Walk Boldly With Jesus

Will You Catch Your Foxes?

Song of Songs 2:15 “You must catch the troubling foxes, those sly little foxes that hinder our relationship. For they raid our budding vineyard of love to ruin what I’ve planted within you. Will you catch them and remove them for me? We will do it together.”

I had the best class at Encounter Ministries Boston Campus last night. Our teachers explained to us all about The Song of Songs book in the Bible. I am sure Father Mike explained it to me during the Bible in a Year, but not like they did tonight in class. They explained all about the different translations of the Bible and how they have a literal word-for-word translation, and they also have a dynamic translation which captures more of the phrase for phrase or thought for thought. Encounter Ministries decided to use the Passion Translation as they felt this was the best one to help us understand the Song of Songs best.

I am unsure if I knew anything about the song of songs before last night. However, it was beautiful how they explained it. Our teachers read out loud the first five chapters, stopping along the way to talk about what was really going on and what it all meant. It was incredible. I found myself so interested in the story and almost like I was a part of it. Which, of course, we are all a part of it. The Song of Songs is meant to be our love story with the Lord. Each one of us is pursued by the Lord just as this woman was pursued by her bridegroom. If you have not read the Song of Songs, I recommend you go and read it using the passion translation. I am sure we will have many more episodes from this book, as I heard so many incredible things last night.

However, as soon as I heard the verse above, I knew it was the verse I needed to talk about. I loved the language and the concept. “You must catch the troubling foxes, those sly little foxes that hinder our relationship, for they raid our budding vineyard of love to ruin what I’ve planted within you. Will you catch them and remove them for me? We will do it together?” First of all, there are so many things that get in the way of our relationship with the Lord. Thinking of these things as sly foxes is great because sometimes they are things we wouldn’t think would be a hindrance. For instance, we all had to take a few minutes and ask the Lord what our foxes were.  One of my classmates heard the word busyness. This is probably a hindrance for many of us. I think the enemy likes to keep us busy. Even if we are busy doing good things, it can still get in the way of our relationship with the Lord if we don’t put that relationship first. Everyday things can also get in our way, like TV, social media, and games on our computer or our phone. What are the foxes in your life? What are the things that are hindering your relationship with the Lord?

Did you know that the Lord desires a personal relationship with you? He doesn’t just want to know you from afar. He doesn’t just want to be someone that you talk to when you need something. He wants to be in a relationship with you. What does that mean? If you are in a relationship with someone, then you spend time with them, and you get to know them. You care about them, and they care about you. This is not only what the Lord desires. This is his deepest longing. Did you know the Lord longs for you? Isn’t it incredible when you think about it? He could have anything He wants, and yet what He longs for is an intimate relationship with you. That just blows my mind.

In the next part of the verse, after the author explains what the foxes are, he says, “For they raid our budding vineyard of love to ruin what I’ve planted within you. Will you catch them and remove them for me?” This explains what the things that hinder our relationship do, they steal the fruit of all that the Lord planted inside of us. Do you often wonder why we are not producing more fruit? Why aren’t our prayers more fruitful? Why aren’t our actions being more fruitful? Why aren’t we seeing more fruit in our ministry? I know I do. This verse tells us that it is because there are hindrances that are getting in the way. We might not realize there are things getting in the way. However, we can’t have an intimate relationship with the Lord if we never have time to spend with Him.

Think of a good relationship that you have. Do you spend time with that person? What if you didn’t spend any time with them? Would it still be a good relationship? What about your relationship with work? Would you be able to get things done at work if every time you tried something else got it the way? Would you be productive at work if you spent your work time watching TV or playing games on your computer or your phone? No, I don’t think you would.

The Lord calls us to catch these foxes and remove them for Him. Isn’t it beautiful that He cares enough about us to ask us to do this for Him? The last few words of this verse are great. “We will do it together.” The Lord doesn’t even ask us to do it on our own. He isn’t telling us to go and take care of our foxes and then come back when we have finished. He is telling us that we will do it together. How amazing is that?

This is like so many things with the Lord. He wants to partner with us. This reminds me of forgiveness. We don’t have to do that alone, either. All we have to do is give our yes, and then the Lord will come alongside us and heal our hearts. Whatever it is we are trying to do, the Lord wants to partner with us. With Him, we can do all things, and without Him, we can do nothing. Once we realize this, I mean truly realize that we need Him for everything. Our life gets so much easier because we start to rely on His power instead of our own. He is so much stronger than we are. We need His power.

The Lord is asking you to catch your foxes. Will you do that for Him? Will you take two minutes of quiet time with the Lord this morning and ask Him what your foxes are? What are the things that are getting in the way of you spending time with Him? Or, maybe nothing is getting in the way of you spending time with Him, but something is getting in the way of you growing closer to Him. Is something hindering you from opening up and letting Him in?

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, we don’t want anything to get in the way of our relationship with you. Please help us discover our foxes and catch them. Please help us discover the intimate relationship you want to have with us. Help us say yes to your invitation. Help us grow closer to you. We love you, Lord, 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 seeing you again tomorrow. I will be sending out details about my new coaching program this week, so if you are not on my mailing list, CLICK HERE to join. I will also be adding the details on my website, walkboldlywithjesus.com. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

www.findingtruenorthcoaching.com

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Are you Ready?

Matthew 22:11-12 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.”

This was the Gospel reading from Mass yesterday. I was excited when I heard it because it was one that I had heard several times, and yet I did not understand it. Let me read you the whole parable so you can see why I was confused. The verse above is from the parable of the Wedding Banquet. It can be found in Matthew 22:1-14.

The Parable of the Wedding Banquet

Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

 “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’ “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army to destroy those murderers and burned their city. “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come.  So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes.  He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless. “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’  “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

The reason I am always confused when I hear this parable is because the servants were told to go out to the streets and gather all the people they could find. The people were not intending to go to a wedding banquet that day. They were from the streets. I did not understand why the king came out and was upset that someone wasn’t in a wedding garment. Why would he expect someone to have a wedding garment if they were living on the street? Then when the man didn’t have a reason for not being in a wedding garment, he was bound by hand and foot and thrown outside into the darkness, where there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth. That seemed a bit harsh to me. The king told his servants to go out and get anyone they could find and invite them to this wedding banquet. Then he gets mad that one of the many people he invited wasn’t wearing a wedding garment. Not only was he mad, but he also punished the man. That never made sense to me. 

This is why, yesterday, when I heard the reading, I was hoping the priest would do his homily on this reading, and he did! Well, I still am not sure I understand this parable completely. I want to share what I did learn in case you are confused and think this is unfair as well.

First, the wedding banquet ultimately represents when we finally get to be with the Lord in heaven.  Although, we get to have a banquet with the Lord each week when we participate in mass. The wedding garment in question is our soul. The king was upset because this man did not keep his soul clean and ready to attend the banquet. We don’t know when it will be our time to join the Lord. We need to stay ready so that when the time comes, we are ready.

This is a common theme in the Bible. There is another parable about keeping watch and not knowing when your master will arrive. The parable of the faithful servant can be found in Matthew 24: 42-51. Then there is the parable of the 10 virgins, which can be found in Matthew 25:1-13. All of these are telling us that we need to be ready. It is our job to make sure whenever the time comes that we are ready.

I was upset because it didn’t seem fair that the man was caught off guard. He was invited to a banquet unexpectedly and yet was in trouble for not wearing the correct clothes to it.  However, now I see that it is our job to ensure we are prepared. I tell this to my kids all the time. For instance, the kids know they have a project due on Friday. They have all week to complete the project, and yet they wait until Thursday night to work on it. Then, on Thursday night, they start the project, but they don’t have enough time to finish it. Then they are upset that their teacher doesn’t give them more time. They did not understand that it was their responsibility to be ready to present on Friday.

If this concept is presented in at least three different parables, I think it is something we should pay attention to. What are we doing to make sure that we are ready to meet the Lord? Are we paying attention to the state of our soul? Are we making sure if we hurt our relationship with the Lord that, we are doing what we can to repair it? Are we going to confession regularly, or are we expecting that we will be able to go at the last hour?

If all of these parables have taught us anything, it is that it can be dangerous to expect we will have time to do it later. They have taught us that showing up unprepared is never a good idea. Do we want to end up like the man at the wedding banquet where we are thrown out into the cold darkness?

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, I ask that you help us not to take time for granted. Help us to appreciate every moment you have given us. Help us to be grateful for the time we have and not to put off the things we should do today. Lord, help us to be ready to meet you. If there is something in our way, help us to take care of it. We do not want to be kicked out of the wedding banquet. We do not want to miss out on meeting the bridegroom. We want to be ready, Lord. Please help us! We love you, Lord, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and Jesus’ 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, and so do I. Have a blessed day!

www.findingtruenorthcoaching.com

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The Spirit of Offense, Be Gone!

Proverbs 19:11 “It is good sense to be slow to anger, and an honor to overlook an offense.”

I have really been struggling with the spirit of offense lately. Actually, I am not sure if it is new or if I am just noticing it more lately. Ever since we learned about it last year in Encounter Ministries, I have noticed that I definitely take offense often, especially with Tony. This is not something I am proud of, and it is something I am trying to figure out so that I don’t keep doing it. When we had a disagreement today, and I took offense again, I decided to look up and see if there was a prayer I could recite daily that would help me out with this. There was an article with a prayer the woman wrote, and it had the verse above attached to it. I decided this was the verse for the episode. I actually found a couple of verses that pertained to taking offense. This was the one I liked the best, though. 

I think I am pretty good at being slow to anger. My mother has the patience of a Saint, and she passed them down to some of us kids. I am lucky enough to have gotten a lot of patience. I have also had to develop a lot of patience over the years as my kids could be pretty trying at times, and if I lost my cool, it just made it all that much more difficult to get anything done. If I was angry while they were angry, it just made the whole situation that much worse. I have actually gotten pretty good at not taking offense from my boys either, as they went through some tough phases where they liked to say anything to get me angry. I had to learn not to let their words affect me as they didn’t mean the. I knew it what they were saying wasn’t about me. It was about them and what they were going through. 

However, for some reason, I still tend to take offense to several things my husband says or does. It is usually the same things, over and over again. You would think after 23 years of marriage, we would have these things figured out by now. You would think I would have learned not to take offense to them, as I am sure he is not trying to offend me. However, sometimes I think it is automatic. I did find an article that talks about four things that can cause us to become hurt or offended, and it also talks about four ways to overcome offense. I hope that this information will help you overcome offense. I think it is something many of us struggle with, and yet we would be so much happier if we didn’t. 

Let’s start with the four things the author listed that contribute to people feeling hurt or offended. First is unrealistic expectations. It is important to know and understand what the other person’s expectations are for you and for the situation. This is not something you want to guess about. If you don’t know what their expectations are, then ask them and listen when they tell you. It is also important that they know what your expectations are, so don’t keep them to yourself. Share them and check to see if they understand them. Second is our own wounded spirit. I have heard it said that we don’t see others as they are. We see others as we are. We all have our own history, our own wounds, and our own thoughts that we take into every interaction that we have. We use all of this as a filter through which we view every interaction. Once we know our identity in Jesus and we understand what His love means to us, then we can start to work through our wounds with Jesus. Once we do, we can stop using them as a filter through which we see others.

The third is our holding onto things for too long. Sometimes we are offended, and we hold on to that for too long instead of just shaking it off. Friendships are important, and it is good to keep that in mind and get better at letting this go. The fourth thing is assuming negative intent. I was just at a retreat, and they asked a few people what the best piece of advice they were ever given was, and someone said, “Always assume positive intent.”This is so important. This is the biggest culprit, I think to me taking offense. I hear what is said, and I assume negative intent, so I get defensive and I slip into fight mode. It would be much better if I assumed positive intent. I am very good at this in other areas of my life. I am good with telling people if you don’t know the answer, tell yourself something that will serve you better. For instance, if you don’t know why someone hasn’t called back, assume they are busy instead of assuming they don’t want to talk to you. Do you see how that is assuming a positive intent? However, I struggle to do that in these instances.

This article, I will put a link in the show notes, goes on to list four steps we can take to help us learn to avoid a spirit of offense. It says that overcoming a spirit of offense takes intentionality and a humble spirit willing to surrender the right to stay hurt. Wow, that hits home for me. I sometimes want to cling to my right to stay hurt. I don’t know why because being hurt doesn’t feel good. I am seeing now why humility is another way to strengthen my resolve against taking offense.

The first step the article lists is to acknowledge that you were hurt by something someone said or did, even if it is an irrational hurt. God is ready and willing to hear our cries and help us walk through our pain. The article is not saying we need to acknowledge our pain to the person who hurt us. We need to acknowledge it to ourselves and to the Lord and then let the Lord help us heal. The second one is one that I didn’t really think of before, and yet I can definitely see the wisdom in it. It says, don’t quickly turn to others for counsel without serious consideration. If you need to process or discuss the offense, one person can prove the wisdom you seek. If you involve a lot of other people, you may easily create a bigger problem. Also, what came to my mind when I read that is that now you may even fall into gossiping instead of just seeking counsel.

The third thing was to pray for your own grieving spirit and for the other person. Prayer is always a great thing to do to help us avoid something and also to help us get over something after it happens as well. Fourth is to walk through forgiveness even if you don’t feel it. This means if you see the person who hurt you, act graciously. This can be difficult, but it is such an important step in the healing process. Forgiveness is an act of the will, not a feeling. You can forgive someone, even if you don’t feel like it. You can forgive someone and then not feel any different afterward. If you are willing to say, “Yes, I forgive this person.” Then God will come in and do the healing on your heart. You are not forgiving them on your own. God does all the heavy lifting. He just needs your yes!

I hope these two different lists of four things were helpful to you. If you have the time, I would suggest clicking on the link and reading the whole article. CLICK HERE for the first article. She also has three books that deal with overcoming a spirit of offense. I got the first on Audible, and since I am headed out of town on a plane tomorrow, I am guessing I will have plenty of time to listen to it. I will probably do more episodes on this topic once I am done with the book, as I really do think it is something many of us struggle with. I am going to end with a prayer from another article. CLICK HERE for the article with the prayer. Here is the prayer:

“Jesus, please call out the spirit of offense that is wreaking havoc on my soul. Remove it from my life and take away all its power. Deal with me on this issue and help me place this moment into a Kingdom frame so that in my heart and behavior, I’m not jerked around by the enemy of my soul who is whispering in my ear what he’d rather me believe. Amen.”

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

www.findingtruenorthcoaching.com

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Before I begin my witness today, I first want to apologize for being a day late. With Monday not only being a holiday but also the last day of the retreat, I have been one day off this whole week. I totally forgot that yesterday was Wednesday, and yet I didn’t want to skip Witness Wednesday this week, so I am doing it a day late. My witness today will be about the retreat I just did this past weekend. God was in every stage of it, and so I want to give Him all the glory.

Last spring, I felt as though God put on my heart to host a retreat this year. I felt like He said in the summer, but I was a few months late. I researched many places to have the retreat, and many of the places people recommended had closed down. The ones that were still open were pretty expensive. There was the place in CT where the MCCW held the retreat I spoke at last April. However, that was booked until next summer, and I really felt like I was called to host one this year.

I was talking with a friend of mine at an Encounter event, and he gave me the names of a few more places to try. I am not sure if the place I found was from him or from a Google search, but I am so glad I found it. I wound up calling the Holy Cross Retreat House in July. The director said they had just started opening up the house for outside retreats as they usually just did Matt Talbot recovery retreats and Cursillo retreats there. We were actually the first outside group to come through the doors, so it was even more special. They were embarking on a new adventure having new groups come in, and I was embarking on a new adventure of hosting retreats, and we got to begin together.

The Holy Cross Retreat House was definitely a gift for the Lord. It could not have been a more perfect place for hosting my first retreat. The director, Nancy, was so easy to work with and so helpful. The retreat house bedrooms had all been repainted with new beds and mattresses. We were all able to stay in the same hallway, which was right next to the chapel and the meeting room. However, no room in the house is far from the chapel. I loved that it was a relatively small house, and yet it could house over 70 people.

The retreat house also just hired a new chef named Kerry, and she was also a gift from the Lord. She was truly amazing! Her food was the most incredible food I have ever had on retreat, and it was all homemade and made with organic ingredients. Another personal touch that made this retreat house perfect is that the food is all served family style. They have 2 to 4 volunteers that come in each meal and help serve the meal. They bring the serving dishes out to the table, and then we pass them around like we are at a family meal. They come around with coffee and tea. It was such an amazing experience. You may feel I am exaggerating, but the ladies who attended the retreat went on and on about the food. They asked the chef for all her recipes, that is how amazing the food was.

I had 12 people sign up for the retreat, which was great! That, again, was a gift from the Lord, as up until a week before, I only had 6 signed up. Then in that last week, I had 6 more people sign up. On the day of, we had two people who were unable to attend. One was in the ER with COVID, and the other one’s mom was sick, and she needed to take care of her mom. Check-in went well, and everyone was there by 3:15 or so. We started out with introductions, and everyone got to know each other pretty well just through introductions. I feel as though everyone bonded pretty quickly on this retreat. I am unsure if that is because of the small number of ladies in attendance or why it happened so quickly, but it was great. We had our first talk, we did some sharing, and then we headed to dinner. Right after dinner, we headed out to the chapel next door, where the Peyton Center was holding a candlelight rosary procession. Unfortunately, it was raining, and it was moved indoors, but it was still great. We walked around the chapel with a lot of other people saying the rosary and holding our candles. Whoever was taking photos for the Peyton Center got a great photo of me and my sister Liz and the retreat house director sent it to me. After that, we got back to the house, and we did a second talk and had more time for sharing before everyone headed to be.

The next day we started out with breakfast and then went to the chapel for praise and worship before mass at 10. After mass, we had another talk before lunch. After lunch, we had another talk, and then we had personal prayer time. Nancy, one of the ladies attending the retreat, led those who wanted to attend in a rosary. It turned out there were 5 of them, and so they each led a decade of the rosary and gave their own reflection on the mystery when it was their decade. I was not there, but I heard it was truly beautiful. Everyone did a great job with their reflections.

After the free time, we had adoration in the chapel for those who wanted to attend, and at the same time, we had confession for those who wanted to attend. We had someone attend confession who hadn’t been in 20 years. It was a beautiful thing to see! After confession and adoration, we had another talk and more time for sharing. Then we went to dinner. Yes, we did a lot of eating on this retreat! After dinner, we had another talk, and we ended the night with the Father’s Blessings. This is when we ask the Father to give us His heart for the person, or we ask the Father to tell us what He would like to say to the person, and then we pray those blessings over the person. There were five of us from the Encounter Ministries class at the retreat, so each person had at least 3 people speak blessings over them. It was a beautiful end to the evening.

The next morning we started with breakfast and then had praise and worship in the chapel. Some people left during praise and worship. After praise and worship, we gathered together to talk about how we could take what we learned from the retreat and bring it back into our everyday lives. We talked about how the retreat was going to change how we lived each day. We also took a few minutes to give feedback on the retreat. What worked well and what didn’t? Then everyone gave each other hugs, and we left the retreat center. It was a great retreat, and I couldn’t have asked for a better group of ladies or a better retreat house for my time hosting a retreat all by myself. I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into the retreat, and I hope you will join us the next time. I asked the ladies what they would tell someone who was thinking about coming, and so I will end with a few of their comments.

It was an easy retreat where all were made to feel welcomed, accepted, and loved. I feel all left loving themselves more, God more, and each other more. Mission accomplished and seeds sown.

I would tell them that it is a time to focus on prayer and to rest one’s soul as well as a time to engage in discussions about our wonderful God, that there is no pressure to do anything, and that they will not regret the decision to come.

Come, Come, Come! You will be so glad you did - and so glad you found such a wonderful place to hold this retreat, Catherine. I would gladly return. You did an awesome job!

www.findingtruenorthcoaching.com

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Repent & Do the Father’s Will

Matthew 3:8-10 "Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  Even now, the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” 

This statement is being said by John the Baptist to the Pharisees and Sadducees. In the verse right before this one, John calls them a “brood of vipers.” What John the Baptist is saying in this first verse is to make sure they are truly changing on the inside, not just on the outside. He is telling them to produce good fruit as evidence of their repentance. In other words, let me see the real change that has taken place. John is saying that he doesn’t want them to use the excuse that they are children of Abraham. The children of Abraham are numerous.

I believe John is telling them that even though they are being baptized with water, if they do not change their ways, then Jesus will cut them down and throw them into the fire. Repentance is something we can all do. However, it can’t just be something we say we are going to do and then we don’t do. It can’t be an idea that we like, and we get behind, and yet we do not change our lives in any way.

Change is hard. Staying the same is easy. It can be easy to say we will change our ways, and we might even really mean it. Then when we try, we see it isn’t as easy as we thought it would be. We realize changing and repenting means we need to give up some things that we might really like. For instance, maybe we really like gossiping. We like to sit around with others and talk about all the crazy things other people do. This would be something we would need to repent of and to do no more.

I think this line in the verse above is an important one, “And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’” I think this is an important word for all of us to hear because it is something that I think many of us do. We assume because we are Catholic, or because we are Christian, or because we believe in Jesus that, we are automatically going to heaven. I have heard this a lot of times from a lot of different people. If we declare Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are automatically going to heaven. It also says in the Bible in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.  Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’  Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’”

You can know Jesus, Jesus can be your Lord and Savior, and yet, if you are not doing the will of the Father, you will not be getting into heaven. Take a look at the things you are doing and look at the motive behind them. Are you praying for other people because you really care about those people, or are you praying for people so that you look good to others? Are you saying the rosary and attending mass because you want to be there, because of your love for the Lord, or are you doing that so that others see you and think you are a very holy person?

The Pharisees and Sadducees followed the letter of the law. They made sure their prayers were out in the open, and they were long so that everyone could see how “holy” they were. They made sure they were doing what it said they had to do. However, they weren’t following the heart of the law. They were more concerned with the rules than they were with the people. We can sometimes hear about the Pharisees and Sadducees and think we would never act like they do. However, if we really examined our behavior, I am not sure that is true.

Have we ever called someone out in an unloving way? We tell ourselves we are trying to help them, we are trying to get them into heaven, and yet we do not do it in a loving way. Have we ever walked by someone in need on the street and not stopped to see if we could help? Have we ever treated someone in need badly? How many times have we walked by the cold, the hungry, the thirsty, and not even bothered to look over at them? Jesus is in each one of us. Not each one of us that is doing good, that has our stuff together. Jesus is in those who are homeless, who are hungry, who are in need, who are in jail. When we do for them, we are doing for Him.

We are all called to the same repentance that John the Baptist was calling people to 2,000 years ago. We need to repent and turn back to the Lord. This is not a one-time thing. It isn’t that we repent and we turn back, and then we are good. We have to be constantly turning back as we are constantly turning away. We might not feel as though we are turning away, and yet we slowly begin to put all these things before the Lord. We slowly, or not so slowly, begin to mess up again. We begin to turn away from the Lord and towards the world. The Lord is patient, and He waits for us to come back to Him. He welcomes us back with open arms.

I think the moral of this verse is to repent and change our ways. To ensure everything we do is living according to the way Jesus called us to live. I also think it is important never to assume, just because we are children of God, that we are going to heaven. I think that is dangerous because if we assume all we have to do is accept Jesus as our Saviour, then we can live however we want to live. That is not what it says in the Bible that we get to do as we please. It says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” Are we doing the will of the Father? Do we need to repent and begin again?

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, we want to enter the kingdom of heaven. Please help us. Please put on our hearts any things we need to repent. Please put on our hearts any ways we are not following your will. Show us what you want us to do, Lord! We love you. You are so amazing. You are the King of kings and Lord of lords. We are so grateful for all you do for us. 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 meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

www.findingtruenorthcoaching.com

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Saul’s Jealousy

1 Samuel 18:6-9 " At the approach of Saul and David, on David’s return after striking down the Philistine, women came out from all the cities of Israel to meet Saul the king, singing and dancing, with tambourines, joyful songs, and stringed instruments. The women played and sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, David his tens of thousands.” Saul was very angry and resentful of the song, for he thought: “They give David tens of thousands, but only thousands to me. All that remains for him is the kingship.”  From that day on, Saul kept a jealous eye on David.”

This verse takes place after David killed Goliath. David was not a soldier, he was a little brother to two of the soldiers, and his mom had asked him to bring his brothers some lunch. After he killed the Philistine, women from all around the city came out to meet Saul, who was the king. These women were singing a song that said Saul has slain thousands, David his tens of thousands.” When Saul heard this song, he became angry and resentful. He let this thought consume him. He thought, now that they are saying he killed more than me, they are going to make him king.

Several things are going on here in this passage. First, when Saul thinks the people will make David the King, he forgets who made him king. It was not the people it was the Lord our God. What God has put in place, man cannot undo. David does eventually become King, but not because the people chose him, but because God chose him. Saul starts down a path of not listening to the Lord and not obeying the commands He gives him. In 1 Samuel 15:10-11, it says, “Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel:  I regret having made Saul king, for he has turned from me and has not kept my command. At this, Samuel grew angry and cried out to the Lord all night.” If Saul had been more concerned with the Lord's thoughts instead of what the people were saying, he would have had nothing to worry about anything. He would have had the Lord protecting him.

Jealousy is a dangerous thing. David had just done a great thing for Saul. He killed the giant that no one else would kill. Every person in Saul’s army was cowering from this giant. David walks in to give his brothers lunch and ends up killing this giant. That is a wonderful thing. Saul is happy, and he is rejoicing. Then he hears these women singing a song that says David killed more people than him, and he becomes jealous. It’s just a song! This just goes to show how easy it is to be jealous. The interesting part is that the song isn’t even true.

They were singing this song after David killed Goliath. At this point, David was not a great commander of the army. David was a shepherd boy who had killed one giant. Saul was the king, so I doubt he killed thousands of men either. I bet his men probably did, but being king, I don’t think he was out there killing thousands of men.

When we hear something that makes us jealous, the first thing we should do is think about what was said and if it is true or not. If Saul had stopped for a minute to think about the words to this song, he would have realized that there was no truth to them. He would have realized that they didn’t mean anything. It was just a fun song to sing. However, he didn’t. He just heard the song and let it take root in his heart. He became overcome with jealousy, and it said, “From that moment on, Saul kept a jealous eye on David.” So many wasted years of jealousy, and for what? Because of one line of lyrics in a song?

We may look at Saul, and we think he is silly to get so upset over this song. Yet, how many silly things do we get jealous over? How many times have you been jealous of a family member or a friend for something that was not a big deal? Have you ever been jealous over something that wasn’t even true? Did you stop to check and see if it was true before you got upset?  

Jealousy can be hard to deal with. It is difficult when you see others are getting things you want but can’t seem to have. Jealousy is something that is involuntary. You hear something, and then you get a feeling of jealousy. This is something that you can’t control. However, you can control whether you entertain the idea or not. We get many thoughts passing through our heads each hour of each day. We do not spend time with each one of them. We don’t give them all attention. We get to decide what thoughts we are going to give attention to and which ones we are going to let pass by and just ignore.

If you are finding yourself getting jealous and you are unable to ignore the thoughts, I learned last night in Encounter a few practical steps you can take to get rid of those jealous feelings. First, bring your jealousy to the Lord. Tell Him what you are feeling and why and He will help you deal with whatever is making you jealous. Second, renounce the spirit of jealousy. This is easy to do. It is one simple sentence. In the name of Jesus, I renounce the spirit of jealousy, and I command it to leave right now. Next, thank the Lord for that person. Thank him for bringing your friend into your life. Thank Him for all the good times you and your friend have had. If it is not a friend, thank him for whoever it is that you are jealous of and what they have contributed to your life or the life of others. The last thing to do is to bless that person. Ask the Lord to bless that person and their family. Ask the Lord to use the thing you are jealous of to bless that family.

If you can do this when you start to feel jealous, you will notice that the jealousy stops, and you start to feel good, warm feelings toward whoever/whatever made you jealous. Jealousy is not a good feeling. It is not something that you want to feel. However, when you do the steps above, you will stop the negative feelings, and you will replace them with good feelings of gratitude and blessings. Give it a try. What do you have to lose?

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today! Lord, we are so grateful for all you have given us, and we ask that you help us to be even more grateful. Lord, we are sorry we get jealous at times. Please help us to be happy for others instead of being jealous of others. Lord, help us to remember and follow the steps above so that we can overcome our jealousy and just be happy and joy-filled. We love you, Lord, 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 apologize for not putting out a devotional yesterday morning. I was still at the retreat and was just enjoying being there with the 10 wonderful ladies who were able to make it. It was an awesome retreat where everyone had a great time, and everyone bonded pretty quickly. The food was amazing! If you are living in New England and are looking for a great retreat house, I would check out Holy Cross Retreat House in North Easton, MA. The retreat director, Nancy, is amazing, and they hired a new chef, Kerry, who is amazing too! Our experience there was great! I am already thinking of when my next retreat will be, and I hope you will all be able to join me next time. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day.

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The Power of Eucharistic Adoration

Eucharistic Adoration is something I didn’t really do before my first retreat. I am not sure I even knew it was a thing. Then when I went to Adoration for the first time, I was not really sure what I should do. I remember being moved by the way the monstrance looked. It was so beautiful. I could not believe we could sit there and talk to Jesus. I know we can always talk to Jesus, but this was different. This was talking to Him with Him being right there. I picture Him just sitting on the altar, having a conversation with me. It is a beautiful experience.

I have had some people ask why I go to Adoration. Why don’t I just talk to Jesus from wherever I am? If you are thinking this too, I want to reassure you I do talk to Jesus anywhere and everywhere. Adoration is different because you are taking the time out of your busy day to drive to wherever Adoration is and dedicating time to just sit with Him. The best comparison I can think of would be visiting a loved one’s grave site. Somehow, being there at the grave site, you feel closer to your loved one. It feels as though you are there with them. You can talk to your deceased family members anywhere. So, why do you go to the grave site?

I remember a few very powerful experiences I had during Adoration. One time I was sitting in Adoration, and since I had not been before, I did not know what to do. I decided I was going to read the Bible while I was there. The one problem, I didn’t know where to start. Ok, I thought, maybe I will read about the 10 commandments. Another problem, I had no idea where I would find the 10 commandments in the Bible. I was very new to reading the Bible (if you can’t tell). I talked to God, and I told Him I had heard of people asking God where something was in the Bible and then just opening it randomly and ending up on the right page. I decided I would try this. I feel like I had tried it before with no luck, but I tried again anyway.

I asked God to show me where in the Bible it talks about the 10 commandments. I randomly opened my Bible, and there they were, the 10 commandments. I could not believe it. It was amazing! I decided to try again. I do not even remember what I asked for next, but I turned to a random page, and it was exactly what I was looking for. I was in awe.

I was so grateful. I couldn’t believe God, with all that He does, would take the time to show me where something is in the Bible. I was at the gift shop later that weekend, and I found a necklace that looked just like the monstrance. It was a triangle with rounded edges, and it had a diamond in the middle to represent the host. I bought it as a reminder that Jesus is always with us. I feel such joy just remembering that time in Adoration.

The next year I went to Adoration, at the same retreat location. I prayed that I could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. I know He is always with us, but I wanted to feel His presence in a real, tangible way. I was praying, and I closed my eyes, and I saw this light. It was a white ball of light, and it was as if it was dancing on the back of my eyelids. It was so beautiful. I wanted it to last forever. I did not want to open my eyes because I did not want the light to disappear. It did not last for a long time. It was probably less than a minute. I remember just sitting there in awe again that God had shown up.

Why are we always surprised when God shows up? God tells us He will always show up, and then we are surprised when He does. Maybe it is because we are used to living in a world filled with humans. Humans don’t always show up. We make mistakes, we make bad choices, we hurt people sometimes without meaning to, and sometimes we say we will show up, and we don’t. God wants to be with us. If we ask Him, if we invite Him into our lives, He will enter our lives and transform them.

I wish I could tell you every time I go to Adoration, I have experiences like these two. I do not. Maybe it is because I am not asking for this type of experience each time. Maybe it is because He knows I do not need it. I am not sure. I do know I enjoy going to Adoration and spending time with God. I like that I can go and be in the same room with Him.

When I first started going to Eucharistic Adoration, I did not know what to do. I thought I would address this since many of you might be in the same boat. To be clear, there is no right or wrong way to do Adoration. God just wants us to be with Him, He does not care what we are doing when we come to be with Him. He would be happy if we just came and sat with Him. In fact, on March 14, 2019, at my charismatic prayer group, one of the ladies received this word, “My children, I love you to be with me. I do not need your effort, I do not need your talents, for I alone will make you fruitful. Just relax, be empty, and be with me.” However, there are many things you could do if you do not want to just go and sit there and enjoy the quiet.

You could say the Rosary while you are there. Currently, when I go to Adoration, I say the Rosary. I have not always done that, but with the craziness of the world today, we need all the help we can get. Many churches have rosary beads and pamphlets on how to say the Rosary in case you are new to say it. You can look in the appendix of this book to see how to say the Rosary. There is also the Chaplet of Divine Mercy that you can say on Rosary beads. You will find this in the appendix as well.

Another option would be to read scripture. You can open randomly to a section of the Bible and start reading. If you don’t want to randomly open the Bible and are wondering about a good place to start, I would suggest starting with the New Testament and going on from there. The psalms and proverbs are also good starting places. Wherever you choose to start, read a little of the Bible and then reflect on what you have just read. What does it mean? Do you have any questions? How does it make you feel?

I usually take my prayer journal and write to God while I am in Adoration. I write about my day, any things I need help with, any prayer requests, and anything else I want to tell Him. Then I wait and listen to what He has to say to me. I think this is something a lot of us do not do. We talk to God an awful lot, but we don’t stop and listen to what He has to say back to us. I have always had a hard time just sitting still and trying to listen to what God has to say to me. Now, instead of trying to sit quietly and listen, I ask God to speak to me through my pen, and I write anything that comes into my mind. This has been so great. For me, it is a much easier way to hear what God wants to tell me, and I also have a record of what He said since I was writing it down as it came to me. You may be skeptical that this could work for you, but I think if you gave it a try, you would be pleasantly surprised at the outcome.

For those of you who would like more structure, I have you covered too. I found this book called “Miracle Hour” by Linda Schubert. I highly recommend you get this book if you get the chance. It is a short book (33 pages) that describes “a method of prayer that will change your life.” Linda talks about breaking your holy hour up into 12 five-minute segments. The twelve segments are Praise, Sing to the Lord, Spiritual Warfare, Surrender, Release of the Holy Spirit, Repentance, Forgiveness, Scripture Reflections, Waiting for the Lord to Speak, Intercessions, Petitions, and Thanksgiving. In her book, she goes into detail on what you could say for each of those 12 sections. I loved finding this book because I am someone who likes to have directions on how to do something. Some people love to be told there is no right or wrong way to do something. I am not one of those people.

Right before finding this book, I decided I was going to wake up an hour earlier than usual each morning and spend that time with God. I was very excited about this new idea and couldn’t wait to see how much I grew in my faith during this one hour. The next morning I woke up ready to grow. However, there were so many choices for things I could do for that one hour I couldn’t decide how to spend it. Some days I would read the Bible, do my prayer journal, or maybe say the Rosary. Whatever you do is great as you are spending time with God and dedicating time to him. I was struggling because it would take me 20 minutes of the hour to figure out what I wanted to do. I was craving structure, and then I found this book at a Life in the Spirit seminar I went to, and I was so happy to have some structure.

I know the benefits of Eucharistic Adoration, and I truly enjoy going. I also struggle to find the time to go. I put on my goals sheet (which I fill out each month) and go to Eucharistic Adoration once a week. I wrote this for about 4 months before I actually started going. Our days are busy, and life happens, and we do not make time for everything. I was speaking to a friend about my struggle with wanting to go but not actually getting there, and she suggested I sign up for an hour each week. For me, this was a great suggestion, as I do have the time to go. I was just filling that time with less important things. However, if I have a commitment to show up and be there, I will show up and be there.

If you have never been to Eucharistic Adoration, and you are looking for ways to increase or strengthen your faith, then my suggestion would be to give it a try. Many churches have certain times a month they offer Adoration. Some churches have perpetual Adoration, which means they have Adoration 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can go to onto

http://www.therealpresence.org/states/srtby_st.htm and find where Adoration is offered in your state. 

Thank you for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I.

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Are You Thirsty?

Isaiah 55:1-3 "All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come, buy grain and eat; Come, buy grain without money, wine and milk without cost! Why spend your money for what is not bread, your wages for what does not satisfy? Only listen to me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare. Pay attention and come to me; listen, that you may have life. I will make with you an everlasting covenant, the steadfast loyalty promised to David.”

The verse of the day on Biblegateway today was Isaiah 55:6. However, when I started to read the whole chapter, this first part of the verse stood out to me. I researched the verses and what they meant, as I was not sure I understood the deeper meaning. I read a really great article titled “The Great Invitation: Come! Drink! Eat! Live!” by John Piper. I will place a link for the article in the show notes. This article gave me a better understanding of what these verses were saying. 

The verse begins by saying, “All you who are thirsty, come to the water!” This is an invitation to all of us who are thirsty. All of us who are searching for more. We are looking for the living water that Jesus talks about. The verse also says, “You who have no money.” So the first group who are being invited are those who are thirsty and yet have no money to pay. The article talks about how these people have a thirst in their hearts. The author says these are the people whose “hearts feel like the brown grass in my backyard. It hasn’t rained for a long time. A lot of old hopes have dried up. Dreams have waited and almost died. Dead-end streets again and again. Empty. Unfulfilled. Dissatisfied. Knowing there has to be something more to life.” He talks about how everything good seems out of reach, and you have run out of strength and motivation.

If this is you, the Lord is speaking to you in this verse, He is inviting you into the banquet of salvation. You who have no money, you who have no power and no prestige. You who have no resources. He is calling you to Him, to the one who has it all and can give it all to you. You are exactly who the Lord is looking for in this first verse.

If that is not you, if you do have money, you do have resources and power, then you might fall into the second category of who God is inviting in. Next, it says, “Why spend your money for what is not bread, your wages for what does not satisfy?” The next group of people God is inviting is those who do have money, those who do have the strength to work. This second group of people are self-sufficient. The author describes them like this, “He’s not like the other guy — burnt out, at the end of his rope. He is still spending and still working, dreaming, chasing, searching, experimenting — a different job, different city, different car, different house, different wife, new computer, new boat, new books, new bike, new grill, new season tickets, new diet, new looks — there’s still a lot of looking around left in this person. But still no pot at the end of the rainbow. No fountain of youth. And every triumph peters out. The applause fades. The boat is boring. The style passes. Everything new gets old, and the options get fewer and fewer.”

Does that sound like you? Do you have all the things, and yet you are not happy? Are you constantly searching for the next big thing that will finally fulfill the desire you have or will finally make you happy? Do you know you have this deep hole inside of you longing and needing something that just can’t seem to be filled? No matter how self-sufficient you appear to be on the outside, you can’t seem to fill that hole on the inside.

I think most of us would fall into one of these two categories. The article asks, “What are we offered in these verses?” First, we are offered water, wine & milk. He says that these drinks correspond to the deep needs we all have. Water corresponds to the need for refreshment. When we are thirsty and dehydrated, it is water that we want. Nothing else does the trick. In Psalms 23:2-3 it says, “He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.” This morning God is inviting you to receive refreshment & restoration. He is inviting you into a new beginning.

Milk corresponds to our need for nourishment. When someone is thirsty, you give them water. However, when you want babies to grow, you give them milk. This tells us that God is not just for emergencies. He is not just for the times when you feel dehydrated. He is there for the long hall. We don’t just give kids milk every now and then. They usually drink it every day. The same is true for the Lord. You can go to him continually, every single day, to get your nourishment. The author states, "He invites you not only to come alive with water but also to be stable and strong with milk.”

Wine corresponds to the need for exhilaration. We need the water to live and not die. We need the milk to grow and be nourished. And yet that is not all we need in life. “No matter how stoic, unemotional, laid-back or poker-faced we may seem to others, there is still a child inside of every one of us that God made for exhilaration—for shouting and singing and dancing and playing and skipping and running and jumping and laughing.” So, what verse one is telling us is that God wants to revive us from dehydration with His water, help nourish us and make us stronger with His milk, and give us exhilaration with His wine.

The second half of the verse above says, “Only listen to me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare. Pay attention and come to me; listen, that you may have life. I will make with you an everlasting covenant, the steadfast loyalty promised to David.” Here the Lord is telling us to come to Him to listen to Him. Verse 3 tells us that we can have the same kind of covenant that God had with David. I am not sure if you know a lot about David or not, but God showed favor to David. David was very blessed and looked after. That does not mean he had an easy life, he did not. However, God did bless him and all he did. I definitely would like to share in that covenant with the Lord.

The article talks about four things we need to do in order to get these benefits. First, we need to listen to God’s word. Are we doing that, or are we listening to the words of the world? Next, he said we are called to come, buy, eat & enjoy. Here is his conclusion that explains what this means: “

1. If you are distant from God, you need to come, draw near.
2. If you have drawn near in recent days or just this morning, but hold back from any transaction analyzing and appraising, you need to buy. I admit it is a strange transaction: there is no price and you are spiritually bankrupt. But you must take this water and milk and wine, and count it yours just as much as if you had bought it, for there is one who has bought it.
3. If you have made the transaction and hold the water and milk and wine in your hand, you need to eat. God is not a thing to be studied. He is a person to be experienced. He is food and life and joy for the soul.
4. Finally, if you have eaten, delight yourself in the Lord. And say with the psalmist, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11)."

CLICK HERE for the article. I highly encourage you to read the article. I have tried to summarize it for you, and yet the author goes into so much more detail. I think you will really enjoy the full article.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, you are amazing, and we love you. Lord, we thank you for calling us to you over and over again. We thank you that you do not give up on us when we continually turn away from you and turn toward the world. Lord, help us to come to you. Help us to listen to your word and to study your word. Help us to obtain the water, milk, and wine that you have available for us. We thank you, Lord, for all the wonderful things you do for us. You are the king of kings and the Lord of Lords. You are truly amazing! We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen!

Thank you all for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to meeting you here again in the morning. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I. Have a blessed day.

www.findingtruenorthcoaching.com

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Today I will read a Facebook message from a mom whose son was in an accident. I do not know this family personally. One of my Big Life sisters does, and so she asked for prayers on our mentoring page and kept us updated. There were so many people praying for this young man. This mom’s name is Megan, and she got that phone call that no one wants to receive. That phone call where the sheriff says those four words that change your life forever, “There’s been an accident.” I will probably do another Witness Wednesday on this family later, as there have been so many miracles going on. God has definitely been showing off for this boy and His family. Today’s miracle is about how he was discovered and how if it weren’t for his phone, he wouldn’t be alive today. It’s crazy to me that God even works through cell phones. I will let her explain what happened.

If there is one thing that I want people to know about Creighton’s accident, it is about the importance of having crash detection on your phone. We can say with great certainty that, without crash detection, my son wouldn’t be alive today.

On June 30th, my 17-year-old son was in a rollover accident while driving back to town to go to work. He was driving on a quiet, rural highway in the dark hours of the morning when the accident happened. I got the call a little after 6:00 am from the Sumner County Deputy. The first thing she asked me when I answered the phone was to identify which person in my home drove a red truck. After I told her it was my son Creighton, she said, “You need to get to St. Francis Hospital as soon as possible. He’s been in a rollover accident.” That was the longest 25-minute drive of my life, not knowing what condition he would be in when I got there, only going off the knowledge that I had to identify him, meaning he wasn’t consciously able to tell them who he was on the scene.

When we got to the hospital, we were met at the ER doors by a chaplain. He told us that Creighton was alive (and I finally exhaled for the first time since my phone rang that morning) but that he was in critical condition and they were working on him in the Trauma ICU. He walked us to a room to wait for more information while his medical team worked to stabilize him.

While we were waiting for an update, I was contacted by a Sheriff who was on the scene, letting me know that his team of responders were all thinking of us. Desperate for any sort of information, I had my brother-in-law call him to ask about the details of the accident. He told us that the call came in at 5:18 that morning. He detailed for us their assessment of the scene. They believe Creighton’s car swerved off the road into an embankment, causing his truck to become airborne, rolling end over end when it came back down and ejecting him from the vehicle at some point in the collision. His body was found about 60 feet from his truck. He told us that Creighton was extremely hypoxic when the responders got to him, and he had to be intubated in the field. Over the next few hours, he remained in contact with us. We gave him updates, and he sent us pictures of the truck. We eventually asked the sheriff who called in the accident. He said, “Your son’s phone called 911. He has crash detection on his phone. It detected the accident and called us. When he didn’t respond to us, we dispatched to his location.” We were told that, with where he was in the ditch, it would’ve been difficult for anyone driving by to see him. When they arrived on the scene, the sun was just now coming up. There was little to no traffic and no good samaritans that had found him yet. He was alone and barely alive. Had his phone not had crash detection on it, Creighton wouldn’t still be here.

His injuries are extensive, and he has a long road to recovery. Once he is more stable and off the ventilator, we will travel with him to Madonna Rehab in Nebraska, where he will spend a couple of months in rehabilitation for his brain and spinal cord injuries. We have a positive outlook for his recovery, and he’s already shown us how much of a fighter he is. As heart-wrenching as it is to watch your child fight for their life, I am indescribably thankful that he still gets the chance to fight.

Please share his story and make others aware of the benefits of having crash detection on your phone. Newer versions of the iPhone (I was told it is iPhone 14 and newer) have this feature built into the phone. There are also apps, like Life360, where you can pay a small fee every month to add crash detection to all of your family’s phones. I hope you never need to use it, but if you or your loved one were ever to have an accident, I can promise you will be forever grateful for how quickly they are able to get help. 

Wow, what a story. Thank the good Lord above that he had crash detection on his phone. Not only was it an option, but it was turned on. God is so good. This accident happened on June 30th, and I saw on the Facebook page that Creighton is now home! Praise God! The Facebook post that says he is home was from September 27th. So, almost 3 months later, he finally gets to come home. There were so many moments of uncertainty if that day would ever come—so many times when it was one step forward and 3 steps back. However, thanks be to God, Megan has all five of her children under the same roof again! It doesn’t look the same as it did before the accident, but she said having them all under the same roof will be something she never takes for granted again! If you want to read more about this young man’s journey, there is a Facebook page with all the posts about him. If you put in the search bar #creightonstrong, you will see all the posts. I am grateful to the mom for sharing her story. Who knows how many other children she can save by informing parents about crash detection? It was not something I had ever heard of before. Thank you to Megan for sharing this story, and thank you to Jenni, who shared it with the Big Life family so we could all cover this family in prayers. You can certainly see God’s fingerprints all over this situation.

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How Long, Lord?

Psalm 13:4-5 “How long, Lord? Will you utterly forget me? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I carry sorrow in my soul, grief in my heart day after day? How long will my enemy triumph over me? Look upon me, answer me, Lord, my God! Give light to my eyes lest I sleep in death, Lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed,” lest my foes rejoice at my downfall. But I trust in your mercy. Grant my heart joy in your salvation, I will sing to the Lord, for he has dealt bountifully with me!”

When I read this Psalm today, I decided to use the whole Psalm instead of just a verse, as I think it is a beautiful example of the cycle of emotions we can go through. The Psalm starts out with lamenting. “How long, Lord, will you utterly forget me? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I carry sorrow in my soul, grief in my heart day after day? How long will my enemy triumph over me?” I am sure we have all been here. I am sure each person listening has had at least one time in their life when they were wondering if the difficult time would ever end. I am sure we have all wondered how long we would have to suffer. I think we have all had a time or two where we wondered if the Lord had turned away from us because it seemed like He abandoned us. Can you remember a time you felt like this? Maybe you are in this lamenting season right now.

I prayed over a man last night who was in such a season. He has been struggling for over a year with a work injury, and it has been one nightmare after another. It has been really stressful for him. He is finally starting to have some peace about the situation, and now the enemy is coming in and trying to take that peace from him. There are a lot of unknowns in his situation, and yet he is choosing to trust the Lord. Trusting the Lord doesn’t mean everything will suddenly be easy. I am sure he will have similar questions to the ones above. How long will I be without work, Lord? How will I pay my bills, Lord? How will I get sleep when my mind won’t stop thinking?

He told me the Lord reminded him of something the other day. When all the thoughts and doubts started to flood his mind, the Lord reminded him of a song that he used to sing at church when he was younger. He just started singing this song, and then his thoughts quieted down. This is such a great witness to the power of praise and praise music. When the enemy is attacking, you start to praise the Lord. The enemy is attacking because he wants you to turn against the Lord. When you start praising him, the enemy flees. Even if you don’t know what to say, you can just say “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus” repeatedly.

The next part of the Psalm says, “Look upon me, answer me, Lord, my God! Give light to my eyes lest I sleep in death, Lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed,” lest my foes rejoice at my downfall.” How many of us have been here? How many of us have begged God to do something, to look at us, to help us? The author of this Psalm is asking the Lord for help. He is asking the Lord to save him. He asks the Lord to bring him into the light before it is too late. Have you ever felt like if the Lord didn’t save you soon, it would be too late? I know I have.

I had surgery one time when I was younger. It was an outpatient procedure. Tony was taking me home to recuperate, and we stopped at the grocery store to pick up some comfort food for recovery. I didn’t feel well and thought I might pass out. We sat on a bench, and I passed out. I remember feeling like I had been out for a long time, and then I heard someone say, “Call 911.” I remember thinking that if they hadn’t even been called yet, then I wasn’t going to make it until they got there. I was taken to the hospital, and I was fine, but I definitely was praying at that moment for God to help me immediately.

The Psalm also says, “Lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed,” lest my foes rejoice at my downfall.” We don’t want the enemy to be able to say they won. We already know who wins the war between good and evil, and it is good. When Jesus died on the cross, He defeated death and evil once and for all! God is not going to let evil overcome us.

Finally, the psalm ends with the author reassuring the Lord of his trust. “But I trust in your mercy. Grant my heart joy in your salvation, I will sing to the Lord, for he has dealt bountifully with me!” In the span of a few lines, the author goes from lamenting to begging God for help, to reassuring God that he trusts Him, and then he is singing to the Lord for all He has done. This is not uncommon. Sometimes in the course of praying for things, we realize how much God has done for us in the past, and our petitions or our lamenting turns to praise.

I was reading the devotional titled “Jesus Calling.” It is an awesome devotional with messages from the Lord for each day of the year. I really liked today’s as it goes with the message of this episode. I will leave you with the words from this devotional: 

When many things seem to be going wrong, trust me. When your life feels increasingly out of control, thank me. These are supernatural responses, and they can lift you above your circumstances. If you do what comes naturally in the face of difficulties, you may fall prey to negativism. Even a few complaints can set you on a path that is a downward spiral by darkening your perspective and mindset. With this attitude controlling you, complaints flow more and more readily from your mouth. Each one moves you steadily down the slippery spiral, but it is possible to apply brakes. Cry out to me in my name! Affirm your trust in Me, regardless of how you feel. Thank me for everything, though this seems unnatural – even irrational. Gradually you'll begin to ascend, recovering your lost ground.

When you are back on ground level, you can face your circumstances from a humble perspective. If you choose supernatural responses this time: trusting and thanking me – you will experience my most unfathomable peace.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to be with all those who are listening to this episode today. Lord, I ask you to be with all of us who are in a difficult place right now. Lord, please shine your light into the darkness. Please fill us with hope that you will save us before it is too late. Fill us with hope that our enemies won’t be able to say they defeated us. Lord, help us remember to praise you when times are hard. Remind us to thank you when times are hard. Help us not get caught up in negativity and keep us from falling down that slippery spiral. Show us how to apply the brakes and get back on ground level. Lord, I pray in a special way for each and every person listening to this episode that feels lost. Help them feel seen, Lord. We love you, Lord, you are amazing! We ask all of this in accordance with the will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen!

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. Retreat registration has officially closed. I look forward to spending a few days with those who are able to come. It will be a great weekend. I look forward to meeting you here tomorrow with another witness. If you have a witness you would like to share, please let me know. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

www.findingtruenorthcoaching.com

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