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

Witness Wednesday #199 Catherine D. Today I would like to share with you a witness about how God came through at the last minute. He does this sometimes. Sometimes it can feel like He is not there, like He didn’t hear your prayers, and then just when you think all is lost, He comes through. Last September, I went to Ecuador for my niece’s baptism. This was a really big deal for me, as my niece was born at 27 weeks and almost didn’t survive. That is a witness for another time. She was in the hospital for 4 months, and just as she got to leave the hospital and go home, COVID happened. She had to stay in her house for over a year. Her grandparents, my brother-in-law’s parents, couldn’t come here from Ecuador to meet her, and they couldn’t travel there due to the pandemic. So, this past September, right before my niece turned 2, they decided to have her baptized in Ecuador. They had asked me to be the Godmother, and I was honored to make the trip to celebrate this amazing occasion. She is a miracle baby for so many reasons, and I was looking forward to being a part of bringing this beautiful girl into the church. My mom and dad traveled down a week early with my sister, brother-in-law, and my niece. Then I was traveling with my mother-in-law, Joanie, as she also loves to travel. The beginning of our trip shows how God shows up in all the details. We had a really early morning flight, and then we had a long layover in Florida. When I say long, I mean we had a 12-hour layover in FL. We were both wondering what we would do to pass the time. We thought about leaving the airport and looking around the city, but we had our luggage, and we didn’t really want to walk around town carrying our luggage. I was praying about this on our flight to FL, and the thought came to me that we could rent a car. This way we could keep our luggage in the trunk and drive around the town. Once we landed and got to the car rental place, it turned out it was very inexpensive to rent the car for the day. We were all set and on our way. We drove to the beach, we walked along the boardwalk, we got ice cream, we drove through a beautiful scenic park, and we even got out and went for a nice walk through the park. We had a fantastic day and made it back to the airport in plenty of time to make our next flight. God was in all the details of that day, and He worked things out perfectly for us. This next part of our journey is where things got a little bumpy. We had been traveling since about 4 am. We arrived in Ecuador at about 11 pm. We were tired and ready to get to the hotel and get some sleep. My brother-in-law had our flight info, but we had no way to reach him as our phones did not have international service. This wasn’t really a problem as our flight was not delayed, and he could always check with the airport if it had been. Joanie and I wait in the line to go through passport control. We finally get up to passport control, and we can see the door to go out to meet all those waiting to pick you up. We hand over our passports, and the man looks at them, then he looks at us. Then he calls over someone else, and he looks at them, they talk in Spanish, which I don’t speak, and I can see the one he called over shaking his head. I start to get nervous. I ask if there is a problem. He said, yes, I am sorry, ma’am, but your passport expires in less than 6 months. No, it does not expire until March of 2022 and we are in September of 2021. He explained that in order for me to enter the country, I have to be at least 6 months away from my expiration date. We looked at my passport, which expired on March 6th, and I landed on March 16th. He said they will only give a 10-day grace period, and I was already at my 10 days. Are you getting this? If I had traveled one week earlier, I would have been fine, but since my passport was going to expire in less than 6 months, 6 months, I couldn’t stay. I had this sinking feeling in my stomach, and I asked what that meant. He said he was going to ask his supervisor, and he was going to try to see what he could do, but it probably meant that I would have to get back on a plane that night and go back to America. Joanie and I were so confused. We didn’t know what to do. They asked if she wanted to stay, but she said she was with me; if I had to go, she was going home too. The man left us standing there for what felt like a really long time and went to talk to his supervisor. I told Joanie we needed to pray, and we both started to pray. We prayed that God would work some miracle. We prayed that we would get to go to the baptism. I pleaded with God, I begged Him to work his magic and not let them send me home. I praised God and thanked Him, I did and said everything I could think of in that moment, and you know what? It didn’t work. The man came back and said he was really sorry, there was nothing he could do, we had to wait for someone from the airlines to come and escort us back to the other part of the airport so we

We Have Been Set Free 1 Corinthians 6:12 “ All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are beneficial. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.” The prayer point for the healing service team today is to free the captives. This instantly made me think of my friend who I am praying for this week. I have asked those I know to give me a Bible verse, and I will assign a different verse to each week of the year. Then I will pray for that person during the week I have assigned their verse. This week, I am praying for my friend, and instead of praying for her, she has asked for prayers for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and for food and medical aid to reach the sick and injured. When I read the Captives this morning, I thought of all of those who were captured in the Gaza Strip many months ago. Then, when I started reading the scripture verses we were given, I realized there are many ways that we can be held captive. Some of us are physically held captive, like those in war-torn countries, those who were abducted and forced into human trafficking of all kinds. There are also many of us who are held captive by our own beliefs, addictions, or wants and desires. This morning, while I was reading over the various verses, I asked the Lord to highlight the one he wanted me to talk about. I asked Him to make it clear to me. He actually highlighted two verses. The first one that jumped out was the verse above. 1 Corinthians 6:12 says, “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are beneficial. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.” I thought this was particularly fitting for today since yesterday was Ash Wednesday, and so Lent has just begun. Lent can be a difficult time of year because it is a time of sacrifice. It can also be a sad time of year as we remember all Christ went through to save us from our sins, to save us from ourselves. Lent is also a great time of year to show ourselves that we don’t have to be controlled by our wants and our desires. We get the chance to show God that although we love chocolate, wine, alcohol, beer, swearing, desserts, TV, or whatever else we decide to give up, we don’t let them as much as we love HIm. We get to show ourselves that it is ok to deny ourselves something we want and that when we do we will be even more stronger for it. I have a friend named Sarah Jane. I remember she came over to my house one time, and I asked if she wanted a brownie. She said she gave up chocolate for the month. It wasn’t lent so I asked her why she gave it up. She said each month, she gives something up for the month to show herself she can and so that she does not get too attached to anything. This is an awesome idea. I actually did this for a few months last year, but I don’t think I made it past May. I do think it is important that we know that just because we can do something doesn’t mean we should do it. It also doesn’t mean it is good for us. If we want to be holy, we must go beyond the letter of the law. This is what the Sadducees and Pharisees were doing. They were following the letter of the law but not the spirit of the law. They were so focused on doing things perfectly that they lost all sight of what God was really about. They forgot about the love God had for His people. They forgot about His mercy. They got caught up in all the laws and the rules and somehow got lost. What I felt the Lord wanted me to remind you of today is that you do not have to become slaves to things of this world. The second scripture He highlighted to me is Galatians 5:1, which says, “For freedom, Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” This shows us that we have a choice. Before Jesus came to save us, we had fewer choices. Before Jesus came, we had the laws to tell us what we should do, but we didn’t have the Holy Spirit inside of us to give us the strength to resist the things that were not good for us. Then Jesus came, and He died on the cross to set us free from sin. Then He went to be with His Father, and they sent the Holy Spirit to be with us so we would no longer be left on our own. Because of this, we no longer have to accept the yoke of slavery. Because of this, we have been set free. However, this does not mean that we are all free. We must make a choice to be free. We have to decide that our freedom in Christ is worth more than that cookie, that drink, that drug, that extramarital affair. Christ died so we could be free, but we still have to choose to be free. God has given us free will and He won’t force us to follow Him or to love Him. He won’t force us to choose Him. We have to do that on our own. Well, not really on our own because He gave us the power of the Holy Spirit living inside of us. We can rely on that power. We do need to make the choice, but then we can rely on the Holy Spirit to help us keep that freedom. We can rely on the Holy Spirit to help us stay on the pat

Jesus leaves the 99 for the 1 Matthew 4:1-11 “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him. Have you ever had a time like this? A time when you felt like the Devil was right there by your side, attacking you? Did you know what to say? Did you know what to do? I remember reading this and wishing that I knew scripture as well as Jesus did. I wish I knew the right thing to say when the devil comes to tell me the lies. That is what he is known for after all. Satan is the father of lies. Usually, they are not bald-faced lies. Usually, they have some sliver of truth that is twisted to make you question something. But in this passage, Jesus was not deterred from his faith. He did not get drawn into a debate, defending himself or his God. He simply quoted scripture to the enemy. This is one reason why it is helpful to read the Word of God every day. The more we read God’s word, the more we will know what to say to defend ourselves from the enemy. There are many reasons to read the word of God. Another one would be so that we know how God wants us to live. The Bible is full of stories, parables, and laws that can help us govern how to live. Knowledge is power, and if we know how God wants us to live, we can try to live in an upright manner. We can do our best to please Him. God does so much for us. The least we can do is try to obey his rules. We can try to live in a manner that honors Him and makes Him proud. Do you struggle with this, with living in a way that honors God and makes Him proud? I know I do. I often think of the passage from St. Paul in Romans 7:15, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” If St. Paul, who did amazing things for Christ, struggled to live a holy life, then I think it is understandable that we may struggle at times as well. However, remembering these passages and turning over our struggle to God can help us struggle a little less. When we are struggling, we need only repent and turn back to God. God does not need us to be perfect, nor does he expect it. God knows every step you are going to take before you take it. Nothing you do is a surprise to Him. He is our creator, He is the creator of all things. He knows how your story ends before it even starts. He can see all the roads you will go down. He knows the windy road that is your life. And you know what? He loves you anyway. He loves you even though you are not perfect. He loves you even though you will turn away from Him from time to time. Maybe you have turned away from him a long time ago and have not come back yet. Guess what? He loves you anyway! And He is ready for you to turn back to him. When you do, he will rejoice and celebrate. He won’t be thinking of all the things you did in the past. He won’t be holding your past sins against you. Once you repent and turn back to the Lord, He will rejoice that His son or daughter has returned home, and He will welcome you with open arms. That is just one of the many amazing things about your Lord. He is filled with so much mercy and so much grace. He knows all of our flaws, all of our mistakes, and yet He still loves us, flaws and all. There is nothing that you can do that is unredeemable in the Lord’s eyes. I know people who don’t understand how valuable they are in the Lord’s eyes. They feel that because of their sins, they are worth less than others. Or, maybe they feel they are worthless. If you are one of these people who is struggling with your self-worth in God’s eyes, I ask you to picture that you have 2 pennies in your hand, one of them is shiny and new, and the other one is old, dirty, and looks like it has been found in the gutter. What is the value of each penny? Is the penny that looks shiny and new worth more than the penny that is old and dirty? No, they are both worth the same. This is the same with God’s love. You are not worth less because you have made mistakes,

Don’t Worry, I Will Explain It 1 John 3:8 “Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.” I read this verse and thought, “Nope, I don’t want to go there.” Actually, I read this verse and then read the next two verses after it. 1 John 3:8-10 says, “Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the works of the devil. Those who have been born of God do not sin, because God’s seed abides in them; they cannot sin, because they have been born of God. The children of God and the children of the devil are revealed in this way: all who do not do what is right are not from God, nor are those who do not love their brothers and sisters.” Ok, after hearing all that, do you see why I didn’t want to touch this verse? First of all, I didn’t really understand it. If I sin, am I a child of the devil? What does that even mean? We all sin, don’t we? Then it says Those born of God do not sin. But wait, I am born of God, and yet I do sin? It is definitely confusing and not something I felt qualified to talk about. Secondly, I didn’t want someone to hear this verse, or read it in the transcript, and then think they weren’t a child of God because they sin. Because let's all be honest, we all sin. So, I was happy to skip this one and go on to find another verse. I felt the Holy Spirit stop me and ask, what does this verse mean? What if someone already read it and didn’t stop to ask what it means? What if someone is walking around thinking they are no longer my child just because they sin? I am always humbled when the Holy Spirit reminds me of the purpose for this podcast. It is not to talk about all the things I understand. It is not the time to talk about things I really love talking about. It is to help myself and you, all those listening, to understand scripture a little better. My purpose is to help you walk boldly with Jesus one verse at a time. The only way to do this is to take difficult scriptures, ones I don’t understand, and figure them out, examine them, research them, and then share that with you. I may not always get it right, but I do try my best, and I ask the Holy Spirit to take care of the rest. I am sure I will keep needing to be reminded to stop and examine a verse if I don’t understand it because the enemy loves to try and stop me by telling me I am not qualified to talk about the scripture. He tells me I don’t know what I am doing, and so I can’t help others. Do you see how he takes a kernel of truth and twists it? He is right, I am not qualified, and I don’t always know what the scriptures mean. However, the way he twists it is because I am not sharing just my thoughts on it. I am researching and looking to those who do know the answers. I am taking the time to explore the meaning and then sharing what I learned from those who are qualified so that you don’t have to take that time. If something I say is confusing, or you still don’t understand the verse, I urge you to reach out and let me know. I would be happy to explore it in more detail with you. Or you can explore it on your own as well. I just type “What is the meaning of 1 John 3:8” or whatever verse I am looking at in the search bar on the internet, and usually a list of articles comes up. Whatever it is in the Bible we are trying to understand, there are probably plenty of other people who have come before us who have asked the same question. Look for the answers they found. I will put the links to two of the articles I read in the show notes in case you want to read the full articles. Now that I explained all that, what did I discover? What does this confusing verse mean? From what I found, I understand it to mean that when we are sinning, we are a child of Satan, meaning he is influencing those behaviors. When we are following God’s ways, God is influencing those behaviors. I feel the Holy Spirit just gave me an analogy that made me smile. It is one that if you have kids, you have probably said it, and even if you don’t, you probably heard your parents say it. When our kids are not behaving, I tell Tony they are his kids, and when they are behaving, I say they are my kids. Of course, they are all of our kids all the time. However, when I say that, I am implying that his DNA is what is influencing the kids' misbehavior, and my DNA is influencing their good behavior. It made me smile when this thought came to me because I could just picture God up in heaven shaking his head, looking at Satan and saying, nope, they are your kids today. I know He doesn’t do this, but it made me smile, remember all the times Tony and I went back and forth, nope, these are your kids. One thing that everything I read agreed on is that this verse does not determine your salvation. This verse is not saying that because you sin, you

Still Waters Psalm 23 (Part 3) Psalm 23 “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.” Today I will talk about the last part of this Psalm. There is a lot to like about this ending. First. It starts by saying that God will prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. I don’t have to be worried about my enemies as God has got me. He is my shield and my refuge. Now he is saying we will prepare a feast for me. When someone is preparing a meal for us, they are not usually stressed out about it. They don’t worry about all the things going on around them. Picture this, there is chaos all around you, and yet in front of you is this beautifully set up dining room table. You have a seat and God is bringing you a feast one course at a time. He is not concerned with your enemies because He knows they can’t touch you. You are not concerned either because you feel so at home and taken care of. Isn’t that a beautifully relaxing image? Next, the verse says that God honors us by anointing our heads with oil. Did you know that you have an anointing on your life? We all do. Did you know through baptism you were anointed to be priest, prophet, and king? It’s true, just as Christ was all three of these, you are also anointed to be these three things to your community. What does that mean for us? Let’s start with the priest. Drawing on the priesthood of the Old Testament, a priest is one who offers sacrifices (see Genesis 14:18; Exodus 29:38- 42; Leviticus 23:6,8). Some sacrifices are personal, and some are on behalf of others. These sacrifices will look different for each one of us depending on our circumstances. However, sacrifice to some degree should be a part of our everyday life. I have tried to embrace this in different ways over the years. At times I did a bread and water fast one day a week. Other times I would fast from one thing for a whole month. I would switch it up each month, but there will always be something I am fasting from. I believe that this helps me to appreciate things more and it will also show me that I am not a slave to that thing. For instance, if I feel like I just can’t stop eating chocolate, then I will fast from that for a month. By the end of the year, I will have shown God and myself that I do not need these things. I will have also made a small sacrifice each month for 12 months. Next, we have prophet. A prophet is a spokesperson for God or one who speaks on God’s behalf (see Exodus 4:30; Deuteronomy 18:18; Isaiah 42:19). In the Old and New Testaments, prophets called people to a different way of life. Can we be a spokesperson for God by how we live our lives? Can we live in a way that when people see us they think to themselves, “I want what they have?” Can we call others to a different way of life, not necessarily with our words, but with our love? Can we love others as Jesus did? Can we speak love and light into the world, into people’s lives? Can we be prophets? Lastly, we are anointed as kings. What are kings called to do? Usually rule over others. We are called to rule over ourselves first and foremost. We are all responsible for making sure we are living our lives according to God’s laws. Most kings are called to rule over others, however, as Christians, we are called to servant leadership. A servant leader leads by serving others. In other words, servant leaders place the interests and needs of their followers ahead of their own self-interests and needs. Generally, they value the development of their followers, building their communities, acting authentically, and sharing power. Now that we know what each one of these means, hopefully, we can apply this to our everyday life. God has anointed us in our everyday tasks too. For instance, I was anointed to be a mother and a wife. That was where God called me and that is what He set me apart to do. Maybe you are anointed to be a doctor, a lawyer, a pharmacy tech, a garbage collector, a grandmother, a teacher, whatever it is, God has anointed you to do it. Your baptismal anointing is not meant to replace any of those other calls on your life. You are anointed to be a priest, prophet, and king in the life you are already living. Think about your day-to-day life, how can you incorporate sacrifice into your days? How can you be more of a prophet spreading the Lord’s Word in your daily lives? How can you be more of a servant leader right now, right where you are? The verse then goes on to say my cup overflows with blessings. This is also grea

Today, I have two witnesses that I have heard about from friends over the last week. The first one is from my friend, who has been struggling with hearing loss. I did a witness about her last year also. She had a ringing in her ears, and she said it had gotten pretty bad. I reminded her that we were at Encounter School of Ministry, where they teach us and encourage us to pray over people for healing, and where we see a lot of healing. I prayed over her for healing that night, and then later in the night, two other people prayed over her, and there was no change. However, when she woke up the next morning, the ringing was 90% gone. Praise God! She said it was the quietest her mind had been in a long time. My friend also found out that she has a tumor in her ear. They said they are going to need to operate. The operation will leave her with permanent hearing loss. The last time she had her hearing tested, the intelligibility in that one ear was 39% when someone was yelling. That means that even when someone was yelling or speaking loudly into her ear, she could only understand 39% of what they were saying. We have been praying over her ear for over a year now. Besides the ringing that stopped, she had not seen much change. When she was on the way home from an Encounter School of Ministries event the other day, she felt something weird going on with her ear. It felt strange, and I don’t remember if she said she heard a noise in it or what. I do remember she said she felt like her hearing was suddenly improving. When she got home, she decided to test it out. We have learned in Encounter School of Ministry that often, the healing doesn’t come when the person is praying, but it comes when the person takes that leap of faith and tests it out to see if a healing has occurred. In order to test it, you would try to do something you couldn’t do before, or you would stop and evaluate the pain and see if it's less than it was before the prayer started. For my friend, she decided to put YouTube on her phone to a song that she didn't know the words to. She turned her volume all the way down until it was just one bar away from being on silent. She put the phone up to her ear and hit play. She could understand all of the words. Even the words in the commercial at the beginning. When she called me to tell me, she had the phone up to that ear that previously wasn't able to hear very much at all. In the past, when talking on the phone, she would have to have the phone to the other ear in order to hear the person on the other line. Praise God! He is so good! My friend's hearing is not perfect. It's not back to normal. And that's OK, she's happy with the healing that God has done so far, and she knows and has faith that God's not done yet! Thank you, Jesus! The next one I heard was at the prayer group last week. Recently, there was a Men’s March for Life in Boston. It was peaceful; they were just walking the streets with signs in support of saving babies from abortion. Here is what the woman said. Well, a dear friend of mine went on the walk and took her 11-year-old son. He was wearing a black suit and carrying a sign the whole way saying, Why should we kill our babies? They encountered resistance. There were hate-filled faces all around them. There were knives. There were guns. There were people being thrown to the ground. There were people throwing urine-filled balloons. It was awful. There were police around, but the police couldn’t keep up with the number of people who were against the march. The people who were marching were scared for their safety. My friend's son got hit with one of these urine-filled balloons. So my friend turned to her little son, who is, like her, very anointed, and said, What do we do? He said, We call on Michael. He was, of course, talking about Saint Michael the Archangel. He started yelling, Michael! And people all around started chanting, Michael! And they were already doing the rosary. Some people kept on saying, Mother Mary, you're going to help us. As many were calling out to Michael, there was a flash overhead. There was a flash. And then there were sparks of light; people were getting out their cameras to document the flash of light and the sparks. They knew St. Michael had heard their calls and came to answer them. The next thing they knew, they were completely surrounded by a blockade of military-looking police. The police were standing shoulder to shoulder, and there were enough of them to surround everyone marching in the parade. The march was able to continue because everyone now felt safe, and there were suddenly enough people to protect them. Thank you, St.Michael. I'm not saying these were angel warriors because the report online said that the police did call for reinforcements. But it was a miracle that they were immediately after the flash in the sky and the sparks. Thank you to both of my friends for sharing their miracles with me so I could share them with you! I am so grateful, e

Still Waters Psalm 23 (Part 2) The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.” I only really talked about the first few lines of this Psalm in my last episode and there are some other powerful parts to this Psalm. I want to make sure I go through the whole thing so when you are using it against your anxiety you can understand all the various aspects of it. Today I want to look at the very next line. “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” I was attending a conference once, and the speaker mentioned this verse. It was not a spiritual conference, so when I heard it, I figured it was a sign that I should talk about it. The verse says though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. This is hard. It seems like there is so much to fear these days. There is fear surrounding these elections. There is fear surrounding the future of our country. There is fear surrounding so many things. When we read this scripture we wonder how it is possible to fear no evil. How is it possible to fear no evil when you are surrounded by death, or the possibility of death? If you read on it says “for thou are with me; they rod and thy staff they comfort me.” God is with us, we all know this, we repeat this and tell others this, but do we really believe this? Do you believe that God is right there with you when you are in the valleys? We all know how all-powerful God is, so if we believe that He is there with us, it makes sense that we wouldn’t be afraid. How could we be afraid when He is there? He is the Almighty One. So, why do we have so much fear? Are we afraid that He won’t help us? Are we afraid He won’t show up? Are we afraid to die? What is it that we have been so afraid of? Maybe you find yourself worried about a lot of things. Maybe you worry every time there is a storm coming. Maybe you worry about your finances. Maybe you worry about your children, parents, siblings, or spouse. Worry may be a part of your everyday life. I am hoping to change that. It probably won’t change overnight, and it may not be easy, but it is possible. The bible mentions “fear not” 365 times. This is definitely something that God wants us to get. I will be honest, I didn’t get the last part of this verse. “Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” I looked up the meaning of this because I wondered if there was something that I was missing. I am glad I did because there is a great article called “Understanding Psalm 23: What Does the Staff and Rod Actually Mean? I put a link in the show notes so you can read the whole article. I highly suggest it as it is good. I will not retell the article; I will just touch upon the few descriptions of the rod and the staff. First, the author says that the staff symbolizes rest, as shepherds used to lean on their staff for rest. Next, the staff can symbolize rescue because shepherds used to use their staff to rescue sheep from the thick brush. Third, the staff can symbolize a guide as the shepherd used it to guide sheep across open fields. This all seems to make a lot of sense to me. It seems like we are much happier and less afraid when we are able to just rest in the Lord. To just sit with Him and turn over all of our worries and fears to Him. Also, God rescues us from difficult situations when we need Him. He doesn’t abandon us. He is always there for us in good times and in bad. Lastly, He is definitely our Guide. How many times have we needed God to guide us through the rough parts of our lives? We need Him as a guide for the easy parts as well. The article goes on to say that Rod is Our Protection. When shepherds were herding sheep they used their rods to defend against anything that wanted to attack the sheep. This is what God does for us. He protects us from our enemies. The Rod is also a symbol of Love. The shepherds used to use their rods to count the sheep. You might be wondering how this is a symbol of Love. This is an act of love because the shepherd is making sure that all of his sheep are present and accounted for. God is doing the same thing for us. He does not want a single one of His sheep to get lost. He loves us too much. Now that I understand what the words rod and staff mean in the context of this verse and in the time that it was written, I feel as though I understand the verse as a whole better now. I can’t believe how much the Lord is saying to us with just a short sentence or two. I a

With recent posting changes, I’m no longer able to include the full transcript directly in the episode notes. If you enjoy reading along or prefer the written version, you can access the full transcript here: https://findingtruenorthcoaching.com/blog/f/still-waters-psalm-23 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

With recent posting changes, I’m no longer able to include the full transcript directly in the episode notes. If you enjoy reading along or prefer the written version, you can access the full transcript here: https://findingtruenorthcoaching.com/blog/f/a-call-to-holiness 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

God Has Not Forgotten Your Affliction! Psalm 44:22-26 “Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord? Awake, do not cast us off forever! Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression? For we sink down to the dust; our bodies cling to the ground. Rise up, come to our help. Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love.” The original verse I started with this morning was verse 24. “Why do you forget our affliction and oppression. Yet, when I looked up the verse, all these verses were together, and it reminded me of so many people. There are so many of you who listen to this podcast who have reached out and said this same thing. Maybe not in these exact words, but these are the thoughts going through your head. You are wondering where the Lord is in all of this. You are wondering why He is not answering your questions when you know He can. You are wondering why? Why the broken dreams? Why has He not healed you? Why has he not brought the provisions? Why does it seem He has not kept His promise to provide for you and to protect you? Why are your loved ones still hurting? Why has your protigal son or daughter not come home? Why again, why now? Why? What is your why that you are wrestling with right now? What the Lord put on my heart is that He wants us to know that if we are asking why we are not alone. Many times, we can think we aren’t supposed to ask why. We might hear things at church or from other people who say that if you are struggling, you just don’t have enough faith. You might hear that you can’t be mad at God, you just need to work through it on your own. If you are mad at God, you are bad or doing something wrong. You just don’t trust enough. You might hear a bunch of different things. Most of them are not true. God wants you to know that it is ok to ask why. It is okay not to understand His plan. It is ok to cry out to Him in anger and frustration. I feel He gave me this scripture today to show you that you are not alone. The psalmists cried out to the Lord. They asked Him questions. They expressed their frustration with His timing and with feeling abandoned. Many of the Psalms were written by David. He was blessed beyond measure by God. He knew God, and He knew how much God loved Him. He was never afraid to take His sins back to God and ask for forgiveness. He had a very intimate relationship with God. David also did not have an easy life. He went from being loved by the king to being hunted by the king, from being king to being pursued by his son, who wanted him dead. If we don’t know David’s whole story, we may think he killed Goliath with a stone and then became a mighty king. There is so much more to David’s story. He had some great years, some awful years, and everything in between. I tell you all of this to show you that you can be beloved and blessed by God and yet still have lots of trouble in your life. Having trouble and suffering do not mean that God doesn’t love you or that He has turned His back on you. Many of you have been praying some pretty big prayers for a long time, and you feel angry that God is not listening. He wants you to know that He hears every one of your prayers. He is acting even if you can’t see how. Sometimes he is arranging things that you won’t see enter your life for years. Sometimes, He is changing people’s hearts, and that takes time. Sometimes our children have to learn their own lessons, and that takes time. Yes, God could heal you in a minute. Yes, God could change your heart in a minute. God can do all things. Yet that is not always how he chooses to do things, and it is our job to cooperate with God’s plan. I promise you, God knows what He is doing. He is not placing amazing dreams and desires in your heart to tease you. He is not cruel. He is not showing you amazing things just to take them away from you. Only good comes from God. If He is placing amazing dreams in your heart, it is because He wants you to believe it can happen. He wants you to reach for it. He wants you to see what your future could be. He wants you to know you won’t always have these same limitations. I know it hurts to believe sometimes because we are tired of being disappointed. But hope in the Lord does not disappoint. (Romans 5:5) What if you could take away your timeline and just fully believe that all your prayers will be answered? How would your life be different if, instead of focusing on the when, you just celebrated that it would definitely happen someday? What if you pictured what you would do the day your prayers were answered? What if every time you started to ask why, you changed it and started thanking the Lord for answering your prayers in the most beautiful way? I think the Lord is talking to me personally for that last part. I am constantly asking Him why he hasn’t restored Bruce’s eyesight yet. Why are my friends Suzanne, Rosa & Danielle still struggling? Why so many I know have not been healed yet. However, when I asked those questions above,

Welcome to Witness Wednesdays here on the Walk Boldly With Jesus Podcast. Each Wednesday I will have a guest give their witness of how God is working in their lives. Hearing how God is working in other people’s lives shows us how deeply He cares for each one of us individually. Listening to these experiences will help your faith grow. I am so blessed to be able to share these with you. Our first witness if from Peggy K. Today she is going to share with us how God has revealed His love to her throughout her adult life. She even shares a few miracles with us. I hope after you listen to this you can see some ways in which God has been working in your life as well. God loves you just as much as He loves Peggy. He will work miracles in our lives too, we just have to notice them. www.findingtruenorthcoaching.com CLICK HERE TO DONATE CLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emails CLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily life CLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

I Will Restore You to Health and Heal Your WoundsJeremiah 30:17 “But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,’ declares the Lord, ‘because you are called an outcast.”I was looking for a verse about restoration because one of my dear friends received a word from the Lord about it, and I wanted to share it with you. I know many of you who are listening are struggling. You have been struggling with your physical health for a long time, and you are wondering why the Lord hasn’t healed you yet. You know He can, and you might even believe He will. Yet He hasn’t yet, and you are wondering why and when.Some of you have been struggling financially for a long time, and you wonder when the struggle will end. You trust God to provide, yet you are really struggling right now. Your bills need to be paid, and there is no money. You are wondering when the provisions are going to show up and how much of yourself you are going to have to give away before reinforcements come. You might be struggling in your marriage or with parenting. It feels like the waves keep coming, and although you know the Lord is not going to let you drown in those waves, some days you come very close.I have been talking to a lot of people lately who are so tired of the struggle. They don’t expect life to be easy, but they can’t take all that is going on. They don’t understand why God is not helping them. They don’t understand why he is not taking this from them. They don’t understand why he is not protecting them from some of this. They are tired and confused. They feel like they are running out of the strength and energy they need to keep fighting.I am in a Wednesday morning prayer group run by Rosa Rivas. She is also a wonderful friend of mine who agreed to read the Spanish Translation of the podcast so God’s Word and His love can reach more people. Rosa started a WhatsApp chat for those in the prayer group. In this group, people place their prayer requests, support each other, and place any resources they have found that build their faith. Last week, many people in the group were struggling, so Rosa listened to the Lord and held a group call so we could all pray together. It was beautiful and definitely needed. I just want to pause to let you all know that you need people in your life like this. You need community, so when you are down, they can build you up!While Rosa was praying, she received this word, and I think it is not just for that group but for everyone who needs it. She heard the Lord say:“ I am restoring broken dreamsI am restoring broken promisesI am restoring broken plansI am restoring broken relationshipsI am restoring broken friendshipsI am restoring broken memoriesI am restoring broken heartsI am restoring the brokenness of all the things that have hurt you in your lifeI am restoring all the brokenness of your past and your childhoodI am restoring broken healthI am restoring everything just as I did with Job..”And then she said Declare this:In Jesus Name, I am restoredIn Jesus Name, all that has been lost and taken away from me has been restored, and I will receive double what was takenIn Jesus Name, my wounds have been healedIn Jesus Name, my joy is restoredIn Jesus Name, my strength is renewedIn Jesus Name, I am wholeIf you are tired. This message is for you. If you are struggling with broken dreams, broken promises, a broken heart, past trauma, current trauma, your health, your past, your childhood, your finances, whatever it is, this is for you. God is restoring you!I know it may not be in the way you want Him to. I know it may not be your timing. I know you feel you can’t go on. I promise you, He will help you go on. I promise you, when you make it to the other side of this hill, the other side of this mountain, the other side of this ocean or cavern, it will be worth it. I am talking with many people who have been struggling for a long time. Most of them are really struggling to hold on to any hope that things will change.Is this you? Have you been down for the count so long that you can’t even picture things getting better? Have you been so sick that you can’t imagine a brighter future, one where you are healthy and can do all the things you want to do? I am not even talking about huge things. Some people I know have been so sick for so long that they can’t even imagine a world where they can even go for a walk around the block without pain. They can’t imagine a day that doesn’t include all the medical appointments or treatments. Have you struggled with money so long that you can’t imagine a time when you will be able to pay all your bills? If this is you, I want to assure you that there is nothing wrong. This doesn’t mean you don’t trust God or that you don’t have enough faith. It means you are tired. You are worn down. You are weary. It is ok. I also want you to know you aren’t alone. So many are suffering right now.This is why community is so important. Sometimes we need someone else to be praying for us when w

Fix Your Eyes On JesusEphesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”This verse is an important one. It is something I think we forget more than we remember. At least I know I forget this often. I do know I am saved because Jesus died on a cross for my sins. I know I am not saved because of my own actions. I know there are no works that I could do to save myself because Jesus already paid the ultimate sacrifice. I know all of this, and yet sometimes I still try to do it all myself. Sometimes I try to fix things myself. Instead of immediately turning to the Lord when things get tough, I try to fix them myself. I do all that is humanly possible to do, and then when that doesn’t work, I turn to the Lord. Do you know why it doesn’t work when we try to do things on our own? Because we were trying to do it on our own. We can’t do anything on our own, and why would we want to when we have a heavenly Father who wants to do it with us? This morning’s devotional was about this same message. The daily devotional I am reading this year is called “Jesus Calling” by Sarah Young. I am really enjoying this one because the devotionals are not super long, and they are written as if they are a direct message to you from Jesus. It’s great to get a personal message from Jesus each morning. I’m going to read you the message from this morning because I think it illustrates this verse well. "I want you to experience the riches of your salvation: the joy of being loved constantly and perfectly. You make a practice of judging yourself based on how you look, behave, or feel. If you like what you see in the mirror, you feel a bit more worthy of my love. When things are going smoothly, and your performance seems adequate, you find it easier to believe you are my beloved child. When you feel discouraged, you tend to look inward so you can correct whatever is wrong. Instead of trying to “fix” yourself, fix your gaze on me, the lover of your soul. Rather than using your energy to judge yourself, redirect it to praising Me. Remember that I see you clothed in My righteousness, radiant in My perfect Love.”This gives some great examples, I think we can all relate to. It is easier for us to feel loved when we like what we see in the mirror or when we feel we are doing a good job. It is easier to think we are God’s beloved children when we are attending church, showing up for our prayer time, and helping others. However, what about when we aren’t? What about when we are snoozing through prayer time and missing church on Sunday? What about when we are not being kind and loving, but we are being irritable and grumpy? Do we still know we are God’s beloved child? Do we still believe we are loved? Or, do we struggle to believe it because we haven’t earned his love or earned our spot as His beloved child? I can’t answer that for you, but for me, I know I struggle with feeling like I have to earn it. The thing that bugs me the most is that I don’t even know I am doing it. If you ask me if I have to earn God’s love, I would say, “No.” I truly know I am loved no matter what. However, if you look at my actions, they say something else. Why is that? It is so frustrating when you know something on one level and yet your actions reveal that you might not know or accept it on all levels. This, I am sure, is a trick from the enemy. As mentioned in the letter from Wormwood in the Tuesday episode, the enemy wants to keep our brains in a fog. He wants to keep us from thinking clearly and asking too many questions. We need to resist this fog. We need to try to live as intentionally as we can. We can so easily go through our day on autopilot. We do the things we did yesterday; every day is similar, and we aren’t even really thinking about what we are doing. We are just doing what we always do. However, what if what we always do isn’t the best for us? What if we could do better if we lived more intentionally? In this message from the daily devotional, Jesus is calling us back to Him. He is calling us to stop trying fix ourselves and instead fix our eyes on Him. Hebrews 3:1 says, "Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest.” We need to stop turning our gaze inward and fix our gaze on Jesus. Look towards Him and then never take your eyes off Him! I love where it says in the devotional, “Rather than using your energy to judge yourself, redirect it to praising Me.” That is such a great piece of advice. Judging ourselves does take so much energy. Praising God will uplift your spirits, also. I love to praise God; I always feel so loved afterwards. Psalm 34:5 says, “Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.” When we are looking to God, we are radiant. We don’t feel ashamed; we feel as though we are God’s children

Mercy Is So ImportantJude 1:20-23 “But you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in the love of God and wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. On those who waver, have mercy; save others by snatching them out of the fire; on others have mercy with fear, abhorring even the outer garment stained by the flesh. This is a great verse because it tells us to build ourselves up in the most holy faith. It tells us to pray in the Holy Spirit and to keep ourselves in the love of God and wait for His mercy to lead us to eternal life. However, it doesn’t just stop there. It doesn’t stop with God telling us to take care of ourselves. It goes on to talk about how we should have mercy on those who waver in their faith. It tells us to snatch others out of the fire. This is a pretty vivid image. I think it paints an accurate picture of how important it is that we save others as well. I think mercy is something that we need a whole lot more of in the world today. Mercy and Grace seem to go hand in hand, and this world seems to be in short supply of both of them. This world, or at least this country, the United States of America, seems to be so divided. If someone doesn’t believe the same way that we do, we tend to want nothing to do with them. Or, we want to argue with them and tell them all the reasons why their opinions are wrong. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think things can change without us talking about our differences. However, these need to be respectful, calm conversations where both sides are listening to the other with the goal of understanding where each side is coming from. These are not the conversations that I have seen happening in our country for a long time now. I did see a conversation like this last summer at my nephew’s wedding. My brother-in-law and my husband had a respectful conversation about their thoughts on a bunch of different issues going on right now. They couldn’t have been further apart on some issues, but they both listened respectfully and actually learned that they agreed on some things. I think they also cleared up some misunderstandings about some issues. It was nice to see and a welcome change to the conversations I am used to hearing. Sometimes we can get so caught up in what we believe. We think that we are right and that must mean that the other person is wrong. Something I have been learning a lot about over the last few years is that two opposing things can be true at the same time. You can love your parents, and you can also feel like you hate them for some moments. You can be super happy that you got a promotion and also sad that you are leaving your old job, or the friends at your old job. In most circumstances, neither side is 100% correct. There are pros and cons to both sides. There are facts that are misunderstood or taken out of context on both sides. Also, our emotions always enter into the arguments, and for good or bad, this makes us less objective. Our feelings for the people we are talking to or arguing with can get caught up in our feelings for what they are saying. We can start to think that they are bad people just because we don’t like the things that they are saying. The day that this reading was given at the prayer group, the following word or prophecy was also given. “What I hear the Lord saying to me is that whether you believe it, whether you like them, whether you understand them, God tells us to love them. Love them in their misunderstandings, love them, pray for them, don't be like them.” I think this is important for us all to hear. God is not asking us to just pray for those that we love or those that we agree with. He is asking us to pray for everyone. He is asking us to even pray for those that we don’t agree with and those we don’t like. He is asking us to pray for those whom we don’t understand. I think in this verse God is explaining to us that everyone is at a different place in their journey. He is saying to have mercy on everyone, but in very different ways. He is saying to pray for everyone and to love everyone, but also he is warning us not to get so close that we become like those who do not follow God’s ways. He says to “snatch them out of the fire,” but he also says “on others have mercy with fear, abhorring even the outer garment stained by the flesh.” To me, this means that some people we can save, with God’s help, and others we need to have mercy, and pray for them, but we need to be careful that we do not become like them. I love how the word that was given this day was about how we needed to love everyone. This is something that is so hard to do sometimes. Actually, all of this is hard to do most of the time. It is hard to love someone who is saying and doing things that you don’t agree with. Possible things that are hurting you or your loved ones. It is hard to have mercy for people whom you feel are wrong in so many ways. It is hard to have me

God Has Compassion For You!Isaiah 54:10 “For the mountains may depart, and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you.”We received this scripture verse at the Watchmen Prayer Group that I go to on Wednesday mornings. It is at 6:30, and it lasts about half an hour. If you are up early in the morning and would like to start your day off praising the Lord and hearing what He has to tell us for the day, then let me know, and I can add you to the email list. It is a Zoom meeting, so no matter where you are, you can attend. Although if you are not in the Eastern time zone, it might be a bit too early. We do record it, though, so if it is too early, you could always get on the email list and then listen to the recording. I am telling you that it is a wonderful way to start your day.Now back to the scripture. It begins with, “For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love will not depart from you.” There are a couple of nice things about that part. First, I think we all have some mountains that we wish would depart from our lives. Sure, we love it when we are on the mountain top. We love the high we get when we make it to the top of the mountain, and we can see all the land. We can see the sun rise or the sun set. We can see the valley, and we might even be able to understand a bit more about the valley when we are on the mountain top. However, wouldn’t it be great if we didn’t have to climb that mountain? I guess that is a good question. Would we wish away the mountain if it meant we didn’t have our mountain top moment?As I was writing that last part, I felt the Holy Spirit stir inside of me. I felt like He prompted that last question. As I was writing about the experience at the top of the mountain, I realized that if we wished our mountains away, we wouldn’t get all the comes along with making it to the top of a mountain. There is so much that we gain from going through hard times. We gain perspective. We gain wisdom and knowledge. We gain perseverance and resilience. We learn so much about ourselves. We also learn so much about God if we are looking. I look back at all the really hard times that I have had, and I don’t think I would wish them away. They made me who I am today.I have so much compassion for others because I received so much compassion when I needed it most. I do not judge people because I know what it is like to walk through hard times. I know what it is like to be doing your absolute best and still have children who act out. I know what it is like to try so hard to save your marriage and yet nothing works. I have been to enough events where other people share their stories to know that no matter what we look like on the outside, we are all going through something hard. We all have things in our lives that are hurting us. We all have thoughts in our heads that tell us we are not enough or we are not loved. We all have something that we are struggling with. I am a better person because of all the hard times I have been through.What is great about this verse is that it says, even if our mountains do depart and the hills disappear, God’s steadfast love will not depart from you. This is amazing because if God is telling us that His steadfast love will not depart from us, then that means we have His steadfast love. This may seem like an obvious statement, and yet I am not sure we all knew this already. Did you know that God’s steadfast love is ALWAYS with you? Do you know what steadfast means? According to the internet, it means firmly loyal or constant; unswerving. It also means fixed or unchanging, and can also refer to fixed or unmovable. This is pretty awesome. Have you ever thought of God’s love that way? I hope you have, but I am guessing most of us haven’t.I am not sure most of us spend much time thinking of God’s love at all. We probably spend most of our time thinking we are not worthy of God’s love. We listen to the lies our brain tells us about how we are sinners, and we aren’t worthy of God’s love. We have done so many terrible things in our lives that there is no way God could love us. We will be the first to tell others that God loves them no matter what, and yet we feel like we are the exception. God’s love just doesn’t extend to us. We are wrong.Yes, we are sinners; that is not a lie. We all do things we aren’t proud of, and we all do things that aren’t in line with what God wants from us. And God loves us anyway. Just as our parents love us even though we mess up. Actually, not just like our parents because our parents’ love is flawed. We live in a broken world, and so even though we are all doing the best we can, we all fall short. However, God’s love is perfect. It is 100 % uncondiltional. We can mess up in the worst way, and He will still love us.Let’s review that definition again. Steadfast love means firmly loyal or constant; unswerving

Today’s Witness is from a very dear friend of mine. It is her testimony of how she forgave someone who did the unthinkable to her. She is a wonderful woman who has such a strong love for Jesus. She is a mother of two kids and a wife. She is a photographer, a karate champion, and so much more! You can hear in her voice just how excited she is for this breakthrough. God is so good! We have all seen God working in our lives. However, we might not all be aware it is God working in our lives. This is why it is so important we start talking about it more. The more we share our experiences, the more people understand how God works and how much He truly loves us. If you would be willing to share any experience of how God has worked or is working in your life, please email me at [email protected] or click here. It won’t take up much of your time, and your story could be just the story that someone needs to hear today. Prayerfully consider sharing. Everyone has a story, and the world needs to hear them. Music:"Adding the Sun"fine us. It is not fun, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ www.findingtruenorthcoaching.com CLICK HERE TO DONATE CLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emails CLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily life CLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

The Lord Rescues You From Them All!Psalm 34:19 “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord rescues them from them all.”I saw this verse, and I wanted to share it with you. In mentoring, we are learning how not take offense at things. In other words, how to not let things bother us as much. The beginning part of this verse is something that doesn’t really seem fair. It says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous.” Why? Why do we have to suffer if we are righteous? Can’t God keep us from that? If we are following the Lord and we are doing all the things He wants us to do, why do we have to suffer?Do you ever feel this way? Do you ever cry out to the Lord, asking why? Why me? Why now? Why my child or my loved one? Why, Lord, why? I know I have done this before. Actually, the question I find myself asking a lot is why this again? I thought we were over this or through this. Or I ask, when will this be over? How long do we need to stay stuck in this? I am sure you have asked the Lord similar questions.We can fall into a trap of thinking that if we are righteous. If we follow the Lord, then our problems will all go away. Especially if we find Jesus at the bottom of a pit. If we are at our worst when we discover Jesus, then we think after finding Him, we are going to coast through life. Yes, we may hit some bumps, but the worst is over. I would love to tell you that it was always the case. I wish I could say once you find Jesus, you are home free. However, it says right in the verse, many are the afflictions of the righteous.My parents always knew Jesus. There was never a time when they weren’t going to mass and spending time with the Lord. Even when they were in High School, dating, they would meet before school and go to mass together. I would think, with that kind of dedication, the Lord would bless them and protect them from harm, and yet they did not have a struggle-free life. They had 11 children, and my mom stayed home to watch the kids when they were little. With 11 children, someone is always little for at least the first 25 years or so. My dad had a pretty good-paying job, and yet we still struggled with money. There just is not enough to go around when you have 11 kids.We not only struggled with money, but our family suffered many medical crises. Like when my grandfather’s throat was cut with a screwdriver by an intruder who wanted his money. My grandpa didn’t have any money. One sister had a fever for several days, and we were told that if it didn’t break by morning, she might not make it. I had a brother who was pulled through a machine in a factory that makes chicken wire. There were plenty of other illnesses and car crashes. I had a sister who loved the Lord, and then at college got swept up in a cult and has suffered severely over the years trying to recover from that. We have had divorces in our family.I say all of this to let you know that no family is above troubles. You or your loved ones are not struggling because God is punishing them. God was not punishing my family, and He was not punishing Job in the Bible either. God is a good Father, and like all good Fathers, He sometimes allows us to suffer so that we can be stronger on the other side of it.The second part of this verse is so important, and it is something we can’t forget. This verse does not just say that the righteous will have a lot of trouble and then end there. It goes on to say, “but the Lord rescues them from them all.” The Lord will rescue you from all your troubles. If He has not rescued you yet, He will. Keep waiting, keep seeking, keep asking. It will happen. God will not abandon you. Let me tell you some of the ways God rescued my family.Whenever my parents were struggling financially, God took care of them. One time, they needed money for something, and they prayed about it and told God if He wanted them to do it, then He would need to provide the money, and the next day, they got a check in the mail for the exact amount. When they didn’t have food to feed us kids, they prayed, and a neighbor knocked on our door with groceries. When my dad’s car broke down, a neighbor gave my dad a car. My dad didn’t ask, He just gave it to him. When my grandpa was attacked and his throat was cut, he should have died. However, he not only made a full recovery, but the doctors said he healed in miraculous timing. My sister’s fever, which was so high, finally broke, out of the blue for no reason, the doctors said. But we know it was God! My brother, who was pulled through a machine that makes chicken why came through with only a shoulder injury. The Lord definitely rescued him. What about your life? Can you look back and see times in your life when the Lord has rescued you? Can you look back at times when you were homeless, and God found you a place to live? When you were sick, and God healed you? When you were scared, and God protected you?I know it stinks that we have to go through afflictions. I know God could save us fr

And They Laughed At HimMark 5:38-40 “When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. When he had entered, he said to them, “Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was.”We are back to the story of a little girl who was restored to life. Last week I replayed a devotional that my friend Catherine did on this Bible story. Then on Friday, I felt the Holy Spirit wanted me to focus on two other parts of the story. However, I only got to focus on one part on Friday. Today, we will finish up with this story. I really felt strongly that these verses were important enough that we shouldn’t gloss over them. I felt they were important enough to slow down and really examine what they are saying.In case you missed last Tuesday and Friday and you don’t know this story, let me briefly fill you in. There was a synagogue leader whose daughter was dying. He asked Jesus to come and heal his daughter. Jesus was on his way when someone touched his garment and was healed. Jesus felt power leave his body and asked who touched Him. The lady confessed, and he told her that her faith had healed her. While he was talking to this lady, someone came and told the synagogue leader that his daughter had died, so there was no need to bother Jesus anymore. Jesus told the man, “Do not fear, only believe.” This is where today’s verse picks up.Mark 5:38-40 says, “When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. When he had entered, he said to them, “Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him.” When Jesus gets to the house, he asks everyone why they are crying and making a commotion. He tells them that the little girl is not dead; she is just sleeping. Then it says, “And they laughed at him.” This is the first thing that I want to focus on.I get why they might have laughed. People were just beginning to know who Jesus was. They didn’t know Him as we know Him. They didn’t have the benefit of reading all the Gospels and hearing all the amazing things He did while He walked the earth. I am not sure if they had ever seen someone raised from the dead yet. They may have heard about Jesus's miracles, but many synagogue officials stayed away from Him because they weren’t sure what to think of Him.What I want you to know is that people may laugh at you, too! If you intend to walk boldly with Jesus and you intend to step out and use the power of the Holy Spirit that is living inside of you, then people may laugh at you, too. If you offer to pray for someone’s healing, they may laugh and tell you that there is nothing you can do because the doctors said there is no hope. You may try to tell someone that with the power of the Holy Spirit, they can forgive the murderer who killed their loved one, and they may laugh at you. You may tell someone that even though you don’t know how, you have hope that God will provide them the money to pay their bills or the food to put on their table, and they may laugh at you. When this happens, I want you to remember that they laughed at Jesus, too.When you are laughed at for your beliefs or for being bold and stepping out in faith to pray for amazing things, try not to take offense. They don’t know any better. They believe what this world is teaching. They are “drinking the kool-aid” so to speak of this world. They don’t have to believe what you are saying is true. They don’t have to believe to receive the healing. Remember in the Bible when those people lowered their friend down from the roof so that Jesus would heal him? Jesus said, their faith healed him. You can have enough faith for them. Do you know how I know it is true that the person being healed doesn’t have to have faith? Because Jesus raised people from the dead, and if you are dead, you don’t have faith, you don’t have anything, you are dead.It is also not our job to try to convince people that what we believe is true. Jesus did not spend time talking with the people who laughed at Him. The next part of the verse is the second thing I want to focus on. It says, “Then he put them all outside, and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was.” Jesus put all the non-believers outside while he prayed for this little girl. It is important to know that you can do this. If you are praying for healing for someone and you are surrounded by non-believers, or worse, people who are openly mocking you, it is ok to ask if you can have a few minutes alone with the person you are praying over. It is important that we block out all the negative voices, and that can be really hard to do at times.I have a friend who was talking about how she had a loved one who

Do Not Fear, Only BelieveMark 5:35-36 “While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?” But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.”I know we covered this story on Tuesday with the devotional that my friend Catherine wrote. However, I can’t help but think the Holy Spirit wanted me to focus on a different part of these verses. I felt strongly that I was supposed to go back and point out some things about this ending part of the story. So, let’s pick up at verse 35. It says, “While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader’s house to say, ‘Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?” But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.”It is important that we hear this, not just with our ears, but with our hearts, minds, and souls. Jesus says, “Do not fear, only believe.” How many times have we been in a situation where we could have used Jesus sitting right there with us, or standing next to us, and telling us not to fear but only believe? This is the secret, people. This is what we need to know. The Lord mentions the word fear in the Bible over 300 times, depending on the version you are reading. God knows we are a fearful and anxious people, and he is trying to get us to understand that we don’t need to be fearful.You might be thinking that surely there are some instances when fear is ok. When we should be afraid. However, when we can learn not to fear, no matter the circumstances, then we will truly be living a free and bold life. I think something that is important to know about our feelings vs. emotions. We often use them interchangeably. However, there is a difference. Emotions are our quick, instinctive response to something that happens. For example, someone comes up behind us, and we jump because we were startled. Our heart jumps when we hear a loud noise. We smile when our kids say something really cute. These are emotions; they are physical reactions in our body, and we can’t control these.Feelings are different. Feelings are how we experience or interpret the emotion. This is what you have control over. You might not have control over your feelings right now, but you can have control over your feelings. Our feelings are based on the story we are telling ourselves. For instance, if someone is supposed to call you and they don’t, you may feel differently about that depending on what you are telling yourself. If you tell yourself he or she is probably busy and will call when they have time, you feel fine about the situation. If you are telling yourself he or she is ignoring you because he or she is mad for some unknown reason, then you will probably feel anxious and worried about the situation. If you tell yourself he or she must be hurt because they always call back, you will probably feel afraid in that situation. Do you see how the story you tell yourself is so important and is something you have control over?The thing about the stories we tell ourselves is that they are just that, stories. We don’t know why the person hasn’t called us back, and we won’t know until they do. So we can never be sure whether what we tell ourselves is true. If this is the case, and either of those scenarios above could be true, then why wouldn’t we tell ourselves the one that serves us better? The one that gives us peace about the situation? I assure you that if they are mad or sick, there will be plenty of time to worry, be anxious, or be scared once you find out. Why waste time on it before you know it’s true?Hopefully, all that made sense. I said all of that to show you that while you may not be able to control the emotion of fear in your life, you can certainly decide if you are going to allow the fear to stay or not. Jesus is telling us in this verse, and so many others in the Bible, not to fear. I know this sounds easier than it is, but it is possible to surrender your fear. It is possible to go through really hard things and yet not be fearful of the future. I know you might be skeptical, as you are probably going through some really hard times right now. I want to share with you some really hard times I went through, and although they were hard, I wasn’t afraid. I didn’t know how they would turn out, but I knew God was working and He would protect all those I cared about.When my children were younger they were times when they were physically and verbally abusive to each other and to Tony and me. There were years when I would allow myself to be scared, and I would worry about the future. I would think that if they are hitting me, then they would hit their wife or their children. Then I learned how to turn those fears over to the Lord. I talked with God about my fears, and then I let them go. I changed the story that I told myself. If I ever started to feel scared about the future, I w

Why We So Often Feel Justified—and Why Anger Steals Our Peace1 Peter 2:23 “When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.”Offense usually begins with something real, but staying offended slowly costs us our freedom.When we’re offended, it’s not because we’re imagining things. Someone said something hurtful. Someone dismissed us. Someone didn’t see us, respect us, or protect us the way they should have. Our bodies react before our faith does. That reaction—tightness, anger, defensiveness—feels justified because it is trying to protect us. The problem isn’t that offense shows up. The problem is what happens when we let it stay.Offense convinces us that holding onto anger is necessary for self-respect, safety, or justice. It whispers, “If I let this go, I’m saying it didn’t matter.” But over time, instead of protecting us, offense begins to imprison us. It narrows our thinking, drains our peace, and keeps us emotionally tied to the very thing that hurt us.Today, I invite us to gently notice this pattern without shame. Not to rush into forgiveness. Not to minimize pain. Just to ask an honest question: Is what I’m holding onto actually helping me live free?Jesus never promised that we wouldn’t be hurt. But He did promise freedom—freedom from bitterness, from constant reactivity, and from carrying wounds longer than necessary. Jesus reminds us:“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) And He also promises:“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36)Today isn’t about fixing anything or forcing forgiveness. It’s about awareness—learning to notice how offense quietly operates in our hearts and recognizing that something can feel justified even when it doesn't actually lead us toward peace or life. When we’re hurt, our body reacts first. Before we can think theologically or spiritually, our nervous system scans for danger. A sharp tone, a dismissive comment, or a betrayal registers as a threat, and anger shows up quickly because it’s one of the body’s built-in protection responses. Anger creates energy. It gives us clarity. It helps us draw boundaries. In that sense, it *feels* helpful.This is why offense feels justified. Anger convinces us that we’re doing something necessary—that we’re standing up for ourselves, protecting our dignity, or guarding our hearts. It often feels morally right, especially when real harm has occurred. We tell ourselves, *“I’m not just upset—I’m right.”* And because something truly wrong may have happened, that belief can feel deeply convincing.But what the book *Unoffendable* by Brent Hansen gently reveals is that feeling justified is not the same as becoming free. Anger is excellent at getting our attention, but it’s terrible at leading us toward peace. When we hold onto it, anger doesn’t just respond to the moment—it begins to shape our inner world. It keeps our minds alert and our hearts guarded. We replay what happened, brace for future harm, and stay emotionally on edge. Over time, that vigilance becomes exhausting.This is how anger tightens its grip on our peace. What started as a moment of protection turns into a posture of defensiveness. Instead of resting, we stay watchful. Instead of trusting, we stay reactive. And slowly, without realizing it, offense begins to occupy more space in our thoughts, prayers, and relationships than we ever intended.Letting go feels risky because anger has convinced us it’s keeping us safe. Releasing it can feel like saying the hurt didn’t matter—or like leaving ourselves unprotected. But Jesus offers a different way. He never framed righteousness as reacting quickly or holding onto offense. He modeled righteousness as trust, surrender, and love rooted in truth rather than impulse. He promises that we don’t need to carry the weight of offense to be whole. “When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.” (1 Peter 2:23)I am not asking us to deny pain or rush forgiveness. I simply invite us to ask an honest question: **Is what feels right actually leading me toward life and peace—or is it quietly becoming a prison?**Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Help us to look at our own lives and see where offense might be keeping us prisoners. Helps us to notice where anger might have been justified at first, and now holding onto that anger is just hurting us. Help us to see why it itsn’t helpful to keep replaying the hurt that we felt over and over again in our minds. Help us to let go, Lord. Help us to forgive. We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name, Amen.Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. If you are interested in learn