Walk Boldly With Jesus

The Darkness Will Not Overtake You!

John 1:5 “ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.”

I read this the other day on someone’s Facebook post and knew I had to use it.  I know so many of us need to hear this right now.  The darkness you are feeling will not overtake you.  This is one of those verses we need to write on a sticky note or an index card and place somewhere we will see it often.  I feel like there are so many verses in the Bible for us to stand on when we struggle.  I was just thinking it would be nice to have a handy book or list of them, and then we can pull out the ones we need when we need them.  Then the Holy Spirit reminded me of these little books called “Book of God’s Promises” or something like that.  I believe it has verses broken up into categories.  Although you don’t even have to buy a book, you can do a quick internet search of Bible verses for your struggles. For instance, Bible verses about anxiety, worry, fear, or whatever the struggle is for you.

I wish every single person who is struggling with the darkness right now knew that they would come out of it.  I wish they knew it wouldn’t last forever. I know several people who were in a deep pit of despair and darkness, and now they are out of it.  While they were in it, they didn’t know it wouldn’t consume them.  They didn’t know there was a way out.  When you are alone in the darkness, you can’t see anything.  I just got this image of trying to find my bed at night after turning the bathroom light off.  I walk very slowly, usually with my hands out so I can feel the things that are in front of me.  I always make it to my bed, and I usually do it without getting hurt.  Although, sometimes, I do stub my toe or run into the corner of the bed or something.  

The difference is I have walked in my bedroom most days for the past eight years.  I have walked around my bedroom in the light and in the dark.  I know where everything is located.  It is not the same as walking in the darkness in unfamiliar territory, like when I stay at a hotel or something.  Oftentimes, when we are walking in the darkness that life brings, we don’t know the way.  It is all unfamiliar to us.  Even if we have been in a similar situation before, the darkness that comes with it can be different each time.  Sometimes, you might be angry. Other times, you might be sad or anxious.  When this happens, you don’t know what to do.  You just feel alone and lost.  You walk around with your hands out, trying to feel your way through life.  Actually, when you are in the darkness of life, you might be trying hard not to feel your way through life.

Sometimes, we don’t want to feel because it hurts too much!  We would rather turn off our emotions or stuff them down deep so that they can’t hurt us.  I get that.  Feeling our emotions makes us feel vulnerable.  Our society isn’t super accepting of emotions.  Also, because we live in a broken world, we might have been hurt many times when we have allowed our emotions to be seen or even to be felt.  Has this happened to you?  Have you shut off your emotions at times because they just hurt too much?  If so, I know what that feels like.  I know why you did it, and it was your mind trying to protect you.  What God wants you to know now is that you can always feel safe sharing your emotions with Him.

You never have to hide them or keep them from Him.  Sometimes, we might want to because we are ashamed of our emotions.  For instance, if we have been waiting and praying for something for a long time, and it seems as though our prayers have gone unanswered, then this might make us angry or disappointed with God.  However, we don’t think this is acceptable.  Aren’t we supposed to be grateful for all that we have?  Aren’t we supposed to give praise and thanksgiving in all things?  If we are angry with God, how can we give praise and thanksgiving?  How can we be grateful when it seems like our prayers are not being answered?

God doesn’t mind when we are mad at Him.  If there is anyone who understands anger, frustration, and things not being fair, it would be Him. We saw Jesus get angry when He walked the earth.  Remember when he turned the tables over in the temple? I am pretty sure Jesus knows what it is like for things not to be fair.  He was crucified for our sins, not His own.  I don’t think God minds when we are angry at Him.  When we finally admit it, when we release that anger and share it with Him, He can start to heal our hearts.  When we hide it from Him, He can’t heal it because He respects our free will.  He won’t force Himself on us.  

If you are in darkness right now, take a moment and think about what you are feeling.  Have you talked to God about it?  Have you been truthful to God about what you are feeling?  Do you even know how you feel about God?  Maybe you aren’t sure.  Maybe you are confused because you love Him, and yet you feel abandoned by Him.  I had a friend ask me once if I knew what it felt like when I expected a loved one to do something for me. I was sure they were going to do it, and then they didn’t.  I told her yes.  She said this is how she was feeling about God right now.  She realized it wasn’t as much anger as it was disappointment.  God can handle our anger, He can handle our disappointment, He can handle whatever it is we are feeling.  We need to share it with Him, though.  We need to ask Him for help dealing with it.  We need to give Him permission to come in and heal all the pain.  

If you are walking through darkness right now, please hear me when I say that IT WILL NOT OVERCOME YOU! God is right there with you, taking each step.  He is shining a light, and His light can penetrate the darkness, but you have to look for it.  What is one tiny piece of light in your day today?  If you look for it, you will find it.  Was it sunny today? Did you get a green light just when you needed it?  Did a friend say hi today? Did you see something in nature?  Was your cup of coffee or tea extra good today?  What is that one bright spot in the darkness? The more you are on the lookout, the more you will find.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, help us to find the light in the darkness.  Help us to feel your presence in the darkness. Help us to understand that no matter what it feels like, this darkness will not consume us. It will not overcome us.  Help us to know in the depths of our souls that you will save us. You will bring us out of the darkness.  Lord, help us to share our emotions with you.  Help us to be honest with you.  We love you, Lord. Help us trust you. You are amazing, and you are with us always.  We are so grateful, 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 want to remind you to check out the details about the retreat I am hosting.  If you are able to come, then I look forward to hanging out with you and sharing an amazing weekend together.  If you can not come this time, I hope you will join me in the future.  I have a link in the show notes for retreat info, or you can go to Walkboldlywithjesus.com. 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 God of Abundance

2 Corinthians 9:8 "And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.

Today’s episode will be a bit different.  Yesterday, I was listening to a recording of my prayer group meeting from June 29th.  I was not there as I was in Maine celebrating my parents’ 60th wedding anniversary.  We begin each prayer group meeting with a short teaching.  When I heard the scripture verse she used, I thought it would be a great verse for an episode.  As I listened, I realized what my friend Nancy was saying was something we should all hear.  So, instead of me talking about the verse this morning, you get the privilege of listening to my friend Nancy.  I will come back at the end to talk about my favorite parts and to do the prayer and closing. Wasn't that a great teaching? I love that she talked about God’s abundance as we live in a world of scarcity.  We worry we won’t have enough money, food, friends, or whatever it is.  Paul is telling us right here in this verse that is not how God thinks.  He is an abundant God who wants to give us more than we need.  Probably my favorite line in the whole teaching is when she said, "We must not let our experiences determine our interpretation of scripture, but scripture determines our experiences.” This is something I will take to prayer and ask the Lord how I can do this as I am not sure, but I know it was a powerful statement.  

It was also great how Nancy encourages us to start with those we already know, our current sphere of influence.  I also loved that she said, “We are Him in that place with those people.” And finally, I loved that she encouraged us to keep on praying with confidence, praying with thanksgiving, and praying with trust.  This was a short teaching, and yet there is so much in it.  I have listened to it several times, and I am still hearing new things.  I encourage you to listen to it again. Thank you so much, Nancy, for being such a faithful leader in our prayer group and for allowing me to share your teaching so that it can bless other people as well. 

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord, thank you for Nancy. She is a blessing to our prayer group and to all who know her.  Lord, we thank you for being a God of abundance.  We thank you for giving us all we need to get through each day.  Some days, we wish we had more, and yet we are thankful you give us all that we need.  You are amazing, Lord.  It is amazing you know exactly what each one of us needs, and it is awe-inspiring the way you fulfill those needs at times.  Such as someone miraculously finding $50 on the ground when that was the exact amount she had just asked you for.  Thank you for being You, for caring for your children so well.  We ask you to help us be more like you, Lord.  Help us to be You to those around us.  Help us to act in a way that when they see us, they see 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 meeting you here again on Monday.  Remember to check out the link in the show notes if you want information about the retreat.  I will have photos of the place we are staying very soon.  I hope you are able to join us. It will be an amazing weekend, and it is in just five weekends!! Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed weekend. CLICK HERE for retreat info

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All about the Angels

John 1:51 “And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

I saw a Bible verse yesterday on Facebook for John 1:5 “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” When I saw this, I thought that would be the verse for today.  Then, when I read the chapter of John 1 today, the story of Nathanael stuck out to me instead.  I was going to write about his story, and then I came to this line, and I felt like the Holy Spirit said, that is the verse for today.  So, I am not sure what the Lord wants to tell us all about angels today, but I am ready for it because I know angels are so amazing.  I have heard some pretty incredible stories about how angels have helped people.  

The Bible mentions angels 273 times.  I was surprised at this.  I am not sure why. I guess I just didn’t realize how often they were talked about in the Bible.  I went to a “Theology on Tap” night at a local hotel, and the priest was doing a talk about the angels.  It was really interesting.  He said that each person who is born has a guardian angel and that all the angels were created at the same time.  That means God knew from the very beginning of time how many people were going to exist in this world.  That seems so crazy to me to think about.  I mean, there are billions of people on Earth, and there are more being born each day.  To be more precise, there are 140 million babies born all over the world each year.  That means there are more than four babies born each minute of each day.  That is a lot of angels waiting up there in heaven for a job to do.  

Did you know you have a guardian angel?  I spoke to a friend one time who said she believed in angels. However, she did not believe that each of us had our own guardian angel.  She said that would just be too many angels.  Whether we believe it or not, we do, in fact, each have our own guardian angel.  Here are a few things I have learned about angels.  First, they have to respect our free will.  We need to give them permission to work in our lives.  If you have not done so, maybe just take a quick second and say, “Guardian angel, I give you permission to work in my life.” Just to make sure they know you approve.  Angels work for God; they aren’t going to do anything bad in your life, and I think you would be surprised at the things they can do in your life. 

I heard a story that Father Padre Pio, who is a saint, used to send his guardian angel ahead of him into any meetings that he had, and he would ask his angel to talk to the other peoples’ angels and help prepare their hearts so it would be a good meeting.  This can work for you, too.  When you are walking into a situation where you don’t know what to expect, or you are nervous or anxious, or you are worried the other person won’t be kind, you can send your angel ahead of you to speak with their angel and ask their angel to prepare their heart to hear what you have to say, or maybe soften their heart. I have told people about this before, and they reported good results when they have done it.  Give it a try sometime. What have you got to lose?

The second thing I learned about angels is that they want to do things for you.  Their whole job is to protect and guide you.  They are sitting around waiting for you to ask for their help or for you to put them to work.  They are there to guide you, so ask them to help you make decisions, ask them to help keep you on the right path, and ask them to remove obstacles that might get in your way or distract you.  You can talk to your angel. You can thank your angel.  I am guessing being an angel is a pretty thankless job because we don’t even know most of what they protect us from.  If we don’t know what they are doing, it can be hard to thank them for doing it.  However, if we are regularly talking with our guardian angel, we can say something like, “Thank you for all you do for me, even if I don’t see it.” Even if you don’t talk regularly, you could thank your angel every so often for all the unseen work they do.

Another thing I know about angels is that they can be in more than one place at a time.  So, you could send your angel to go and protect someone else, and yet they would still be with you.  For instance, I have a friend who told me every time she passes an accident or sees an ambulance pass by. She will ask her angel to go be with the person in the ambulance to protect and comfort them.  This does not leave her unprotected.  Her angel is with her as well.  This is amazing.  You can send your angel to be with your kids or your spouse if you are worried about them.  For instance, when your kids are not with you, when they are with friends, when they are in college, or when they move out of the house for the first time.  You can ask your angel to be with them and to help guide them to make good decisions.  You can also ask your angel to talk with their angel, and the two of them can work together to guide them.  

Angels can be a very real protection in times of danger.  Here is a story I read in the book “How to Live Like A King’s Kid.” The author was driving down a divided highway and to a meeting. The dividing strip was maybe 20 feet wide. Suddenly, a car coming from the other direction, going about 70, the same speed as he was traveling, started to cross the strip. It was headed straight for him. A 140 mph impact was in the making with him in the middle of it.  The car hurtling at him was less than 20 yards away when it suddenly shot straight up in the air and turned upside down. It was a convertible, the top was down, and people flew in all directions.  The car landed flat right next to him.  He kept driving.  He asked the Lord if he should stop, and the Lord said no, keep driving and intercede for those people.  He looked back, and there were a lot of others stopping, so he listened.  On Sunday, he gave a talk about this and then asked if anyone knew what happened.  Three people came up to him and told him the other car’s tire had popped and sent them out of control.  However, they were all thrown safely from the car, and although the car was totaled, every person in the car walked away from the accident.  That is definitely a miracle.  Here is what the author says, “A car traveling straight at you on a level Road does not suddenly jump straight up in the air. From straightforward motion to vertical motion is impossible unless you hit something curved to change the course, and that's what happened in the accident. The car's course was changed when it hit a curved surface, the curved circle of light that prevented darkness from entering and annihilating a king's kid. There were millions of foot-pounds of energy involved, but that's nothing for an angel of the Lord. Hallelujah, when we call upon the King, he works supernaturally to deliver us from trouble.”

This is only one example of how an angel has stepped in front of someone to protect them from danger.  I have heard many others. I am sure if you search the internet you will find many examples.  Maybe I will do a Witness Wednesday about some angel testimonies.  I will work on that for you guys.  In the meantime, give your angel permission to work in your life and talk with your angel, even though I don’t think they talk back.  Let them know you appreciate all the unseen things they do to keep you safe.  When you are in trouble, call upon them.  It doesn’t have to be bad trouble, like a car accident.  It could be as simple as you don’t have peace about a situation.  Ask them to help you find peace.  They are there to help, protect, and guide you, and mostly, they are bored waiting for us to ask them to intervene in our lives.  It is not a bother to them when we ask for help. They love it.  It makes them happy.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to protect all those listening to this episode today.  Lord, thank you so much for assigning each one of us a guardian angel.  Thank you for not bringing us into this world unprotected.  I am sorry that we forgot to call upon them.  I am sorry that we don’t all know we have one.  Please help us be more aware of our angel.  Please put it on our hearts to call on our angel whenever we need anything.  We love you, Lord, you are amazing!  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.  If you would like to join me in person, you are welcome to come to a retreat with me from October 7th-9th in Easton, MA.  It will be a great weekend where we will get to know each other, grow in our faith together, and spend some time with our heavenly Father.  I hope you will consider joining me.  If you would like more information, you can CLICK HERE for retreat info, or you can go to walkboldlywithjesus.com and click on retreat info. I look forward to seeing you here again tomorrow.  Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

www.findingtruenorthcoaching.com

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We have all seen God working in our lives; however, we might not all be aware it is God who is working in our lives.  This is why it is so important we start talking about it more.  The more we share our experiences, the more people understand how God works and how much He truly loves us.  If you would be willing to share any experience you have had of how God has worked or is working your life, please email me at [email protected] or just click here.  It won’t take up much of your time, and your story could be just the story that someone needs to hear today.  Prayerfully consider sharing.  Everyone has a story, and the world needs to hear them.  I look forward to spending time with you again tomorrow, and I will have another witness for you next Wednesday.  Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I. Have a blessed day!

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The Eucharist

John 6:48-51 “I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat of it and not die.  I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

Today’s verse is a difficult teaching.  It is one that turned a lot of those following Jesus away from Him.  They could not comprehend it, and it did not make any sense to them.  It is one that many religions disagree on as well. In the Catholic Church, we believe that the Eucharist becomes the actual body of Christ during mass.  We believe that during mass, the priest has the power, through the Holy Spirit, to change the wine and bread into the blood and body of Christ.  I do not have all the history of where this came from, but I do know that right here in this verse, Jesus said, “The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

The word we use for when the bread and wine are changed to the body and blood of the Eucharist is transubstantiation.  This means the change by which the substance (though not the appearance) of the bread and wine in the Eucharist becomes Christ’s real presence—that is, his body and blood. This is an amazing miracle that takes place at each and every mass all around the world.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church talks about the Eucharist and why we believe all that we believe.  In CCC 1336, it says, “The first announcement of the Eucharist divided the disciples, just as the announcement of the Passion scandalized them: “This is a hard saying” who can listen to it? The Eucharist and the Cross are stumbling blocks. It is the same mystery, and it never ceases to be an occasion of division. “Will you also go away?” The Lord’s question echoes through the ages as a loving invitation to discover that only he has “the words of eternal life” and that to receive the faith of the gift of the Eucharist is to receive the Lord himself.

My goal today is not to try and convince anyone of the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist.  My goal is to just talk about how beautiful it is that we get to actually have the body and blood of Jesus as part of our Mass.  When we go up for Communion, we are receiving Christ into our bodies.  We should prepare our bodies in a similar way that we would prepare a house if we were to have a guest.  We must get rid of any mortal sins that we are carrying around.  If you missed mass, you must go to Confession before receiving Christ into your body.  I know sometimes this can be hard for us because if we truly understand that it is Christ in the Eucharist, then we understand the power of the Eucharist.  It can be difficult to find a place and time to go to Confession, or at least that is what the enemy wants us to think.  In all actuality, there is probably confession going on most days within a 30-minute radius of you.

However, the enemy makes it very difficult for us to go to Confession because He knows how good it is for our souls.  At the time Confession is being offered, we will often forget or have completely random things come up.  Every time that we find it is offered, it seems very inconvenient. That is the enemy; don’t let Him fool you.  The temptation to go to the Eucharist, even though you have missed Mass, is very strong.  We tell ourselves we will go to Confession soon, but we don’t want to miss our chance to receive the graces that go along with Communion.  I get it; I have thought the same way in the past.  The problem is it is not about us; it is about Christ, and it is about being obedient to the laws of our church.  The Church has told us that it is a sin to go to communion when we have a mortal sin on our conscience, and missing Mass is a mortal sin.  That means when we go to communion after having missed mass, before confessing in the Sacrament of Confession, then we are sinning again.  Do we really want to bring Christ into our bodies when they are not ready?

Another way to prepare ourselves for receiving Christ is to be aware of how amazing it is that His presence is in the Eucharist and be reverent on the way up to the person dispensing it and also on our way back to our seat.  Think about how amazing Jesus is and how much He sacrificed for us on the way up to communion.  On your way back to your seat, thank Him for all He has done.  I heard Dr. Edward Sri talk at a conference once, and He said every time he receives the Eucharist, he says, “Thank you, Lord, please remain in me until I am able to receive you again.” I started saying that on my way back to my seat or right after I got there.  Church can be distracting, especially when everyone is walking up to communion.  We might be tempted to check out who is at Mass that day and what they are wearing. What if instead of doing that, we just spent the time with our heads down thinking about and talking to God about how amazing He is?  Wouldn’t that be a better use of our time?  

Another amazing thing we get to do as Catholics is Eucharistic Adoration.  Since we believe the Eucharist is the very real presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, then we can sit and adore Him.  If you have not ever gone to Eucharistic Adoration, I recommend you give it a try.  You get to sit in the room and adore Jesus.  There is no set thing you have to do when you spend time with Him, either.  You can pray, you can talk to Him, you can write in your prayer journal, and you can ask Him to help you work on something.  For instance, I will go to adoration to write some of my talks or to work on my book.  You can also sit there and do nothing.  I will admit this is the hardest for me.  It is hard for me just to go and sit with Him.  I feel guilty like I should be doing something.  However, He loves it when we just sit with Him.  

I hope you enjoyed today's look at the Eucharist.  I received this verse from the Lord yesterday, and yet I was unsure what exactly He wanted me to say about it.  I was also unsure if I should talk about it as I know many people who listen to this, and yet they are not Catholic.  However, I felt the Lord wanted me to talk about it, and today, I feel He gave me a lot more info about what He wanted me to say.  If you are Catholic and you are listening, I hope this episode helps give you a bit more reverence for what is actually going on at Mass and how you can prepare your body a bit to receive the Eucharist.  I hope it gave you some ideas of what to do on your way up to communion and what to do afterward.  I hope this is only the beginning and that you explore more about it on your own.  If you are not Catholic, I hope this provided you with a bit more insight into why we believe what we believe, and I am always happy to answer any questions you may have.  

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord, you are amazing.  Thank you for the gift of your son.  Thank you that He not only came to walk the Earth to teach us, not only did He sacrifice His life to save us, but He also is alive and well in the Eucharist, which, in some parts of the world, is available to us each and every day.  Thank you so much for Eucharistic Adoration as well.  Thank you for giving us so many opportunities to adore you and glorify you.  Lord, help us to see that we should prepare our bodies for you each week.  Help us to see what we are doing that might get in the way of us receiving you in a state of grace.  Convict our hearts to change anything that is not right, Lord.  We love you tons, 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 spoke with the retreat house yesterday to see if I could go and take some photos to upload to the retreat registration site.  She said she would be happy to send me some photos.  She said the new beds will be delivered this week.  She said there were lots of enhancements this summer for sure.  I am getting so excited as the retreat is just five weeks away!  If you have not signed up yet and want to come, please consider signing up soon, as it will be helpful for planning purposes if I know how many people will be coming.  You can always sign up now and pay later.  That way, I will have a head count. CLICK HERE for retreat info and registration.  I look forward to getting to spend the weekend with some of you! I look forward to bringing you another witness tomorrow as well.  Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

www.findingtruenorthcoaching.com

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Gossip Is Like Poison

Proverbs 16:28 “A perverse person spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends.”

What came to mind when I heard this verse was gossip.  I know I have talked about this before, and yet I think we can’t really over-emphasize how bad gossiping is.  We tend to think it is not that bad because you are just talking amongst your friends or family members, so the other person will never find out.  We think we have a right to sometimes as if we are just stating how we are feeling.  Nothing good comes from gossiping.  

Even if we are just talking to our family or our friends, it can still hurt the other person.  First of all, the other person usually finds out.  It is a much smaller world than you think, and someone will tell someone, who will tell that person.  However, even if they never find out what you said about them, there are still a few ways it can hurt that person. When you talk about someone, whether it is good or bad, what you say can and usually does affect the way the person you are talking to thinks about that person.  For instance, if you are talking to your friend, Jane, about how someone at church was rude to you the other day, then Jane has that thought in their head now for all future interactions with that person at church.  When they see that person, they will think of the thing you told them.  This can be a good thing if you are spreading good things about people.  For instance, if you were to tell Jane about how helpful this person at church was, then when she saw that person, she would think of how helpful she was to you.  

The problem with the things we say helping to form our friends’ and families’ opinions of others is that our opinions aren’t always based on the facts.  For instance, we might be saying that the woman at church was rude to us when, in all actuality, maybe we were just in a bad mood, and we were defensive, and she was just stating something or asking something, and we took offense and said she was rude.  This can happen far more often than we would like to think.  How we react to what other people say has much more to do with us and our experiences and moods than it does with them.  They might have done or said the same thing to our friend Jane, and she didn’t find it rude at all.  

Another problem with gossiping is that it is all one-sided.  It is one person, or even a group of people, talking about what happened in a given situation.  However, the person/people you are talking about also have an explanation or accounting of what happened, and it probably does not line up with yours.  I understand that we need to vent at times. However, we could always vent to the Lord.  He doesn’t take it personally, and He won’t let it shape the way He looks at the other person involved because He knows both sides of the story.  If we must vent to someone else, could we do it without using names or without letting the other person know who we are talking about?  That way, what we say will not affect how the person we are talking to looks at that other person.  

This is especially important when we are married, and we are talking/venting to our parents or other family members about our spouse. We should not talk negatively or vent to our family members or our good friends about our spouse if we can help it.  We love our spouse, and yet when we struggle, we want to talk about it to someone.  We might be angry with them, and we know we will feel better if we talk to someone about it.  The problem with going to family is that they may unknowingly or knowingly hold a grudge.  They may hear you talking about your spouse when you are angry, and then they decide they don’t like him or her.  You forgive your spouse quickly as you love them. However, the family might be much more slow to forgive.   This was advice I got before I got married, and it has proved to be some pretty sound advice.  I would talk to my friends if I was upset with my husband, but only friends who loved me and also knew that it was normal to fight with a spouse sometimes.  You hopefully always love each other, but you may not always like each other.

Gossip not only hurts others, it can hurt you as well.  It can hurt your soul as each time you gossip, it takes you a little further away from Christ.  It can also affect your relationships.  If you tend to gossip or talk badly about people a lot, then you will become known as someone who talks badly about people when you are not there, especially if you talk about your friends or coworkers to other friends or coworkers when they aren’t there.  Your friends or coworkers will start to think you are probably talking about them when they are not around, too.  Then, people might not trust you as much, or even worse, they may not want to be around you.  

It is not fun to be around people who gossip or complain about others all the time.  If we are trying to grow in our faith and our relationship with God, then we are probably trying to live as best we can.  Gossip has no place in our pursuit of a holy lifestyle.  This also means we will avoid being around those who gossip a lot or those who may cause us to gossip a lot.  If we want to live a holy lifestyle, we need to do our best to live according to the Word of the Lord.  We need to have Christ as our role model.  He did not gossip, and He did not talk badly about others.  He did not judge others, although He had every authority to do so.  If we want to be Christ-like, we should not gossip.  

I know it can be easy to fall into the trap of gossiping.  I find myself in it more often than I would like.  I try to tell myself I am not gossiping, and yet I can hear the Lord gently reminding me that I am.  If you fall into gossiping easily, here is one suggestion that might help you to slow it down or stop it altogether.  When you think about talking about another person, ask yourself if what you are about to say is good or bad.  If it is bad, don’t say it; bite your tongue and just let it go unsaid.  Next, you can ask yourself if what you are going to say will negatively impact the way that person will view the person you are talking about.  If the answer is yes, then do not say it; bite your tongue and let it go unsaid.  Our speech should be used to build people up.  There are enough people in this world who are tearing people down; let’s not join them.  Let’s be better than that.  When you are thinking of someone who is annoying you, and you want to vent, stop, take a moment, and see if you can come up with one nice or at least neutral thing, you can stay instead.  For instance, instead of saying my friend forgot to text me back yesterday, you can say my friend has a lot on his plate and texts me when he can.  Gossip is bad, and it draws you away from the Lord. Is whatever you were going to say worth growing further away from the Lord?

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord, we want to stop gossiping; it is just so hard. Please help us.  Help convict us in our hearts when we are gossiping, and then show us how to stop.  Lord, help us to understand how hurtful it is and how much pain it can cause.  We love you, Lord, and we don’t want to do anything to hurt you or to cause separation between us.  Please help us, Lord.  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.  Just a reminder that registration for the retreat is open!  The retreat will be from 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 7th, until 11 a.m. on Monday, October 9th.  It will be two days of talks, prayers, praise, worship, sacraments, and so much more!  You do not want to miss this weekend.  My hope is that you will leave filled up with God’s love and armed with the skills to hear His voice guiding your journey. You will also leave with a few more friends to join you on this faith journey. I look forward to sharing an incredible weekend with you. CLICK HERE to register for retreat. I also look forward to joining you here again tomorrow.  Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

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The Spirit Of Truth Is Speaking To You! 

John 16:13-15 " When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason, I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

This verse talks about the Holy Spirit, the gift the Lord sent us when Jesus went to heaven.  In this verse, it talks about various aspects of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit came to us for several reasons.  This verse first discusses that it is the Spirit of truth and that He will guide us into all the truth.  This is important because it reminds us that we can trust what we hear from the Holy Spirit.  This verse reminds us that what we hear from the Holy Spirit comes directly from the Lord.  The Spirit is not speaking on His own; He is telling us what He heard the Father say.  

It also says that He will declare to us what will come.  This is important because it reminds us that we have someone on our side.  We can ask the Holy Spirit questions, and He will answer.  This doesn’t mean that we will never be taken by surprise or that we will know everything that will happen to us throughout the day.  This means the Holy Spirit can prepare us for what is coming if we allow Him.  In order to allow Him to help us prepare for what is coming, we need to set aside time to listen to Him.  We need to pay attention to what He says and not just listen and then let it go.

Our prayer group sets aside a time each week when we are quiet and listen for the words of the Holy Spirit.  We record these words.  We then type everything that was said, and we give those notes to the Discernment team.  This team then discerns what we think the Lord’s call, proclamation, promise, and directive was for that month. We then put this information from the Holy Spirit onto a bookmark so that our whole group can remember the words that were said and we can incorporate them into our everyday lives.  We can use these words to strengthen us and prepare us for what is to come. For instance this is the latest bookmark: “My call to each one of you is very personal. It is not a

message for everyone. It is intimate, personal, all-loving, and all-consuming. From the beginning, I spoke, and my Word created new life. I speak again today through my holy Word to each of your hearts. I create new life. I renew, replenish, and fill you with grace and mercy that I wish you to share with others. I watch over you, my children. I break the sword of the enemy who would come against you. I will defend you in battle. I have sent you the power of the Spirit, and he will give you all that you need to do what you have been called to do. You are the anointing I send to the world. Be not afraid. I am with you. My Spirit will speak through you the words that I wish to say. When I say you can, don’t tell me you can’t. Smile that today I send you.”

These words were spoken to our prayer group over the course of a month.  We recorded them because we did not want to forget them.  However, we receive many words each week, and it would be difficult to remember all of them.  This is where the discernment team comes in.  There are four of us on the team, and we all read through all the words given that month on our own and come up with what we think the Lord wants everyone to remember.  We then come together and see if we have chosen the same things.  Most of the time, we have at least two people who picked the same thing for each category so we will go with that.  Occasionally, we all pick different words; if that is the case, we will pray and ask the Lord to lead us to the one He wants us to use.

I think if you were to look at the four categories we use to make our bookmarks, it might give you a better idea of what sort of information the Holy Spirit gives us.  The first thing we look at is the call.  What is the Holy Spirit calling us to do?  I am sure the Holy Spirit is calling you to something as well.  Do you know what that is?  What is your calling?  What is the Holy Spirit calling you to?  Are you taking the time to listen to that call?  Are you writing down the things you hear? God has a plan for each of us and sends the Holy Spirit to tell us what that plan is.  

The next things we look at is proclamation.  While you are listening to the Lord He will tell you things about Himself.  These tend to be “I am” statements about who He is and what He is doing.  For instance, in the bookmark above, the Holy Spirit told us, “From the beginning, I spoke, and my Word created new life. I speak again today through my holy Word to each of your hearts. I create a new life. I renew, replenish, and fill you with grace and mercy that I wish you to share with others.” Do you see how the Lord is proclaiming who He is and what He does?  He is reminding us that He created everything.  He is also telling us that not only did He create everything with His words, but that he is speaking those words into our hearts as well.  He is letting us know that He creates new life.  He wants us to know that He is filling us with grace and mercy so we can share it with others.

The third thing we look at is His promise.  Did you know the Holy Spirit can share God’s promises with you?  It’s true that God is still making promises, or maybe He is reminding us of promises made long ago that we have forgotten about or did not know about.  Either way, they are promises we can count on.  In the bookmark above, the promise is, “I watch over you, my children. I break the sword of the enemy who would come against you. I will defend you in battle. I have sent you the power of the Spirit, and he will give you all that you need to do what you have been called to do.” God is promising us that He is there watching over us.  He is promising that He will break the sword of the enemy who will come against us.  The Lord is letting us know He will defend us in battle.  He is reminding us that He sent the Holy Spirit to us, and with that Holy Spirit comes power.  He is letting us know that if he is calling us to something, He will give us all we need to complete that call.  We are not on our own; He is there with us!

The last thing we look at is directive.  What is the Lord directing us to do?  We usually have a lot of directives to choose from, as I think the Lord wants us to be out in the world doing things for Him.  He wants us to love others and bring them to Him.  The directive in the bookmark above is, “You are the anointing I send to the world. Be not afraid. I am with you. My Spirit will speak through you the words that I wish to say. When I say you can, don’t tell me you can’t. Smile that today I send you.” In this directive, the Lord is assuring us that the Holy Spirit will speak through us and give us the words the Lord wants us to say.  He is telling us he anointed us and that He is with us and will give us all we need for that anointing.  I love that the Lord knows us so well.  I love when He says, “When I say you can, don’t tell me you can’t.” Isn’t that just like us?  I don’t know about you, but I tell the Lord, I can’t often.  When I feel He is calling me to pray over complete strangers in the streets, I tell Him I can’t.  When He tells me to do things that are way outside my comfort zone, I tell Him I can’t.  

That line definitely convicts me.  It reminds me that God is with me and who am I to tell the Lord what I can and can’t do?  Didn’t he create me?  Doesn’t He know every hair on my head?  So, why am I telling Him what I can and can’t do when He is the one who created me?  He knows what I can and can’t do much better than I do.  What I should be saying is “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” I think the purpose of me going over our discernment process with you today is so that you can start to recognize when the Holy Spirit is talking to you.  Now that you know some of the various ways He talks to you, maybe you will start to recognize His voice a bit more.  Maybe you can differentiate what He is saying, and I hope it will help you put His words into action.  

Hearing the voice of the Lord is a gift from the Holy Spirit, and it is one that can increase with practice and decrease if ignored.  If the Holy Spirit is constantly talking with you and you are ignoring all He is saying, I am not sure if He will continue to talk with you.  When you make time to listen to the Lord, He will always talk with you, as He loves when we listen.  When He talks with you, write down what He says and refer back to it.  I sometimes find myself reviewing my prayer journal and what the Lord said to me.  However, I do not do it as often as I would like.  Every time I do, I wonder why I don’t do it more often.  It is so beneficial.  I hope this episode encourages you to pay a little more attention to the Holy Spirit's voice and the different types of words He might give you.  He is speaking to you, and His words are straight from the Lord.  

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord, we pray that we can all hear your voice.  We pray that it brings us fruit in our lives. We pray we can hear it and apply it to our lives.  We ask you to help us, Lord. Help us not just to hear it and forget it but to remember it and apply it to our lives. 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 on Monday.  Remember Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

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God Can Make A Way Where There Is No Way!

Psalm 116:1-4 "I love the Lord because he has heard my voice and my supplications. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore, I will call on him as long as I live. The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I pray, save my life!”

I was only going to talk about verses 1 and 2, which are the verses of the day today on the Bible Gateway website where I look up Bible verses.  I like this website because it will show you all the English translations of whatever verses you look up.  Sometimes, it is helpful to look up a verse in multiple translations.  Some translations are easier to understand than others.  I like to read the surrounding verses of any scripture I am given to understand the context of the verse I am using.  When I read more into the chapter today, I also decided to include the following two verses.  

The beginning of this says that the author of this verse loves the Lord because the Lord has heard his voice and his prayers.  When we hear that, we might assume that the author of this verse had a pretty easy life.  We might think that the Lord answered His prayers because they were easy to answer.  He didn’t need a lot, so the Lord responded to His prayers.  However, when I read the following two verses, I could see this was not the case.  The verse says, “The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I pray, save my life!”

The person who wrote this verse was not asking for a small prayer, yet the Lord heard his voice and his prayer and listened to him.  Here are the same verses in the message translation, “ I love God because he listened to me, listened as I begged for mercy. He listened so intently as I laid out my case before him. Death stared me in the face; hell was hard on my heels. Up against it, I didn’t know which way to turn; then I called out to God for help: “Please, God!” I cried out. “Save my life!” I feel like this translation goes into a bit more depth.  I feel as though we can all relate to these verses.

The good news is that if God can help the person who wrote this psalm, which is believed to be King David, then God can help us out of our mess.  

The verse says, “The snares of death encompassed me; the pang of Sheol laid hold of me; I suffered distress and anguish.” How many of us have been there?  How many of us thought we might not make it through a situation?  We might not have thought we would die, but we definitely felt the pangs of Hell.  We looked at our situation and felt there was no way out of it.  Because we didn’t see a way out, we didn’t think God could help us either.  We seem to do that a lot.  We look at our situation, and if we can’t see a way out of it, we don’t even bother asking God for help.  I mean, what can He do anyway?  Have you ever been in a situation like that? I know I have asked people if they wanted prayers, and they asked me what God would do about it.  They said nothing could be done, so what is the point of praying?

I understand where they are coming from and why they would think that way.  However, God doesn’t have to play by our rules.  He can make a way where there isn’t one.  He can save us from our problems in ways we can’t even imagine.  God’s ways are higher than ours, and His thoughts are higher than ours.  He spoke the entire world into existence. I am sure He can figure out how to get you out of whatever situation you find yourself in, even if it seems impossible.  The Lord has proven time and time again in the Bible that He can rescue His people from impossible situations.  The Israelites have found themselves in several situations where they should have died, been captured, or lost the war, yet God saved them from certain death.  He can do the same for you.  

A song popped into my head when I typed, “He can make a way where there isn’t one.” I think that song can probably say what I am trying to say better than I can.  Here are the lyrics for “My Jesus” by Anne Wilson

… Are you past the point of weary?

Is your burden weighin' heavy?

Is it all too much to carry?

Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus

Do you feel that empty feeling?

'Cause shame's done all its stealin'

And you're desperate for some healin'

Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus

… He makes a way where there ain't no way

Rises up from an empty grave

Ain't no sinner that He can't save

Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus

His love is strong and His grace is free

And the good news is I know that He

Can do for you what He's done for me

Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus

And let my Jesus change your life

… Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Amen

Amen

… Who can wipe away the tears

From broken dreams and wasted years

And tell the past to disappear? Oh

Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus

And all the wrong turns that you would

Go and undo if you could

Who can work it all for your good

Let me tell you about my Jesus

… He makes a way where there ain't no way

Rises up from an empty grave

Ain't no sinner that He can't save

Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus

His love is strong and His grace is free

And the good news is I know that He

Can do for you what He's done for me

Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus

And let my Jesus change your life

… Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Amen

Amen, Amen

… Who would take my cross to Calvary?

Pay the price for all my guilty?

Who would care that much about me?

Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus, oh

… He makes a way where there ain't no way

Rises up from an empty grave

Ain't no sinner that He can't save

Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus

His love is strong and His grace is free

And the good news is I know that He

Can do for you what He's done for me

Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus

And let my Jesus change your life

… Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah, amen

Amen

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Let my Jesus change your life

Wow, that is a powerful song.  I don’t know about you, but I love music.  I didn’t ever really listen to it a lot growing up.  We didn’t have a radio in our rooms, and we didn’t usually have the car radio on because there were so many of us, and we couldn’t agree on what kind of music to listen to.  However, since I discovered that Christian music is a thing, I always listen to music.  I think that is part of the reason my faith is so strong.  All day, I have these songs reminding me about how amazing God is and how amazing I am in His eyes.  There are songs out there for everything you are going through.  If you don’t feel loved, there are songs to remind you how much you are loved.  If you don’t feel worthy or enough, there are songs to remind you of how precious you are to our heavenly Father.  If you are in a dark place, there are songs from others who have been there and made it out.  Music is so good for the soul.  If you want great music, check out The Big Life Mornings playlist on Spotify.  I also have a playlist on my YouTube channel, walkboldlywithjesus, called prayer group, with tons of worship music on it as well.  

No matter the situation, God will be there for you; you just need to ask Him.  Remember to always pray to God, even if you don’t see a way out, even if it seems hopeless.  He can find a way where there isn’t one.  He can save you; you just have to give Him a chance.  God loves you more than you know.  He knows the situation you are in, and He knows the way through it.  He is just waiting for you to come to Him and ask Him.  Free will and humility are essential to God, and He won’t interfere if you don’t want Him to.  Ask God for help, sit back, and watch Him make a way where there wasn’t one. 

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, we love you, and we want to pray to you.  We want to ask you to save us. We thank you for always finding a way to save us from ourselves.  We are so grateful.  We are sorry we doubt at times.  We are sorry we don’t sometimes ask because we don’t see a way out.  We thank you for always coming through and for not letting us down.  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 am so excited because people have started signing up for the retreat. I can’t believe I get to spend a weekend pouring God’s love into some of you. If you know someone who could give you a bit of love or time away from the reality of life, please provide them with the information or the retreat.  It’s going to be a great weekend! Click Here for Retreat Info.  Check it out, and if you are interested, please sign up.  If you need more information or have more questions, please get in touch with [email protected] or 860-481-0959. Click Here to email. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

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We have all seen God working in our lives, however, we might not all be aware it is God who is working in our lives.  This is why it is so important we start talking about it more.  The more we share our experiences the more people understand how God works and how much He truly loves us.  If you would be willing to share any experience you have had of how God has worked or is working your life, please email me at [email protected] or just click here.  It won’t take up much of your time and your story could be just the story that someone needs to hear today.  Prayerfully consider sharing.  Everyone has a story and the world needs to hear them.  I look forward to spending time with you again tomorrow and I will have another witness for you next Wednesday.  Remember Jesus loves you and so do I. Have a blessed day!

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Great Is Your Faith!

Matthew 15:28 “Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.”

I have heard this story in the Bible many times and I am sure you have too.  Right before this verse is the story of the woman who was asking Jesus to heal her daughter. Here is the story found in Matthew 15:21-28 “Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.”  But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.”  He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

I have heard several sermons on this story.  The focus always seems to be on why Jesus spoke to her the way that He did and why He said the things that He said.  I think those are important things to discuss because it sounds like He is being very rude.  If you have not heard any sermons or any explanations of why Jesus said the things He said, I recommend you look them up as it is very interesting.  However, what the Holy Spirit highlighted for me today is the very last line in this story.  Jesus said, “‘Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.’ And her daughter was healed instantly.”

This came right after the woman said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” What the Holy Spirit told me is that we don’t have to be perfect to receive healing. This woman was not one of the chosen people and yet she believed that even the crumbs left over after the chosen people had been healed would have enough power to heal her daughter.  She knew she wasn’t one of the chosen people.  She knew she didn’t have a right, so to speak, to be asking Jesus for anything, let alone a miracle, and yet she was brave enough to ask anyway.  

It’s interesting, when I read the words, “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master’s table,” I heard the Holy Spirit say, you are like the crumbs.  I had no idea what he meant by this.  Then I felt like he was saying, we think we need to be perfect to either ask for healing or pray for others for healing.  The Holy Spirit was telling me we don’t have to be perfect.  This woman was not perfect and yet she knew she needed a miracle and although she didn’t really know Jesus, she believed in His power and knew He could heal her daughter.  She knew, without a doubt that He could heal her daughter.  She even said when she called out, “Lord, son of David.” Even his apostles were struggling to see who He truly was and yet this woman could see.  

If we want to be used by the Holy Spirit to pray for others then we don’t need to be perfect, we just need to be willing and humble.  This woman humbled herself and knelt before Jesus.  She begged Him to heal her daughter.  She did not get caught up in what she should or shouldn’t do.  She didn’t get caught up in what He was saying or how He was saying it.  She needed Him to heal her daughter and she kept asking and persisting until He did.  We can all learn a lot from this woman.  Her faith was so powerful it saved her child.  

Whom do you know that could use some prayers like this?  This woman knew she had nothing to lose and everything to gain by begging Jesus to heal her daughter.  Are we playing it too safe with our prayers?  Are we holding back when we ask Jesus for healing or not even asking Him to heal our loved ones because we don’t want to bother Him or we don’t feel we are worthy?  Are we asking for things, but not the big things, not the things we really want because we are afraid we won’t get them?  Are we protecting ourselves from the letdown of our prayers not being answered so we don’t ever ask?  

I know this is for someone today because it is very strong in my thoughts right now.  God wants me to tell you to stop holding back and stop playing it small with your prayers.  God has some amazing blessings for you and yet He is waiting for you to ask.  He is waiting for you to trust that He will answer your prayers, even if they seem a bit impossible, even if they seem extremely impossible.  God is telling us to ask Him anyway! I feel as though He really wants us to understand that we are not bothering Him with our prayers.  We honor Him when we pray to Him and ask Him for help, especially when we ask Him for big, bold, audacious things.  That is not a word I use often, but I felt that was the word I was supposed to use there.  

Wouldn’t it be great one day to be sitting there, or standing there with Jesus, and then He turns to us and says, “Woman, or man, great is your faith!” I long for that day.  That image, that vision is enough for me to do all I can to increase my faith.  The image of Jesus saying that to me gives me the strength and fortitude to pray the litany of trust and the litany of humility often.  That image gives me the strength to call on the Lord whenever I need Him.  The woman in the verse today had great faith.  She believed He was who He said He was, she believed in His power and she wasn’t afraid to ask Him for help. How about us?

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask that you bless each and every person listening to this episode.  Lord, we want to have great faith, please help us.  We want to come to you when we are in need.  We want to ask you the big, bold, audacious prayers.  We believe Lord, help our unbelief.  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 want to remind you that registration for the Oct 7-9th retreat has opened up. CLICK HERE  to register! I am so excited to get to spend a weekend getting to know some of you.  It is going to be a really fun time and yet also a time to be filled up with God’s love.  It will be a healing weekend too! If life is a bit much at times, you will leave feeling refreshed.  I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow.  Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day.

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