Christâs peace and presence be with you. This week Dianaâs message is about dealing with failure. As she mentions in her podcast:
âI have failed in some BIG WAYS lately, and I am sharing those with you. One failure in particular, though, has left me feeling completely uncredentialed to even host this podcast or write my book. It kinda sucked, majorlyâŠâ
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.
đđ«đ€ Christâs peace and presence be with you. After hearing Mondayâs Old Testament Mass reading and following that up with the daily quote from Archbishop Fulton Sheen, truth, wise counsel, and the courage to stand for what is right were certainly the theme for the day.
Letâs start with an introduction to the Old Testament reading, Daniel 13. Two male elders, judges, could not contain their lust for Susanna, âa very beautiful and God-fearing woman,â who was married to Joakim. Together the elders plotted to force Susanna to give into their sexual desires or they would testify against her that they caught her with a young man. ââI am completely trapped,â Susanna groaned. âIf I yield, it will be my death; if I refuse, I cannot escape your power. Yet it is better for me to fall into your power without guilt than to sin before the Lord.ââ
The two males turned Susanna into the authorities with the intention of having her put to death. At the hearing, the assembly believed the two men, âsince they were elders and judges of the peopleâ and Susanna was condemned to death. Susanna cried out aloud to the Lord about the false testimony of the men. âThe Lord heard her prayer. As she was being led to execution, God stirred up the Holy Spirit of a young boy named Daniel, and he cried aloud: âI will have no part in the death of this womanâŠAre you such fools, O children of Israel! To condemn a woman of Israel without examination and without clear evidence? Return to court, for they have testified falsely against her.â
Daniel was given the authority to cross examine the two men separately to get to the truth of the matter. Daniel stated, ââŠtell me under what tree you saw them together.â One replied a mastic tree and the other replied an oak. âThe whole assembly cried aloud, blessing God who saves those who hope in him. They rose up against the two old men, for by their own words Daniel had convicted them of bearing false witness. They condemned them to the fate they had planned for their neighbor: in accordance with the law of Moses they put them to death. Thus was innocent blood spared that day.â
Onto Archbishop Fulton Sheenâs quote. âTruth does grow, but it grows homogeneously, like an acorn into an oakâŠThe nature of certain things is fixed, and none more so than the nature of truth. Truth may be contradicted a thousand times, but that only proves that it is strong enough to survive a thousand assaults.â
Let me say that again, âTruth may be contradicted a thousand times, but that only proves that it is strong enough to survive a thousand assaults.â
The truth IS the truth and there is no changing that. In every moment, we need to choose to stand for the truth, which is not always an easy task. But like Susanna, she knew the only real option was to stand in truth with the Lord. Our spirit and physical being are under constant attack from Satan and his band of demons. We are tasked to not be fearful, stand united, seek the truth, and act justly to maintain it. Itâs not always easy, but there is no better way in this life.
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.
Christâs peace and presence be with you. This week Dianaâs message is about the different avenues of creativity. As she mentions in her podcast:
âTo create means to make SOMETHING. Or, is something being born of your actions. It doesnât mean you have to be a world-class writer or painter. You donât have to be a Nobel Prize-winning laureate. You donât have to even be well known AT ALL! Creativity is simply CREATING (obviously). Itâs bringing into existence something new. So, today we are going to talk about creativity: what it is, how you are creative, ways creativity serves you and others, and action steps to becoming more creative.â
Friday, April 1, 2022
Keep Moving Forward â Diana Marie Keller
Episode 23: Are You Missing Creativity In Your Life?
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.
đđ«đ€ Christâs peace and presence be with you. A few weeks ago, a good friend asked me if I would consider being her daughterâs Confirmation sponsor. I felt honored and humbled by her request. This was a first for me. Before giving an answer, I took a couple days to pray about what the responsibilities and obligations of this decision would have on my life and also Josieâs. This would be a commitment to both Josie and her parents. From this day forward, I would be making a commitment to guiding Josie along her faith journey, sharing my journey with her, and committing time to the development of this relationship. I wouldnât want to be a sponsor in name alone. I told myself, if I accept this, I have to be all in. Two days after the request, I contact my friend to let her know that I cleared my calendar for 03/27/2022 and I would be honored to be Josieâs sponsor.
Over the past two weeks Josie and I met for dinner a couple times to get to know each other better, before her big day. After all, she needed to be comfortable with me being her sponsor also. Last Sunday, before the Confirmation Mass, the Confirmandi and their sponsors gathered for a meal and time of prayer. A reading that we reflected upon was Acts 2: 1-13, The Coming of the Spirit.
âWhen the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, âAre not all these people who are speaking Galileans? Then how does each of us hear them in his own native language? We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God.â They were all astounded and bewildered, and said to one another, âWhat does this mean?â But others said, scoffing, âThey have had too much new wine.ââ
There were two parts of this reading that spoke to me in that moment.
The Spirit speaks to us through others, in the words and language we need to hear, so that we truly hear the message that is being spoken to us. How many of you have told your spouse, significant other, or friend something that they totally dismissed or became defensive about. Then a few days or weeks later someone else tells them the exact same thing and all of the sudden itâs a fantastic idea and they want to do whatever that discussion was about. Iâve experienced this multiple times. In the beginning it kind of hurt and I took offense to the fact that it wasnât a good idea when I suggested it, but when someone else did, it was a great idea. It took years, but I finally realized that I may have had the same/similar idea, but I just wasnât speaking that personâs language. It could be a team effort. The introduction to the idea in the first hearing of it, plants the seed. Contemplating the idea, whether consciously or unconsciously, germinates it. Then in the subsequent hearing of the idea, it brings it to life. I also believe that is why there are multiple denominations of the Christian faith. God figured out a long time ago, to use Biblical terminology, that we are a stiff-necked people. One language will not capture everyoneâs ear. We need to hear His message in a language that is pleasing and acceptable to our ears.
There was a noise like a strong driving wind that filled the houseâŠthen there appeared tongues of fire that parted and came to rest of each of them. Of the One Spirit, individually we each have been gifted a unique portion of the Spirit, to use and share. But they are not meant to be buried or hidden under a basket. These gifts have been stitched into our beings so that they will shine forth from the inside out. A gift isnât fully given, until itâs fully received. Until you use and squeeze every last drop of these gifts out, you will not know the full extent of this gift of the Spirit. That one drop youâre holding onto may be the very drop thatâs needed to fill anotherâs cup to overfull, so that they can then pour out to fill anotherâs cups.
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.
Christâs peace and presence be with you. This week Diana has a double dose of Keep Moving Forward for you, Bonus Episode 21 with Jess Clerke about confidence and Episode 22 which concludes her three-part series on life lessons from Encanto. I hope you enjoy and get as much out of them as I did.
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.
đđ«đ€ Christâs peace and presence be with you. In the spring of 2021 Brian was looking at the landscape in our backyard and said he wanted to pull out two hydrangea plants that hadnât bloomed in 7 years. I convinced him to leave them for one more year. If they didnât bloom, then we would pull them the following spring. So, thereâre a couple reasons why I bring this up. First, because itâs spring, one year later. Second, last weekend at Mass the Gospel reading concluded with Luke 13: 6-9, the parable of the barren fig tree.
âAnd He told them this parable: âThere once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, âFor three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?â He said to him in reply, âSir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.ââ
Before I tell you the verdict on the hydrangea plants, I also want to share with you a reading from 2 Kings 5. It starts out introducing us to Naaman, an army commander for the king of Aram. As the reading tells us, Naaman was valiant, but he was also a leper. He had a servant girl from the land of Israel who suggested that he present himself to the prophet in Israel. With his kingâs permission and treasures, Naaman set out for Israel. It took him a few stops, but he eventually ended up at the door of Elishaâs house.
2 Kings 5: 10-14 âElisha sent him the message: âGo and wash seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will heal, and you will be clean.â But Naaman went away angry, saying, âI thought that he would surely come out to me and stand there to call on the name of the LORD his God, and would move his hand over the place, and thus cure the leprous spot. Are not the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be cleansed?â* With this, he turned about in anger and left. But his servants came up and reasoned with him: âMy father, if the prophet told you to do something extraordinary, would you not do it? All the more since he told you, âWash, and be cleanâ?â So Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times, according to the word of the man of God. His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.â
It’s very easy to miss, but a lot of what God asks and prompts us to do are very common, ordinary, everyday things. The gardener in Lukeâs Gospel, wasnât giving up on the fig tree so easily. He was going to work the soil and spread some manure around it. With the owner focusing on that tree, I imagine the gardener also made sure it had plenty of water and also pruned it. We donât know how the fig tree turns out, but I can tell you that no, I didnât cultivate the soil around the hydrangea. I didnât fertilize them. I didnât water them. Although I did prune them like we do every year. In case you didnât already know this, God has a sense of humor. You see, in this eighth year, God allowed one flower on each of the hydrangea plants to bloom. I laughed right along with God. And yes, the plants are staying.
Over the next few days, maybe focus a little more than usual on the everyday tasks and interactions you have with others. There may be more meaning and divine intervention going on that you arenât aware of.
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.
Christâs peace and presence be with you. This week Dianaâs message is about allowing us to be our true authentic selves. As she mentions:
âThis song reminds me a lot of the idea of âmasksâ 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.â
Friday, March 18, 2022
Keep Moving Forward â Diana Marie Keller
Episode 20: Life Lessons from Encanto and âWhat Else Can I Do?â
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.
đđ«đ€ Christâs peace and presence be with you. Matthew 23:1-3 âThen Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying, âThe 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.ââ Until now, I didnât realize that, âDo as I say, not as I do.â was paraphrasing the Bible. Did you?
Are you a people watcher? As infants fresh from the womb, we donât know or understand what people are speaking to us, so how do we first start learning? People watching. Throughout our entire lives, itâs 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. Donât be of quick action and wit. âHelp me Jesus.â âHoly Spirit, guide me.â âFather, hold me.â 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.
Christâs peace and presence be with you. This week Dianaâs 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 â Diana Marie Keller
Episode 19: Life Lessons from Encanto and âSurface Pressureâ
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.
đđ«đ€ Christâs peace and presence be with you. There was one line in last Sundayâs Gospel reading that caught my attention, like someone slapping you across the face would.
Luke 4:1-13 The Temptation of Jesus
âFilled 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, âIf You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.â Jesus answered him, âIt is written, âOne does not live by bread alone.ââ Then he took Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant. The devil said to Him, âI 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.â Jesus said to him in reply, âIt is written:
âYou shall worship the Lord, your God, and Him alone shall you serve.ââ
Then he led Him to Jerusalem, made Him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to Him, âIf You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here, for it is written:
âHe will command His angels concerning You, to guard You,â
and:
âWith their hands they will support You, lest You dash Your foot against a stone.ââ
Jesus said to him in reply, âIt also says, âYou shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.ââ
When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from Him for a time.â
There is so much going on in this passage, but the face slap for me is that last line, âWhen the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from Him for a time.â That is a sentence we could easily slide past, but what itâs 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 didnât stop there. She offered him some food, a drink, and a jacket. I stood at the door thinking, âI wouldnât do that. Heâs probably just trying to get some money for drugs.â Michelle was so willing to give what she had. You may be thinkingâŠWhat does this have to do with being tempted by the devil? In moments like that, he tempts me away from unconditionally helping others. I thinkâŠâI show up every day and work hard to make an income. Why should I waste it on someone that wonât appreciate it and arenât willing to work to take care of themselves?â Yes, there is some pride going on there also, so Iâve got multiple layers of sin at work here. As Iâve replayed this event in my mind, God has shown me times in which He has unconditionally given me gifts that I didnât 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. âPray alwaysâŠItâs not a burden. Itâs a luxury.â 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.
Third Day Devotions 