, we had to move away from family because he was in the military. We both agreed that once he was done with his four-year commitment, then we would get out of the military, unless we both wanted to stay in. Which we both agreed was unlikely. Then, 4 years turned into 15 years before we finally moved back close to family. It turns out God knew what He was doing, and we both loved moving to new places, meeting new people, and exploring different parts of the world. God is an amazing creator. He can orchestrate things we never would have thought of. He can work with you to create the most amazing life you can dream of. He can create jobs you didn’t even know existed. I was just listening to a podcast this morning about a couple who started doing TikTok videos as a spur-of-the-moment decision. Now the husband has quit his full-time job, they make money from their videos, and they're taking on other adventures they never would have thought of before. When you look at this couple on paper, they do not look like they would fit together at all. She has ADHD, and he has autism. He had a steady job for over 20 years, and she bounced from job to job. He has had 2 divorces and two children with two different moms. She has had numerous relationships with men and women that have never worked out. Even when they talk about their relationship, they talk about how it doesn’t make sense on paper. They are two very different people. Yet God helped them create a beautiful life together. They have learned so much about each other and how they function best. They have gone into business together, making these videos, and have written a book or two. Things are really good with them. I do want to say one thing that I think we tend to overlook a lot. God did create a beautiful life for me and Tony and for this couple and for so many others. However, that doesn’t mean we go through life perfectly without any problems. God didn’t say we wouldn’t

Be Wise With Your Words Proverbs 10:11–14 “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses. On the lips of one who has understanding, wisdom is found… The wise lay up knowledge, but the babbling of a fool brings ruin near.” During our Wednesday morning prayer group, someone received this word from the Lord: “Be wise with your words. Be positive, not negative. Use your words to build up and encourage, not discourage.” At the same time, someone else received today’s verse. It felt clear that the Lord wanted us to reflect on the power of our words. Lent seemed like the perfect time for this. One woman in my Thursday prayer group said she is fasting from unkind words this Lent. I thought that was a beautiful idea. Often we speak without thinking. We say whatever comes to mind, sometimes believing we are helping someone by pointing out what they are doing wrong. But is it truly wrong, or simply different from what we would do? And even if correction is needed, is this the right time and place? If we slowed down and thought before speaking, this world would be a kinder place. I love how the verse says, “The babbling of a fool brings ruin near.” Ruin does not always mean something dramatic. Sometimes careless words ruin a moment, a day, or even a relationship. Our words truly carry power. As Proverbs 18:21 reminds us, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Because of this, we must choose our words carefully. The world already has enough harsh voices. What if we stood out because of our kindness? What if people said about us, “That person never has an unkind word to say”? As followers of Jesus, the Holy Spirit lives within us. What if we spoke to others as if we were speaking directly to Jesus? In many ways, we are. Another powerful fast we could consider is fasting from gossip—not just during Lent, but permanently. When we refuse to participate in gossip, people eventually stop bringing it to us. It may feel awkward at first, but it is possible to gently change the conversation. The world needs more kindness, less judgment, and more people willing to use their words for good. This morning I watched a video from a young adult with autism who shared how often she has been misunderstood. Because she struggles with non-verbal cues, she sometimes loses friendships without even knowing what went wrong. Her friends might imply something or give subtle signals, but she needs direct communication. It reminded me how important it is to learn how others communicate. Sometimes we take offense to someone’s words when they never intended to hurt us. They may simply communicate differently. When we feel offended, it can help to pause and ask ourselves:Why do I feel offended? What might the other person be experiencing right now? Communication is a two-way street. Both people share responsibility for speaking with kindness and seeking understanding. Recently our family learned that one of my sons has autism in addition to ADHD. This has opened my eyes to how easily misunderstandings can happen. Looking back, I realize there were many moments when clearer words or different phrasing might have helped him understand better. You may not be communicating with someone who has autism or ADHD—but you might be communicating with a teenager, a quiet spouse, a struggling coworker, or someone carrying burdens you cannot see. Each person may require a different approach. Communication matters more than we often realize. Two people can say the same words but receive completely different responses because tone, body language, and attitude matter just as much as the words themselves. If we want to walk boldly with Jesus, we must pay attention to how we communicate His love. The same message can be delivered with compassion or with harshness. The difference matters. I believe the Lord is inviting us to make a sincere effort to communicate in ways that help others feel seen and understood. When we take the time to do this, people often experience the love of Jesus through us. If you ever feel misunderstood in a conversation, pause and quietly pray, “Come Holy Spirit, come.” Ask the Holy Spirit to guide your words. If a conversation feels difficult, invite Him in before it even begins. He knows exactly what needs to be said. Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless each person listening today. Lord, help us to be wise with our words. Give us the strength to avoid gossip and unkind speech. Help us become people who build others up and represent you well in the world. Show us where we need to grow in our communication and teach us how to understand those around us. We know we cannot do this alone, but with you, all things are possible. We ask this in Jesus’s holy name, Amen. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you ar

Stand in the Breach Genesis 18:32 “ Then he said, “Oh, do not let the Lord be angry if I speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.” This verse comes from a discussion between God and Moses. Let me read you the whole conversation, so you have the context. This section follows immediately the one in which God promises Sarah and Abraham that they will have a son. In this section, God wonders if He should hide from Abraham what He is about to do to Sodom and Gomorrah, and He decides He shouldn’t. He has chosen Abraham to teach His children right from wrong, and so He decides to tell him the judgment He is about to hand down to Sodom and Gomorrah. Let’s read from Genesis 18:20-33. “Then the Lord said, “How great is the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah and how very grave their sin! I must go down and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me; and if not, I will know.” So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before the Lord. Then Abraham came near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will you then sweep away the place and not forgive it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will forgive the whole place for their sake.” Abraham answered, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” Again, he spoke to him, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” Then he said, “Oh, do not let the Lord be angry if I speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” He said, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.” Then he said, “Oh, do not let the Lord be angry if I speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.” And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.” There are at least two things I love about these verses in the Bible. First, I love what it shows us about God. It shows us that God is approachable. It shows us that we can talk with Him and that He will listen. God knows everything. He is the almighty one. He could have very easily shut Abraham down and told him it was none of his business how God handled those cities. He could have been offended because Abraham was questioning Him and His judgment. He didn’t do either of these things. He listened to Abraham, He allowed Abraham to make His case, and He agreed to spare the lives of the righteous. This shows us how compassionate God is. It also shows us his mercy as well. He was willing to have mercy on the whole town for the sake of a few righteous people, as few as 10 righteous people. According to the internet, about 1,200 people lived in those cities at the time of destruction. Can you imagine having mercy on 1190 people who are doing awful things, including child sacrifice, just because there are 10 among them who are doing the right thing? That is how much God wants all of us to be saved. He is willing to give us so many chances. He was willing to spare the whole city for the sake of a few. We tend to think a lot less about God’s mercy and think more about His judgment and how He is just looking for us to mess up. That is not our God. That is not the God in the Bible. When we read scripture, we get to learn who God truly is. The story of Sodom and Gomorrah can be looked at as a story of how harsh God’s judgment is. However, if you read the whole story in context, you can see that God did not want to destroy the towns. He was willing to save them even if there were just 10 righteous people in the whole town. However, He couldn’t even find 10. The other thing I love about these verses is that Abraham is willing to stand up for those he didn’t know. Right before this section, God told Abraham and his wife, Sarah, that they would have a baby. They had tried for a long time, and they were beyond their baby-making years, age-wise. This was going to be a miracle. I would like to think many of us would have done what Abraham did. I would like to think I would have kept asking God to save those people over and over again. The truth is, I don’t know if I would have. Would I have been afraid if I pushed God, He would take away the miracle He promised me? Would I have been afraid God