😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace and presence be with you.  I took last Thursday off and drove to North Carolina to visit my daughter and two of my grandkiddos.  That night, for the first time, I got to watch my grandson play baseball.  Being that I really enjoyed playing baseball as a kid, it was exciting for me and hopefully memorable for him, to pass the ball and warm up together before his game. 

Typically on my every other Friday off, I start my day with 8:30 Mass, followed by Adoration.  I knew the kiddos had school and Crystal had work, so I checked out her local Catholic church and it turned out that they too had 8:30 Mass, followed by Adoration.  As Mass began, I looking around the church.  It appeared that the regulars were there and I wondered if I had taken someone’s pew.  Being in no rush, at the end of Adoration I slowly gathered my things together.  I noticed that a lady, probably in her 80’s and only about as tall as my shoulder, walking towards me.  She said, “Thank you for joining us today.”  It was the strangest thing, but as she was saying that to me, I felt myself leaning forward.  I said to myself, “What are you doing?  Stand up.”  Then this lady held onto me and I instinctively leaned forward again.  That is when she gently kissed me on my forehead.  I was kind of surprised, but at the same time, not.  It was then that someone started turning the lights off.  As I tried to collect myself, the lady that delivered this heavenly kiss from God, turned and walked away as if Mass had ended and she was going in peace to love and serve the Lord.  I watched God’s messenger walking out of the church in what seemed to be a natural, normal pace for her.

During my visit, I got to spend time playing, going to a concert in the park and dancing, taught my grandson how to two step, taught both of the grandkiddos how to shuffle cards and play solitaire (with cards, not on a phone), my granddaughter showed me what a great roller skater she is, and I got to celebrate my daughter’s birthday.  It was a great visit!

But that’s not where the journey ended.  Driving by myself on the way home Sunday, God was working on me.  It’s amazing what you can hear God speaking to you, when you get some one-on-One time with Him.  This entire trip was a journey of contemplation, visitation, rebuilding, and restoration. 

At the beginning of March, I registered for a women’s conference.  Upon reading the bios for the speakers that will be at the conference, two of them mentioned that they were part of the Abiding Together podcast.  Turns out, they are currently in their 18^th season.  Their content is excellent, informative, comfortable to sit with, very relatable, and challenging to go deeper in my faith and actions.  Below is a link to Season 05 Episode 08: Marriage and Restoration with Dr. Bob Schuchts.  It doesn’t matter if you are married or not, you will be able to draw some excellent words of wisdom to better yourself in any relationship.  I would recommend listening to this episode with the mindset of “How can I better myself”, instead of focusing on the wrong you find in other people.  The episode is about 46 minutes.  If you’re like me, you’ll want to take some notes, so have some paper and a pen ready as you embark on this journey of discovery and growth.

Bless others and be blessed.

Shelly  :0)

If the Lord has touched you in some way with His message today, I ask that you pay it forward by sharing this message, so that you and He may also bless others.  Click subscribe to receive your message every Wednesday via email.

#AbidingTogetherPodcast – Season 05 Episode 08: Marriage and Restoration with Dr. Bob Schuchts

https://www.abidingtogetherpodcast.com/podcastarchive/s05-e08-marriage-and-restoration-with-dr-bob-schuchts?rq=marriage%20and%20restoration

😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace and presence be with you.  Last Friday I had the pleasure of celebrating my uncle’s life.  After the beautiful Mass and graveside service we went to a favorite family location to share memories and support each other.  One of my relatives, that I don’t recall ever meeting, sat at our table and said that when he saw me, he knew I had to be my mom’s daughter.  Without knowing who I was, he knew who I belonged to.

When you’re in a room surrounded by family, it’s easy to see those dominant features that run in the family, physical traits, mannerisms, and even those that are chosen, such as a name that is given to at least one or more persons in every generation.  Although from the same tree, it’s easy to see and distinguish between the different branches on the family tree. 

As we leave our tribe and scattered into the world, we become surrounded by different faces and others that don’t have such strong family traits.  The longer we’re apart from our tribe, the easier it is to forget those family traits and ties.  We are drawn to and focus on those we surround ourselves with.  We are enticed by the newness of exploring the world and the people in it.  We enjoy meeting and learning about others, and bringing them into our tribe.  But not so surprisingly, we have a tendence to find comfort in traits that remind us of our tribe.

Genesis 1:26-27, “”Then God said, ‘Let Us make mankind in Our image, in Our likeness…’ So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them”.

Psalm 139:13-14, “For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Admittedly or not, at the core of every person is the image and likeness of our Lord, Father, Son and Spirit.  With that knowledge, it’s no wonder we are able to find similar traits and are drawn to one another.  The Holy Trinity are our tribe, a three-strand cord that is not easily broken.  They are who and what connects us to every single person in this world. 

We are the Body of Christ and it is in receiving Him in the Holy Eucharist, Christ’s true body and blood, that we become Christ’s living and breathing tabernacle.  At the core of it all, it is the Lord that is within every single one of us, that draws and connects us to each other.  It is this oneness with the Lord, there by oneness with each other, that we should celebrate.  When we focus on and celebrate what binds us together, instead of what tears us apart, we become even stronger in our bonds.  I can’t say it enough.  The common thread, the three-strand cord that binds us is the Father, Son, and Spirit.  We become our strongest, most compassionate, most loving, most forgiving, most life-giving person and family when we allow the common thread of our Lord to be the tie that binds.

Bless others and be blessed.

Shelly  :0)

If the Lord has touched you in some way with His message today, I ask that you pay it forward by sharing this message, so that you and He may also bless others.  Click subscribe to receive your message every Wednesday via email.

#ThePorter’sGate – Bind Us Together

😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace and presence be with you.  It has been an incredibly God filled week, in which God has showed me the importance of never doubting Him and always place my trust in Him and His timing.  This may seem a bit scattered and unrelated, but I want to touch on multiple items from this past week.

I was scheduled off work last Thursday, Friday, and this Monday, so that Brian and I, my sister, her husband and their friend, and one of our friends that we met on the Camino in Spain last September, could journey to Champion, WI.  So why would we want to go to WI at the end of April?  It’s not like it’s a warm time of year to visit.  The reason we were in Champion, WI was to walk the 22 mile, 13^th Annual Walk to Mary, from the National Shrine of St. Joseph to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion, which is the only approved Marian Apparition site in the United States.  There were 10,000+ people on this journey last Saturday.  The amount of prayers that were being vocalized and silently prayed was incredible.  Some prayers were being answered quickly and others will take years to realize all of God’s movement as a result of those prayers.  The conversations and prayers with family, friends, and those that God briefly crossed our paths with along the road has already made a noticeable impact on me. 

On 04/29/26 my nephew’s daughter made her worldly debut and on 04/30/26 my uncle took his final breath this side of heaven.   

About 8 ½ years ago, Brian asked me to make some chocolate chip cookies for a lunch carry-in at work.  One of Brian’s coworkers, loved my cookies and that was the beginning of our faith filled friendship.  My friend informed me that she was retiring on 04/30/26, so I brought in some homemade chocolate chip cookies for her.  Our schedules didn’t align for me to give her the cookies in person, so before I left work last Wednesday, I let her know that the cookies were on my desk waiting for her.  Side note, she didn’t work in the same building as her coworkers, but I work in the same office space with them.  Yesterday my friend called me to share her cookie pickup God moment with me.  Unbeknownst to me, there was some tension between her and some of her coworkers.  She hadn’t planned on stopping in the office to see them before she left, but she was enticed by the cookies to stop in.  Being that I wasn’t there, it forced her to talk with her coworkers to locate the cookies she so desired.  God used that time and conversation with her coworkers to soften hearts and allow His words of love to be expressed.  As my friend and I discussed the events of the last week, we discovered that there were multiple different God moments that placed her in the office, while at the same time removing me from the office, when she picked up her cookies, which led to that healing God moment.  I thank God that my friend was able to have that healing moment.  I’m once again in awe of how God works.  8 ½ years ago He planted the seed of our friendship with chocolate chip cookies, which He then used to bring healing. 

One of my prayers as I was walking the 22 miles to Mary was that I would be more trusting of the Lord’s will and timing for my life and I would be willing to say “Yes” and act upon His will.  In my conversation with my friend yesterday, He was already showing me the fruit of my “Yes” to His ask.  I truly love how God works in the simple daily activities of our lives, without us even having the slightest inclination of what all He has in the works.  God is still working through these events.  Only He knows where they will actually lead.  Every moment, every action of your life, God can use in His glory story. 

Below I’ve included a link to Adele Brice’s apparition of Mary and a link to the Walk to Mary. 

“Teach them,” replied her radiant visitor, “their catechism, how to sign themselves with the sign of the Cross, and how to approach the sacraments; that is what I wish you to do. Go and fear nothing, I will help you.”

Bless others and be blessed.

Shelly  :0)

If the Lord has touched you in some way with His message today, I ask that you pay it forward by sharing this message, so that you and He may also bless others.  Click subscribe to receive your message every Wednesday via email.

#AdeleBrice – Marian Apparition

Our Story

#WalkToMary

Home

😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace and presence be with you.  I believe in God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, Three in One.  I believe Jesus died for my sins, offering me salvation.  I believe Holy Scripture is the inspired Word of God.  I have learned these and many more truths through Christian doctrine.  Christian doctrine speaks to the core teachings of our faith, but without love, without action, without relationship with the Lord, it’s just words on a page. 

Why do some people struggle with belief in the Christian faith?  Because all they are seeing are the words. 

If someone asked you, “What does God mean to you?”  What would you say?  Would you start reciting one of the Creeds?  Would you stammer about your words?  Would you even have a response at all?

My faith is not words on a page, it’s a living, breathing, growing, physical relationship with the Lord.  It’s asking Him questions and Him showing me the way to those answers.  It’s taking a walk and feeling His Spirit walking with me.  It’s hearing God laugh and laughing with Him.  It’s me acting childish because I didn’t get what I wanted, but God not giving in and doing what He knows is best for me.  Are these all things that can be found in the words and stories of the Bible?  Yes, they are, but it’s the love, the life, the relationship that makes my faith alive.  Doctrine solidly roots us and our relationship grows us.

What does God mean to you?

Bless others and be blessed.

Shelly  :0)

If the Lord has touched you in some way with His message today, I ask that you pay it forward by sharing this message, so that you and He may also bless others.  Click subscribe to receive your message every Wednesday via email.

#PeterBurton – Where Would I Be

😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace and presence be with you.  What do fingers, hand pruners, gas/electric shears and a saw all have in common????  They are all tools used by The Gardener for pruning.  John 15:1-2, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”

There is no question.  Every…EVERY branch will be pruned.  So then, it comes down to which tool will He use and where?  He will use His fingers to pinch a withering flower.  The hand pruner to remove smaller dead branches.  The shears to reshape your overall appearance.  And the saw, that will be use in areas needing major transformation. 

Brian and I did a lot of pruning when we owned a landscaping company.  Each week we mowed a property, we would see the plants, watch them as they budded out and grew in the spring, and picked leaves out of them in the fall.  But we never paid as much attention to them as we did when we pruned them.  We looked at the overall condition of the plant, removed the struggling and dead sections to provide a healthier core, and reshaped it to give it a pleasing appearance. 

In the midst of the pain of God pruning you, He is very close to you, holding you in His hands, and looking with great love, care, and intent to determine where your life will bear its greatest fruit, once He has prepared your branches. 

I am absolutely feeling God’s closeness and Him breathing life into me in this pruning and reshaping season.  Some things are feeling a bit abrasive, but I know the flowers and fruit are close at hand…His hand! 

Bless others and be blessed.

Shelly  :0)

If the Lord has touched you in some way with His message today, I ask that you pay it forward by sharing this message, so that you and He may also bless others.  Click subscribe to receive your message every Wednesday via email.

#BethelMusic – Tend

😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace and presence be with you.  Since Easter Sunday, I have noticed a shift in me.  I’m seeing situations from a different perspective and it has me wondering what God is stirring in me.  About a week before Easter Sunday, I was confronted with a situation at our church, in which we were once again shut down/denied the resources/opportunity to start a parish activity.  In this particular situation, it was the request to have Exposed Adoration at our church for one hour, one night a month.  I get it, we are the smallest parish in our six-parish family.  Resources and time spent at our parish may not be viewed as the best “bang for the buck”. 

The extent of our parish community extracurricular activities are:

Once a month donut Sunday after Mass. 

Once a month Church Ladies luncheon, which is limited to ladies that don’t work during the day.  

The new choir, which I initiated about two months ago.

During Lent, Brian and I opened the church for personal prayer for an hour and a half on Fridays. 

Honestly, I was feeling pretty upset that we were denied the opportunity to have once a month Eucharistic Exposition, after it had been offered to us and the first date had already been set.  All the other five parishes have Eucharistic Exposition every week.  One has it twice a week and one has it 24/7, 364.  All we were asking for is once a month.  Yes, we could certainly go to one of the other churches for Adoration and some of us do.  My frustration led me to the point of writing an email to the parties involved in the decision to cancel Eucharist Exposition at our parish, but I never sent it.  God told me to sit on it, so I did. 

He then started feeding into me.  Through Him talking to me and me listening, reading, and a podcast I was recently led to, He showed me that the approach I was going to take would not end well.  He also showed me an opportunity that could potentially make Eucharist Exposition a possibility for our little parish community.  In addition to that, He prompted me and introduced me to a means, method, and resource for starting a weekly women’s group.  God started bringing these opportunities to the surface and making them visible to me this past week, so I have some work to do, people to contact, and ideas to present. 

Our ordained priests and deacons are stretched and it’s up to us laity to move where God is calling us.  Essentially, God is telling me…Don’t be combative, but officer options, solutions, and be willing to take the lead on them.  If I don’t see it available and it’s something that will bring glory to God, then with His help and guidance I need to be willing to put it into motion. 

Bless others and be blessed.

Shelly  :0)

If the Lord has touched you in some way with His message today, I ask that you pay it forward by sharing this message, so that you and He may also bless others.  Click subscribe to receive your message every Wednesday via email.

#SonsOfSunday – God Did!

😎🐫🎤 Happy Easter! May the peace and presence of our resurrected Lord be with you.  We know that Mary of her free will said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” – Luke 1:38.  As I was thinking about Mary’s fiat, her “Yes”, the thought crossed my mind…”Did God ask anyone else that said No?”  I guess we’ll probably never know, because if someone did say No, that history would’ve most likely not have been recorded. There wouldn’t have been a life and Salvation story that needed to be revealed to the world. 

Thinking about it, how many times have I in the past and still today continue to say “No” to the Lord?  How does my “No” to the Lord change His Salvation story?  Yes, we are all called to be part of Christ’s Salvation story, so yes, our “No” has an effect on His Salvation story. 

Matthew 28:18-20 tells us, “Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

Yes, Christ is counting on you and me to be part of His Salvation story by going forth and making disciples.  That can seem like a pretty lofty and daunting task.  The Lord has placed in you the ability to accomplish your commissioning, but He will never send you alone.  He has given you His Spirit and His Spirit is more than enough.  For most of us, He doesn’t call us to travel great distances.  All you have to do is look around, family, friends, coworkers, people at your church, etc.  He will place everyone He desires you to disciple with, within an arm’s reach.  Make a friend.  Be a friend.  As you move and allow the Holy Spirit to move in and through you, Christ our Lord will be revealed.  That is what He is asking of us, to be our true authentic selves in Christ and allow His Holy Spirit to overflow from within us and pour into others.  Respond to His call with courage and zeal.  Let’s give Him a generous YES!

Amen!  Thank You Lord!  

Bless others and be blessed.

Shelly  :0)

If the Lord has touched you in some way with His message today, I ask that you pay it forward by sharing this message, so that you and He may also bless others.  Click subscribe to receive your message every Wednesday via email.

#JordanFeliz – Can’t Lose

😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace and presence be with you.  It’s April Fools’, but it’s no joke that we’re already in the midst of Holy Week and the Paschal Triduum starts tomorrow.  If you aren’t familiar with the Paschal Triduum, I would highly suggest you find a church near you and participate in the full (not fool) experience.  It’s a lot of church time in a short period, but each part has a distinctive role in the Easter celebration.

Thursday is the celebration of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper.  The institution of the Holy Eucharist.

Friday is the liturgy of the Passion of the Lord.

Saturday is the celebration of Easter Vigil, which is my favorite Mass of the year and lasts about three hours.

Sunday is the Easter Sunday celebration, which is not like the Easter Vigil.  Different Bible readings and song tell a different part of the Resurection narrative.

Are you ready for this incredible celebration of our Lord’s return and the celebration of the salvation Christ so willingly died to give us?  Being able to sing the Alleluia at Mass again on Easter fills my heart with joy.  It’s like a cool drink of water after walking through the desert.  I truly hope and pray that every single person will know to their core, the depth of the love that Christ has for them.  It’s a love like no other, can not be replaced by any other, and even if you were the only person, He would do it ALL for YOU!  Get EXCITED!  Celebrate the Lord and share with the world all that He has done for you.  AMEN!

Bless others and be blessed.

Shelly  :0)

If the Lord has touched you in some way with His message today, I ask that you pay it forward by sharing this message, so that you and He may also bless others.  Click subscribe to receive your message every Wednesday via email.

#JordanFeliz feat. Jonathan Taylor & Mandisa

😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace and presence be with you.  I think we could all pretty much agree that being in a relationship with the Lord is not a guarantee of a perfect life.  Jesus was a perfect man, but He didn’t have a perfect life.  In His adulthood, people, demons, and the devil himself tempted, attacked, and tried their best to discredit and take Christ down.  They would not stop until they beat Him, whipped Him, nailed Him to a cross, died and was buried, never to be seen or hear from again.  Or so they thought. 

Why did they do this?  Because they feared Him. 

I’m sure many of you can attest to the fact that, the stronger and more active your relationship with the Lord is, the more the devil and his band of demons will tempt, attack, and try their best to discredit you and take you down.  It can be very challenging, frustrating, and confusing living a relationship with the Lord, but I couldn’t imagine living this life without Him. 

In my youth and young adulthood, I would say that the majority of my decisions were made based on a whim, without a whole lot of consideration as to what God desired of me.  That thought process has SLOWLY changed in my adulthood.  Recently I’ve been struggling with some choices in my life.  I know for a fact that when we keep God in our situation, even if it’s a challenging situation, God will always bless us.  It may not always be obvious in the moment, but you will be blessed by Him.  He gives us the gift of free will, in hopes that we will make wise choices.  As I’m experiencing in this most recent set of choices in my life, I don’t want to just make a choice, I want to make the choice that God wants me to make.  The choice in which I can best serve God.  I am very blessed as things are right now.  So, is this where God desires me to stay?  Or, should I pursue this other opportunity that has been presented to me.  God does not want us to be slaves to Him, which is why He gifted us free will.  At this point, I feel like I keep going back and forth with this choice.  I really would like Him to say, “Shell, this is what I want you to do…”  As much as that would help me to stop questioning the choices before me, I know that He loves me too much to do that. 

Lord, please give me your wisdom to understand and discern the choices you have placed before me.  I pray that I will have the courage, strength, and humility to make choices that will best serve You and the purpose You had in mind for me when You created me. Amen!

I also make this prayer for you, as you find yourself at a crossroad, that you too will have the courage, strength, and humility to make choices that will best serve our Lord and the purpose He had in mind for you when He created you. Amen!

Bless others and be blessed.

Shelly  :0)

If the Lord has touched you in some way with His message today, I ask that you pay it forward by sharing this message, so that you and He may also bless others.  Click subscribe to receive your message every Wednesday via email.

#KatyNichole feat. Naomi Raine – My God Can

😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace and presence be with you.  Last Friday, someone that I had never met before shared with me a story about her 20+ year absence from God in the sacrament of Reconciliation.  Four days later, another lady that I had never met before, shared with me her story about her 20+ year absence from God in the sacrament of Reconciliation.  Both of them also shared with me their life-giving experience of returning to God in the sacrament of Reconciliation.  Honestly, I too have had a very similar 20+ year experience. 

What I found to be similar about all three of our return to Reconciliation experiences is that we felt we had a list of sins a mile long.  It really adds up in 20+ years, so the regularly scheduled Reconciliation times before or after Mass just didn’t seem like they would be long enough.  Not to mention we really didn’t remember the prayers.  Here is what I think was and is so encouraging.  The priests were willing to meet individually with each of us and walk through our examination of conscience, confession, offer advise and absolution, and penance.  One lady and I both commented that our meetings with the priests were about 1 ½ hours.  That experience completely changed my attitude toward this fabulous sacrament.  Really, I went from fear of the sacrament to joy.  It’s still a very humbling experience, but I believe humility is a good quality to have. 

The river only flows when it’s connected to its source.  When we build dams, we cut ourselves off from the living water that flows from Christ.  The sacrament of Reconciliation blows up and destroys those dams, allowing the ragging rives of Christ’s living water and grace to wash over us, cleanse us from ALL our sins, and welcome us into everlasting life with Him.

Bless others and be blessed.

Shelly  :0)

If the Lord has touched you in some way with His message today, I ask that you pay it forward by sharing this message, so that you and He may also bless others.  Click subscribe to receive your message every Wednesday via email.

#JonReddick – I Believe It (The Life Of Jesus)