Keith Ballard

Husband, dad, Director for the Permanent Diaconate, (Diocese of Leeds), headteacher (retired) university chaplain, offers retreats & spiritual accompaniment

[Keith Ballard @Deaconkb]

@barrypearman I agree - we tend to move towards and become like that which we think about.
It’s not magic, but spending a few seconds choosing my attitude toward a situation can redeem my whole day!

[Keith Ballard @Deaconkb]

Good intentions but .....

[Nicky Gumbel @nickygumbel]

If you think you’re too small to make a difference, you haven’t spent the night with a mosquito.
– African proverb

[Keith Ballard @Deaconkb]

There is what we are concerned about and there is also what we can influence / control. We witness best where these two spheres overlap. But then there's the fact we are known and loved by God and sometimes that just brings about more than we can ever hope for or expect

[Keith Ballard @Deaconkb]

@SisterWalburga My giddy aunt ...... it looks very similar to being a pastor in a parish!

[Keith Ballard @Deaconkb]

@barrypearman There is what we are concerned about and there is also what we can influence / control. We work best where these two spheres overlap. But then there's the fact we are known and loved by God and sometimes that just brings about more than we can ever hope for or expect

[Keith Ballard @Deaconkb]

@bsmee1 Certainly it seems a curtain on Reality was pulled back for a short time. Some people get to glimpse behind the curtain ...

[Keith Ballard @Deaconkb]

@DivReno Yes but sometimes the 'passion' is directed against fulfilling the vision - the prospect of change can be threatening to some! Gradual, inclusive, sensitive but purposeful visioning needed.

[Keith Ballard @Deaconkb]

@CatholicNewsSvc Perhaps silence ‘speaks’ - on this occasion the silence has certainly been heard in China

[Keith Ballard @Deaconkb]

@barrypearman Beautiful. No wonder Heaven is often imaged as a garden.

[Keith Ballard @Deaconkb]

@exploregod Find a place to grow something. When I plant my herbs, a flowe, potatoes, peas, carrots, courgettes and beans I am declaring my belief there will be a future harvest. Gardening in even the smallest patch is an act of faith and hope that the best is yet to be.

[Keith Ballard @Deaconkb]

@barrypearman I am so fortunate in having a garden. In the garden is a simple seat; there I can sit and watch the bees visit the roses and wild flowers. There I can listen to the wind shake the seeds from the nearby elm tree. There I can let my day re-play in my mind and then give thanks.

[Keith Ballard @Deaconkb]

@barrypearman Many of us resist making the choices we feel we ‘ought’ to or ‘should’ do no matter how beneficial they may be. Perhaps imagining our preferred future might work better; that way we feel drawn towards certain decisions rather than driven to make them

[Keith Ballard @Deaconkb]

@TheoHawksley Pine needles from last year’s Christmas tree - still finding them in shoes, books, vestments ....

[Keith Ballard @Deaconkb]

@pursuedbytruth Sometimes when the big moves and horizons threaten to overwhelm us - it’s a good strategy to do something practical / manageable; peanut butter granola helps find ‘a way of proceeding’.

[Keith Ballard @Deaconkb]

@friel_raymond The best is yet to be ... in both the short, medium and long term!

[Keith Ballard @Deaconkb]

@The_Tablet Once again we hear a plea to understand that agreeing a process of deciding the way forward is as important as the strategy decision itself.

[Keith Ballard @Deaconkb]

@CatholicHerald If true, this seems an admission that the Chinese ‘offer / negotiating position’ is inherently weak ....

[Keith Ballard @Deaconkb]

@SrMJMiller Hmm ... rather like my mind when making some decisions! St Ignatius to the rescue please 😇

[Keith Ballard @Deaconkb]

The day you gave Lord, is ended ....