Podcast
Walk Boldly With Jesus
Hosted by Catherine Duggan · EN
Does life feel extra hard right now? Is it difficult to find joy in your day to day living? Do you feel like something is missing? I did. I was struggling with all of it. Life seemed so hard. Then one day I realize what was missing. I needed more Jesus in my life. Our home needed more Jesus. This may be just what you are missing too! This podcast will give you tips on how you can become closer to Jesus. It will talk about scripture and how those stories can relate to your everyday life. It will help you find joy in life again and teach you to be bold with Jesus by your side. If you would like to reach me you can email Catherine@findingtruenorthcoaching.com or go to my website findingtruenorthcoaching.com
Music: "Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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He Is Series - King of Kings - When Life Feels Out of Control, Remember Who Is in Charge
Apr 3000:09:37Tap to summarizeHe Is Series - King of Kings - When Life Feels Out of Control, Remember Who Is in Charge Revelation 19:16 “On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, ‘King of kings and Lord of lords.” We end our series with a powerful name for the Lord. He is King of kings. There is no king greater than the Lord. He is above all. This is important for us to remember, especially in times of trouble, because we might be tempted to think other things are greater than God. For instance, if we are in chronic pain, we might start to believe that our pain is greater than God. We might believe He can heal some things, but not chronic illnesses, like Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis, cancer, and things like that. The world tells us there are no cures for those diseases, so we think the same applies to God, too. Nothing is too big or too complicated for God to handle. He is the King of kings. We might also think that our financial issues are too much for God to handle. We know we have bills to pay, we know we don’t have enough money to pay them, and we don’t see a way that God can help. God doesn’t need a way; He is the King of kings, and He can make a way. My friend once told me a story about how she was sitting in the Dollar Tree parking lot before the store opened, making her grocery list for the week. She had three kids at the time. Her daughter was in the car with her. She was writing down everything she needed, and she realized she was $50 short of having it all. She said a quick prayer to the Lord, letting Him know that if she just had $50 more, she would be able to feed her kids for the whole week. I am not sure if she expected God to do anything. I am not sure whether she was even asking Him to do anything, or just talking to God about how hard things were right now. All I know is that her daughter saw something fly past the window, and before my friend could say anything, she jumped out of the car to chase it. Luckily, the parking lot was empty because the store wasn’t open yet. When her daughter got back in the car and showed her mom what she had been chasing, it turned out to be a $50 bill. Can you even imagine that happening? I am sure my friend couldn’t have imagined God would just create a bill out of nowhere and have it fly by her window just when she needed it most. There isn’t anything our Lord can’t do. Another friend was leading a youth group one week, and just as they were about to leave, she realized she had lost her keys. She couldn’t drive home without them, and she didn’t have a backup set. The kids looked everywhere, in all the rooms, on all the services, and they couldn’t find them anywhere. Then, one of the kids remembered that there is a patron saint of lost keys. Her name is Saint Zita. So all the kids and my friend asked St. Zita to intercede on their behalf. While they were all standing together praying, they heard a noise in the other room. They heard a set of keys fall down onto the metal counter. They had checked this counter before, and her keys were not there. Now, out of nowhere, the keys were on the counter. I don’t know where she lost these keys, but I do know that God put them on the counter for her so she could get home that night. And probably also to build the faith of all those kids who see this amazing display of God’s power. God is bigger than our problems. I know it doesn’t always seem that way. I know sometimes we feel like we are drowning in our problems. Drowning in debt, illness, anger, frustration, and anything else that feels overwhelming in our lives. God is right there with us. He will not let us drown. Just as He did not let Peter drown when he stepped out of the boat to walk on the water. He took his eyes off Jesus and began to sink. Jesus reached out His hand and took Peter’s hand before he could sink. He will do the same for you. When we have our eyes on Jesus, we know He is the King of Kings. When we read the Bible and surround ourselves with His Word, it is easier to remember that. Once we take our eyes off Him. Once we start to look around us and read what the world has to say, we start to doubt. If we listen to the doctors, they will tell us that certain things can’t be cured. I am not saying we shouldn’t listen to doctors. Doctors are very important and save many lives. What I am saying is that we should listen to the doctor regarding the diagnosis and leave the prognosis up to God. Only God knows when our time in this world will be over, and I have seen miracles where people have had stage 4 cancer, the doctors said there was nothing else they could do, and yet, they are now living their lives cancer-free. I feel that someone really needs to hear this today. There is no disease that God can’t cure. No diagnosis is too big for God to handle. There is no legal or financial issue too big for God. God can heal a broken vertebra; He can heal your diabetes, or your mental illness, or your chronic illness. Whatever it is you are facing today, keep your eyes fixed on the Lord, and know that He is the King of Kings and can heal you, help you, and save you. Just call upon Him, and He will come. Over these past 31 episodes, we’ve been discovering who God is—His names, His heart, and how He meets us right where we are. We’ve seen that He is our provider, our healer, our peace, our strength, and so much more. And today, as we remember that He is the King of Kings, we are reminded that He is over it all—every struggle, every question, every part of our lives. Whatever you’re walking through right now, you are not alone. The same God we’ve been learning about throughout this series is with you, for you, and working in your life. So keep coming back to Him. Keep seeking Him. Because the more you know who He is, the more you’ll begin to see who you are in Him. Dear King of Kings, please bless each person listening to this episode. Lord, we love you and are so grateful that you are all-powerful. You are the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. There is nothing you can’t handle. There is nothing too big for you. Please help us to believe this, Lord. Please help us to always look to you instead of those around us. Please help us to trust that you can help us, even if we don’t see a way. We love you, and we ask this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name, Amen! Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. If you feel like you’re not growing the way you want to, this mentoring group is a place where you can take that next step with support and guidance. You don’t have to stay stuck. Join us at walkboldlywithjesus.com/mentoring. I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day! Today’s Word from the Lord was received in October 2025 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “I ask that you remember who I am. I created the universe and all that is in it. Yours are the mountains I made. Yours are the great seas. Yours are the skies above. Yours are the deserts where the birds fly by. All for you, my children.” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace
Transcribe →Witness Wednesday #206 Catherine (Answered Prayers)
Apr 2900:08:56Tap to summarizeToday, I want to witness to you the power of prayer. I am very grateful because my parents are devout Catholics. They both grew up in very Catholic homes, and their parents passed down to them the importance of our faith. They both went to Catholic schools growing up. Sometimes I wish that I lived back when they lived, and it seems like being Catholic was easier. Although I am not sure it was easier. Sometimes I think that is just what we tell ourselves to make ourselves feel better. My mom and dad started dating when they were in High School. My parents, while in High School, used to meet at 5 or 6 in the morning so they could go to daily mass together. Nowadays, kids don’t even want to go to mass on Sunday morning. They don’t want to be up early on a school day, and they certainly don’t want to be in mass before school. Maybe the same was true back then. Maybe my parents were different from all those around them. Maybe it wasn’t “cool” to go to daily mass back then, and yet they wanted to. Maybe they didn’t want to be at mass necessarily, maybe they just wanted to see each other, and that was the only way they could. I honestly don’t know, although I should ask them. The fact that they were waking up early to go to mass together before school is an answered prayer. Actually, it is probably many answered prayers. It is probably the answer to the prayer, please let me child know you. It is probably the answer to the prayer, please let my child meet a spouse who is Catholic. An answer to, please let my child meet someone who knows the Lord like they do. I know my grandparents prayed a lot for my parents. and I can see the effects of those prayers, even after my grandparents have gone to meet Jesus. I am sure they are still praying for our family. I am sure they are up in heaven praying blessings and prayers of protection over us as we speak. Isn’t that awesome to think about? When our loved ones die, they don’t stop praying for us. Actually, their prayers probably increase because they don’t have the worldly distractions that we have here on earth. They can devote all their time to praising God and praying for their loved ones left here on Earth. The reason I say I can see the results of their prayers is that my parents found each other. These days it is becoming increasingly rare to find a couple where both are Catholic. And even if you are lucky enough to find a Catholic spouse, it is rare that you are both as excited about the faith as my parents. My mom is the oldest of 10 children, ranging from 80 years old down to about 60 or so. All of my mom’s siblings are alive to this day. It is not as if they have all had easy lives. It is not that they have never been sick; they have, and yet they are all still alive and well. That is the answer to so many prayers that probably seemed unanswered at the time. My mom and several of her siblings have had skin cancer, and yet through it all, God has protected them. That is so many answered prayers! My parents had 11 children. When they got married, they wanted to have 12 children, a whole dozen. The reason for this is that my dad only had one brother, and they didn’t get to play together too much when they were growing up. My dad’s house was always so quiet, and there wasn’t much going on. However, when he went to my mom’s house, it was the opposite. It was never quiet, and there was always something going on. So, they decided to replicate that in their house and have a dozen kids. The fact that I have 10 brothers and sisters is another answer to prayers. Actually, probably several answered prayers as my parents said if they were unable to conceive, they would say a novena, and at the end of it, she would be pregnant. My mom and dad are both in their early 80’s and are doing great! They are more active than most of their kids are, as they go out square and round dancing three nights a week. They are very involved in the church and run the prayer group there. My mom does the daughters of Isabella at the state level. My dad is the chaplain for the Knights of Columbus and another organization in town. They are healthy enough to remain busy, and I know that is the answer to many prayers. Another way I can see so many answered prayers is the fact that my siblings and I are all alive and well. It is not uncommon for large families to lose some of their siblings along the way. It is not uncommon in any size family, actually. However, all my siblings are doing great. I will say we have some close calls. My sister had a mysterious illness when she was younger, and we almost lost her. My brother was pulled through a big machine that makes chicken wire. We definitely could have lost him then. There have been a few suicide attempts in our family. There have been really bad car accidents. My sister had open heart surgery in the 8th grade. One of my brothers jumped out of a plane with the army and hit his head on the side of the plane on his way down. There have been plenty of opportunities when things could have ended very differently, and they didn’t, and I am so thankful for all those answered prayers of protection and healing. I say all of this to let you know that your prayers are being answered. It is important that you continue to pray, even when you don’t see the results you want. I don’t know if my grandparents knew how important their prayers were. I don’t know if they got to see the fruit of their prayers while they were still here on earth. I don’t know if you will always see the fruit of your prayers either. Sometimes, we don’t recognize the fruit of our prayers. For instance, when Tony lost his job in the military, it didn’t look like an answered prayer. It looked like God had abandoned him. Yet for at least five years before he lost his job, he had been searching for a government job that was not in the military, and nothing was working out. It was a catch-22 because you got military preference once you were out of the military, but he didn’t want to get out of the military until he had another job. Well, God took care of all of that when he had Tony leave the military and then found him a higher-paying civilian job at a military base that he loved so much. It was definitely years of answered prayers, and yet it really didn’t look like it. Our prayers matter. Keep praying for your kids to come back to the church, even if you don’t see any results. Keep praying they meet someone who loves Jesus. Or if they are already married to someone who doesn’t pray for that person’s conversion. Our prayers are so powerful. God has told us in our prayer group that we, the world, don’t understand how powerful our prayers are. Don’t give up. Keep praying, even when you don’t see results. I bet if you sat down and looked back over your life, you would also see so many answered prayers. God is good, and He does answer our prayers. All we need to do is look for the answers, and we will find them! www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace
Transcribe →He is Series - God of Reconstruction - When Life Feels Like It’s Falling Apart, God Is Rebuilding You
Apr 2800:08:33Tap to summarizeHe is Series - God of Reconstruction - When Life Feels Like It’s Falling Apart, God Is Rebuilding You Ezekiel 36:36 “ Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruined places, and replanted that which was desolate; I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it.” I was planning to finish the He Is Series today, on the 30th day, with the name King of Kings. I thought that was a great way to complete the series. However, my good friend Rosa, who reads the Spanish translation, had a vision, and He said to her, “I am a God of Reconstruction.” I knew after hearing about her vision that we needed to include this in our series. How many of us could use a God of Reconstruction right now? Let me share her vision with you first so you know what we are talking about. Here is what she said, “I had a vision. The Lord showed me that we were looking at ruins and rubble. We were dwelling on the destruction , desolation, and calamity. The Lord said: I’m a God of reconstruction!! I am actively using periods of brokenness or "rubble" to rebuild you to be stronger and more purpose-driven. I restore broken lives, hearts, people, families, marriages, and nations. With my restoring power, I rebuild, reconcile, and bring new life out of ruins. I don’t just fix broken parts; I rebuild from the ground up, making the new creation stronger, wiser, and more radiant. The ultimate goal of this reconstruction is for you to become more like Me, to remove the old construction that is no longer needed.” Wow, how many of us needed to hear that today? How many of us needed to hear that God was using this time of brokenness to rebuild us and make us stronger? How many of us feel broken right now? We are struggling with health. We feel like God has just walked away from us since we feel so broken. Yet, here God is saying, “I am using this time to make you stronger.” He has not abandoned you. He has not left you to fend for yourself. He has not forgotten about you. He is with you in this illness, and He can use even this to make you stronger. The same is true for those of us who might be healthy, but we are struggling with money problems, family problems, work issues, whatever it may be. God is telling us that even in this time of brokenness in our families, He can work to make us stronger. I know it doesn’t look that way. What it often looks like is a mess. It looks like we are in this alone, and we can’t seem to get out of it. It often looks like everything is falling down around us, and we might get buried. Let’s look at the analogy of a house being renovated. When a house is being renovated, it often looks worse before it looks better. Walls are torn down, things are messy, and it can feel like everything is falling apart. But the builder isn’t destroying the house—he’s rebuilding it so it’s stronger, safer, and more beautiful than before. In this vision, the Lord even said, “I don’t just fix broken parts; I rebuild from the ground up, making the new creation stronger, wiser, and more radiant.” What we are going through is hard and messy, and we all wish we could skip it. However, what if even this hard part can be used by God to help us become a new creation? What if the walls that are being torn down are our walls of self-reliance? What if the walls we built to protect ourselves are not only keeping us from getting hurt but also keeping out all the light and love? What if even the painful parts we’re going through right now can be used to break down our pride so we can be humble and accept the Lord’s help? The last line in her vision said, “The ultimate goal of this reconstruction is for you to become more like Me, to remove the old construction that is no longer needed.” I wonder how different our suffering would be if we knew this statement were true? Would it make your difficult times easier to go through if you knew that the ultimate goal was for us to become more like the Lord? Would it be easier to step out of our comfort zone if we knew it was no longer needed? What I mean by this is, would it be easier to tear down the walls around your heart if you knew you were safe and they were no longer needed? Would it be easier for you to get through each day with your sickness if you knew that on the other side of it, you would be more like the Lord? I think it is so important for each one of us to know that there is no situation that is too badly ruined for the Lord to fix. I know you may feel like you will never be healthy again, but God can restore your health. He can restore your family. He can restore your finances. And as the Lord stated in the vision, He doesn’t just repair them, he makes a new creation that is stronger, wiser, and more radiant than the first one. God didn’t bring this brokenness into your life—but He will not waste it. He is already working on it, rebuilding something stronger. How many of us could use a little restoration in our lives? Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those who are listening to this episode. God of Reconstruction, thank you for all you are doing to rebuild our lives. You are not only restoring them but also reconstructing them to be better than before. Thank you that even in this time of brokenness, You are making us stronger. We want more of you and less of us. Please help us Lord! We ask this in the name of Jesus, Amen. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. If this episode encouraged you, would you take a moment to share it with one person who might need this today? You never know how God might use it in their life. I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day! Today’s Word from the Lord was received in October 2025 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “All my love spilled out on the planet Earth, the home I made for you. Look at the beauty about you and know that it is me speaking my love to you and washing you in my abiding love. I will always wash you. Come walk with me in steadfastness.” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace
Transcribe →He Is Series — Lamb of God - When You Feel Ashamed, Jesus Already Paid for It
Apr 2700:10:41Tap to summarizeHe Is Series — Lamb of God - When You Feel Ashamed, Jesus Already Paid for It John 1:29 “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” Jesus is the Lamb of God. Do we really understand what this means? This means that God sacrificed his only son so that we would be freed from our sins. Why do we say He was a lamb? In the Old Testament, people sacrificed a spotless lamb. This symbolized innocence, purity, and payment for sin. The lamb took the place of the person. Jesus fulfills this completely. He is perfect, sinless, and innocent. In the Old Testament, there is a long list of sacrifices people were supposed to make for various sins. There were many different types of sacrifices to atone for our sins, and they were spelled out very clearly. However, when Jesus came, all that changed. And instead of many sacrifices over and over again. Jesus became the final sacrifice—once and for all. When Jesus died on the cross and then rose again, He defeated evil once and for all. He defeated death once and for all. We tend to forget this. We worry about our sins because we love God, and we don’t want to be separated from Him. Yet we are sure that what we did is too awful to be forgiven. We think we are not worthy of forgiveness. We don’t deserve it. What is really strange is that we will be the first ones to tell our friends and loved ones that all they have to do is say sorry and ask God for forgiveness, and He will forgive them. It is easy for us to believe this with our whole mind, body, and soul for other people. Yet for us, we don’t believe it can be true. Not with all we have done. Jesus died for all of our sins. Not just some of them. Not just the little sins. He took all of our sins, our shame, our regret to the cross with Him. I know you don’t feel worthy, and the truth is, we aren’t worthy, not on our own. That is why Jesus died on the cross for us. Ever since the betrayal in the Garden of Eden, there has been a separation between God and us. We weren’t worthy to talk to Him or to be with Him. God didn’t like this, though. He didn’t like the separation. This is why Jesus came to die on the cross. He died and rose again so our sins would be forgiven and we could live in eternity with God. What does this mean for us? You don’t have to carry your sin anymore. So many of us feel shame, guilt, “I’m not good enough.” But we don’t have to because Jesus already took all that away from us. All we have to do is release them to Him. He didn’t die for everyone else’s sin, but not yours. Even if you were the only person on the planet, He would have still died on that cross for you. You are not defined by your past because the price has already been paid. Not partially. Not conditionally. Paid in full with Jesus’s blood. This is a big one because it can be so easy to identify with who we used to be. The enemy will whisper in our ears that we can’t change. If we could, we would have already. He likes to remind us of who we are so that we never forget. Just because you once were that person doesn’t mean you still are that same person. People can change. You can change. Tony and I were really struggling in our marriage, and God came in and changed us. We are not the same people we were back then. You are not the same person you were in middle school or high school. We all change, sometimes for the better, sometimes not. But we do change. Your past does not have to define you. It will try, but if you are strong and you stand up to your past, it will not define you. God is not waiting to punish you. The punishment has already been taken. This means God isn’t against you. God is for you! Another line in the song “Drops in the Ocean” says, “'Cause I am for you, I'm not against you.” God was never against us. Even when we were separated from Him when sin entered the world, He was still always there with us. When the Israelites were escaping Egypt, God was with them. Exodus 13:21-22 says, “The Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. You are invited into a relationship, not a performance. You don’t have to earn it, prove yourself, or clean yourself up first. God wants you to be in relationship with Him. There is nothing you can do to earn God’s love. He gives it freely. He has loved you since before you were born, and He will continue to love you long after your body dies. You are deeply loved. The cross says: “You were worth this.” There is a song called “Drops in the Ocean,” and it is sung by Hawk Nelson. There is so much that I love about this song. I highly recommend you check it out. However, the part I just thought of while talking about the cross is the chorus. It says: “If you want to know how far my love can go Just how deep, just how wide If you want to see how much you mean to me Look at my hands, look at my side If you could count the times I say you are forgiven It's more than the drops in the ocean.” I love that! It is so true. If we want to know how much God loves us and how much Jesus loves us, we can just look at his hands, which had nails driven through them for us. Look at His side. He was lanced with a spear for our sins. God sent His only Son to die on a cross for us. Jesus voluntarily died on a cross for our sins. It is not as if Jesus didn’t know why He was dying on the cross. Scripture tells us that while He was in the garden, thinking about all He would endure and all the sins He was taking to the cross, He sweated drops of blood. He knew all you were going to do, and He went to that cross anyway. Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless each person listening to this episode. Thank you so much for sending your son to be the Lamb of God. Thank you for His sacrifice that saved our lives. Thank you for loving us that much! Lord, we ask that you help us accept that sacrifice. We ask that you help us see that our sins have already been forgiven. You are not holding on to them. You are not punishing us for them. You are not keeping us separated from you. Help us to know how loved we truly are. Help us to feel it, Lord! We love you you and we ask all this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name, Amen! Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. If something in you has been wanting more of God—more closeness, more depth, more understanding—I want to personally invite you to join my mentoring group. Each month, we’re diving deeper into our faith and learning how to actually live it out in our everyday lives. And you don’t have to do that alone. We meet live on Zoom, and it’s a beautiful, supportive space where you can grow, ask questions, and connect with others who are on the same journey. If your heart is stirring, I encourage you to follow that. You can find the link in the show notes or visit walkboldlywithjesus.com to learn more. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day! Today’s Word from the Lord was received in October 2025 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “I am your life's companion. I walk with you each and every day. My heart cannot be contemplated, my children. Reflect on each step you take, and I tell you that you take it with me. I accept you right where you're at. Don't try to understand the vastness of my love for you. Just believe, I tell you, that it is true. ” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace
Transcribe →He Is Series Wonderful Counselor — When You Don’t Know What to Do, God Will Guide You
Apr 2400:10:11Tap to summarizeHe Is Series Wonderful Counselor — When You Don’t Know What to Do, God Will Guide You Isaiah 9:6 “For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” I love today’s name, Wonderful Counselor. I think this is an often-overlooked name of the Lord. Many of us would not hesitate to go to the Lord if we are sick or if we have a loved one who is sick. Especially if their prognosis doesn’t look good. If we have nowhere else to turn, most of us, even some people who don’t really believe in God, will turn to God when they feel they have nowhere else to turn. If they are desperate enough. What I didn’t always know is that we can go to the Lord seeking advice or wisdom. I always knew I could pray to the Lord for the things I needed. My mom and dad had a lot of children, and they did not have a lot of money, so I got to see firsthand how God provides for us when we ask. I am glad we did not have a lot of money because if we had, I would have missed out on seeing all those miracles. However, I didn’t know that I could sit and talk with God and He would talk back. I didn’t know that you could have a two-way conversation with the Lord. This was life-changing for me. While I was in the Encounter School of Ministry program, I heard a testimony about a mom who went to the Lord seeking wisdom. You see, she had returned home from work one night to find her teenage son watching pornography. She was so angry and hurt and didn’t really know what to say or do. She knew how she handled this was important, but she wasn’t sure the best way to do it. She told him to go to bed for the night, and they would talk about it in the morning. Then she got on her knees and asked the Lord for Wisdom. She asked the Lord to guide her in how to handle the situation. While she was sitting there talking with the Lord and praying for wisdom, the Lord gave her an idea. When she talked with her son, she told him that he needed to create a back story of what he thinks that young woman’s life must have been like growing up to make her go into that line of work. He had to sit down and write a paper for his mom explaining what he thinks that young woman’s life was like. He wrote the paper, and they talked about it, and he said he never wanted to watch pornography again. He said he felt bad for the people who felt like they had to do that as a profession. If she had yelled at him and grounded him, do you think it would have had the same results? When I yell at and ground my kids, I find they don’t sit in their rooms and think about what they have done. They usually sit in their rooms, think about how terrible a person I am for grounding them, get angry, and their behavior rarely changes. God knows our children, God knows us, God sees everything, even the stuff we can’t see. God knew what would change her son’s heart. And what will change her son’s heart is not the same as what will change your child’s heart. This is why it is important to go to the Lord rather than to all the other places we turn for answers. I had a lot of trouble raising my kids. They all had very different issues, and they seemed to be problems that no one else was facing. Although this is not true, this is what the enemy wants you to think. I read so many parenting books, took classes, and asked all the experts. I tried to do everything I could to be the best mom I could be to these three boys the Lord gave me to care for. Do you know what I didn’t do? I didn’t go to the Lord to ask for wisdom or advice. To be fair to myself, I did spend time praying to the Lord and journaling. I thought this was bringing it to the Lord. I thought I was seeking the Lord. I went to a MCCW retreat in 2017, and I was having quiet time with the Lord, and I heard him say to me, " You are not coming to me. I was confused because, as I said, I was coming to the Lord for prayer. He acknowledged, yes, you are coming to me to ask for things, you might even ask me what you should do, but you never wait long enough for me to answer before you move on to something else. You ask me what you should do, but instead of staying with me, keeping still and listening, you get up, and you read a book, you ask a friend, you take a class. You don’t wait to see what I have to say. What just occurred to me, I am sure, is that the Holy Spirit brought it to my attention: God is the perfect one to give us advice on what would work for each of our kids, because He created them. He knit them together in my womb. I always used to say that I wish kids came with an instruction manual. Not a generic one, but a separate one for each child that explained what would and would not work for that child. That explained what they could and could not do. What they liked and didn’t like. That is all the information we can get from the Lord. If we seek his counsel, He can help us know what will and won’t work best for our sons and daughters. The same goes for our siblings, our spouse, our co-workers, and our boss. They were all created by the same creator. He knows what they need, what they want, and how they function best. I liked this name when I found it because it is so eye-opening. God is a wonderful Counselor. We can go to Him when we need advice. We can go to Him when we aren’t sure what we should do. There are many ways He can communicate His answers to us. Some people ask God a question, and then they receive a thought from the Lord. Sometimes, they might just get a strong feeling of what they should do. Sometimes they might get a scripture verse, and when they read it, they know what they should do. Sometimes it might be something someone else says to them, and they might just know that God is speaking to them through that person. There are no limits to how God can talk to you and share with you the answer to your question or the wisdom that you seek. If you are struggling with something right now. If you have a problem you have been trying to solve on your own, I want to invite you to find some time to sit down with the Lord and ask Him what you should do. Then stay there with Him and just listen for his answer. Notice if you suddenly have an idea of how to solve it. Notice, if you feel a certain way, or you think of a scripture verse. Just notice your thoughts and feelings. Be on the lookout for the answer, as God has told us over and over again, when we ask, He answers, when we seek, we find. So, ask and listen for the answer. If you don’t feel like you receive anything in that moment, that is ok, you didn’t do it wrong, He just doesn’t always answer right away. Just seek the answer out as you go through the day. Seek, and you will find! Trust that He will answer, and He will! I have seen it happen many times. Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, you are amazing, and we are so grateful for all you do for us. Thank you for being our wonderful counselor. Thank you for guiding us as we try to navigate this crazy place we call the world. Thank you for giving us wisdom when we need it. Thank you for helping us to parent our children. Thanks for guiding us on how to get along better with our siblings or our co-workers. Whatever it is, Lord, I know you are taking care of it, and we are so grateful! We love you tons!! We ask all this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name, Amen! Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I always say—Don’t keep good things to yourself. If this blessed you, pass it along to someone else who might need it too. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day! Today’s Word from the Lord was received in October 2025 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “Peace be with you, my children. Peace I give you. A peace that flows from my heart to yours. A peace that I knew when I spent time in prayer with my father. One that gave me the courage to go on when things seemed overwhelming. A peace that passes anything that man can understand or know. A peace that only I can give. Open your hearts to receive it. Open your minds to believe it. Open all you are to me. Receive the peace I give you.” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace
Transcribe →He is Series: True Vine “When You Feel Disconnected, Stay Close to Jesus.”
Apr 2300:09:46Tap to summarizeHe is Series: True Vine “When You Feel Disconnected, Stay Close to Jesus.” John 15:1-2, 5 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.” In this series, we’ve been learning the different names of God—who He is and how He meets us. And today, we’re going to look at a name Jesus gives Himself, because Jesus is God, and He reveals the heart of God to us in a personal way. When I first read verse one, I didn’t understand what it meant. Which, now that I see the two verses together, this is something I have heard a lot, and I do understand it. I think this often happens when we look at just one verse. We can take it out of context, or we can misunderstand what it means when it is not paired with the surrounding verses. Jesus is our vine, and God is the vinegrower. God removes every branch in us that bears no fruit. This can be really hard for us. Have you ever had God remove something from your life that you knew wasn’t bearing fruit in your life, and yet it still hurt? The first thing that comes to mind for me is a guy I dated back in high school and in my early college years. I knew our relationship was not bearing fruit. I knew we were not right for each other, and yet it hurt when it ended. Sometimes this can be a friendship or a job. God loves us so much that He doesn’t want to see us wasting our lives on things that are not fruitful. Sometimes, it is not just that they are fruitful, but also that they are harmful. If you think back over your life, can you see some times where God removed branches from your tree that were not bearing fruit? Can you see where he removed you from a toxic relationship? Can you see where he removed you from a job where you weren’t going anywhere? Can you see where he put up roadblocks or closed doors that you really wanted to walk through? He does not do this to hurt us. He does this to save us. He does this because he knows that path was leading us somewhere we didn’t want to be. In the moment when God removes things from our lives, we usually don’t understand. It is usually painful and confusing, and we can often get mad. We can feel like God doesn’t care about us. We feel as though He wasn’t there with us through it all because we don’t feel Him there. Usually, down the road, sometimes way down the road, and sometimes just a little ways down the road, we start to understand why God removed that person or that situation from our lives, and we are usually grateful. But, at first, it hurts. I know it does. God doesn’t do it to hurt us. He does it because He loves us too much to watch us ruin our lives, or even worse, if we are doing something that could keep us from spending eternity with him. The next part of the verse says, “Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.” We do have good things in our lives. I know it may not seem like it at times. It may feel like the whole world is against you and that nothing is going right. However, we all have things in our lives that are bearing fruit. God takes those things, and He prunes them to make them bear more fruit. This can also be painful at times because when God is purifying us, it doesn’t always feel good. Gold and Silver are purified in fire. We are purified while we live our lives. When God is removing bad things from our lives, He is purifying us. Sometimes, He also purifies us through things that aren’t bad but can still be hard. God might be helping you bear more fruit by showing you where you need to grow in your life. He might be convicting your heart that you need to forgive someone. This is not to make you feel bad; it is to help open you up to more of His graces. He may be inviting you to start your mornings with Him. He may be inviting you to daily mass or to say the rosary each day. There are all kinds of ways that God can be pruning your branches. God prunes all of our branches so that we can bear more fruit. Another way God can help you bear more fruit is to put on your heart to volunteer with a certain organization. He can lead you to a job you would have never thought of before. He can put people in your path who need whatever skills you have. He can put you in the right place at the right time. God knows what He is doing. He formed us, He created us, He knit us together in our mother’s womb. He is the perfect person to prune us and to help us bear more fruit. All we need to do is listen and cooperate with Him. So far we have talked about how God removes what is not good for us and prunes what is good for us so that it bears more fruit. What we haven’t talked about yet is probably the most important part of the passage. In John 15:5 is says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.” This means that everything we need—our strength, our peace, our ability to grow—comes from staying connected to Him. Just like a branch cannot survive without the vine, we cannot thrive without Jesus. This is important for us to know because when we are struggling, we tend to try to fix things on our own. We try to be strong, we try to hold it all together, we try to be the one to do all the things. This verse is showing us that we can’t do it on our own. No one can. We all need to turn to Jesus, and He will help us. It is also important to remember that when we feel disconnected, it’s not about trying harder—it’s about coming back to Him. Jesus is the True Vine, and we were never meant to do life on our own. When we stay close to Him, everything we need begins to flow. Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode. Thank you for being the True Vine. Lord, we ask that you keep us attached to you. Help us to not wander away. Help us not to rely on our own strength or efforts. Help us to be close to you every single day. We need you, Lord! We ask this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name, Amen! Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. If your life feels full, busy, maybe even overwhelming… and your relationship with God keeps getting pushed to the side… I see you. This mentoring space is designed to help you gently bring God back into your everyday life—without pressure, without perfection. If that’s something your heart needs right now, I’d love to invite you to join us. The link is in the show notes or at walkboldlywithjesus.com. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you, just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day! Today’s Word from the Lord was received in October 2025 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “I hear your praises, and it gives me great delight. You are my beloved. I've given you many blessings. Bring my blessings to others, to all that you meet in your day. Let them know how much I love them. I yearn for them.” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace
Transcribe →Witness Wednesday #205 Megan & Sean
Apr 2200:10:06Tap to summarizeI have two witnesses for you today. I do not know either of these people. I saw one of the witnesses on the Encounter Ministries Facebook page, and then I saw the same witness on another friend’s page, and I felt like that was the Holy Spirit telling me to share her story. I think her story is especially good because so many people struggle with food allergies these days, and I am not sure it even occurs to us to ask for a healing from that. I am not sure we even believe that it can be healed. It probably doesn’t even enter our minds. However, for this young lady, it was life-changing. The first witness is Megan, who is talking about her miraculous healing and how it led to her new job with Encounter Ministries’ online campus. I will be relaying her testimony to you, and I will also include a link in the podcast show notes and the comments section of my YouTube channel so you can watch her give the testimony if you want to. It is so good watching her explain it. You can see the excitement and the gratitude on her face. Megan was at a regional Encounter Ministries conference in Seattle in 2019, and she was suffering from celiac disease, eosinophilic esophagitis; she had so many food allergies that she could really only eat a handful of foods and be ok and she also had major depressive disorder. She had been Catholic her entire life, but she had never really truly met the Lord. At the healing service, the Lord took away everything that she was allergic to; the celiac disease was gone, the depression was gone, and I no longer had eosinophilic esophagitis. In encounter ministries, we ask people to test to see if they have been healed. Test to see if the pain is gone. Test to see if you can do something that you couldn’t do before the prayer. For instance, if you couldn’t raise your arm above your head because of a shoulder injury, then after the prayer, try to see if you can raise your hand over your head. This added step to test if the healing has occurred gives the person praying and the person who has healed a chance to step out in faith and test the healing. Megan wasn’t sure how to test this healing, since it was about food allergies, and she was at a conference. She asked a friend how to test it, and they recommended she seek inner healing. During the inner healing session, she asked the Lord whether He had, in fact, healed her at the conference. And she heard Him say Yes, over and over again, yes. After she left the inner healing session, she went to the only restaurant she knew in this small town in Texas, and she ate everything she had ever been allergic to on that plate. She ate gluten, wheat, soy, eggs, dairy, tree nuts, and peanuts, and there was not one reaction. She drove four hours home praising the Lord the whole time. She had depression for so long, and she woke up the next morning filled with joy. She had no idea where all this joy was coming from and why she was so excited and joyful. She then went to a summer intensive, and then a friend convinced her to sign up for the 2-year online course. She became aware for the first time of her identity as a beloved daughter of Jesus Christ and the authority that He gave us, and she was so excited to go deeper and deeper into their rich content. She is now working for Encounter School of Ministries as their Associate Director of the online school. The second witness today is Sean. He is another Encounter Ministries student. In this witness, he is talking about an incredible grace he received during an Encounter Ministries class exercise. There are so many Encounter Ministry testimonies because there are so many amazing things happening at this school. I think one reason for this is that they are allowing the Holy Spirit to work through them and teaching so many others to do the same. The Holy Spirit is on the move in a big way right now. I love sharing these testimonies because we are all suffering in some way. The more I share, the more chance there is for you to see yourself or your situation in one of these witnesses. If God can do it for them, He can do it for you, too. Again, I will be telling Sean’s story, and then I will place a link for the actual video so you can watch him tell it if you want to. I think you should watch the original video, as no one tells our own testimony better than we do. Sean was a compulsive note-taker, which doesn’t sound bad, but it can be really debilitating at times. He also has this really odd, obsessive thing where, if he is in a conversation and forgets what he's going to say, he can’t just let it go. He will spend 30 minutes poring over it, trying to remember. Sometimes he would still be thinking about it days later, and it really stole his peace. He had this going on when he started Encounter. Week after week, he encountered new revelations and new graces. A very powerful one was when a classmate was praying over him, and she received an image that he had the anointing of St. Peter to jump out of the boat at the first sign of Jesus. When she said that, he started crying, and he felt an instant urge to surrender. Now, when these obsessive thoughts come to him, he can move on instantly. He can be fully in the present moment, fully at peace. He can have new eyes to see. He can see Jesus in the people that he talks to. He can speak what people need to hear in the moment, leading them to Jesus. One week, he received the grace of joy. He was at a Chamber of Commerce event, and even though they aren’t usually full of laughs. He found himself with a group of strangers, and they found themselves laughing and being joyful. When he got to work the next day, he had claimed victory over his workplace the night before, and the tellers were laughing for no reason. He works at a bank. The most beautiful thing was that none of it was rooted in emotion or even gratitude for the healing. It was rooted in who he is and who God is because God is faithful and Sean is His. Sean’s father passed away when he was 3 years old. Sean had an image last week of himself with God the Father in a green field. Sean was 3 years old, and God was running after him, chasing him, playing with him, and throwing him in the air. He was teaching Sean his strength in Him. What God wants to do in all of us is to plant in our hearts that to be His son or His daughter is to be free. He told Sean at that moment that this is the new normal: this peace, this joy, this boldness. This is just the beginning. I hope you will go and check out both of these videos. They are very powerful. I hope when you listen to these witnesses each week, you realize they are coming from normal, everyday people like you and me. There is nothing extraordinary about these people. God did not choose them because they were the best; he chose them because they were willing, seeking, and saying yes. You can too! We had a prophecy from the prayer group that we were just looking at the other day. Here is what we felt the Lord said to our group, and He is saying it to you, too. “My children, I have called each of you, and I continue to call you. I have chosen you because of your great love and your hearts that are willing. I have not chosen you because you are the wisest, speak eloquently, or perform the best. I chose you because you are small in the sense of being humble, knowing who you are, knowing that you need a God and Savior, and being willing to accept me as that.” There you go, straight from the Lord himself. He isn’t choosing people because they are the best. He is choosing people who are humble, who love Him, and who have willing hearts. He chooses those who know they cannot do anything on their own, and yet with Him, there is nothing they cannot do. Is that you? Do you want to be used by God? www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace
Transcribe →He Is Series: Bread of Life — When You Feel Empty, Jesus Is What You’ve Been Missing
Apr 2100:12:08Tap to summarizeIf you’re reading along, just know this has been slightly shortened to fit the space, so it might not match the audio word for word—but you’re not missing anything important. He Is Series: Bread of Life — When You Feel Empty, Jesus Is What You’ve Been Missing John 6:35 “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life.’ Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” Jesus is the Bread of Life. This was a very hard concept for people to understand. How can Jesus be the Bread of Life? Bread was a staple food in the ancient world, symbolizing sustenance and life. Jesus is telling us that He is our sustenance. He is the one who keeps us alive. He is explaining that we need more than physical sustenance—we also need spiritual sustenance. When the Israelites were wandering in the desert, God gave them manna, bread from heaven. This met their physical needs. It was a miraculous food sent daily so they would have enough to eat. But it didn’t give eternal life. Eating manna did not prevent them from dying. However, Jesus is the bread of life, and He can give eternal life. Jesus says in John 6:47-51: “Whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate manna and 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… whoever eats of this bread will live forever.” This reminds me of the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus said in John 4:13-14, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give will never thirst.” We see a pattern: eternal life comes from God. God gives us what we need each day. Yet we often don’t go to Him. We search elsewhere—for success, money, love, acceptance—and end up disappointed. We are all searching for something, and we will keep searching until we find Jesus. As St. Augustine said, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” We try to fill this emptiness with things of the world—relationships, work, pleasure—but nothing satisfies. We expect others to meet all our needs, but they can’t. They weren’t meant to. God alone can fulfill our deepest desires. We work hard to feel worthy, looking for validation, when in reality we are already worthy because of what Jesus did on the cross. We feel unfulfilled, unworthy, unloved—and we look to the world to fix it. But it can’t. We can’t even perfectly love each other. We want to give, but we’re often empty ourselves. Do you see how we are set up to fail if we rely on the world? Jesus is our daily bread. He is living water. We need to go to Him when we feel empty, unworthy, or when our needs aren’t being met. And yes—you can go to God for practical needs too. We pray for healing, jobs, and peace—but we can also pray for food, money, clothing, or anything we need. God cares about everything that matters to you. Let me share a couple of stories. I am one of 11 children. We didn’t have much money growing up. One day, my parents agreed to watch 10 extra kids, but there wasn’t enough food. They prayed—and a neighbor showed up with groceries, enough pasta to feed everyone. While thanking God, they mentioned meat would help. In the middle of that prayer, another neighbor arrived with extra meat from hunting. God provided everything. Another time, my dad’s car broke down. He needed it for work. That night, a neighbor knocked on the door and handed him car keys—just gave him a car. No payment, no expectation. God is so good! God can do this for you too. He is the Bread of Life. He is always there. When we are in need, we can turn to Him, knowing He sees us and will provide what we truly need. We need to stop trying to fill our needs with the world. People, jobs, money—none of these can satisfy us. Jesus is the only one who can. And He doesn’t just give us what we need—He gives us Himself. When we receive Him, that deep hunger inside us is finally filled. Just like we need bread every day, we need Jesus every day—not just once, but continually. Dear Heavenly Father, bless all those listening today. Thank you for sending Jesus as the Bread of Life and Living Water. Help us turn to you instead of the world. Help us see that only you can fill our hearts. We love you and ask this in Jesus’s name, Amen. Thank you for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. We are building a community of people who want to live their faith boldly. If you know someone who belongs here, share this episode with them. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are—and so do I! Have a blessed day! Today’s Word from the Lord was received in October 2025 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have questions, email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today’s Word from the Lord is:“I see a very large, living heart, burning with love—the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Your hearts are within mine. We beat as one. You love with mercy, power, and purity. My heart lives in you.” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace
Transcribe →He Is Series El Kanna — The Jealous God (God Who Pursues You) When You Feel Forgotten, God Is Still Pursuing You
Apr 2000:08:51Tap to summarizeThis might not be word-for-word because I had to shorten it to meet the new character limit for this section. Some people like to read along while they listen, and I want to explain that it might not match up perfectly. He Is Series El Kanna — The Jealous God (God Who Pursues You) When You Feel Forgotten, God Is Still Pursuing You Exodus 34:14 “For you shall worship no other god, because the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” Today, we are looking at the name El Kanna — The Jealous God. This might seem a bit harsh at first. We’ve all seen jealousy in people, and it usually isn’t healthy. I was in a relationship with a very jealous person once, and it wasn’t good. That’s not the kind of jealousy we’re talking about with God. We are imperfect, so when we feel jealous, it can come out as bitterness, control, or pettiness. But God’s jealousy is different. God loves us so much that He cares when we turn away from Him. He cares when we stray from the path. Right before this verse, Exodus 34:12-13 warns not to make covenants with the people of the land because it will become a trap. God knew that following the ways of the world would pull them into things they didn’t want to do. It’s like when you make a new friend and they invite you to do something you don’t really want to do, but you say yes anyway. I remember going to a horror movie with a new friend—I hate horror movies, but I went just to keep the peace. That’s not a big deal, but what if it was something more serious? What if they invited you into something harmful, and little by little you got pulled in? We are called to live in the world, but not be of the world. We are meant to be examples of Christ. But sometimes we forget and begin to love the things of this world. We may think this doesn’t apply to us because we don’t have false gods like in the Old Testament. But today there are more idols than ever. We treat influencers, celebrities, athletes, and entertainment like they are everything. We give them our time, attention, and admiration. If we look at our lives honestly, we can begin to understand why God cares so deeply about where our attention and love go. If you look at your day, can you see why God might be jealous? If you look at who or what gets most of your time, can you understand it? God wants an intimate relationship with you. He sent His Son to die on the cross so He could be close to you. When you see it this way, His jealousy makes sense. But He is not jealous like we are. He is not controlling, petty, or trying to get even. He is not going to hurt us because we hurt Him. God is jealous because He loves us too much to lose us to sin. He is jealous because He wants more for us. I love the saying: God meets us where we are, but He loves us too much to leave us there. He knows how valuable you are. He believes you are worth fighting for. If God weren’t jealous, that would be the real problem. That would mean He didn’t care if we wandered away or headed toward destruction. We often want to believe we can do whatever we want and still end up in heaven because God loves us. But the Bible tells us clearly that we are called to love God with all our heart, mind, and soul. Are we doing that? Are we putting Him first? If not, it helps us understand why God calls us back. He is protective because He loves us. He doesn’t ignore us while we go the wrong way. He doesn’t just focus on those who are doing well. He wants all of His children with Him in heaven. Do you know what that means? It means God is actively pursuing you. He is chasing after you. He is fighting for you because you are worth fighting for—even if you don’t believe that. God is not content to let you go down the wrong road. He is not content to watch you chase things that will only lead to emptiness. He is jealous in all the good ways—and we are so blessed that He is. Dear El Kanna, I ask that you bless each person listening. Thank you for loving us so deeply that you pursue us. Help us stay on the right path. Show us where we have gone astray and gently lead us back. We want to stay close to you. We love you, Lord, and ask this in Jesus’s name, Amen. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. If something in you has been stirred lately—like you want more of God—that’s not random. That’s an invitation. And if you’re ready to respond, I would love to walk with you in the mentoring group. You can join through the link in the show notes or at walkboldlywithjesus.com. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day! Today’s Word from the Lord was received in October 2025 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have questions, email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today’s Word from the Lord is:“Please freely call upon my name. I long to hear from you, and I will come running.” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace
Transcribe →He Is Series Jehovah Mekoddishkem (The Lord Who Sanctifies You) —When You Feel Unworthy, God Is Still Working in You
Apr 1700:13:06Tap to summarizeIf you’re reading along, just know this has been slightly shortened to fit the space, so it might not match the audio word for word—but you’re not missing anything important. He Is Series Jehovah Mekoddishkem (The Lord Who Sanctifies You) — When You Feel Unworthy, God Is Still Working in You Exodus 31:13 “You yourself are to speak to the Israelites: ‘You shall keep my sabbaths… that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you.’” Today, we are talking about Jehovah Mekoddishkem (The Lord Who Sanctifies You). To be sanctified means to be made holy. God is the one who makes us holy. At a mission, a speaker asked who wanted to be holy; only a few hands went up. Then he asked who wanted to go to heaven—everyone raised their hand. He said, “You know the only way to get to heaven is to be holy, right?” Another speaker said something similar. Few wanted to be saints, but everyone wanted heaven. The truth is, we are all called to be saints—not necessarily Saints with a capital S like Mother Teresa or Saint Catherine of Siena—but we do need to be sanctified to enter heaven. God is the one who sanctifies us through His grace, love, and mercy. He wants each of His children to be holy so we can spend eternity with Him. I think many of us hesitate to say we want to be holy for two reasons. First, we don’t want to seem prideful. Second, we think it will require more than we can give. We assume it means doing everything perfectly or giving up everything we enjoy, so we avoid it. I looked up what sanctification means using the Truthly app—an AI tool that shares faith-based insights rooted in Catholic teaching. To be sanctified means: To be made holy — God transforms us from the inside out through grace. To be set apart — We are dedicated to God, no longer living just for ourselves. To be purified — God doesn’t just cover sin; He cleanses it. The primary means of sanctification are: The Holy Spirit The Sacraments Prayer, fasting, and works of mercy Suffering united to the Cross The goal is full participation in God’s life—what some call theosis—sharing in His divine life by grace. This is the purpose of the Christian life: not just to avoid hell, but to become truly holy. We cannot make ourselves holy, but we can cooperate with God—or resist Him. Before I continue, I want to say something important. I’m not sharing this so you feel like you have to do everything or that you’re falling behind. This isn’t a checklist. This is just a way to notice how God is already working in your life… and where He might be inviting you a little deeper. You don’t have to do everything perfectly. Just listen and see if one thing stands out. Here are simple ways we can cooperate with God’s grace: Prayer — Opens our hearts to God The Sacraments — Especially the Eucharist and Confession Scripture — Helps us hear His voice Fasting — Trains our hearts to depend on God Works of mercy — Loving others Offering suffering — Letting God transform it Devotion to Mary — Drawing closer to Jesus Spiritual guidance — Getting help from others Daily reflection — Noticing God’s presence Virtue — Choosing patience, humility, and love This is not about doing all of these. Just ask: is there one step God is inviting me into? We can also unintentionally resist grace: Pride — Thinking we don’t need God Serious sin — Though we can always return Neglecting prayer — Losing connection Small compromises — Slowly pulling away Tempting situations — Leading us to struggle Spiritual apathy — “It doesn’t matter” Ignoring conscience — Dismissing that nudge Attachments — Loving things more than God Unforgiveness — Blocking grace Despair or presumption — Too far gone or no need to change Again, this is not to make you feel bad. Just ask gently: “Is anything blocking what God wants to do in me?” Grace is not earned—it is received. God is always giving. The question is whether our hearts are open. As Saint Augustine said, our hearts are restless until they rest in God—and every step toward Him brings us closer to that rest. I know this episode was more teaching than usual, but I felt called to share it. If you’re listening, I believe you want heaven—and God wants that too. He is working in you every day. What is one way you can cooperate more with His grace? What might be resisting it? Dear Jehovah Mekoddishkem, bless all who are listening. Thank You for sanctifying us and wanting us with You forever. Show us anything blocking Your grace and help us cooperate with it. We want to be holy. We ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Thank you for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus! Take a moment and ask the Holy Spirit, “Who needs to hear this?” If someone comes to mind, send it to them. I look forward to seeing you Monday. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are—and so do I! Have a blessed weekend! Today’s Word from the Lord was received in October 2025 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have questions, email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today’s Word from the Lord is:“When you find it difficult to be my voice, call upon the power of my name. My name will give you strength, help you overcome fear, and walk through every trial. My name is the power you need.” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace
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