I hated the book “Girl, Wash Your Face” & I made sure to let everyone know it. I even felt pretty cool about the whole thing, like some sort of rebel with better literary taste than the rest of the female world.
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I wrote a Facebook post slamming Rachel Hollis’ “overrated” book. I poo pooed on the book and moved on.
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The truth, which I can only see now in hindsight, is that I wasn’t in a place to appreciate a book like that. I was in a down season—struggling with depression & frustration & exhaustion. But, funny enough, I DID have the energy to put my negativity out there loud & proud.
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It kinda reminds me of that one blog post I wrote about how “Lifestyle Blogs Are A Lie.” Remember that one? I was writing from a place of insecurity & defeat then, too.
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I caught my head pretty quickly with that blog post & apologized for how terribly judgy it was. The truth is I was pissed when I wrote it & I was jealous,&, because I felt like crap, I tried to bring other people down into the crap with me.
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And, you know, the same thing happened with Rachel’s book. The dang book was the #1 NYT bestseller but it wasn’t good enough for ME? What a load of crap.
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When I was in a better spot, I gave the book a second shot, &....I actually liked it! I’m not saying it’s perfect. I’m not saying if you don’t love it you‘re wrong, but what I AM saying is that the negative opinions we have about others (&, especially how vocal we are with those opinions) probably say more about US than they do about OTHERS.
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There’s actually zero things wrong with lifestyle blogs or a book that tries to motivate & empower women. Zero things. But if I’m looking out at the world with a big, fat chip on my shoulder I bet ya I can FIND something wrong with it.
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So, I guess this is just me, pushing YOU to give your neighbor the benefit of the doubt (in the same way you’d want her to take it easy on you). What we think & say about others has very little to do with the person we’re talking about, but it speaks volumes about who WE are, what we believe, what we value and how seriously we take Jesus’ whole “love your neighbor” thing.
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What are YOUR words saying about YOU?
Yo! I’ve had a cheat sheet living on my laptop for over a year. It has the answers to almost every question I’ve ever been asked about faith.
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Stuff like:
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•20+ book suggestions with links (& I don’t mean a book LIST but actual suggestions: “in x situation read y book, you’ll like this if you like z and it’s an easy/hard read”).
•links to interesting videos I’ve found that answer questions we all struggle with (like: why does God allow terrible things to happen? why do we pray the rosary? what’s the difference between a mortal & a venial sin? why do we confess our sins to a priest?)
•links to my favorite people to follow on Instagram (for a positive social media feed) & my favorite Catholic bloggers & podcast
•links to resources I recommend (like @everysacredsunday, the Laudate app, Formed, etc.)
•links to articles that explain HOW to “offer it up” & HOW to pray (like practical STEP by STEP explanations, not frou frou stuff).
•a great nightly examination of conscience
•& much, much, MUCH more (this sucker is 13 pages long) •
I’m sending it over to the gals in my email group this week. If you want this resource (and, trust me, you do) then check out the “join the email group” link in my bio. Comment below if you’re in the group!
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(PS- This isn’t some secret ploy to grab your email address. I’m an underachiever who isn’t into newsletters & I will not email you regularly. Sometimes you’ll go several months without ever hearing a peep from me. So, if you’re as obsessed as I am with keeping an organized inbox, worry not, sista!)
A while back I sat in mass wrestling my gaggle of kids (who were sprawled across the pew), trying to listen. You should know I hadn’t read any of the readings ahead of time (even though I talk about how important that is all-the-freaking-time). So, I was not expecting to hear:
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“Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12: 8-10)
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When I am weak, I am strong?! Whaaaaat? I was amazed to learn that maybe God does know what He’s doing after all. Maybe there is a reason He allows me to go on sucking like I do. I don’t know what God’s reason is, but at least now I’m able to rest in the truth that His Grace is sufficient for me because His power is made perfect in my suckiness, my unworthiness, and my many weaknesses.
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Those verses sustain me now. They are my favorite words in the whole entire Bible and I am changed a little bit more into who I’m supposed to be every time I read over them. They were written just for me! Can you believe that? I own those words. They’re mine. Written by God just for me and my sucking.
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Today is your lucky day. I’m loaning out this piece of Scripture to you. You can borrow it for as long as you need.
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If those verses are not quite right for you and your circumstances, I dare you to thumb through St. Paul’s books (he’s my favorite biblical writer) and find YOUR piece of Scripture. In moments of doubt, hardship, joy, gratitude and sorrow speak YOUR piece of Scripture. Your piece of scripture was written by God just for you!
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(FYI: St. Paul wrote Romans, 1&2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, & Hebrews)
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Do me a favor and drop YOUR verses in the comments below for our friends to read over and borrow as needed.
This is my life motto. I’m crazy about authenticity. I’m actually sort of obsessed with it. I know “authenticity” is a buzz word right now, but I swear I was screaming about the importance of being REAL before it was cool.
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I think authenticity, transparency and vulnerability are the answer for ALOT of our issues.
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Having doubts about the faith? Struggle with Church teaching? Feel like God has abandoned you? Have you tried saying that crap OUT LOUD to the Lord? I promise you He can handle it. (And, spoiler alert: He already knows. You can’t shock Him.)
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We close the door on God when we keep our questions and worries and doubts to ourselves. The dark, sticky, messy corners of our lives can only be transformed when we invite Him into them.
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I know it can feel scary to admit that you struggle or doubt or feel abandoned. Everyone else seems so steadfast in their faith, right? They all seem so put-together—- like they have it all figured out. The questions that stir inside your soul make you feel like you’re doing something wrong, but you’re TOTALLY not.
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Open up whatever is ACTUALLY happening in your heart to our all-loving God and watch Him work. Say that crap out loud, girl, God can handle it.
Recently I read an opinion piece on the importance of keeping our message Christ-centered. The author even semi-called out those of us who don’t evangelize “the right way.”
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Immediately upon reading it I was launched into the deep ocean that is Diana’s Self Doubt. (You should be familiar with this ocean by now. It’s where I waste the majority of my time swimming around like a big ole idiot.)
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The way THIS PERSON evangelized was right. The way I evangelize? Not good enough, not pure enough, not holy enough, not Jesus-y enough, not ENOUGH.
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Guys, what a crock! There are billions of people on this planet of ours. Some who live neat little Christian lives and who are ready for (and respond to) gospel-heavy messages about who Jesus was, what He did and what the 10 Commandments say. Some whose lives are immersed in violence & gang culture (like the people Fr Gregory Boyle works with). Some who aren’t even sure there is a God.
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Each of us who are called forward by the Lord have the same mission (to bring people to Christ) but saying there’s only ONE way to do it.....it’s just not true.
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I think it’s important that we remember who we’re called to talk to and what SHE (or he) needs to hear from us in order to be open to what the Lord has for her. Guys, when we say there is only one way to bring people to Jesus, we’re limiting how Big, Powerful and Loving our Lord is.
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He’s SO BIG he can use YOU on your Catholic stage talkin’ to devout Catholics AND He can use me (and the crazy crap I say) to reach luke warm Catholics who need a jolt (or those plagued with doubt). He can use all of us.⠀
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There is no right way to evangelize. We are a diverse group of evangelizers speaking to a diverse group of people about who Jesus is and what He did. Maybe the way YOU do it is neater and clearer, more direct even, but it’s not THE right way and it’s definitely not the ONLY way.
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Here’s a picture of me (and my hubs & Maria) evangelizing (in our own way—in this case SILENTLY) in the BK play area. 🙌🏼
