Walk Boldly With Jesus

Today’s witnesses are from the Encounter Ministries website. Encounter Ministry has healing services as well as several conferences throughout the year. These testimonies are all from people who attended either a healing session or their conference. I love that Jesus is still healing today. I don’t think everyone knows this or believes this. This is why I think it is so important that we are constantly reminding people of that amazing fact. Nothing is too hard for Jesus to heal. It is also important that we remember it is not just physical healing but emotional and mental ones, too! If you have a loved one suffering right now, it is not too late, and it is not too severe. God is the God of the impossible. He can heal them, just ask.

Diana- In June 2017, I was diagnosed with Relapse Remitting Multiple Sclerosis. My symptoms started in December of 2016 when I got my first lesion in my neck. From that day until the healing session, I had not had a single moment without extreme discomfort from itching, burning, shocks, buzzing, twitching, weakness, etc. Since the healing, I have had none of those. I have been able to reduce my medications to the levels they were pre-MS. I am scheduled for MRIs and am looking forward to seeing if the lesions are still there or if they’ve been healed, as well as my symptoms.
I will admit I was highly skeptical going into the session, having been anointed by a priest and several other healers praying over and for me throughout the years. Praise God, I agreed to try. He has worked a miracle.
I am not 100%. You try laying in bed all day, every day for 6 years, and see how much stamina and strength you have. I had to relearn how to walk without my previous balance issues from MS. I still fall down occasionally, but I get back up with a laugh and a joke.

Joan- During the Healing Session with Father Mathias, he mentioned Autoimmune Disease. He also mentioned eyes. At that precise moment, my eyes were flooded with moisture. Previously, I have been treated for chronic eye dryness from Raynaud’s Disease. My eyes were so dry that I instilled drops 6-8 times a day. I was not asking for that, but that is what happened to me. I’m so grateful. God is good and faithful. It was an unforgettable conference!

Karen- Before attending the North West Encounter Conference in 2019, I had a vision while praying of Jesus on his knees, washing my feet, and looking up at me with a look of completeness (meaning total absolute or fully carried out, thorough). Jesus then stood up and placed a white heavenly cloak/mantle around my shoulders. I had this vision several times during the weekend conference. While this was going on, during the sessions on Saturday, I was suffering greatly from a migraine. I have suffered migraines since I was a little girl. (I am currently 58). Sometimes lasting 2 to 5 days and up to 7 days at a time. It had been a miserable experience. However, it was especially challenging at the Conference as I was trying to stay focused and open to the Lord. By the time Saturday night came, I was physically sick and in tremendous pain from my migraine. While being prayed over earlier by the Encounter Team, I saw Jesus declaring over me that I no longer need to carry two crosses. One of the crosses was that of my own, and the other was that of my daughter, who is in a wheelchair. The vision allowed me to see two crosses lying side by side. Immediately, I felt lighter by recognizing this! Also, I was taken back to a childhood memory of falling, and I thought, perhaps this is the root of my migraines. Having talked to one of the team members, I was encouraged to consider staying until Saturday night instead of going home because of the pain. I believed that Jesus had something more in store for me. I decided to stay and press through the pain. During a time of praise and worship, Fr. Mathias came through and placed hands on my head, and prayed for more of the Holy Spirit. I knew then I was to receive Grace upon Grace from Jesus. I began to experience chills while also experiencing an inner warmth. Even after I went home that night, I continued to experience the presence of God in my body for some time. And, then I noticed it – my migraines disappeared and have not returned since that day in June 2019. I am writing this Testimony of Healing nearly a year to the day later to testify and give all the Glory to God for my personal healing, both physically and for the special love that he has for me and you! Though I do get headaches occasionally, they are less frequent and short-lived as I continue to pray and claim Jesus’ healing over my life, and sure enough, they go away in his precious name. Praise God for the Grace of Jesus living in us! Many Blessings and Love to and for the Encounter Ministries.

Jeremiah 17:14. Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise.

Alexis- I had an incredible encounter with God! I was physically healed, internally healed and spiritually filled. Praise the Lord! I came to the Summer Intensive not really knowing what to expect. I was invited by some ladies at Church. I am a Pentecostal to Catholic convert, and I came from a very charismatic evangelical church. At this conference, I started raising my hands in worship again. I had done this before, but not since I became Catholic seven years prior.

On the third night, the physical healing night, the speaker asked if anyone was in physical discernible pain. There was a storm that had passed through earlier that day, and my body ached. I was in a car accident in 2005, and I injured the cervical vertebrae C5 in my neck from whiplash. I had been living with headaches and pain for years. I have been going to the chiropractor more than once a week for the last fifteen years. The second major injury to my spine occurred in the summer of 2019 while I was strawberry picking with my son. I had bulged a disk in my lower back L5. I had to go to physical therapy for six weeks after that to help strengthen my back. The physical therapist had told me to think every time that I bent down that I had about one hundred thousand more bends left for the rest of my life and to use them carefully. My middle back was also aching, most likely from picking up my forty-pound son. I have also had lung issues for years and had trouble taking deep breaths. Each of these physical ailments was healed one at a time. The women praying over me were amazing, and they began to pray fervently. My middle back was healed first. Then, it felt like something was removed or lifted off from my chest, and I could easily take a deep breath. Then, something was released in my lower back. I bent down, expecting the familiar twinge, but it was gone. I could move freely. Lastly, I felt something being removed from my neck, and I felt the release. Everything that I had asked to be healed was healed. I was no longer in physical discernible pain. The most amazing part for me was that I could sense the presence of my deceased husband, so I knew he was praying for me. This was confirmed when one of the women who was praying for me shared a vision of the heavens opening up and my husband’s hand touching me in all the places that I was healed.

The fourth and last night was the internal healing night. I have suffered a lot of loss in my life. When I was seven years old, my little sister died, and my parents divorced. I became very good at building an internal wall to protect myself. My husband died in 2016, three days before our only son was born. But the most recent loss that hit me like a ton of bricks was the loss of one of my students. I am a high school science teacher, and one of my Physics students died in a car crash in March 2019. The day after she got the highest grade on the Unit Test in my class, I was so excited to tell her that all of her hard work had paid off. Then I got the news that she had died that morning from complications from the accident, and it hit me harder than I expected. When the prayer team came around to pray, I sank to the floor and cried. Then I received a vision of a dam blocking the flow of water that was starting to crack, and it was preventing the source of the water from pouring out abundantly. They began praying for me, and I felt the dam burst out of me. The wall was gone, and the fountain of life and joy was free to pour out of me. I just kept saying AMEN in confirmation! I was really moved by the last speaker of the night, Sarah. Through praying with her, I had an image of myself as a child sitting on Jesus’ lap, loved and safe. Jesus spoke to me in this place and said, “Come here often, and I will give you rest.” I had found the source of healing, strength, joy, peace, comfort, and so much more. I came to the conference very defeated, empty, and angry as a Catholic. I did not want to be Catholic anymore. I left the conference healed, refreshed, renewed, and filled with the Holy Spirit!

Thank you all so much for sharing your stories, and thank you to Encounter Ministries for displaying them on your website so that all of our faiths can be built up by them. Thank you also for hearing the call to Teach, Equip, and activate the world with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. You are changing the world.

CLICK HERE ✨ JOIN WALK BOLDLY WITH JESUS MENTORING (Live Tuesdays + recordings available — $30/month)

CLICK HERE 📖 Get the Daily “Word from the Lord” Email

CLICK HERE 🎧 Get My Free Audio Training + Join My Email List

Click Here 🌐 Visit Finding True North Coaching

Do I Know Who I Am?

John 8:14 “Jesus responded, “Just because I am the one making these claims doesn’t mean they’re invalid. For I absolutely know who I am, where I’ve come from, and where I’m going. But you Pharisees have no idea about what I am saying.”

This was not the verse I thought I would be using this morning. I first went to look at John 8 for verse 12, which says, “Then Jesus said, “I am light to the world, and those who embrace me will experience life-giving lights, and they will never walk in darkness.” Is that a great verse, or what? I think we all know Jesus is the light of the world. We have probably even said that before. However, I am not sure we all know that means we will never walk in darkness. Some of us may feel like we are walking in darkness right now. However, this verse is telling us that if we embrace Jesus, we will experience life-giving lights and will never walk in darkness.

Why do we feel like we are walking in darkness, then? Is the enemy blocking out this life-giving light? Are we looking for this light in all the wrong places? Why isn’t this life-giving light shining through into our darkness? I know some people who are very close to the Lord, and yet this year has been really tough for them. They feel they are walking in darkness right now, and they feel like they can’t even pray. Maybe you are in this place too? If so, I want to assure you that the Lord is with you, even in this darkness.

I have studied something called the Dark Night of the Soul in depth this year as some of the women in my mentoring group really wanted to learn more about it. One big thing that I learned is that even though the Lord seems really far away from you when you are going through it, He has actually never been closer to you. I learned sometimes it is necessary for us to go through a dark period where we receive no consolation from the things that used to bring us consolation so that we can learn to rely only on the Lord and not on the feelings we get from Him. We need to continue to have faith in doing the things we are used to doing, even when they don’t bring us great joy, comfort, or even peace.

The people who have gone through a Dark Night of the Soul all have at least one thing that helped them: being faithful in their prayers and their spiritual habits, even when they received nothing back from them. People who are going through a Dark Night of the Soul feel extremely far from the Lord. They can’t feel His presence, they don’t hear His voice, they don’t feel any consolation. Yet, God is right there by their side, giving them the strength to persevere, and when they come out of it, they will be so much stronger and closer to the Lord.

I thought that was what this whole episode was going to be about. They I read on a bit further, and I saw the verse for today. When I read it, the words just pierced my heart immediately. Let me read it to you again. “Jesus responded, “Just because I am the one making these claims doesn’t mean they’re invalid. For I absolutely know who I am, where I’ve come from, and where I’m going. But you Pharisees have no idea about what I am saying.” the words that pierced my heart were, “For I absolutely know who I am, where I’ve come from, and where I’m going.” As soon as I read it, I heard that voice inside me say, do you? Do you absolutely know who you are, where you’ve come from, and where you are going?”

I knew those questions were ones that I needed to share with all of you because they are great questions. I was praying with some youth over the weekend, and identity seemed to be something they struggled with, too. There is so much confusion and chaos in the world today. That is from the enemy. God is not the author of confusion and chaos. He is the author of peace. The enemy wants us to question who we are. He wants us to question where we came from and where we are going. If we are looking to the world to help us define who we are, then, of course, we would be confused. Our identity doesn’t come from the world; it comes from God. He is our creator. He knows exactly who He created us to be.

We tend to associate our identity with our vocation or our jobs. For instance, I am a mom and a wife. I might think that is my identity. However, my most important identity is that I am a child of God.

There are so many songs out there that remind us of who we are in God’s eyes. They remind us of our identity. There is a Lauren Daigle Song called I Believe. The chorus of that song says, “ You say I am loved when I can't feel a thing. You say I am strong when I think I am weak. And you say I am held when I am falling short. And when I don't belong, oh You say I am Yours, And I believe (I). Oh, I believe (I). What You say of me (I). I believe. The only thing that matters now is everything You think of me. In You, I find my worth, in You, I find my identity.

As you can see in this song, God’s truth is contrary to most of what we hear from the world. God says we are loved. He says we are strong. He says we are held; we are never alone. The world tells us we are on our own. It tells us we aren’t good enough, and it tells us no one will love us unless we pretend to be someone that we aren’t. Those lies are not from the Lord. I bet it makes Him so sad when we believe those things about ourselves. Kind of like how we feel when we hear our kids say they don’t like things about themselves.

One of my sons used to say that he hates how he looks. He said he looks in the mirror and hates how the person looking back at him looks. He is now starting to love the way he looks. He has found a style of clothes that he likes. He has found out how to wear his hair. I am not sure if he likes it because others are starting to notice him more or if people are starting to notice him more because he is more confident in who he is. It makes my heart so happy that he likes who he is right now. I imagine that is how the Lord feels when we are loving on ourselves too. When we are secure in who He says we are.

One of my newest favorite songs is called The Truth by Megan Woods. The chorus of this song says: “The truth is I am my Father's child. I make Him proud, and I make Him smile. I was made in the image of a perfect King. He looks at me and wouldn't change a thing. The truth is I am truly loved by a God who's good when I'm not good enough. I don't belong to the lies; I belong to You. And that's the truth.” I love the song because it reminds us of the truth that we are children of God. He is our Father, and he is proud of us. He looks down at us and smiles. He made us in His image, and He loves us just as we are. He wouldn’t change a thing. God is good, even when we aren’t. He makes us good if we let Him.

We do not belong to the lies of this world. We belong to God. If we wonder who we are, we can look to the Bible to see who God says we are. You can search the internet with the key words who does God say I am in the Bible and you will find lots of scripture verses. I will put the link to one article I found in the show notes. (Click Here for the article) Here are a few to get you started.

I am a child of God. (John 1:12)

I am a friend of Jesus (John 15:15)

I have been justified and redeemed (Romans 3:24)

I will not be condemned by God (Romans 8:1)

I have been called to be a saint. (1 Corinthians 1:2; cf. Ephesians 1:1; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:2)

I am a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17)

I have been set free in Christ (Galatians 5:1)

I am chosen, holy, and blameless before God. (Ephesians 1:7)

There are so many others, but I don’t want to keep you here all day. I invite you to click on the link below and read all the different parts of your identity in Christ. It really is amazing. We think we don’t know who we are, but then, when we read the Bible, it tells us very specifically who we are. Can you imagine how different your life would be if you absolutely knew who you were, where you’ve come from, and where you’re going? You can find those answers in the Lord. He will show you if you just spend some time with Him and ask Him. What have you got to lose? I promise you will find better answers than you have been getting from the world.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, help us to learn who we are to you. Help us to learn our true identity.  Help us to know, like Jesus did, who we are, where we came from, and where we are going. Help us turn to you for those answers. We love you, Lord. We are tired of believing the lies of the enemy. Help us to believe the truth of who we truly are. 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. I felt convicted as I was doing today’s episode that next month’s theme for mentoring will be identity. Why not start the year off knowing who we truly are and who God created us to be? I hope you will join us as I think it will be amazing to finally be able to replace the lies of who the world says we are with the truth of who God says you are. I look forward to meeting you here 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 June 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email [email protected]. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “Leave all behind that is troublesome to you. I will heal it. I will fix it.”

CLICK HERE ✨ JOIN WALK BOLDLY WITH JESUS MENTORING (Live Tuesdays + recordings available — $30/month)

CLICK HERE 📖 Get the Daily “Word from the Lord” Email

CLICK HERE 🎧 Get My Free Audio Training + Join My Email List

Click Here 🌐 Visit Finding True North Coaching

What is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception?

Today, I decided to do something a little different.  I usually begin by sharing a scripture verse with you.  However, today is a very special day, at least in the Catholic Church.  There is a lot of confusion about this day and so I wanted to explain what we are actually celebrating today and why we are celebrating it.  Today, in the Catholic Church, we celebrate the Immaculate Conception.  When I was growing up I never understood how Mary could have immaculately conceived Jesus on the 8th of December and then delivered him on December 25th.  It didn’t make sense to me and yet I didn’t really question it.  It was not until I was an adult, I am not sure how many years ago, that I learned what we were truly celebrating.  I found this great article that explains what we are celebrating and why.  It is called, “8 Things You Need to Know About the Immaculate Conception,” by Jimmy Akin.  I will put a link for the article in the show notes.  (Click Here) for the article. This is where I found the information for this episode.

The Immaculate Conceptions is not referring to Jesus’ conception, it is referring to Mary’s conception.  Mary has a human mother and father, her conception was not the same as Jesus’.  However, it was special in another way.  Here is how the Catholic Church explains it:

CCC490 To become the mother of the Saviour, Mary “was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role.” The angel Gabriel at the moment of the annunciation salutes her as “full of grace”.  In fact, in order for Mary to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be wholly borne by God's grace.

CCC491 Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, “full of grace” through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854:

The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Saviour of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin. 

This means that Mary was not only free from original sin, but she was also free from person sin as well.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains:

CCC493 The Fathers of the Eastern tradition call the Mother of God “the All-Holy” (Panagia), and celebrate her as “free from any stain of sin, as though fashioned by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature”.  By the grace of God Mary remained free of every personal sin her whole life long. “Let it be done to me according to your word. . .”

The next question Akin asks is, “If Mary was free from sin, does that mean she didn’t need Jesus to die on a cross for her?"

He answers, “No. What we've already quoted states that Mary was immaculately conceived as part of her being “full of grace” and thus "redeemed from the moment of her conception" by "a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Saviour of the human race."

The Catechism goes on to state:

CCC492 The “splendour of an entirely unique holiness” by which Mary is “enriched from the first instant of her conception” comes wholly from Christ: she is “redeemed, in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son”.  The Father blessed Mary more than any other created person “in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” and chose her “in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love”.

CCC508 From among the descendants of Eve, God chose the Virgin Mary to be the mother of his Son. “Full of grace”, Mary is “the most excellent fruit of redemption” (SC 103): from the first instant of her conception, she was totally preserved from the stain of original sin and she remained pure from all personal sin throughout her life.

The next question Akin asked is, “How does this make Mary a parallel of Eve?”  His is answer is:  Adam and Eve were both created immaculate--without original sin or its stain. They fell from grace, and through them mankind was bound to sin.  Christ and Mary were also conceived immaculate. They remained faithful, and through them mankind was redeemed from sin. Christ is thus the New Adam, and Mary the New Eve.

The Catechism notes:

CCC494 . . . As St. Irenaeus says, “Being obedient she became the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race.” Hence not a few of the early Fathers gladly assert. . .: “The knot of Eve's disobedience was untied by Mary's obedience: what the virgin Eve bound through her disbelief, Mary loosened by her faith.”  Comparing her with Eve, they call Mary “the Mother of the living” and frequently claim: “Death through Eve, life through Mary.”

Another question Akin asked was, “Was it necessary for God to make Mary immaculate at her conception so that she could be Jesus' mother?”

Akin writes, “No. The Church only speaks of the Immaculate Conception as something that was "fitting," something that made Mary a "fit habitation" (i.e., suitable dwelling) for the Son of God, not something that was necessary. Thus in preparing to define the dogma, Pope Pius IX stated:

And hence they [the Church Fathers] affirmed that the Blessed Virgin was, through grace, entirely free from every stain of sin, and from all corruption of body, soul and mind; that she was always united with God and joined to him by an eternal covenant; that she was never in darkness but always in light; and that, therefore, she was entirely a fit habitation for Christ, not because of the state of her body, but because of her original grace. . . .

For it was certainly not fitting that this vessel of election should be wounded by the common injuries, since she, differing so much from the others, had only nature in common with them, not sin. In fact, it was quite fitting that, as the Only-Begotten has a Father in heaven, whom the Seraphim extol as thrice holy, so he should have a Mother on earth who would never be without the splendor of holiness [Ineffabilis Deus]."

Many of you listening may have already known all about this special day.  However, I felt it was important to explain as I remember when I first found out what we were celebrating I was confused.  I didn’t really understand at first and I would have loved to have had this article back then.  I know there are some people who don’t understand that we aren’t celebrating Jesus’ immaculate conception and so I wanted to clear up any misunderstandings about this day.  For those of you who are Catholic, just in case you don’t know, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conceptions is a holy day of obligation.  I hope you all enjoyed this little explanation and I hope you check out the article for more information.  

Dear Heavenly Father, we are so grateful you gave us Mary so she could say yes to having your one and only son.  We are so grateful you came up with a plan to save us.  We are grateful for all you have done for us over the years.  We don’t deserve anything and yet you give us so much.  We thank you Lord.  We love you and we celebrate and honor your beautiful daughter Mary today.  We honor you and your plan for her life.  You are so amazing how you plan everything out in advance.  You are the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  You are truly remarkable and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen!

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus.  I look forward to spending time with you tomorrow.  Remember, Jesus loves you and so do I! Have a blessed day!

CLICK HERE ✨ JOIN WALK BOLDLY WITH JESUS MENTORING (Live Tuesdays + recordings available — $30/month)

CLICK HERE 📖 Get the Daily “Word from the Lord” Email

CLICK HERE 🎧 Get My Free Audio Training + Join My Email List

Click Here 🌐 Visit Finding True North Coaching

Let’s Not Sleepwalk Through Life

1 Thessalonians 5:4-8 "But friends, you’re not in the dark, so how could you be taken off guard by any of this? You’re sons of Light, daughters of Day. We live under wide open skies and know where we stand. So let’s not sleepwalk through life like those others. Let’s keep our eyes open and be smart. People sleep at night and get drunk at night. But not us! Since we’re creatures of Day, let’s act like it. Walk out into the daylight sober, dressed up in faith, love, and the hope of salvation.”

Just before these verses, St. Paul was talking about how no one knows when Jesus will come again. The time is not for us to know. However, he is saying that we are not in the dark because we know that He is coming, so how can we be taken off guard by any of this? We know the Lord will come again to judge the living and the dead. We say this each week in the Nicene Creed. This should not be a surprise to us. What Paul is saying in this first part of the verse is that we are at an advantage. There are people who do not believe; they do not go to church, and they do not follow God and all His ways. We are not those people. Even though we don’t know exactly when the Lord will return, we believe He will return at some point. This means we can always be ready for His return.

The when He is returning is not as important as the fact that He is returning. We know this to be true, and so we can be prepared. We can make sure whenever that day comes, we are ready to go. The verse goes on to say that we are sons of light and daughters of day. We live under wide, open skies and know where we stand. I am such a big fan of the light. I love thinking of God as the light. I like thinking about how we are children of light. We walk in light and not in darkness.

I know some of you feel like you are walking in darkness right now. You feel like you can’t see the light. If this is you, I want you to remember that you are a child of the light. The enemy can try and hide the light from you. He can try to cast shadows, so you think you are living in the darkness. However, He can’t take all the light away because the light lives inside of you. You have the Spirit of God living inside of you, and that is all the light that you need. When you feel like you are surrounded by so much darkness, call on the Holy Spirit to light your way.

I love the next line in these verses, “So let’s not sleepwalk through life like those others. Let’s keep our eyes open and be smart.” This is such great advice. How many of us have been sleepwalking through life? I am part of Big Life mentoring with Pamela Crim, and this is a big reason many people join this group. They feel they are sleepwalking through life. We are meant to live life to the fullest. It says in John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” God does not want us to waste this life that we have. He doesn’t want us to go about our days in a fog. If we are not careful, we can just fall into a routine and go through life on autopilot.

Did you know that 40-45% of your decisions are automatic based on your habits? That is almost half of all our decisions. That is a lot. What if we don’t have good habits? Does that mean we are not making good decisions? Frequently, yes. For instance, I used to be in the habit of eating pretty healthy. That meant when my husband took out the package of Oreos, I didn’t instinctively reach over and grab one. I knew that was not going to be good for me, so I didn’t take any. However, right now, I am not in the habit of eating healthy, and so when he takes out the Oreos, I grab one, ok, more than one.

St. Paul is warning us about doing this in our spiritual life. We need to be intentional in all of life, but especially in our spiritual life. It can be too easy to put things off and think we will just take care of them later. You know you need to spend time with the Lord, but he will always be there, and this movie you want to go see won’t be. You know you need to go to confession, but you could go to confession anytime, but your friends want to meet for lunch today. We know we need to love our neighbor, but that is hard, so we figure we love the next neighbor that comes along. Do you see how easy it is to “sleepwalk” through life, as St. Paul says?

We know God is coming. We need to be ready because He could come at any moment. The only thing the Bible assures us of in regard to His coming is that no one will know when He is coming and that we will be surprised and taken off guard. The verse says to let us keep our eyes open and be smart. This is great advice. Let’s not sleepwalk through life. Let’s live our lives intentionally with passion and purpose for the things we care about. The things we know are important.

The verses end with, “People sleep at night and get drunk at night. But not us! Since we’re creatures of Day, let’s act like it. Walk out into the daylight sober, dressed up in faith, love, and the hope of salvation.” I love this last line of the verse. Walk out into the daylight sober, dressed up in faith, love, and the hope of salvation. Imagine how different this would be if all of God’s faithful from all denominations walked around dressed in faith, love, and the hope of salvation. Imagine if you didn’t have to be afraid of offending someone when you mentioned the Lord because you knew just by looking at someone if they knew God or not.

Sometimes, when I hear people talk about their faith in God, they are not filled with faith, love, or hope. They are filled with hate, anger, disbelief, and dread. There are also so many people who are living in hopelessness and despair right now. I know people who know God; they have a personal and intimate relationship with Him, and yet they feel very much in despair and even hopeless at times. Hopeless that things are going to get better for them. But what about the rest of us? What about you? Could you be dressed with faith, hope, and love as you go out into this world? Could I be dressed with faith, hope, and love as I go into this world?

I remember I was listening to Father Mike Schmitz one time, and he was talking about how we act in the world. He said he had heard a question one time, and it stuck with him. It has stuck with me, too. If being Christian were illegal. If it were against the law to be Christian, and you were accused of being Christian and you were on trial, would they have enough evidence to convict you? In other words, can people tell, just by looking at you and talking with you, that you are Christian? We live in a world where we are afraid to offend anyone or get in trouble, as it is not popular to talk about God these days. However, who should we be more afraid of offending, God or those around us?

Jesus is coming back one day to judge the living and the dead. What if that day were today? Would you be ready? He is not going to wait for us to be ready. This verse in the Bible was written about 2,000 years ago, give or take. If we can’t be ready with 2,000 years of lead time, we will never be ready. Stop procrastinating. Stop saying you will spend time with the Lord tomorrow. Do it today! Even if it is just 2 minutes to say, “Hey God, it’s me. I just wanted to say hi and see how you are doing.” Or you can even say something like, “Hey God, I have no idea what I am doing, but I know, or I think I want more of you in my life. Please show me how.” It doesn’t matter what you say as much as it does that you say something. Don’t put it off. We are children of the light. We have the advantage of knowing Jesus is coming back. Do something with that knowledge; don’t just waste it!

Dear Heavenly Father, please bless all of those listening to this episode. Lord, we want to prepare for your coming, please help us. Please show us one thing we can do this Advent season to help us not only get ready for your coming as a baby on Christmas day but also as you're coming again at the end of time. Help us to live in a way that people know we are Christians just by knowing us. I want others to know just by looking at me or spending time with me that I am completely, madly, and deeply in love with you! Please help me, Lord. I 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. I look forward to meeting you here again on Monday. Remember, it is free to join mentoring this month. We will focus on Mary this month. I hope you will join us on Tuesday nights at 8 P. M. EST. 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 June 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email [email protected]. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “My precious ones know that I walk with you. That I am not even a breath away. I am part of you.”

CLICK HERE ✨ JOIN WALK BOLDLY WITH JESUS MENTORING (Live Tuesdays + recordings available — $30/month)

CLICK HERE 📖 Get the Daily “Word from the Lord” Email

CLICK HERE 🎧 Get My Free Audio Training + Join My Email List

Click Here 🌐 Visit Finding True North Coaching

Have No Fear, Don't Despair

Jeremiah 30:10 “‘So fear no more, Jacob, dear servant. Don’t despair, Israel. Look up! I’ll save you out of faraway places, I’ll bring your children back from exile. Jacob will come back and find life good, safe, and secure.”

There are several things I like about this verse. Do you remember a while back when I talked about how you can personalize scripture? You can put your name in Scripture verses so you can see that God is talking to you, too! When I was first taught this, I was told whenever you see the word “Jacob” or “Israel,” you can replace it with your name. Today’s verse has both of these words right at the beginning.  I love this because it helps make it more personal when we substitute our name. Let’s try that with the first two lines of today’s verse.

“So fear no more, Catherine, dear servant. Don’t despair, Catherine.” Now you try it.

“So fear no more, Joanie, dear servant. Don’t despair, Peggy.”

“So fear no more, Jo, dear servant. Don’t despair, Nancy.”

“So fear no more, (insert your name), dear servant. Don’t despair (insert your name).”

Did that make it more personal for you when you put your own name in? I know it always does for me. How many of us really needed the Lord to give us that personal message today? How many of us needed the Lord to tell us not to fear anymore? How many of us needed the Lord to tell us not to despair?

The holidays are such a happy time for so many people. They are a time to celebrate and a time to be grateful for all that we have. It is a time to see our loved ones and hug them tight.  It is a time to eat too much food and share presents. It is a time for decorating Christmas trees and watching Hallmark movies. It is a time to celebrate the amazing miracle of God sending His only son down to earth to save us. The birth of Christ is something to celebrate for sure. There is so much good this time of year. People are generally filled with the giving spirit and you will see a lot more acts of kindness if you are on the lookout.

The holidays are also a really sad time for a lot of people. I have a friend whose daughter just died from cancer a week or two before Thanksgiving. She was in her 30’s with two small children. I can’t imagine the sadness these holidays will bring for her. My nephew’s dad is in the hospital and may have brain damage; they won’t know until he wakes up. I can’t imagine the sadness they will have this holiday season as they wait to find out if their dad will be home to celebrate with them. If their dad will ever be the same again. What about all those on the streets? All those who don’t have family or don’t see their families.

As happy of a time as it is for some of us, those lucky enough to have friends or family to celebrate with or a warm home to celebrate in. It will be just as sad for so many others. I am not sure why the Lord put that so strongly in my heart this morning. I guess because the verse was telling us to fear not and to not despair. If you are someone who is having a really difficult time this holiday season for whatever reason, I hope you know the Lord is talking to you, too! Fear not; do not despair. He is there with you. He knows this is a really difficult time for you. He is right there in the hard times with you.

I was looking through all the words of prophecy that my prayer group received in the month of August this morning, and this one just came to mind. I think the Lord wants me to share it with you. “I hear your cries, my children. Come to me, come to me in your brokenness. Do not be afraid to come. I will help you. But in my time. Wait patiently, and I will show you a way out. Know that all is possible when you trust and believe. I am here. Do not doubt it. I do hear your cries. I do feel your pain. Continue to trust, continue to believe, and I will help you.” God hears your cries, and he feels your pain. Don’t ever doubt that. There is always hope with the Lord. We just need to wait on His timing, which I know is really hard. You can do it, though, because you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.

I also love the end of this verse, and I don’t want to leave you today without discussing it. The verse goes on to say, “Look up! I’ll save you out of faraway places; I’ll bring your children back from exile. Jacob will come back and find life good, safe, and secure.” The first two words are so important. “Look up!” Are we doing that? Are we looking up, or are we looking all around, trying to find the solution ourselves? Are we too busy looking at how big our problem is, or too busy looking down in shame to look up and see where our help comes from? God is our answer; He is our help. He always has been so stop looking around, stop looking down, and just look up!!

Next, it says, “I’ll save you from faraway places; I’ll bring your children back from exile.” Yes, please, to both of these. Sometimes, I feel so far away from the Lord. This promise to bring me back from those faraway places is such a source of comfort to me. I hope it is comforting to you, too! I hope you know that the Lord will bring you back, no matter how far away you go. All you have to do is ask, and He will come and get you. No matter how far you feel, no matter how deep a pit you think you are in, God will come and get you out of it. He will bring you home every single time you stray.

Probably my favorite part of this verse is one that I bet you really like, too. I’ll bring your children back from exile. How many hours, days, months, and years have you been praying for this exact thing? How many times have you been on your knees begging the Lord to bring your children back from exile? Back from the crazy things they have gotten themselves into. Back into the church. Back to the Lord. Back to your family. Back to your loving arms. Back to loving themselves. Right here in this scripture verse we have a promise from the Lord that He will bring our children back from exile. It doesn’t say that one day you will bring your children back from exile. It says that God will bring them back.

This is what we often forget. We forget that we are not the savior. It is not our job to bring our children home. It is our job to pray for them. God tells us in prayer groups all the time that we can pray our loved ones into heaven. So, yes, continue to pray for your children, always. However, you don’t have to fear, and you don’t have to despair that they are never coming home. God promises us that He will bring them home. However, He also told us in the word of prophecy from my prayer group that It will be in His time and that we need to wait patiently.

Yes, I know how hard it is to wait patiently. I was praying for God to work miracles in my family for over 15 years, and it was a long wait. It was heartbreaking for so long. As hard as I tried, I could not fix the problems in our family. It was a God job. He needed to work on all of our hearts. He needed to fix all the places we had been hurt so we could figure out how to love better. He needed to teach us so much before we were ready for all He had in store for us. He worked miracles I could never have imagined, never expected, and I am so grateful. He will do the same for you. He will bring your children home from exile. Have no fear; do not despair. Know all is possible when you believe and then wait patiently for God’s timing. I promise you, He hears your cries, He feels your pain. Continue to trust, continue to believe, and He will help you!

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, you are amazing, and we are so grateful to you for bringing our children home whenever you decide to do so. Lord, we ask you to be with all those who are really struggling this holiday season. We ask you to fill them with the peace of Christ, which surpasses all our understanding. We ask you to comfort them at a time when they don’t even know what comfort they need. Lord, you know each of our needs, and you meet them perfectly. We thank you for that. We love you, Lord! You are amazing, and 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! I’m sorry there was no episode on Tuesday. I was very sick and did not get out of bed unless I had to. I am better now. I also had to cancel mentoring that night, so if you were hoping to join in this month, you haven’t missed anything yet. I hope you will consider joining us this upcoming Tuesday night at 8 P. M EST. you can find the link on my social media page, Catherine Duggan, or you can email me at [email protected]. I hope to see you there! I look forward to meeting you here 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 June 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email [email protected]. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “My children, I hear the whisperings of your heart. I hear the moanings of your heart. They are precious to me. I hear them, and I attend to them.” Isn’t it amazing how the Lord works? I did not know this was the word for today and yet it is the Lord confirming the message above that He hears our cries and He answers them. God is so good!

CLICK HERE ✨ JOIN WALK BOLDLY WITH JESUS MENTORING (Live Tuesdays + recordings available — $30/month)

CLICK HERE 📖 Get the Daily “Word from the Lord” Email

CLICK HERE 🎧 Get My Free Audio Training + Join My Email List

Click Here 🌐 Visit Finding True North Coaching

Witness Wednesday #139 More PopWe Stories (Healing)

Today’s witnesses are from Matthew West’s website called popwe.org. If you don’t know who Matthew West is, he is a singer, songwriter, and storyteller. This website is for the non-profit that he has with his father, a pastor. Matthew and his father encourage people to share their stories. They have various categories of stories. Today, I chose three testimonies from the Healing Category. Often, we can hear our own story in someone else’s story. When we listen to others tell their story, it helps us see that we are not alone. When we hear how God worked in their situation, it gives us hope that He will work in ours, too! I pray when you hear this testimony, you get the faith and hope to believe that miracles can happen in your situation, also. I pray you know that God is there with you, and if you invite Him into your situation, He can help. I hope you enjoy these testimonies.

Diane: I have been a Christian since the age of 16 when I accepted Jesus into my heart. I got breast cancer in 2009. I was having a lot of pain in my right breast, and I thought I was having a heart attack. My husband told me to make an appointment with my doctor he sent me for a mammogram. It came back that everything was okay, but I knew that it wasn’t. The pain continued and grew stronger than ever. I called my doctor and told him that there was something terribly wrong with me. I kept praying to God to please let the doctors find out what is wrong. The doctor sent me to a surgeon who did a biopsy. He called me the next day and told me to come in and see him and bring someone with me. I knew it was bad.

When my husband and daughter and I arrived, the surgeon told me that I had stage 4 breast cancer. We then went to an oncologist who told me I had 16 weeks to live and that I had to have surgery to remove my right breast. I also went through chemo radiation. I never stopped praying and believing in my God. I had a clinical trial and in 2011 I was told that my cancer was gone and I had reconstructive surgery.

Now it’s 2024 and Matthew West his songs helped me so much. I recently lost my husband and Matthew’s song, “Don’t stop praying” has brought me through.

Diane: On April 2, 2024, I awoke at 5am, on the floor in terrible pain. I could not get up.  It felt as if my hip was broken. I laid there for 12 hours until my family came home. I was taken to the hospital by ambulance. Tests showed that nothing was broken. However, the muscles in my leg were all torn. They also discovered that my kidneys had stopped functioning. Also, my potassium was dangerously high and causing an erratic heartbeat. The doctors asked me if I wanted CPR if my heart stopped. But I refused three times. Each time I refused, I closed my eyes and prayed God’s will over my life. I was filled with peace that truly is beyond understanding. The doctors have no explanation for me surviving that night. Six days after my fall, I returned home. My kidney function’s higher than it had been in the past three years. I know God spared me. I have work to do for His kingdom!

Honey: My husband was hospitalized in 2021 at the age of 40 for severe COVID. He nearly died. We have 3 children who were at the time 13, 11, and 4. He was in the hospital for 3 ½ months. Fortunately, I was the only one working at the time, so we didn’t lose income.  However, driving to see him 60 miles every other day used a lot of money.

And since I was basically a single parent, any time my kids had appointments or got sick I had to miss work. God in His infinite wisdom had blessed me with a job at a Christian school, so I didn’t have to worry about losing my job. But He didn’t just stop there. Throughout the almost 4 months of emotional struggle, God provided for our every need. God provided Christmas by having one of the members of our church take me to the store and told me to pick out 3 gifts per kid and stocking stuffers. God provided tires by having someone gift me a $300 Walmart gift card just before my tire went flat. But He didn’t just provide financially.

I live in rural Kansas where hitting deer at night is a very real issue. Neither of our cars would have survived if we had hit a deer. But God protected me the entire time by always allowing me to see the deer and stop in time with no damage to me or my vehicles. He protected me from speed traps and tickets by either slowing me down or having the cop busy with someone else when I passed speeding by to get back home to my children.

He strengthened me day after day and showed me almost every day that He was with me through the darkest time of my life. My husband’s miracle is his healing, but my miracle was an everyday occurrence. I never would’ve had the strength to go to work every day, go to the hospital and hear bad report after bad report, and be home present and active with my kids if it weren’t for God’s never-ending strength and peace. He showed me His presence in songs that played, friends at church, kids at work, strangers in my town, sunsets, and His perfect timing in all things.

While I was in it, it would at times feel overwhelming and I had to hold so tightly to each loving reminder no matter how small just to get up and get going. But after my husband came home, God allowed me to feel some of what He has protected me from. The weight of the ordeal would hit me in tiny bits here and there and I would praise God that He had protected me from that while I was in it. He has allowed me to process the grief and anxiety in snap pieces that I could handle. After seeing how He loves me, I know now that even if my husband had died, God would’ve taken care of me.

Thank you all for sharing your stories with us! It is not always easy to be vulnerable and share your story, and yet when you do, it helps so many other people. May God bless you and keep you healthy.

CLICK HERE ✨ JOIN WALK BOLDLY WITH JESUS MENTORING (Live Tuesdays + recordings available — $30/month)

CLICK HERE 📖 Get the Daily “Word from the Lord” Email

CLICK HERE 🎧 Get My Free Audio Training + Join My Email List

Click Here 🌐 Visit Finding True North Coaching

Keep Your Eyes Fixed On Jesus

Matthew 14:26-31 “When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified. “It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear.  At once, [Jesus] spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”  He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how [strong] the wind was, he became frightened, and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately, Jesus stretched out his hand caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

I love this story. I remember the first time I remember someone talking about it was a speaker at a retreat in England. The theme of the retreat was Radical Trust. I loved that theme from the moment that I heard it. I instantly knew that was what I wanted. I wanted to have radical trust in the Lord. The speaker was talking about how she loved Peter because he was always ready to follow the Lord. It seemed as though he didn’t always think before he did things, but that was part of what made him so special.

Just before the disciples were on this boat, they had just been with Jesus as he spoke to a large group of people, and they got to be a part of the miracle of feeding the 5,000 men with five loaves of bread and two fish. They just not only witnessed a miracle but got to be a part of it. Afterward, Jesus told them to get in the boat and go ahead to the other side while he dismissed the people. Once the crowds of people had left, Jesus climbed the mountain to be alone to pray with his Father. He stayed there late into the night. Once he was done, He decided to catch up with His disciples on the water. However, it was the middle of the night and all they saw was someone walking towards them on the water. They didn’t know who it was and they were afraid.

I think we all would have reacted this way if we saw someone walking on the water towards us. However, when they called out to Him, He answered them and told them they had nothing to be afraid of, that it was Jesus. Then I love what Peter did next. He told the Lord if it is really you, command me to come out on the water with you. Jesus said, Come. What happens next is remarkable. Jesus invites Peter out onto the water and Peter gets out of the boat onto the water. I wonder how many of us would have the courage to ask the Lord to invite us to join Him, and then when He did, how many of us would actually be brave enough to get out of the boat.

I have asked the Lord for many things. I have asked Him to use me for healing, and then I have absolutely had times when He said ok, and yet I was too afraid to do what He called me to do. Has this ever happened to you? You asked the Lord for something, and then when he said yes, you were surprised, and also you were afraid? I love that Peter just stepped out of the boat, and He was walking on the water with the Lord, at least for a bit. That is amazing. Imagine the opportunity Peter would have missed out on if he hadn’t asked or if he hadn’t gotten out of the boat. I wonder if all the other apostles were sad they hadn’t asked the Lord to call them out of the boat?

The next part is a part I think we can all relate to. Peter got out of the boat. He was walking on water to the Lord, and all was great, and then he took his eyes off of Jesus and looked at the world around him. Instead of keeping his eyes fixed on Jesus, he looked around and saw how [strong] the wind was, he became frightened and began to sink. I think we have all been here before, too. We had our eyes fixed on Jesus, we knew we were doing what He called us to do, all was going great, and then we started to look around us. We noticed others talking about us, we noticed the circumstances around us were different, we got enticed by our surroundings, and we stopped doing what we knew we should do.

God is not always calling us to do something that is easy. He is not always calling us to do something that will feel good, or that will please others. Remember, Paul was thrown into prison while he was doing the work God called him to do. He was not in prison for disobeying the Lord, he was following the Lord’s direction and was imprisoned for it. You may know that you are doing the right thing, and yet if you take your eyes off Jesus and look around you, it may seem like the circumstances around you are overwhelming. If you start to listen to those around you, you may start to sink, just as Peter did.

I think it is important for us all to remember what happened to Peter so that if we are in a similar circumstance, we will know what to do. When Peter took his eyes off Jesus, and he started to sink, he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord saved Him. It says in the verse above, “He cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately, Jesus stretched out his hand, caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” It does not say that Jesus took His time to walk over to Peter and to help him out. It says that Jesus immediately stretched out His hand and caught him. Jesus will do the same for you.

We should try our best to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. When we do, we will not stray from the path God has laid out for us. We will not feel stressed out or overwhelmed because we will know that God is there to lead us and help us. However, when we do take our eyes off Jesus, which we will because we are human and we make mistakes, it is important to know that all we need to do is call out to the Lord, and He will be right there, stretching out his hand to us. God will always be there for us! That we can count on.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless each one of you listening to this episode today. Lord, you are amazing, and we are so grateful you are calling us all to something amazing. We are sorry when we pull back or are too scared to step into that calling. We are sorry when we step into it and then fall down because we take our eyes off of you. Please help us to keep our eyes fixed on you. We love you, Lord, and 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. I have decided that for the month of December, mentoring will be free for anyone who would like to give it a try and see what it is all about. I know this is a busy month for everyone but if you have time on Tuesday night at 8 EST I invite you to join us for mentoring. If you would like the zoom link please email me at [email protected]. I look forward to meeting you here 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 May 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email [email protected]. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “I surround you with my love, I surround you with my joy, I surround you with my hope, I surround you with everything that's good, and you in turn need to do the same with others. I surround you, I fortify you, I give you everything so that you can go out and proclaim my name to those you meet.”

CLICK HERE ✨ JOIN WALK BOLDLY WITH JESUS MENTORING (Live Tuesdays + recordings available — $30/month)

CLICK HERE 📖 Get the Daily “Word from the Lord” Email

CLICK HERE 🎧 Get My Free Audio Training + Join My Email List

Click Here 🌐 Visit Finding True North Coaching

Be Ready At All Times

Luke 12:40 “So keep being alert and ready at all times. For I promise you that the Son of Man will surprise you and appear when you don’t expect him.”

This verse reminded me of a conversation I had with my confirmation kids one year when I was teaching the confirmation class. We were talking about confession and why it is so important to go to confession. We were also talking about how God always forgives us when we ask for forgiveness. No matter what we have done or how long ago it was. The kids were asking, what if someone sinned their whole life, they did really bad things, and then on their deathbed, they asked for forgiveness? Would God forgive them? I said yes. They said that didn’t seem fair.

Then I asked them, “If someone was sinning their whole life. If they did one bad thing after another. Did they think that person would actually ask for forgiveness in the end?” They said probably not. The thing about sin is that it drives a wedge between you and the Lord. It fractures your relationship. The more you sin, the further away you feel. You might start off with a plan to sin as much as you like because you know that at any point, you can ask God for forgiveness, and He will give it to you. And yet, the more you sin, the more you harden your heart. By the time you get to the end of your life, you don’t care if God forgives you because you are so far away from Him, you forget what it is like to feel His love.

This verse is telling us to be alert and ready at all times. I think we can all slip into a comfortable feeling where we know we may need to go to confession at some point, but it's okay to put it off a bit. Or we know we need to give something up or stop doing something, and yet we figure there is always tomorrow. Guess what? There might not be tomorrow. None of us know the day and the time that we will die. None of us know when the Son of Man will return. What the Bible tells us in more than one place is that it will be when we least expect it. Today’s verse says, “For I promise you that the Son of Man will surprise you and appear when you don’t expect him.”

It doesn’t say you might be surprised, or I think the Son of Man’s coming might be a surprise. It says, “For I promise you that the Son of Man will surprise you and appear when you don’t expect him.” This is a promise. Jesus is coming, and we have no idea when, but we do know that we won’t expect it. This means we should always be ready for it. We shouldn’t put things off until tomorrow. If we truly lived this way, I believe our lives would be transformed!

Imagine a life where you didn’t procrastinate. Where you didn’t put off calling that person you have been meaning to call but haven’t. Imagine a world where you didn’t hold a grudge because if you did, it meant God was going to hold a grudge against you. You do know that is what the Bible says, right? Do you know that is what it says in the prayer Jesus taught us to say? “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” God is going to forgive us to the same extent that we forgive others. Learning that truly was life-changing for me.

As soon as I learned that, I made a decision to learn how to let things go. I made a decision to no longer stay or hold onto a grudge. Whatever it is that someone did to me, it is not worth my eternal salvation. Forgiveness is not easy, especially if someone hurt us deeply. However, missing out on eternal salvation or spending eternity in hell because of that unforgiveness would be a lot harder. I have heard stories of people going to hell because of unforgiveness in their hearts, and I don’t want that to be me.

Today’s verse is a great reminder not only of how we should live our lives in order to get into heaven, but it is a good reminder that none of us know when we will leave this earth. It is a good reminder to not leave things unsaid and not wait for our loved ones to make the first move. What if we all lived our lives like this was our last day on earth? What would our day look like? What would our lives look like? How much more fully would we live our lives if we knew we wouldn’t see our loved ones again?

Yesterday was Thanksgiving and I love Thanksgiving. It is one of best holidays with my family. My siblings and I gather at my mom and dad’s house the day before to help cut up the veggies and make all the desserts. It is a time of so much fun, love, and laughter. Then we get together on Thanksgiving and eat amazing food and talk, laugh and usually play games or watch movies. I love it. It is probably my favorite holiday. I was really looking forward to it.

Wednesday night, one of my sons got in trouble at the mall. We were unsure what that meant for his job as he works at the mall. Thursday morning, he was really upset and wanted to go for a bike ride, and we said no because it was pouring rain out. He went anyway. Then Tony and I fought about whether we should go to CT or not while he was out on his bike ride. I decided I didn’t want to miss out on my favorite holiday with my family, and I left.

I was praying with the Lord while I drove, and he put on my heart that I should be home with Tony and Ryan. They were both upset, and I wouldn’t have any fun at my mom’s if I was thinking about them. Also, I really wanted to be there for them to support them. So, instead, I stopped and got Tony’s favorite drink, a French Vanilla cappuccino, and some soda for the boys at Cumberlands and some pizza at Dominoes since I didn’t have Thanksgiving food to cook at home, and we just chilled out for the day. Sam watched a movie with us, which doesn’t happen much anymore, and it was a good day.

The reason I tell you this is because, in the past, I would have just gone to CT and spent the time with my mom and dad and then come home still angry at the fight I had with Tony. God has been working on my heart, though, and I knew I wanted to be there with Tony to talk things out and not stew over anything we might have said to one another. I might have started learning how to forgive because of fear of not being forgiven by the Lord, but now I forgive because it provides a freedom that I never knew before.

Today’s verse reminds us that we need to be ready. When our time is up, our time is up. Most of the time, there are no second chances. This verse is a gift to us. It is reminding us that we can strive to live each day like it is our last and then we will be ready for the Lord when He comes. We all know Jesus is coming back to judge the living and the dead. This verse promises us that we won’t know when until He gets here. So, knowing that, what are were going to do about it? Are you going to keep putting things off, or are we going live more intentionally and fully today!

Dear heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening today. Lord, we want to live more fully, please help us. We want to be able to forgive. Please help us. We want to not procrastinate and we want to say what is on our mind when it is on our mind. Please help us! Lord, we are a mess and we need your help. Put on our hearts any ways in which we need to be ready for your coming. Change us Lord. Mold our hearts to be one with your heart! We love you, Lord, and 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. I look forward to meeting you here again on Monday. 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 May 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email [email protected]. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “We're all at different places. Some just sit on the shore and look at it and think it's beautiful, but they're afraid to go in. Some go in and learn how to maneuver in it, learning how to swim or stay afloat in that water. Then there are others who've gone on, and they're now much more at ease in that water. They're frolicking. They're playing ball. They're doing whatever.”

CLICK HERE ✨ JOIN WALK BOLDLY WITH JESUS MENTORING (Live Tuesdays + recordings available — $30/month)

CLICK HERE 📖 Get the Daily “Word from the Lord” Email

CLICK HERE 🎧 Get My Free Audio Training + Join My Email List

Click Here 🌐 Visit Finding True North Coaching

Today, I have two witnesses that I have heard about from friends in this 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 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 on 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 on 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 amount 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, especially with this being Thanksgiving week, for all the healing that God is doing in our world. I am grateful for all the miraculous ways He provides and protects His children. Thank you, Lord! I am also grateful for each and every one of you who gives your time to listen to this podcast. It truly means the world to me that I get to spend each morning with you. I pray for those of you in America that you have an amazing Thanksgiving weekend. For those of you not in America, I pray you have an amazing weekend, too! I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I!

CLICK HERE ✨ JOIN WALK BOLDLY WITH JESUS MENTORING (Live Tuesdays + recordings available — $30/month)

CLICK HERE 📖 Get the Daily “Word from the Lord” Email

CLICK HERE 🎧 Get My Free Audio Training + Join My Email List

Click Here 🌐 Visit Finding True North Coaching

I Sought The Lord, And He Heard, And He Answered!

Psalm 34:4-5 “I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.”

When I saw this verse this morning, I thought of an elevation song that is on the KLOVE radio station a lot. I know I have mentioned it before, but if you haven’t checked out KLOVE, you really should. You can google what the closest station to you is, or you can get the KLOVE App and listen from there. Not only do they have great Christian music, but the DJs are great, too, and they are always talking about uplifting stuff and not the news or politics. It is great!

Anyway, I thought I would share this song with you as the Lord does answer us when we seek Him out. He can deliver us from all of our fears if we let Him. I also like how the verse says that those who look upon him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. Imagine if you could live your life never being ashamed. Did you even know that was possible? All things are possible through Christ!

The song is called Trust In The Lord and is sung by Elevation Worship. Here are the words:

… Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine

He's been my fourth man in the fire, time after time

I love this line. He’s been the fourth man in the fire, time after time. Do you know what they are talking about here? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are three Jewish men from the Bible's Book of Daniel who were thrown into a fiery furnace for refusing to worship a golden statue set up by King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar had his servants turn the furnace up so that the fire was white hot. These three men were bound up and thrown into the fiery furnace. The king was watching the whole thing. But after they were thrown in, those watching didn’t hear screams or anything. When the king looked in, he saw that the three men were standing in the fire, untouched by the flames and that there was a fourth man in the fire there with them. This is such a great story of God’s power.

My favorite part of that story is that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn’t seem to be afraid at all about going into this fiery furnace. I love what they said before going into the furnace. Daniel 3:17-18, "If it is so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” Can you imagine how brave these men were? They weren’t afraid to die for what they believed in. I love that they knew God could save them and yet they also knew that might not be what God had in store for them and yet were willing to risk it all anyway. What an incredible faith and trust in the Lord!

Next, the song says,

Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood

And what He did for me on Calvary is more than enough

I just had a conversation about this yesterday with a friend. Do we believe this? Do you believe that what Jesus did on Calvary is more than enough? We tend to get caught up in our sins and our past, and we can’t seem to forgive ourselves. My friend said she had a conversation with the Lord once. He asked her three times if she believed He died on the cross for her. Each time, she said yes. Each time, God said that she didn’t believe that was true. Finally, she asked the Lord why He kept saying it wasn’t true, and He said that if she did, she would forgive herself. Isn’t that powerful? God wants this freedom for all of us. He died to free us from our sins, our past mistakes, and all we have done. When we hold onto those mistakes, when we hold onto that sin, when we can’t forgive ourselves, we are telling the Lord that what He did for us on Calvary wasn’t enough. Is that what we really believe? If it was enough, why can’t we forgive ourselves?

Next the song says

… I trust in God, my Savior

The one who will never fail

He will never fail

We can trust in the Lord. He will never fail us. This can be hard for us to believe because people fail us all the time. However, God is not a person. He will never fail us. We can count on Him to be there for us. He is there in the good times, and He is there in the bad times. He is always there. He never leaves your side!

Next, it says

… Perfect submission, all is at rest

I know the author of tomorrow has ordered my steps

Did you know that God is the author of tomorrow? He is helping you write your story. He has ordered your steps. Does that mean you will never take a wrong step, no. God has laid out our steps before us, but we have free will, and sometimes we take the wrong path. However, God can always turn us around and get us on the right path again. If we are looking to God for direction. If our eyes are fixed on Him, we will see the path He has laid out for us, and we will follow it. We get lost when we take our eyes off the Lord.

Next, the song says,

So this is my story, and this is my song

I'm praising my risen King and Savior all the day long

I know I say this all the time, but this is the key to so much happiness and joy. We need to praise the risen King and Savior all day long! We need to praise the Lord when we are on the top of a mountain, and we need to praise Him when we are in a valley. It may be more important to praise Him when we are in a valley because we tend to forget how good He is when we are in a valley. We tend to turn away or feel lost when we are in a valley, and if we are praising the Lord, it will help remind us of His goodness. Another benefit to praising, especially when we are in the valley, is that it confuses the enemy. He doesn’t understand why we would praise the Lord when we are feeling down, lost, or abandoned and so when He sees us doing this, He flees. Also, anytime evil spirits hear the name of the Lord, or especially the name of Jesus, they flee.

Next, the song repeats, … I trust in God, my SaviorThe one who will never fail. He will never fail. A few times and then it says,

… He didn't fail you then

He won't fail you now

This is a reminder of something we can do when we are scared the Lord won’t come through. We can look back at our lives and see all the times God has come through for us in the past. If He didn’t fail you when you called out to Him the last time, He won’t fail you now, either. If you are struggling to believe this, look back to some previous times when you called out to the Lord. Did He fail you? Did He abandon you when you needed Him? The Lord is the same yesterday, today, and always. If He didn’t abandon you then, He won’t now either!

The rest of the song repeats this chorus several times and then repeats some of the words from about.

… I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered

I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered

I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered

That's why I trust Him, that's why I trust Him

What about you? Have you sought the Lord? Did He hear? Did He answer? That is how you know you can trust Him. God tells us in several places in the Bible that when we ask, He answers. This means that He hears us when we ask. Trust in Him!

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening! Lord, we love you, and we want to trust you. Please help us. Why is it so hard for us to trust you at times? Lord, we ask that you help us remember all the times you were there for us. Highlight the times that you answered our prayer, and yet we have forgotten. We love you, Lord, and we thank you for always being that fourth man in our fire time after time. We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name. Amen!

Thank you all for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to bringing you a new witness tomorrow morning. Remember Jesus loves you and so do I! Have a blessed day!

Today’s Word from the Lord was received in May 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email [email protected]. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “It was urgent that we try to see everything from God's perspective. I felt like the Lord was holding me and saying, don't be afraid to say it because I want people to do things in my way and not be afraid. Forget what other people think when you do a certain thing. ”

CLICK HERE ✨ JOIN WALK BOLDLY WITH JESUS MENTORING (Live Tuesdays + recordings available — $30/month)

CLICK HERE 📖 Get the Daily “Word from the Lord” Email

CLICK HERE 🎧 Get My Free Audio Training + Join My Email List

Click Here 🌐 Visit Finding True North Coaching