Christ’s peace and presence be with you. This week Diana’s message is about allowing us to be our true authentic selves. As she mentions:
“This song reminds me a lot of the idea of “masks” and the different masks that people wear to keep the outside out and to keep themselves safe on the inside.
If you are a person who shows up to the world how you THINK the world wants you to be (instead of ACTUALLY who you are), then this week’s episode is for you. This week, as always, is a safe space for you to stop hiding behind your smile and show the world you are unapologetically, and imperfectly.”
Friday, March 18, 2022
Keep Moving Forward – Diana Marie Keller
Episode 20: Life Lessons from Encanto and “What Else Can I Do?”
If the Lord has touched you in some way with His message today, I ask that you pay if forward by sharing this message, so that you and He may also bless others.
😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace and presence be with you. Matthew 23:1-3 “Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice.”’ Until now, I didn’t realize that, “Do as I say, not as I do.” was paraphrasing the Bible. Did you?
Are you a people watcher? As infants fresh from the womb, we don’t know or understand what people are speaking to us, so how do we first start learning? People watching. Throughout our entire lives, it’s in our very nature to learn by watching. Now, on the flip side, that means that others are also watching and learning from your actions, hence, actions speak louder than words.
The words we speak may be wise, prophetic, encouraging, supportive, loving, etc., but if our actions contradict the words we speak, then all credibility, trust, respect, etc. is lost. Don’t be of quick action and wit. “Help me Jesus.” “Holy Spirit, guide me.” “Father, hold me.” These are just a few examples of quick, meaningful prayers that can give you just enough pause to help you from diving head first into a kneejerk reaction or response. Allow yourself a moment to breath before you act/react, so that your actions and words send one message, not two.
Bless others and be blessed.
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 subscript to receive your message every Wednesday.
Christ’s peace and presence be with you. This week Diana’s message is all about pressure. Both the pressure others place on us and the pressure we place upon ourselves.
“Doing everything for everyone is not a prerequisite for love.” -Diana Marie Keller
Do you struggle with feeling like you are being crushed under the weight of life’s pressures (your own pressures, or assuming the burdens of others)? Or, do you feel like you HAVE to say yes to everyone, help everyone, or if you’re not then you may actually be worthless?
Do you feel like the world doesn’t see you – only what you do for them?
If you said yes to any or all of these questions, then you NEED to tune into this week’s episode. We talk about “Surface Pressure” from Encanto, “The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein, and some action steps on how to navigate situations where you feel like you are being crushed by the weight of life’s expectations.
Friday, March 11, 2022
Keep Moving Forward – Diana Marie Keller
Episode 19: Life Lessons from Encanto and “Surface Pressure”
If the Lord has touched you in some way with His message today, I ask that you pay if forward by sharing this message, so that you and He may also bless others.
😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace and presence be with you. There was one line in last Sunday’s Gospel reading that caught my attention, like someone slapping you across the face would.
Luke 4:1-13 The Temptation of Jesus
“Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry. The devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’” Then he took Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant. The devil said to Him, “I shall give to You all this power and their glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I may give it to whomever I wish. All this will be Yours, if You worship me.” Jesus said to him in reply, “It is written:
‘You shall worship the Lord, your God, and Him alone shall you serve.’”
Then he led Him to Jerusalem, made Him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here, for it is written:
‘He will command His angels concerning You, to guard You,’
and:
‘With their hands they will support You, lest You dash Your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus said to him in reply, “It also says, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.’”
When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from Him for a time.”
There is so much going on in this passage, but the face slap for me is that last line, “When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from Him for a time.” That is a sentence we could easily slide past, but what it’s telling us is that the devil is guaranteed to come back to tempt and mess with Christ some more. And if the devil is bold enough to keep coming back time and again to Christ, you can bet you and I are next. Until the moment we die, Satan is guaranteed to tempt and mess with us every moment he can.
Unlike Christ, I, not always, but often fail when the devil tempts me. Just one example from last week was when a couple ladies from my GAL group came to my house Thursday evening. As Michelle was getting out of her car, a man walking by asked her for some money. She was kind enough to offer him what change she had, but she didn’t stop there. She offered him some food, a drink, and a jacket. I stood at the door thinking, “I wouldn’t do that. He’s probably just trying to get some money for drugs.” Michelle was so willing to give what she had. You may be thinking…What does this have to do with being tempted by the devil? In moments like that, he tempts me away from unconditionally helping others. I think…”I show up every day and work hard to make an income. Why should I waste it on someone that won’t appreciate it and aren’t willing to work to take care of themselves?” Yes, there is some pride going on there also, so I’ve got multiple layers of sin at work here. As I’ve replayed this event in my mind, God has shown me times in which He has unconditionally given me gifts that I didn’t deserve, or work for, or truly appreciate the value. I saw that at times, I was no different than the image I projected upon that guy walking down the street. And just like me, that man is a child of God.
As we journey though Lent, our church offered us what they call the Little Black Book. On Monday, March 7th, the reading addressed how we should approach prayer in our lives. Again, it was the last line that hit me. “Pray always…It’s not a burden. It’s a luxury.” Prayer is a luxury.
Bless others and be blessed.
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 subscript to receive your message every Wednesday.
If the Lord has touched you in some way with His message today, I ask that you pay if forward by sharing this message, so that you and He may also bless others.
😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace and presence be with you. Saturday morning, I started listening to an interesting interview Matthew Kelly had with country songwriter and singer Clay Walker. It was a two hour interview, so it took me a few sittings to work my way through it. At about 28 minutes into the interview Clay spoke about how a high school teacher in Beaumont, TX used his song Live Until I Die, which he wrote when he was 17, as a model for creative writing. In talking about this, Clay mentioned how in writing an essay, the importance of every line pointing to the thesis. Which is the same in song writing. You find the hook of the song and then every line should point back to that hook.
That statement sent my mind spinning and contemplating on how the same applies to our lives, actions and words we speak and those we leave unspoken, and how they, like the lines in the song pointing back to the thesis, should all point back to our Creator and Lord.
Hearing the first reading at Mass Sunday morning, it brought me back to Clay’s statement about how every line should point to the thesis and the importance of each word we speak. Sirach 27:4-7 “When a sieve is shaken the husks appear; so do one’s faults when one speaks. As the test of what the potter molds is in the furnace, so in tribulation is the test of the just. The fruit of the tree shows the care it has had; so too does one’s speech disclose the bent of one’s mind. Praise no one before he speaks, for it is then that people are tested.“ Wow, isn’t that the truth.
Today is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of our 40 day Lenten journey. I pray you have an eye opening, revealing Lent.
Bless others and be blessed.
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 subscript to receive your message every Wednesday.
Christ’s peace and presence be with you. This week Diana’s message is all about Imposter Syndrome. Actually, until this week I’d not heard of Imposter Syndrome, but after listening to today’s episode, I’ve certainly experienced it in my life and I’m sure you have too.
If the Lord has touched you in some way with His message today, I ask that you pay if forward by sharing this message, so that you and He may also bless others.
😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace and presence be with you. Saturday morning Brian told me he wanted to get out of the house and take a ride. It was a beautiful sunny, but cold day, so a drive would be perfect. I grabbed a couple maps of the surrounding states and we headed out to run an errand before we hit the road. We figured at some point in the day, we would stop for a meal, so we decided to plan our drive around whatever restaurant we chose. After tossing around multiple restaurants, we decided on an old family favorite, the Greyhound Tavern in Fort Mitchell, KY, affectionately known in our family as The Grill. Brian then suggested that we first take a drive to my Grandma and Grandpa Huhn’s old farm in Warsaw, Ky. I hadn’t been to the farm since 1984 and they sold it in the late 1980’s. Alright, we had a destination and meal in mind, so off we went. When we arrived at the farm, it was quite different. I stopped at the end of the driveway to look around. The current owner came out of the house and started walking across the yard to see if we were okay. We did introductions and I explained that my grandparents used to live there. Some of the old out buildings, a barn and the three-hole outhouse were no longer there. She did invite us into the barn that was still standing. Wow, did that take me back. I was right back there with Grandpa feeding the cows, going on a hay wagon ride, riding bikes down the road, sledding down the back hill, and making mud pies with the rotten vegetables from the garden. It certainly put a huge smile on my face. I was so thankful the owner came to check on us and invited us into the barn.
We then headed to The Grill, which was one of my Grandpa Lohre’s hangouts in his younger days. Our meals were so good. If you ever find yourself in Fort Mitchell, KY, you need to have a meal at the Greyhound Tavern. After finishing our meal, we decided to continue our “remember when” journey by driving by my Grandma and Grandpa’s Lohre’s old house in Villa Hills, Ky. Brian had never been to my Aunt Barb and Uncle Mick’s home, so we were doing a drive by when I saw my cousin Brian walk out the door. We stopped and visited with Brian, his wife and girls, my cousin Barb, and my aunt and uncle. After a short visit, Uncle Mick, Brian and I headed to Mass. That was the first time I’d been to Mass at St. Joseph’s since by Grandpa’s funeral 23 years ago. That memory brought some tears with it. While at Mass we ran into another one of my cousins, Kathie and her husband. After Mass, Brian and I drove by the Villa Hills Civic Center, known to us as the Lodge, which was another of my Grandpa Lohre’s hangouts. It actually burnt down last Thursday. Mom told me that wood from their old farmhouse was used to build the Lodge. I have to say, when I woke up Saturday, my plan was to stay inside, out of the cold, and work on laundry and other inside chores. I wouldn’t have imagined it would’ve turned out the way it did.
On our drive home I was playing the events of the day back in my head, which lead me to thinking about and playing “remember when” with God. Have you done that lately? Have you looked back on how your relationship with God has grown? We all have our own experience that can have very deep meaning for us and when spoken to others, may not seem like much to them, but those moments helped to bring us to where we are today. One of those turning points in my life was shortly after my divorce was finalized and I had no idea how I would be able to take care of my three young daughters. I was at the Saturday evening Mass, on my knees praying after Communion. At that time, I was wearing my wedding rings on my right hand. When I opened my eyes, the entire image of the St. Jerome stained glass window was clear as day, larger than life, and with incredible detail, on the surface of my ¼ carat diamond. I thought…No way, I’m just imagining this. I looked up at the evening sun shining through the window to my right…it was St. Jerome. I looked back down at my ring, the image of St. Jerome was still there. God told me in that moment, “If I can do this, I can take care of you and your girls.” By the way, my Grandpa Lohre’s name was Jerome. I absolutely love how God chooses to show up in my life. Over this next week, I hope you allow God the opportunity to play remember when with you.
Bless others and be blessed.
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 subscript to receive your message every Wednesday.
Christ’s peace and presence be with you. This week Diana’s message is all about priorities – what is a priority in your life, how you MAKE time for that priority, and what to do when your priorities are out of alignment.
If the Lord has touched you in some way with His message today, I ask that you pay if forward by sharing this message, so that you and He may also bless others.
😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace and presence be with you. This week I’ve been reading the parables in the Gospel of Matthew. Christ takes lessons we need to hear and apply and puts them into stories that we can relate to and remember. They’re so memorable, I’m sure you could name a few parables right off the top of your head.
Something that stood out to me as I’m reading through them this time is not so much the story itself, but the “meeting after the meeting”. The parables seem to have three sides to them. First is in the hearing of the crowds. Second is in the discussion with the few. Third is us who get to experience both the first and second.
Have you noticed how after Jesus retreated from the crowds, the disciples would basically ask Him…What did you mean in speaking that parable? Jesus would then go on to give the backstory and guiding principles related to the parable. What this brought to light for me is, His words are great and life giving, in and of themselves. But it’s the willingness to ask the questions, fellowship, and deep dive into the meanings of His words that produce a greater harvest. Just after The Parable of the Sower, Matthew 13:10-17 is actually titled “The Purpose of the Parables”, in which the disciples approach Jesus and ask Him why He speaks to the crowds in parables.
“11He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables:
“Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 15 For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’
16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
Many times we hear “12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.” and apply that saying to material items, money and wealth, but as you see, that’s not really what Jesus is talking about here. He was talking about the knowledge and wisdom of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. These are incredible gifts that you have been given. Use and share these gifts and you will have an abundance. Although if you hoard or squander these gifts, they will be taken away. Take a moment, reflect, and ponder…What will you do with the gifts you’ve been given?
Bless others and be blessed.
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 subscript to receive your message every Wednesday.
Third Day Devotions 