Walk Boldly With Jesus

Catherine Duggan
  • 4.6 (9)
  • CHRISTIANITY
  • UPDATED DAILY

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/

  1. 5H AGO

    He Is Series: Bread of Life — When You Feel Empty, Jesus Is What You’ve Been Missing

    If 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.com CLICK HERE TO DONATE CLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring  CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emails CLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily life CLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

    12 min

  2. 1D AGO

    He Is Series El Kanna — The Jealous God (God Who Pursues You) When You Feel Forgotten, God Is Still Pursuing You

    This 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.com CLICK HERE TO DONATE CLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring  CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emails CLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily life CLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

    9 min

  3. 4D AGO

    He Is Series Jehovah Mekoddishkem (The Lord Who Sanctifies You) —When You Feel Unworthy, God Is Still Working in You

    If 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.com CLICK HERE TO DONATE CLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring  CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emails CLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily life CLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

    13 min

  4. 5D AGO

    He Is Series El Chaiyai (The God of My Life) — When You Feel Disconnected, God Is Closer Than You Think

    He Is Series El Chaiyai (The God of My Life) — When You Feel Disconnected, God Is Closer Than You Think Psalm 42:8 “By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.” El Chaiyai, the God of my life. What comes to mind right away is, “Am I letting God be the God of my life?” Am I following His lead, or am I expecting Him to follow mine? Am I putting Him first in my life, or am I fitting Him in where I can? We often fill our lives so full of stuff that it leaves very little room for the really important things, like faith and family. Many of us start our mornings off by spending time on our phones. We check our emails, our text messages, what is happening on social media, and what is happening in the news. Sometimes we have done all of this before we have even gotten out of bed. You know what we often don’t do before getting out of bed? Thank God for a brand new day of life. We also don’t tend to offer the day to the Lord or invite Him in with us. We don’t ask Him to protect us and to keep us safe. We just wake up, hit snooze, wake up again, hit snooze, and then go on our phones to catch up on all we missed in those few hours that we allowed ourselves to sleep. We could be an hour or two into our day before we even recognize the Lord. Sometimes even longer. This is something we should be aware of and consciously choose whether to change. If this is our current habit, unless we consciously choose to change it, it won't change. Do we need to change it? Is it okay to do all those other things first, as long as we fit in prayer time somewhere? If you are asking me this question, I will remind you that we are asked to give our first fruits to the Lord. That doesn’t mean that we have to pray with the Lord first thing in the morning. What it means is that we make a plan so we know when we are going to sit with the Lord. We make time for Him first, and then we fill the rest of our calendar with other things. I think that God is super happy whenever we spend time with Him. I don’t think it matters when; I think it matters if we do it or not. God is just asking for some time with us. I know people often think God is mad at us when we do things “wrong” or when we don’t get things right. I don’t believe this. God knows us, He knows our hearts, and He knows the broken world we live in. He knows our past and all the experiences that shaped our lens on how we see the world. I think instead of reaching for our phones first thing, I believe we should begin our days with a quick hello to the Lord. I am not talking about a long discussion with Him, but a quick hello and an invitation into your day would be a great way to start. I want to be honest and let you know this is not how I start my day. I start it by hitting snooze, then get up to make my husband breakfast and lunch before he leaves for work. I get the dog out of the door and into the backyard, then feed her. After all of this is done, I go upstairs and, on a good day, I read the Bible or write in my prayer journal. At some point, I will do a quick workout. Interpersed through this whole routine, I scroll on Facebook, check my messages, and my emails. I say all of this because sometimes we look at other people’s lives and think they are getting it all right, and then we feel guilt or shame: if they are getting it right, why can’t I get it right? To be clear, I am not getting it right. I am just thinking about what it means to have the God of my life in my life, and I am realizing I might not be cooperating with Him as much as I could be. If I want God to be the God of my live then it would be good to invite Him into my day first thing in the morning. I can invite Him in and ask Him to lead me. Show me where to stay the course and when to shift my course in one direction or another. If God is the God of my life, then why am I not running all major decisions by Him before I make them? Why do I not communicate with Him more? Did you know you can sit down and have a conversation with God? A real back-and-forth conversation. I did not know this until somewhat recently, and it has been a game-changer for me. I still don’t do it as often as I would like, but when I started asking the Lord questions and actually writing down what I felt He was saying back to me, my faith grew so much deeper. When I started to listen to what God was saying to me, I began to learn how He talks and to recognize His voice. This helped me discern whether something I heard was from the Lord, from myself, or from the enemy. It is amazing to hear the Lord say wonderful things about me. He wants to say wonderful things about you, too! All you need to do is sit and listen. My challenge for you today is to look at your life and ask yourself, " Is God the Lord of my life? If the answer is yes, that is awesome, keep doing what you're doing. If the answer is no, that is ok. Just sit down and ask yourself what I could be doing differently to put God first in my life. What can I do to make God the CEO of my life? How can I make small shifts towards allowing God more control and power in my life? One of these can be to say a quick prayer to the Lord before grabbing your phone in the morning. I am not asking for you to change everything at once. All I am asking is that you notice whether you are blocking the Lord from being Lord of your life in any way, and, if so, make tiny shifts to change that. Remember, progress, not perfection. We will never be perfect this side of heaven. God is not looking for perfection; He is looking for progress. Are we moving in the right direction? That is all he wants from us. Dear El Chaiyai, we ask you to bless all those listening to this episode. Lord, we are so grateful you are the God of our lives. You have seen the mess that we make of our lives when we are in control. We are sorry that we try to take the reins back over and over again. Please help us to turn our lives over to you once and for all. Please help us to give you our first fruits. Help us to schedule you into our lives before we schedule everything else. We are so sorry, we usually end up squeezing you in wherever we can instead of scheduling you first. We love 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 you’ve been listening to me mention mentoring and something in your heart still feels like, “This isn’t really for me… I’m not good enough… God wouldn’t want me like this,” I want you to know—that is exactly why this mentoring space exists. This is a place for real people, not perfect people. A place to come as you are and slowly begin to believe that God really does love you. If you’ve been longing for that kind of safe space, I’d love to invite you to join us. You can find the link in the show notes or visit 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, “There is great power in my name, my little ones. There is great power. It is the power of love. It is the power of unity. It is a power that I wish to give to all of my chosen people wherever they are.” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.com CLICK HERE TO DONATE CLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring  CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emails CLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily life CLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

    9 min

  5. 5D AGO

    Witness Wednesday #204 Catherine D (Encounter Class)

    If 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. Today I would like to talk about some amazing things that have been happening during my Monday night class. Sometimes, during praise and worship, the Deacon leading the class will sense that the Lord wants to perform healings or show His personal love for us. He asks if anyone needs or wants prayer. If you do, you raise your hand, and those around you pray over you. We may not all feel comfortable praying for others, but the point of the class is to step out in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Let’s step forward, relying on the Holy Spirit to guide us. In this class, we’ve been taught to assess the situation before and after prayer so we can see how God is working. Even asking how someone feels is an act of faith. When you pray, you want healing, but asking if anything has changed takes courage because they might say no. And sometimes they do. God always answers prayers, just not always how or when we expect. I’ve prayed for healing and not seen the result, but I trust God was still working. Asking what is happening is stepping out in faith. When I begin to pray, I ask what they need and, if there’s pain, what level it is from 1 to 10 so we can compare later. After praying—maybe just a couple of minutes—we ask what they feel. Any change? Any warmth? What is the pain level now? We also ask them to share anything they notice from the Holy Spirit. We do this because we pray with expectant faith. We expect God to show up. Jesus said in John 14:12-14 that those who believe will do the works He did, and more. If we ask in His name, He will do it. That doesn’t mean it always happens how or when we expect, but we can trust He is moving. One thing I love that we were taught is to say, “Don’t be nice.” Don’t pretend something happened just to make us feel better. God is the one doing the healing—He doesn’t need false praise. All the glory belongs to Him. A few weeks ago, the Deacon felt the Lord wanted to heal that night. A woman in front of me raised her hand. Two of us prayed over her. She had severe stomach pain for months and couldn’t even enjoy a recent cruise. That night, her pain was a 10. After just a few minutes of prayer, it dropped to a 2. Praise God—He is so good! The next day, I visited a friend with breathing issues. Doctors had found something in her lungs and needed more testing. I asked if I could pray for her, and she said yes. After praying, I asked if she felt anything. She said she felt peace come over her. Praise God! We didn’t see everything right away, but I know God is taking care of her. He knew she needed peace in that moment. This past week, another woman asked for prayer. I didn’t hear her need, so I prayed in tongues. When asked how she felt, she also said she felt peace. Thank you, God—I love it! Later, the Deacon said God was healing again and invited us to pray. I saw a woman raise her hand and went over. She had tightness and pain at about a 5 or 6. After prayer, it dropped to a 2. Praise God! She then mentioned feeling heavy pressure that kept her from standing. We are also taught to invite an act of faith—trying something they couldn’t do before. I asked her to try standing, and she did, feeling a little better. We prayed again, giving all glory to God, and she improved even more. Later, she gave me a thumbs-up—and I saw her not just standing, but dancing. Praise God—you are amazing! These things are incredible—and they are happening every day. God wants to do this in your life too. These miracles didn’t happen because we said the perfect words or did everything right. We’re just learning. They didn’t happen because we’re special. They happened because the Deacon listened and was brave enough to say yes—and we were brave enough to respond. We stepped out, even when unsure. Even when afraid. Even when we didn’t feel good enough. We believed what Jesus said in John 14. And here’s the truth—you can too. God isn’t using us because we’re special. He’s using us because we said yes. We want to be His hands and feet—and so we are. The same is true for you. You might be thinking this is amazing—but not for you. That’s not true. Anyone can be used by God if they say yes. You may feel too broken, too weak, or not holy enough. But God has already used people just like you to do incredible things. Maybe you think you’re too old. That’s not true either. God doesn’t need you to change first. He just needs your yes: “Yes, Lord, use me.” He will do the rest. I pray this witness plants a seed in your heart. Even if you’re not ready to say yes today, I pray the Lord shows you how He wants to use you. And when you see it, hear it, or feel it, I pray you say, “Yes, Lord, use me.” I love you all so much, and I hope you have an incredible week! www.findingtruenorthcoaching.com CLICK HERE TO DONATE CLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring  CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emails CLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily life CLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

    12 min

  6. APR 14

    He is Series El Deah (The God Who Knows) — When You Feel Misunderstood, God Knows the Real You

    He is Series El Deah (The God Who Knows) — When You Feel Misunderstood, God Knows the Real You  1 Samuel 2:3 “Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. El Deah, the God who knows. This is an important name for us all to remember as we look at our lives and wonder why God does what He does. We often have a plan and a timeline for how and when things should be done. And life rarely works out exactly like we want it to or on the timeline that we set for it. God knows everything. His ways are higher than our ways. God’s plan is not just different than our plan, it is better in every way. Often, when we are in the middle of it, we can’t see this. We see how it is unfolding, and we get angry at how God did things. For instance, we apply for a job, and we don’t get it, and we get mad at God because He didn’t give us what we wanted. However, what if that job wasn’t right for us? Yes, with the limited knowledge we have, that job seemed perfect. However, God knows better than we do. He knows things we can’t see. For instance, he knows that your personality won’t get along well with that boss. Or he knows the current boss is only there for another few months, and the new boss will want you to work more hours. God knows that you have something really difficult coming down the road, and you will need more time to deal with that than the new job would give you. God knows the new job would require you to travel more, and you would miss your family. I don’t know all the scenarios, but God does. It is not our job to understand God’s plan; it is our job to trust that He knows what He is doing. Another example is one that I read in a book, I think. It was about Heidi and Rolland Baker. I don’t recall the story exactly, but I will summarize what I remember. Heidi and Rolland have been used powerfully by the Lord in a healing ministry. They were in the Middle East for something, and they were called to pray for healing over a man who was very powerful, and he was in the hospital dying. They went to the hospital, and this man was surrounded by family. None of them was a Christian. Heidi and Rolland prayed for this man, and they did not see a change. Heidi and Rolland didn’t understand. In their eyes, it would have been the perfect time and place for a healing, because if God had healed that man in front of all his family, they would have seen God’s power and glory and believed.  Heidi and Rolland stayed and prayed as long as they could, but they had to go on a trip that was already planned, and the man was not expected to live very much longer. They went on their trip, and to their surprise, when they got back, the man was still alive. They were asked to come to the hospital to pray over him again. This time, when they got there, there was even more family. All of the man’s relatives, even those who lived far away, had time to travel in to say goodbye. This time, they prayed over the man, and he was healed, and every single one of his family members was baptized. If God had healed him when Heidi and Rolland thought it was the perfect time, then all those family members who came into town later would have missed out on witnessing the Glory of God. God knows. He knows when. He knows why. He knows everything! Another reason it is good to remember that God knows is that sometimes we can try to hide things from God. We might be mad at Him, but we don’t want Him to know it, so we act like nothing is wrong. We hold that anger in, and we don’t talk to Him about it. The problem is that anger can block so many graces, and you will be blocking those graces for no reason because God already knows you are angry. He already knows why you are angry, and He is just waiting for you to bring it to Him so He can heal those wounds. We can get so caught up in trying to be who we think God wants us to be. We try to clean ourselves up and try to say our prayers perfectly. We try to look perfect when we go to mass and when we are around others. We don’t talk about how we are really feeling because we don’t want anyone to know, especially God. I think so many of us have a real fear that if God really knew the things we have done, or the things we have thought, then He would not love us anymore. He would reject. We are all so afraid that God will see the real us and leave. We worry He will realize we aren’t the person He thought we were. This is a lie and not something we need to fear. God knows us, the real us. God made us. It says in Psalm 139:13-14, “For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.” We can not hide who are from the Lord. He knows exactly who you are. He knows your thoughts, your strengths, your weaknesses, everything you have ever done, and everything you will ever do. He knows it all, and He is still with you. He still loves you. He will never leave you, no matter what you do or say. It is ok to be yourself. It is ok to pray, even if you feel you are not good at it. It is ok to talk to the Lord, even when you are made at Him. It is ok to come to Him and ask for something. Nothing is too big or too small. You don’t have to wait until you change, until you are perfect, or until you feel worthy to come to God. He wants you to come just as you are. This can be easier if we remember that He already knows the real us, so there is no need to hide it! Dear El Deah, I ask you to bless each person listening. Lord, you are amazing. We are so grateful that you love us even though you know the real us. Please help us remember that when we are scared to show you the real us. Please also help us remember that you know everything, so when your plan is different from ours, help us be patient and trust that it is not just different but also better. Lord, we love you, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name, Amen! Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. If this episode touched your heart, would you consider sharing it with someone who might need to hear it too? You never know how God might use it in their life. 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, “You must bring them into a world that does not desire them, that does not acknowledge their goodness, but they know. They know that there's something special and so wear these virtues proudly. Wear these every single day. Wear these wherever you go because you bring them to a world that is starving for them.” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.com CLICK HERE TO DONATE CLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring  CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emails CLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily life CLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

    8 min

  7. APR 13

    He Is Series Jehovah Shammah (The Lord is There)— When You Feel Alone, God Is Already There

    He Is Series Jehovah Shammah (The Lord is There)— When You Feel Alone, God Is Already There Ezekiel 48:35 “The circumference of the city shall be eighteen thousand cubits. And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The Lord is There.” When I read this name this morning, Jehovah Shammah, the Lord is There, I thought it was powerful. How many of us really needed to hear that this morning? How many of us needed to hear that the Lord is right there with us? So many of my friends that I have been talking to lately have really been struggling with believing this. Something I have really been struggling with over these last few weeks is when my head knows something, but my heart doesn’t seem to fully know it. Let me give you an example, in case what I just said doesn’t make sense to you. I know so strongly in my head that I don’t have to do anything for the Lord to love me. I know He loves me completely and unconditionally, no matter what I do. I will tell you this all day long because I know with my whole being that it is true for you too! However, then I will catch myself striving for his love anyway. The way it feels to me is like my conscious mind knows it, but then my subconscious mind doesn’t quite have it yet. It is still replaying old thoughts. This verse is nice because it reminds us that God is always there. I know many of you are struggling right now. So many of you are chronically ill and feel like you are never going to get better. Others are suffering from depression and anxiety, and it can feel overwhelming. Some of you are suffering because you are watching loved ones suffer, and you just want to make it better for them, and you can’t. I know you feel like God has left you. He has moved on to someone better. You feel He has decided you are not worth the effort and that He doesn’t want to waste His healing on you. That sounds harsh, yet it is how some of you talk to yourselves. Whether you know it or not, some of you feel God has left you because you aren’t worthy. I have some news for you, none of us is worthy. Not on our own, at least. However, Jesus took all of our sins and shame to the cross with Him so that we could be worthy. Here are some truths that I think we all need to know. First, God is always there for us. This is a fact. Even if we can’t feel God, He is still there. He never leaves our side. This may be hard for us to wrap our heads around. Especially if the people in our lives have not been there for us. If they have left us in our times of need, then we might think to ourselves, “Of course God is not staying, no one ever stays.” Have you thought about this before? What comes to mind is something from the devotional about the name Yahweh. It said that God is so other than us. He is not like us at all.  For me, this was one of those things I obviously knew, yet I am not sure I ever really thought about it like that. You know how you can hear something, and although you know it is true, when you hear it said out loud, it just makes you think differently. I know that God is not like us, and yet we still assume He will do things like we do things. He will abandon us, He will reject us, stop loving us if we show Him who we really are. This is not true! God is not like us, and He will never leave you! The second thing is that God is actually closest to us when we feel the farthest from Him. This doesn’t make sense because why would we feel so alone if God were so close to us? That I don’t have an answer to. However, Psalm 34:18 states that "The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” God is with you. He knows what you are going through, and He is taking every step with you. And if you are allowing Him to, then He is leading you every step of the way. He will step in if He feels you are going to fall. The image I just got is of a toddler learning to walk. As I wrote that last part, I could see a toddler trying to learn to walk, and it wasn’t easy, and they were struggling, but they were still doing it. I saw the Lord right next to the toddler as a loving father. Not rescuing them from this task, as they need to learn to walk, but right there, ready to reach out his hand if it looked like they were going to fall. The Lord is doing the same with you and me. He is walking beside us, ready to put out His hand when He thinks we may need it. He knows we need to learn whatever this hard time is teaching us, and so He is allowing it to happen. However, He is also right there to reach out his hand, or scoop us up into his arms to save us from danger we can’t handle. I heard something in the Mel Robbins Podcast yesterday that I just felt a prompt to share with you. The episode was called, “Simple Steps for Getting Unstuck: Do THIS and Change Your Life.” The one thing that I want to share with you from this was about resistance. In the podcast, they were saying that resistance is a part of life. When I think of resistance, I think of anything that is getting in the way of you doing what you want to do. What the guest said, which I felt was so powerful, was that if you encounter resistance, you should be happy. The reason you should be happy is that that means you are doing something important that has a purpose. I have said this before, and I will keep saying it until we all learn it. When you are trying to do something, and you keep encountering obstacles, sometimes we can start to think it wasn’t really a calling from the Lord, maybe I am not supposed to do this, what was I thinking, of course I am not the right person for this. Or, whatever it is you are thinking. I think this could be life-changing if we could start to reframe how we see all these obstacles. What if, instead of getting frustrated because all these obstacles are in our way, we got excited? What if we started looking at obstacles as if they were confirmation that we are on the right path and that the enemy is confirming for us that what we are about to do will be powerful? Let me share a secret with you. If you are doing something that is not going to be powerful and is not going to change people’s lives, the enemy is not going to care about you. He is going to let you be and do your thing because it won’t affect him. However, if you are going to do something powerful, if people are going to be changed because of what you are trying to do, the enemy will stop at nothing to stop you. Do you see what a powerful shift this could be for us if we could stop letting the enemy convince us we can’t do it and instead, when we start to hear the negative voice in our mind we could take that as confirmation that we are on the right path and double down on our effort to let the enemy know He can’t stop us. That might have been a bit of a side tangent, but I felt led to share it, so I know someone needed to hear that today. The last thing I really want to hammer home before I leave you today is that the Lord is there already. You don’t have to change for Him to be there. You don’t have to earn His love or His time. You don’t have to be perfect and do everything right for Him to be there. He is ALREADY THERE! He always has been, and He always will be, and there is nothing you can do about it! Like it or not, He is forever there! Dear Jehovah Shammah, I ask you to bless each person listening today. Lord, we love you so much, and we ask you to help us feel you there more often. Help us to feel your presence. Lord, there are so many who feel so lost right now, and they need to know you are always there with them. Help us to know that you are there, not just in the good times but in the bad times as well. Please help us not just know this in our heads, but feel it in our hearts as well. We ask this according to 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’ve ever felt like you’re trying to walk with God… but you’re doing it alone… I want you to know—you don’t have to. That’s actually why I created this mentoring group. It’s a place where you can be surrounded by others who are seeking God too—people who understand, who will pray with you, and walk alongside you. If your heart is craving that kind of connection, I’d love for you to join us. The link is in the show notes or at walkboldlywithjesus.com. 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, “My children, my chosen ones, I ask you to clothe yourself in virtues of kindness, humility, mercy, forgiveness, and patience. These are things the world you live in do not value, but they look at you. They look at the clothing you are wearing, the virtues I have bestowed upon you, and they wonder, and you are my witnesses because they wonder, and they see the goodness of these virtues.” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.com CLICK HERE TO DONATE CLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring  CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emails CLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily life CLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

    11 min

  8. APR 10

    Episode #1213 He Is Series YHWH (I AM) When You Feel Unworthy but God Draws Near Anyway

    Episode #1213 He Is Series YHWH (I AM) When You Feel Unworthy but God Draws Near Anyway Exodus 3:13-15 “But Moses said to God, ‘If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’: This is my name forever, and this is my title for all generations.” Today, we are discussing a name for the Lord that was not spoken out loud for a very long time, and eventually it was only spoken by priests in the Jerusalem Temple. This name is YHWH (Yahweh), which means I AM. Did you know Yahweh (yah-WEH) occurs more than 6,800 times in the Old Testament? It appears in every book except Esther, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs.  I am learning so much through this series. I had no idea that this name occurred so many times. In the English edition, they usually replace the word Lord, with Adonay and then for Yahweh as “LORD” in all capital letters. When trying to figure out what this name meant and why it was so important, I found an article called, “The Meaning of Yahweh: Why It Matters in Biblical Studies,” by Jenna Martin. (https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/why-it-matters-that-god-is-yahweh.html) This article gives 7 attributes that we know to be true about God. I would like to share them with you now.  1.) Yahweh Is the Self-Existent, Eternal God- God has no need for us. He doesn’t need anyone or anything. The rest of us need a lot to go in the right order to keep existing. If we don’t have our health, then no matter what else we have, we will eventually no longer cease to exist. God is not like this. He is eternal. He has always existed. He is the beginning and the end. He needs nothing to continue to exist.  2.) Yahweh is a Relational God- Yahweh is only used in the Bible when the author is talking about His personal relationship with people. A great example of this is Psalm 19. The author talks in the first 6 verses about Elohim (another name for God) and his relationship with the material world. Then, in verse 7, he shifts and starts to write about Yahweh and his relationship with those who know him and who are in covenant with him. God is making sure we know that He wants to have a personal relationship with His people. He does not want to be far from them. He doesn’t want to be held at arm’s length. God wants to be very close to us.  3.) Yahweh Is with Us- Yahweh is here, interacting with our world, among us. And he does that out of love. God is under no obligation to remain close to us, working in our lives and writing a love story between himself and the world. And yet, he chooses to do so. In fact, he chooses to build his very kingdom among believers. Luke 17:21 says, “Nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.” God’s kingdom is right here.  4.) Yahweh Is the Unchanging God- God is the same yesterday, today, and always. (Hebrews 13:8). God is, who He is. He does not change because His teachings are difficult. He does not change because people don’t like Him. He is always the same. You can rely on that. In John 6:66, it says, “Because of this, many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him.” Jesus talked about how He was the bread of life, and then in John 6:53, He said, “So Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. ' “ Jesus said something that was hard to understand, and He lost followers. He still said it. He knew they would leave. He knew it would be hard, and yet He said it anyway. He did not change so that He would be more popular. He didn’t teach what people wanted to hear. He taught the truth no matter what. Knowing that God is never going to change, we need to decide whether to follow Him and conform to His ways or not.  5.) Yahweh is Wholly Other than Us- Psalm 50:21 says, ”These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.” We tend to think God is like us. We know on some level that He isn’t. We know He is almighty. We know He is God. Yet, we also tend to think He is like us. For instance, we think He gets mad at us for no reason, because those around us do. We think His love is conditional because the love of those around us is conditional. We think that God thinks we are too much, just like everyone else does. God is not like us. He relates to us more deeply than we can imagine, but he is not like us. His ways are higher than our ways. We don’t understand why God does what He does because we forget that He is not like us. He knows everything. He is making decisions based on the past, present, and future. We mostly make them based on the past or the present. 6.) Yahweh Keeps His Covenant with Us- God’s covenant with Abraham shows His faithfulness, but when He reveals His name as Yahweh to Moses, He is making that faithfulness unmistakably clear—He is the God who is, who was, and who will always keep His word. Yahweh is not just the God who makes promises—He is the God who keeps them, unchanging and faithful through every generation. 7.) Yahweh Is Full of Mystery... but Worth Seeking!- We are not meant to completely understand the meaning of the name I AM who I AM. We aren’t meant to fully understand the Lord. Our brains can’t comprehend all of it. Our brains are human, and so they are limited in what we can understand. Also, He is so vast and so complex that there is not enough time in our lifetime to understand everything there is to know. Part of our pursuit to grow closer to the lord is to desire to seek to understand and know Him more and more. Do you feel like you know more about the Lord now than you did before listening to this? Were there any things that were listed that surprised you? Maybe you already knew all of them, and yet it was a good refresher to go over them again. I definitely learned a few things today. I also went deeper on a few things I already knew on one level, but took root in a whole new way today. God definitely is mysterious. I love that! I love that He will never stop surprising us. Dear Yahweh, I ask that you bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, you are amazing, and we are so grateful for all you do. We are grateful that you are a mystery. Please help our hunger to seek you; never die. We are grateful for all your covenants with us. Please help us to never give up trust and faith in your covenants. We are grateful that you are not us. Please help us to remember you are so much greater than us and that you have no limitations on what you can do. We are grateful that you are unchanging. Please always remind us of this when we forget. Remind us that you are always the same! We are grateful that you are always with us and that you are a relational God. Please help us to remember you never leave our side. Help us to remember that you desire a relationship with us and that you don’t need us to be perfect before we have that relationship with us. We are grateful that you are self-existent and eternal. It is reassuring to know you don’t need us and that you will always be here, no matter what. There is no beginning or end with you. Thank you so much, Lord. Please help us to remember all this. We ask this in the mighty name of Jesus, Amen! Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to spending time with you again on Monday. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day! Today’s Word from the Lord was received in 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, “This peace will bring you closer and closer to me. This peace will give you the grace and the mercy and the compassion that you need to truly serve all of my children. You are all my chosen children, and peace to you is the gift that I give that more than anything will assure you of my great love for you.” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.com CLICK HERE TO DONATE CLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring  CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emails CLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily life CLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

    12 min
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About

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/

Information

  • Creator
    Catherine Duggan
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    600
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2021 Walk Boldly With Jesus by Catherine Duggan
  • Show Website
    Walk Boldly With Jesus