~Verse of the day~

Psalms 139:23-24

"Search me, O God, and know my heart!

Try me and know my thoughts!

And see if there be any grievous way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting!"

~Dani

~Verse of the day~

Isaiah 41:13

“For I, the Lord your God,

hold your right hand;

it is I who say to you, “Fear not,

I am the one who helps you.”

~Dani

~Verse of the day~

Isaiah 26:4

"Trust in the Lord forever,

for the Lord God is an everlasting rock."

~Dani

~Verse of the day~

Isaiah 35:4

“Say to those who have an anxious heart,

“Be strong; fear not!

Behold, your God

will come with vengeance,

with the recompense of God.

He will come and save you.”

~Dani

~Live to inspire~

There are many things in this life that we find important but sometimes we forget that there's more to life than doing things that only make us happy,

Oftentimes we don't realize one of the most important things that we need to be doing in our lives..

By making others smile..

Now, I'm not just talking about making them laugh on just a regular day..I'm talking about having the compassion and seeing that your neighbor needs to smile because they aren't having a good day or they might be down because of something personal that they cannot forgive themselves for and they need to have some kind soul to help them to get their mind on something positive again!

That could be you..you could be the very person that could turn it all around for them!

Even though we may not always have the best attitude because of how our day went at times..we do however always have a reason to smile! 

Even if you have to force a smile at times..they don't know that, they only see the goodness of your heart because of you smiling at them! 

You may underestimate what a smile can do..but that smile of yours could be the very thing that gives someone who was planning their suicide the hope that they needed just in the nick of time! 

That smile of yours is needed in the world right now! 

Besides..doesn't everything seem to move by more efficiently when you have a positive attitude?

You may not be able to change the government, the weather, or take all of the wickedness out of the world but you can help the world out one person at a time and that makes a bigger difference than you may think it does!

Smile! Show them Jesus by being the positive person that they really need in such a negative world! Shine your light brightly and share the light of the world to those around you by being an instrument of Jesus' love! Start today and it could be the very thing that saves someone's life!

~Dani

~Verse of the day~

Isaiah 26:3-4

"You keep him in perfect peace

whose mind is stayed on you,

because he trusts in you.

Trust in the Lord forever,

for the Lord God is an everlasting rock."

~Dani

~Verse of the day~

Isaiah 25:1

"​O Lord, you are my God;

I will exalt you; I will praise your name,

for you have done wonderful things,

plans formed of old, faithful and sure."

~Dani

~Walk away~

There are many things that are in the world that Satan sends into our lives to hinder us and to hold us back from where God is trying to place us!

I've heard it said that no one can prevent you from making it into God's purpose for your life, 

while that is true, there is also this truth..while they may not be able to prevent you from God's purpose, 

they can however delay you from God's purpose by being a distraction!

While there are times God sends people for us to help out, there are also people that are sent into our lives by Satan that seem like that need help when really all they want is not to change but to only receive pity from you!

These kind of distractions are the ones that don't think about other people's troubles, they only want pity from others but simply don't want to change..they only want to consume your life and receive your undivided attention as their own personal gain and as Christians we need to be able to realize that these kind of people are out there and we need to learn to recognize them!

You see, the only way we can help people is if they realize that they have a problem and they need to change, 

we can only help them after they realize that they need God to change them,

So if someone comes along and they are only seeking pity from you but they don't have a clue that they need to change..walk away! 

There isn't anything you can do for them..you will only become mentally tired and stressed trying to sort out problems for them that they should be sorting out for themselves..and while you're stressing to help them for the answers, they are sleeping like a baby and you're up all night trying to find a way to help them..

Do yourself a favor and let it go, 

give it to God and find a way to tell them "no" in a nice way and if that doesn't work then it's okay to ignore the calls and to stop answering messages..it's not being rude if they wouldn't receive your kindness in declining them your time..that's when you'll realize that "it's time to move on" find rest and trust God that they will eventually realize that they need to change and that no one..NOT EVEN YOU can change them..no matter how strong of a Christian you are!

Find peace is saying "No" and walk away from it, don't be afraid to walk away from anything or anyone that's going to delay you from God's purpose for your life!

Keep walking toward God's plan and walk away from all distractions, you'll realize that it makes you stronger..instead of making you feel inferior!

Walk away from all of that and keep walking toward God because God's got a plan for your life and it's not to be held at a standstill!

~Dani

~Doubt on the mind~

Have you ever wondered what makes you do the things that you do and it makes you realize that you were so blind before?

Many of our false actions are caused by an attempt to heal old scars but what we don't realize is that we are only causing deeper damage to ourselves and even to others around us by those actions, they even say that history repeats itself and that's why when there is one failed test..the same test often follows until you pass it. 

We need to stop pushing the rewind button in our lives and instead push the stop and restart buttons on our lives,

Maybe then we won't have to face what we once had to face but we can smile by making the right choices here and now, 

Though we've failed before..we can start anew and trust in God to help us to get past those failures. 

Maybe if we spent more time not on what others think or even how it makes us feel but think more on what God is thinking about our actions, then we wouldn't have to suffer so much.

What does God want for us? 

What does God ask of us? 

Think about it..

In my mind there are two things that God wants for us and asks us to do for him..

#1. God wants us to be healthy and unharmed but living in the world these days there are mainly things sent that are going to harm us..

these things are not from God but still exist in the world and by our sinful nature we can get caught up in the sinful moments if we're not careful, 

But then there's God's plan and his plan is simple, He wants to comfort us, to stick closer than a brother, his plans will not harm us but will only protect us from the plans of this world..if we choose his plan for our lives, 

though satan keeps trying hard to push us down on the ground to prevent us from our purpose, he cannot do so as long as we keep speaking the things of God into our lives! 

We can be conquerors in Christ instead of being followers of the worlds demise!

#2. What God wants from us is quite simple.. He wants us to obey his commandments, 

He wants us to trust in him fully according to his word and he wants us to trust in his plan for our lives..

The difference between God's plans and the plans of this world is that God's plans always lead to a destination but the plans of this world and satan's plans are uncertain and you don't know where they'll lead to or what comes in your life along the way of that path..

I don't know about you but I want to finish well in this life and I want to have peace that only comes from God..

it doesn't come from this world and Satan tries to tempt us into thinking that it's a dream come true when it's only a nightmare posing as what you dream of! I'm going to share with you the verse that I have gone to thousands of times and it always offers me encouragement!

Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."

~Dani

~Verse of the day~

Psalms 63:1-4

​"O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

beholding your power and glory.

Because your steadfast love is better than life,

my lips will praise you.

So I will bless you as long as I live;

in your name I will lift up my hands."

~Dani

~Verse of the day~

Psalms 63:7-8

"for you have been my help,

and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.

My soul clings to you;

your right hand upholds me."

~Dani

~Who are you?~

As human beings we are made up of so many different layers, 

We are so dynamic but more than that..we are all so unique!

When I think about the fact that every single person that God has made is uniquely different..I can't help but to think about how much God must love and value us all, 

to take the time to put into each of us..special qualities, talents, fascinations, gifting's, strengths, and even different spirits!

Think about it..God must really love you, to take such time to put into creating someone as special as you are!

God not only gave us our talents but he also gave us all a divine purpose to complete, he even called us "his" and many of us are called to minister in unique ways!

I for one never imagined the year before last having this opportunity to preach through my blog, 

I didn't even realize that there was such a ministry..that is until I became a part of that ministry and lives started to be touched!

God knows my heart and my personality, he knows my weaknesses and my strengths, he knows my dreams and my goals, he knows everything that I want to do in this life and what my fears are..But somehow he had this purpose set aside for me because I am set apart for him.

I find my identity in him and in the purpose he has for my life.

God has something set out for each of us to do and only we are able to choose to complete whatever that may be.

God wants us to have joy and to be encouragers but more than that..he wants us to reach out in the areas that he has purposed us to reach out in..those are the areas that we thrive in!

There isn't a greater feeling than touching the life of someone else out there..to offer that one person hope, not to "give up" but to "get up" 

there isn't a better feeling than to know that you are part of the reason why they chose to get up and to move forward walking with God!

So let me ask you this question today..

Who are you? And more importantly Whose are you?

Who are you? Meaning..what is your purpose? Where are you meant to be?

Whose are you? Meaning..who do you run to for help? Who holds you up when the world has pushed you down?

I hope this causes you to find the answer to the question that you have long been searching for the answer to in your life today! 

If you still don't know..seek God until he reveals that purpose to you! Know that he has a purpose for you and that purpose is going to give you the identity that you've always searched for!

God's will is like a lost puzzle piece that you've been searching for but waiting for a long time to finally find and when you find that missing piece..everything in your life then comes together somehow and it feels just right..like it should've always been there!

Find God's purpose for your life and complete the puzzle by adding to it the last piece of that puzzle!

Ephesians 1:9-12

"making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory."

~Dani

~Verse of the day~

Psalms 37:7-9

"Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;

fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,

over the man who carries out evil devices!

Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!

Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

For the evildoers shall be cut off,

but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land."

~Dani

~Verse of the day~

Psalms 92:4-5

"For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work;

at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

How great are your works, O LORD!

Your thoughts are very deep!"

~Dani

~Verse of the day~

Psalms 92:1-2

​"It is good to give thanks to the LORD,

to sing praises to your name, O Most High;

to declare your steadfast love in the morning,

and your faithfulness by night."

~Dani

~Verse of the day~

Psalms 91:1-2

​“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust.”

~Dani

~Don't remind me!~

I don't know if you've noticed this but just when you think that you've escaped your past and everything is going so well in your life..it suddenly sneaks it's way back in, totally unexpected and unwelcome! It happens to the best of us and the fact that we all have an ugly past that sneaks up from time to time only reminds us of two things..1 we're human and 2 we are weak and in need of God. 

Although we work hard to rewrite our story, we still have to remember that we aren't perfect and we do have a past that we sometimes reflect on but that doesn't mean that we walk backwards toward it..we're not going that way anyway!

The thing that Satan often uses to hit us by surprise is sending the person that once caused us to stumble back into our lives to shock us and cause us to dwell on the ugly face of our past, I'm not talking about the person but the temptation that came from trusting in their word and by following their lead as they blindly lead you into danger that you never saw coming yourself, although we may have our eyes looking ahead of us..it's who's holding our hand leading us that can become an issue, that's why we have to be careful and to choose to spend our time around people that aren't going to lead us down a dark and dangerous path!

Now let's get back to what I was talking about earlier..

Just because you are going on the straight and narrow now, that doesn't mean that your past will keep quiet while you move on with your life, oftentimes what happens is you'll hear a song that reminds you of your past or something else that has etched itself upon your mind that causes you to put your thoughts on repeat of your painful past! That's something that isn't ever welcome..no matter how strong you are or how you think that you might handle your past coming back to say "hello" you never want it to happen! The only thing that any of us want to say to our past is "goodbye" and no more!

I can't promise you that it's going to be that simple every time but as long as you always know that the answer will always be "no" then you won't have major problems revisiting your past when it comes by to "catch up" in sorts.

It's important to dig your hills in and declare that you are a child of God and you are forgiven of your ugly past!

Move forward! Take a deep breath and let it out! Make your future something great and stop being mediocre and strive to become much more! God has BIG PLANS for your life so start walking in that divine purpose and leave your past behind!

~Dani

~Rolling Over~

Have you ever had something happen in your life that felt so right to the point that you never thought it could disappear and when it fell through you felt like you had the wind knocked out of you?

I've personally experienced this myself a few months ago actually but it's made me come to realize something that I never would've learned if I hadn't gone through it myself and that lesson was this..

As humans and even once we're Christians we look for things to show up in our lives and once they do we depend on "how it feels"..we simply consider that it must be "God's will" since it "just feels right" at that moment. Oftentimes we will even find signs that we consider as "signs from God"

Here's what I've learned..if something or even someone shows up in your life..first think.."is this person a lesson or something that's predestined?"

Next..ask yourself.."what would God think of this and was this sent by God?"

Next..I've learned that.."if God doesn't "confirm"..they'll be "lessons" to be "learned" 

Another thing is..wait it out and it will figure itself out..if it's a "God send" then nothing can prevent it from coming to pass..if it's "Satan sent" then those plans will fall through and you'll make it through with God's help!

Oftentimes we overthink what God's plans really are and we depend on OUR FEELINGS instead of asking God what his opinion is first!

Oftentimes we will forget that it says in His word that "He has plans to prosper us and not harm us.."

So think of it this way..if you mistake an alternate plan for God's plan and those plans fall through then praise God that His plans never can fall through and that He protected you from something or someone that wasn't meant to be in your life, although it could've been "good" it still wouldn't have been God's plan and when it comes to His plans they are "great" instead of only "good enough"

So when your plans don't work out.."roll over" and think about God's plans for you!

Let's focus on the fact that we now understand what we need to be looking for..not with our eyes but with "eyes of the spirit"

Let's not focus on our feelings but let's find out from God what His feelings are and most of all..let's wait for God to confirm those plans for our lives!

When it's silent..praise God,

When there's stillness and no movement..praise God,

When everything is going well..praise God,

When there's a trial..praise God,

When you're grieving..praise God,

When you're confused or tired..praise God,

When it all comes together..praise God...because God is working everything out for you but your job is to trust in Him and to praise Him at all time as He is doing these things!

Don't become weary..rejoice in the fact that He's working it out now for you!

Plus, when you're sad..time simply doesn't go by fast..but when you rejoice and you're glad..God's plans sure do seem to come together fast..Remember that.

I'm going to post three verses that always help me to refocus myself on God's plans..

Jeremiah 29:11-13

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 

Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart."

Job 42:1-2

"Then Job answered the Lord and said:

“I know that you can do all things,

and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted."

Proverbs 19:21

"Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand."

~Dani

~Verse of the day~

Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."

~Dani

~Verse of the day~

Jeremiah 29:13

"You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart."

~Dani

~Verse of the day~

1 Peter 4:8-10

"Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace:"

~Dani

~Special Verse of the day~

John 1:16-17

"For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."

~Dani

~How to be Strong~

Where does strength come from? 

More importantly..how do you draw strength in the middle of a situation you've never experienced before?

We all face many difficulties during our lives and we've all given up on something in our lives in a time that we should've stood strong instead, but in the end..we failed to do so.

But what about the moments when we are facing a hard time and we don't have the strength but somehow we find that strength from somewhere inside of ourselves..we find a strength that we never knew was there! Where did it suddenly come from? How did it manage to come at such a time as this..the time when we needed it the most?

The answer is..God saw you at your weakness point, He heard the cry of your heart, He knew that you needed help finding the strength and He helped you to find that strength within yourself, He helped you to cope with the pain or the defeat that you were struggling with and He lightened the burden of that for you! It's because of God that we are able to draw strength even when we don't always give him the praise for it..still He is there for us in that very hour of need! He searches out heart's and knows what we are capable of, therefore He knows when we need His strength inside of us to be able to make it out of the struggle that we are currently facing!

We are only capable of a few things on our own without any help and God just sits back and enjoys watching us use those strengths but He also watches out for the moments when we are faced with challenges that we cannot overcome according to our own strength and that's when God intervenes in our lives and in those certain situations that we need Him in the most!

I want to encourage you today by telling you to not give up, God is with you at all times and even when it seems hopeless..God is going to give you the strength that you need to get through it, just trust in Him..that He is on His way and that He is going to give you the strength to make it out of that situation successfully! 

God will give you the strength..I promise you that He will get you through even the most difficult things..even tragedy and give you the strength to get through it! 

Trust in Him..trust in His plan..don't lose hope and always keep the faith because that's where you will always draw your strength from!

Proverbs 3:5-6

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge him,

and he will make straight your paths."

~Dani

~Verse of the day~

Psalms 42:1

​"As a deer pants for flowing streams,

so pants my soul for you, O God."

~Dani