~The Devil's Works~

I don't know about you but I'm just worn out and sick of the way the enemy works on people that are involved in church! I've seen it time and time again, people that I was friends with when I was younger who went to church with me are now living a sinful life, these are people that I deeply cared for and considered to be like family! It's the most painful thing that I have ever been through, watching them as they started to allow negative people to be around them and sinful things to come into their homes, whether it be through their televisions, on their computer screens, and even through their friends from school coming over, I know that we need to witness to people and we need to be a good example to the unsaved but if you plan on doing that and being around them you need to make sure that you are a strong Christian and you are headstrong in your beliefs! Be very careful and make sure you really know who you are! God will lead you in spirit and in truth if you will become committed to God's ways and limit yourself to the things of this world! We need to go into the world but we aren't meant to support those who are doing worldly things and are doing senseless things and things that will pass away! You see..There won't be alcohol in Heaven..nor will there be drugs..nor will there be the lottery, there won't be anything such as porn or violent video games, all will pass away and the part of us that will be left over will be our souls..that's the only thing that we can take to Heaven with us is our soul and the souls that we lead to The Lord while we're on earth! This verse describes the terrible sins of this world so well..

Galatians 5:16-26

"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident:sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self- control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another."

Keep a watchful eye on your friends and family, make sure that you are also careful yourself! Satan always finds our weaknesses and will try his hardest to use them against us! Satan will try to get you when you're slightly off-guard and try to influence you to begin to tolerate worldly things that your friends are doing and if you do begin to tolerate those things then Satan will steal from you at that time! He will steal everything that he can from you..don't think for a second that he will leave you alone! He is a mastermind of confusion and lies, he only wants to kill, to steal and to destroy you! Protect yourself by getting in the word and build a strong relationship with God and God will keep you safe! And be wise with your surroundings, surround yourself with kind people who are positive if you do hang around unsaved people, don't hang out at parties and be around drinking..that isn't of God so don't allow yourself to be around all of that temptation! Resist the Devil and he will flee from you! Stand strong in your faith and don't allow other to shake your faith in God!

~Dani

~If you're not teaching your kids who is?~

Have you looked around lately at what's happening to your children and youth? 

From day to day they are being fed in other places and are being poisoned by worldly things! Most of these kids aren't even sure who they are and in result they begin to experiment with many different things but it goes so much further than just "drugs" and "alcohol" these days! Youth and even kids are getting into porn and yes even sexual acts..But do you know why this is happening? Have you really thought about the reasons behind your kids sudden change of character? If you've noticed a change such as..your kids are being quiet when they're normally very vocal, if you've noticed that your kids no longer speak about what's going on in their day and at school, if you've felt like your kids are being secretive when they usually tell you just about everything..Then something is wrong! Pay attention to the warning signs of how your children are acting! Listen to the voice inside of you that's telling you to check in on what's going on with your kids! And better yet..Dare I say maybe you need to check and see what you aren't teaching your children..what areas of your children's life are you not a part of? The truth is your kids will feel up that space with junk instead of the wisdom that you should be teaching them yourself! If you have realized that you haven't been giving them the teachings that they really need..teachings about Jesus, Family issues, and yes even manners! 

It's not too late..you can start today and begin spending the valuable time with them. They really do need you to teach them the things that your parents taught you, because they don't teach that in the world these days like when you were young! 

Look around you and realize that it's no longer a "Safe Haven" kind of world out there! There are horrible things that your children's mind are being pumped full of and it's not the little things anymore..the things they are hearing and the words they are hearing at their school and around kids that don't go to church would frighten you! Pay close attention and realize that if you're not telling your kids about Jesus or taking your kids to church with you..start now! Think about it this way..Do you want to see your grandchildren in church with you someday? Because if you don't take your kids to church then there's a huge chance that your kids won't take their kids either!

I promise you this, if your kids don't learn anything else from you at least you could teach them how important their relationship with God is by going to church, paying their tithe, and being faithful to God when they're at home around their family someday!

Don't wait until it's too late..start now and take your kids to church every week and give your kids the extra time at home that they need from you! Meet their friends and join in on their sports and activities as often as you possibly can! You will see a wonderful change in their character but this will be a positive change in their lives and you will be proud of the person that they will become..I promise you this! Teach them this verse and teach them how to apply it to their lives as well as you apply it to your own life!

Deuteronomy 6:5-7

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise."

Teach them good values now and they will honor you when they're grown. 

~Dani

~Since The Beginning..~

God has had a plan since the very start, even before the earth was formed, even before the waters were put into their place, even before there was a you and I, before it was all created, God had a plan and he had it planned out down to the smallest detail! The only way for me to properly tell you the story of the way we were all created is to quite simply go back to the beginning! When there was only God and his plan!

Genesis 1:1-27

"The Creation of the World

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."

We were in his plan and we are special, we matter to God! God loves you and he has a plan for your life..there is proof from the very beginning in the bible, if you ever have  any doubts in your life and you think for one second that you aren't loved or that your life has no meaning, then you need to read your story from the very beginning and realize that God planned it all and you were part of that plan! God loves you and he has written a wonderful story for you and for me!

~Dani

~Jesus, I'll stand for you~

Over the years I've come to the realization that no matter what I do or how good I act around people they will always be unsatisfied with the way I live my life and have you ever noticed that when you fall back into sin for a moment..they are always the ones that make sure that you are aware of it, almost as if you don't know the difference between sinning and striving to be Christ-like!

I'm so glad that we only have to answer to God, instead of having to go through another person to confess our sins..since Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice we no longer have to go before a priest like they had to do in the old testament bible days, Jesus paid our ransom in full so we no longer have to carry such a burden on our shoulders, We can now find freedom from the chains that sin once had upon us! Praise God!

He truly paid it all for us, no more sin! no more fear! Jesus gave it all so that we can be confident in knowing that Jesus has paved the way so that we could be saved! He loved us so much that he gave of himself out of love and though he lived a perfect life and never sinned..he still chose to die for us though we were sinners!

Let's offer him our lives and live for him because of what he did for us!

I don't know about you but I want to be up in Heaven with him someday! As the song says.."The world behind me, the cross before me, no turning back, no turning back!"

That's exactly what we need to do, we need to remember that this world is temporary and one day this world will pass away but Heaven is forever and our relationship with God will be the most important relationship that we will ever have! Take this world and give me Jesus! I want to be lost in him, yet I want to be found in him! He is my all and all! He is a wonderful God, who loves me just as he made me! I am just right in his sight and so are you! He loves you more than you will ever be able to understand! He loves us so much that his love is unshakable!

There is no place that we could travel to, where we would escape from God's love! God is everywhere! God sees us for who we are on the inside..he sees our heart and every single secret in our lives that no one else sees..yet he still loves us just as we are!

Mark 10:45

"For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Let's show others who God is to us! Let's serve others and be a reflection of God's light for all to see! Because of the price that he paid for our sins we can now say that we are free to dance, free to sing, we are free to worship and to praise our God! We are truly free! We are a blessed people! Walk by faith and not by sight!

Have faith always and hold onto Jesus no matter what happens to you on this earth! Let God be there for you during the good times and in the bad times! Let God be your source of strength at all times, he will be there for you! Ask him to give you strength in your weakness, ask him to give you faith when you cannot see! Ask him to comfort you when you are hurting! God will show up where he's welcome! Ask him for his help and he will show up! 

If you are feeling lost..God will give you direction just call out his name and he will come to your aid..every single time!

~Dani

~Even when I don't see..I still believe~

Disbelief sometimes comes into view in our lives, normally it's when something goes awry, like someone hurts you, you lose a possession or something in your life isn't happening fast enough for you..admit it, we all get frustrated when things don't go according to "our plan" but what we fail to realize is that sometimes God rescues us from our plan to protect us from something bad happening to us or even helping us to go down a path that will not have a "set back" in front of us!

God sees so far into the future and he knows what is best for us, so before you get angry with God and you talk yourself into having a disbelief in him..Ask God what his plan is and better yet, ask him to lead you to the right area if the one you're in isn't the right one for you! 

If you put it into perspective, you will find the positive not to being a "set back" but to being a "come back" 

Before you're so sure that this is the right move for your life, don't count out what God may be planning at the same time! God knows us way better than we even know ourselves, He might have something else in mind or even SOMEONE ElSE IN MIND! God is mysterious and all-knowing..He always knows what is next and he knows that his plans will indeed workout in our lives for the very best!

Remember this, God is always going to be a step ahead of us so he can clear the path for us to safely travel through to our destination!

Don't be afraid when your plans begin to change and don't question who you are when God is changing you for the better, We want him to continue to change us! We should be questioning who we are when others are looking at us and also the person that we are when no one is looking!

If you are acting like a sold out Christian around church and around your friends but you go home and watch perverted movies, listen to dirty music and cuss like a sailor once you get home, then you better get ready because you will be found out! It's only a matter of time before the curtain is pulled away and all your friends will begin to see the person you really are! They will call you what you are..a hypocrite! The bible says your sins will find you out, my friend! You need to be concerned about the person you are at home vs. the person you let your friends see and realize that you need a change in your life!

No one is judging you about the issue of who you really are in Christ because no one has a reason at the moment to believe that you could be anything else than who you say you are! They will find out eventually and when they do get ready to lose the friends you have because nobody likes to be around a hypocrite for long! Because if you'll lie about who you are..you'll lie about your friends as well!

When you lie for so long about things..eventually you will forget what it was you lied about and end up telling on yourself to your friends and they will all find out the honest truth about your character and they will come to realize that you are a fake!

No matter what form of lie you may tell, lies always come back to you even if you lied so someone else you know won't get in trouble! Lies are not good at all! If you don't want to tell someone something..don't say anything at all, instead just remain silent and your lips will remain truthful instead of becoming lying and deceitful tools that the devil can use! Satan will use any part of us that he can and he will use it to destroy us when he has the chance to!

Make sure that you ask God to rid you of anything that is displeasing to him and ask him to make you new!

Lying words only tear down, but truthful words only build up! Speak life and live in truth! Abide in God's ways and have faith in his plan when your plan has failed! Trust that God is working on what's next in your life and become excited in what's to come! God has some wonderful things in mind for you and for me..let's keep our eyes on the good things of God!

Stay focused on the things of God and don't put his plan on the back burner! God's plan need to be our very first choice in life and we need to have faith in that plan even when you can't see amongst your surroundings..Just know that God can see around every single curve! 

Trust in God at all times..especially the times that you cannot see what is going on around you and you have come to the point where you don't even know who you are anymore or even who you want to be someday!

Our dreams are sometimes cut short but God's dreams for our lives always work out! Look around you at all of creation and see the beauty all around you and imagine a second that those are God's dreams for your life! Now isn't that easy to decide to trust in his plans and to not sweat it when our dreams fail?..much better right?

Put your hope and your dreams in God's hands and they will succeed..believe you me!

~Dani

~Nothing but trouble~

In today's blog we are going to talk about the deceiver, The professional conman, The liar, his name is Satan! And he is the ultimate problem in our lives! He is also the tormentor and a mastermind at what he does!

He is truly great at what he does and he is most clever..don't think for a moment that he's not! He is smart and always has a plan in mind!

Always remember to also have a plan by getting into the word of God and by doing so you are getting your shield ready to defend yourself against the enemy and his cunning plan!

Satan isn't stupid or easily fooled and he cannot be tricked..he knows every trick in the book! In fact he came up with most of those tricks!

You cannot lie to Satan because he is the greatest liar! You cannot hide in the darkness or close your eyes hoping he'll disappear..He is darkness and he isn't afraid of being in the shadows!

Prepare yourself to defeat this mastermind by praying continually and seeking God's will for your life! It is the only way to overcome the enemy's plan until he is truly defeated  and is locked away in Hell and put in his place! Allow God to build you up, strengthen you and get you fully equipped to take the devil down!

Ephesians 6:10-13

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm."

Fully equip yourself in The Lord to be prepared for battle against Satan and all that he is! We will defeat him! His day is coming and Jesus will come back before we know it! Get ready because Jesus is coming back soon and Satan will put locked away for good in the pits of Hell on that day! And we will ride away on our mighty steeds in victory when Satan is finally defeated for good! I say Yes and Amen..for that will be a day that we will never forget!

~Dani

~Step back and let God do his thing!~

There are so many things going on around us at times that it suddenly becomes hard to surrender our lives to God, Sure there's a desire to want to be a better person but at times we refuse to see it God's way in our situations!

If only we would step back and watch God take over in our lives!

If we know that our lives would be much better with God being number one then why is it that we cannot just give our lives to him?

If we know that nothing else compares to the greatness of our God then why do we push him so far away from taking full control over our lives?

The answer?..We are still made of flesh and we still have sin in our lives,

Now..you do have a choice, you may tell yourself that you don't have a choice but YOU DO!

It's your decision and your decision alone to choose whom you will serve!

God gave us all a free will and the freedom to choose him or to continue to live our lives in sin!

Make up your minds and choose life! Choose God, the maker of Heaven and earth, the one who put our lives into motion! The maker of the lovely  stars! Looking around you and seeing all of the beauty that surrounds you..Tell me there's no God! Because when you look at all of creation and even when you look into the eyes of your children..You must know that God is real! You must know about his love for you..Why would you wait another second in deciding to serve him?

Choose Jesus and choose Life! Satan doesn't have much to offer you, he only wants you to struggle in your life but God wants only the very best for you life! Won't you choose him today?

John 10:9-10

"I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."

~Dani

~You are faithful, God you are faithful!~

Psalms 25:8-10

"Good and upright is the Lord;

therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,

for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies."

We have all sinned against God in our lives but because of God's steadfast love and faithfulness we can receive his grace and mercy as our own, we fall short of the glory of God often but somehow God still is a faithful God!

We could run away from our calling and turn away from God and just as the prodigal son was forgiven by his father, our Heavenly Father also forgives us and takes us back with welcoming arms!

I love the saying "Satan knows your name but calls you by your weaknesses but God knows your weaknesses and calls you by your name"

I truly believe that is what it means to serve a faithful God, he knows us so well, better than we know ourselves and yet he loves us and continually gives us mercy daily, anytime we sin he is standing with arms wide open and he still calls us his child!

We are dear to God and he loves us more than anyone ever will!

God is ready to forgive us just a quickly as we ask him to, when he sees us sin against him, he is sad but he doesn't turn his face away from us, instead he desires to have our hearts and our minds fixed upon him and out of his steadfast love and faithfulness..He forgives us always if we ask for his forgiveness..then forgiveness is ours!

I'm so glad that no matter what we have done or who we have hurt along the way one thing remains the same, He still calls us by name and says that we are his children! 

Where would we be if not for grace? Where would we be without his mercy? We would feel empty and worthless, lost and hopeless, lonely and unloved, that's where we would be if not for the grace and mercy of God! If you are lost right now and you have run away from God's calling for your life, it's not too late! Today is a fresh new day and God's mercy and grace is waiting for you, all you need to do is pray this prayer with me now.."Jesus, please forgive me of my sins and make me new, I've been lost for so long it seems, I'm ready for a new start and I want what you want for my life from now on, please help me and lead me where I need to go to pursue the calling you have for my life, thank you for the cross and for loving me just as I am, even though I was a sinner, you still came and died for me so I could become saved, write my name into the lambs book of life so someday you can welcome me into your kingdom in heaven for all of eternity!

If you prayed that prayer you are forgiven and God has forgotten your past sins and you are a new creature in Christ Jesus, Allow me to be the first to welcome you home!

~Dani

~A little thing called timing~

They say that time heals all wounds but sometimes we come face to face with the things that had hurt us before and we realize just how deep those wounds and cuts go,

Sometimes after the years have passed by we are forced to cope with our painful past and utilize what we have learned from those bad experiences to build a much better future!

Although we cannot control when someone hurts us and we are sometimes left confused and full of questions of why they would hurt you so badly, you must move past those painful memories and reach out for more happy of times and somehow find it in yourself to forgive the person that has hurt you!

But then again..Sometimes we are hurt because of words left unsaid and as time goes by we come to realize that time cannot make up for that part of it but perhaps in the future peace could be made with the words that you never uttered from your mouth or that someone else never spoke to you, those words could be to a loved one, a family member, a friend or even someone you may have loved way back when you were younger, whatever it may be, remember this..Time is short and it matters who you choose to spend your life with or what friends you choose, so make your time count in the here and now, tell the truth, be caring, be devoted, be lovable and speak the words that will bring life to others and words that will also bring life to yourself!

 I wanted to share part of this verse with you in hopes that it will put your life in perspective..

Ecclesiastes 3:5-8

"a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace."

~Dani

~Life's more simple when justice is The Lord's~

When we are hurt by others or taken advantage of there is something inside of us that's of the flesh that wants to seek revenge on those who have hurt us, as much as we want to "get even" with them it isn't our place!

If we would all somehow find a way to forgive them for hurting us and allow God to heal us we would be much better off, because when we try to hurt those who have hurt us, we are really the ones that get hurt permanently! Instead of getting even with those who have hurt you let God convict them and judge them for their wrong doings, with time you will heal and you will eventually forget what they did to you because you won't go back in your mind to when they hurt you! Let forgiveness reign in your life and let go of the pain that others have done to you, allow God to come near to you and heal you!

Justice is The Lord's and he will judge us all one day, 

forgive others as He has forgiven you! Draw near to God closer each day and slowly push the world out of your life, let love and friendship reign in your life instead of hate and unkindness!

Ephesians 4:32

"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave y

~What are you fighting for?~

We are all fighting for something in our lives, it's either a noble cause that's worth fighting for or it's something that is a poor excuse of what we want so badly to turn into something worthy of fighting for in our lives!

Not everything in life is something to fight for, there are many things that we try so hard to hold onto when we should really just let them go and allow God to fill up that void in our lives!

It seems as though we are giving up our unique personalities when we "let go" or so we choose to think of it as being that way, in reality we need to live and learn by practicing these key steps in our lives..

#1. Learn humility, you can never have too much humility! So make it an effort to remain humble by any means possible, it's very important!

#2. Learn patience, if you can practice patience you will learn to appreciate life more fully and devote more time to the important things in life such as..building your relationship with God, your Family, your dear friends and waiting on The Lord while doing these things!

#3. Learn to let go and let God!

You cannot do this alone no matter how strong you think you are! You need a higher power and someone to fall back on when life doesn't go well at times..God wants you to let go of all the pain and hurt! He wants to see you let go of it all and move past those things onto greater times!

#4. Make a commitment to serving God and surrendering your life to him in all areas! You see, it's not only about the way you act in a church service..it's how you act at home, at your job, on Facebook and in public! Be committed to God fully and you will never want to go back to the old life ways, instead you will look ahead at the great things that God has in store for you and you'll come to realize just how little you value the worlds opinion of you!

And finally #5. You will be able to see the value that God sees in you and realize just how precious you are to him, and nothing else will even come close to how good God makes you feel in your life!

You can do this..fight for the noble cause, fight for what's right and let go of what this world has to offer you..which isn't much and only lasts for a moment when God's kingdom lasts forever and ever!

~Dani

~What are you so afraid of?~

I love the story of Esther and I believe that we could learn so much from her powerful story! She was a woman that had an even more important calling than she could ever imagine! She was a queen but she was a Jewish woman who ended up having to save her people! She was faced with a hard decision in her life because of the thing that she had to do to save her people but she overcame her fears and listened to her uncle, knowing that this was the thing that she was destined to do and she was going to do it even though she couldn't been put to death because of the laws back then, the law was if the king called you and held out his scepter to you, you could have counsel with the king in his court, but if you were not summoned and you approached the king and he didn't hold out his scepter..you were sentenced to death! That was punishable by law and yet Queen Esther braved through it all! She knew that she had to do this and if she perished, she perished. I want you to read this powerful part of her story now, may her story help you to conquer your fears!

Esther 3:12 - 4:16

Then the king's scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king's satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, to every province in its own script and every people in its own language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king's signet ring. 13 Letters were sent by couriers to all the king's provinces with instruction to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. 14 A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province by proclamation to all the peoples to be ready for that day. 15 The couriers went out hurriedly by order of the king, and the decree was issued in Susa the citadel. And the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was thrown into confusion.

Chapter 4

Esther Agrees to Help the Jews

1 When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and he cried out with a loud and bitter cry. 2 He went up to the entrance of the king's gate, for no one was allowed to enter the king's gate clothed in sackcloth. 3 And in every province, wherever the king's command and his decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and many of them lay in sackcloth and ashes.

4 When Esther's young women and her eunuchs came and told her, the queen was deeply distressed. She sent garments to clothe Mordecai, so that he might take off his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. 5 Then Esther called for Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs, who had been appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what this was and why it was. 6 Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king's gate, 7 and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king's treasuries for the destruction of the Jews. 8 Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her and command her to go to the king to beg his favor and plead with him on behalf of her people. 9 And Hathach went and told Esther what Mordecai had said. 10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to go to Mordecai and say, 11 “All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law—to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.”

12 And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. 13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” 15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, 16 “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.”

~Dani

~If only I had the faith to continue..~

Many people have this one thing in common..The struggle to find the faith within themselves! It's very hard to reach down deep within yourself at first and believe that there is something much bigger than you and it's something that is unseen but more real than anything on earth that you can hold in your hands!

When you become a Christian, at first it's a series of questions that you are eager to have answered, you search for verses in the bible, talk with other Christians and learn how they came to know Jesus but sometimes outsiders (non-believers) will discourage you and cause you to question God's ability! Sometimes it's a situation in your life that causes you to question your faith in God and the unseen! Don't lose faith even though you're struggling, seek God for guidance and talk to your Pastor or a strong Christian friend of yours, they may be able to give you the answer that you are seeking to have answered or give you a bible verse to read that will point you back into the right direction in your life!

Don't allow yourself to feel that you just aren't good enough or that you just can't handle this "new Christian thing" God is on your side and he's proud of the steps that you are taking! God is an understanding, patient, loving, caring God! Don't lose your faith just because you're struggling, instead rise up and declare that you are a child of God! You are worth something very special to God and he loves you very much!

~Dani

~Healing:Believing in God's miracles~

We all have a hard time in the beginning of our relationship with God when it comes to believing in miracles, it's sometimes hard to have faith in the things that you haven't yet seen with your own eyes! 

We are made of flesh and bone, we have that attitude of being logical in all areas of our lives! But God is so complex and we cannot fully understand God because we are a simple minded people, we have a hard time believing in the mysteries of God and all that he is!

When bad things happen the first thing we do is ask questions of why those things happened to us, sometimes we even ask why God didn't stop those horrible things from happening to us! We never think about the fact that perhaps God protected us the whole time and only the smaller things in our lives crashed and burned! We never once think of how much worse our situation could have been and that God saved us from even harder things from happening to us!

Here's an example for you that I had trouble getting through a while back,

About three years ago a very close friend who was also my piano player and my dad's administrative assistant received the worst news of her life..She had Cancer! At first I tried my best to be strong for her by having faith that she would receive her healing and be cured from Cancer, I never thought for a second that we would lose her because I had the faith that she would be healed, She was a fighter and played the piano for a few weeks and then she began to lose her strength and the Cancer progressed which forced her to stop playing the piano and she had to limit her office work, I couldn't believe how quickly a woman I knew as being so strong and always being there to help at the church suddenly couldn't do the things that she was called to do because of this horrible disease!

It was heart-breaking to watch this thing happen, it was like a nightmare that I felt like I was watching her live in every single day! I continued to pray for her and seeked God for her healing but she continued to get worse until she eventually passed away, This disease called Cancer had taken it's course and took the life of a true friend and sister in Christ!

I didn't understand at first, I had so many questions for God and I almost blamed him for her passing away in such a painful manner but then I remembered a song that Christy Hinson had written about a little girl who had Cancer, how she prayed and the little girl still passed away, the song says this.. "So he healed her perfect, he healed her grand, and you should hear her shouting all over glory land, there are no tears there, there is no pain and one day when you're ready I'll heal you just the same, I'll heal you perfect"

When I heard that song it made me realize, that even though she didn't get her healing here on earth, she received her healing in heaven and not only did she get healed but she is healed perfect and has no more pain!

I was able to find the peace and my hurting from the loss of a dear friend was beginning to mend because God was with me as he was before but I had forgotten for a while how God had always brought me through! Satan will always try his hardest to make us think that God has given up on us in our hour of need, especially when we are confused and hurt after the loss of someone dear to us!

But we must always remember that God is going to mend our pain and he will get us through this! We must reach out to our savior and seek comfort from his arms in our hour of need! The reason why God is quiet in our times of grieving is because he is giving us time to mourn, it's not that he's not there for us, he is there, he's only waiting for us to cry out to him for understanding and comfort in the hardest of times!

Just because you prayed and the prayer wasn't answered the way you thought it would be answered that doesn't mean that God doesn't love you or that he didn't hear you, it means that God allowed that person to leave this corrupt and sinful world early to be healed perfect and you will see them again someday!

Have faith and believe that you will get through this! Keep your head up and continue to seek God through your pain and he will come to comfort you in your hour of need just like he did for me in my hour of need!

~Dani

~Forced To Become Courageous~

Life is presented with difficulties at times that often cause a persons character to change, sometimes hurtful things that happen to you in your life will cause a quiet and kind person into becoming bitter and short tempered! But that is only the case if you give up and let what's happened to you ruin your life and most of all your unique personality that God made you to be! 

Instead you can choose to become stronger and more cautious in all of life's situations!

You may have been hurt or used or lied to, you may have been betrayed by someone dear to you, you may have been tossed aside by someone that you thought you could trust but they left you in your hour of need!

But I'm here to tell you this simple truth..IT'S NOT OVER!

 You were made to be courageous and you can overcome this pain that you've endured too long! 

Break off those chains and allow yourself to trust again! Give your pain to God and allow him to mend your brokenness! God sees your pain and he wants to hold you and give you healing in his arms!

Don't allow yourself to shut down others around you just because someone has lied to you, that was one person..what can one person do to you?! God is more mighty than they are and he can help you to trust again and you'll also come out being wiser in your life..meaning that God will teach you to have a watchful eye and a teachable spirit too!

God has the power to break away any form of chain that there is! Nothing is too big for God to handle! So stop living in the negative in the yesterday and move forward into the positive and beautiful tomorrow!

God is waiting for you there, on the other side, where joy dwells and true happiness lies! I want you to read this verse and take strength in these words of hope! In God you can become courageous!

Isaiah 41:10

"fear not, for I am with you;

be not dismayed, for I am your God;

I will strengthen you, I will help you,

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

~Dani

~Learning to obey the voice of God~

Deuteronomy 28:1-2

“And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God."

It's very important to obey God, and when you really think about it, it's actually very simple..If you want to be blessed obey God! If you want to to have God's leading obey him!

 It's very simple and it's worth it to obey him!

When Following the leading of God you never have to worry about where you're going..you always know that wherever the destination is that God is leading you in is a safe one! You don't have to worry as you do when you're making a decision for yourself, when we decide to go somewhere in our lives there are no guarantees..for all we know we could be walking into a black hole! There is everything to fear when we go solo in our lives..But when we give God control..We have nothing to fear because He will lead us safely into the right place! 

And God always provides when he's calling you to something! If God told you to go on a missions trip to Egypt today..you know that the only way you could go would be if God set everything up for you to go! Always pray and seek God when you're thinking about going on a missions trip or any trip! Let the Holy Spirit lead you wherever you may go..the world is a dangerous place right now, especially in some of the countries now! Listen to God's voice and the Holy Spirit when they tell you it's not safe! 

Obey God in all you do and it could save your life someday!

Thank God for his leading! Thank God for his protection! Thank God for his blessings! Obey him and believe me when I tell you that it's worth it, In every single way..Obeying him is worth it!

~Dani

~Lacking Wisdom~

Wisdom: the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgement; the quality of being wise.

What is it "to be wise?" Is it being smart intellectually? Is it to have common sense? Is it to have a knowledge of right and wrong?

What is the answer? The answer is this..it's all of the above!

To be truly wise and have wisdom, you must have the knowledge of what's right and what's wrong! Second, you must have a good head on your shoulders..and it's more than being able to add numbers in your head and being able to spell words properly! You need to be able to survive this world on your own if it comes to that..we are indeed designed to be able to survive emergencies, God made us that way!

Thirdly, common sense is very important! It may in fact be more important than being book smart! "Common sense" ironically, really isn't all that common anymore! Those who have common sense and those who also have a good sense of humor as well! Those who have common sense are often the ones who have vision and creativity!

So yes, it is very important to have these three things!

These three things are the components that make up the word Wisdom!

King Solomon was very Wise and Wealthy as well but he didn't have the common sense that would've made him a much more successful ruler!

Just because you have Wisdom doesn't make you the smartest person in all the land! God is always more wise than we could ever hope to be! We are only human and full of mistakes daily, God is our provider and the one who gives us the understanding that we need!

If you are lacking in any one of these areas..I want you to look up and ask God to give you the wisdom and knowledge that you desire to have!

~Dani

~Peace to calm any storm~

Psalms 107:28-30

"Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven."

Is there a storm going on in your life right now? All it takes is for you to call out to God and he will cause the storms in your life to be at peace!

God can calm the storms as quickly as they come, the only words he has to say is" Shhhh.." 

God speaks peace into those who has faith in him!

We have no need to fear the storm because God is more mighty than any storm could ever be!

Sometimes in our lives we are going through a hurricane, it seems like everything is being destroyed around us and there is only debris surrounding us! Do not be afraid of everything around you because it looks and seems hopeless to you! It may look and feel like it's over for you but your life is far from over!

God never promised that this life would be easy, but he did promise us that no matter what we may face..we don't face anything alone! He is always watching over us and he sees far ahead into the future!

Nothing surprises God! It may surprise us when we go through hard times but God knows everything and everyone on earth!

God will bring you peace of mind in the midst of life's roughest storms and he will bring sunshine into our life!

If you're having a hard time right now and you're facing a storm in your life or maybe you're facing a hurricane in your life, know this..God hasn't forgotten you! You aren't alone, sometimes when there's a storm or hurricane all we need to do is raise our hands to God and surrender to him and let him take things over..God is strong..he can handle it! Allow the peace of God to reign in your life and praise God right in the middle of the strongest of storms, knowing that God can and will protect you from harm and in life's many storms!

Let the peace of God calm your every storm, let him hold you and bring you comfort while you're facing difficulties in your life! May the Peace of God be with you all!

~Dani

~Over and over again~

Psalms 51:10-12

"Create in me a clean heart, O God,

and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit."

Us being part flesh we are always going to make mistakes and be imperfect until we get to Heaven and have a new body and God calls us by a new name!

Because of God's mercy and grace we don't have to worry about what tomorrow brings because God's son has already made a way for you through the cross! You have no need to fear what the future brings when you are saved by his grace! We have been freed from our sins because of grace and we were spared because of his mercy!

A long time ago God had a plan and created everything you see around you, he even created a man and a woman and gave them free will to serve him or not to serve him, after Adam and Eve sinned against God because of their free will, God came up with another plan so that we could join him in Heaven someday, that plan was to send his only son to be conceived by the Holy Spirit and Mary who was a woman of God and a virgin was to be his mother, Jesus was born and he grew up to preach the gospel, he was perfect, a spotless lamb! Even though he was falsely accused for the crimes that we had done..Jesus took those sins upon himself to bare the sins and bleed upon a cross and die a painful death so that we could have grace and be able to be in Heaven with him someday!

Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice and laid it all down for our freedom!

I don't know why anyone would choose not to follow such a wonderful Savior as Jesus! I want to choose Jesus every moment of my life and trade the ugliness of sin for the beauty that grace gives to me!

We must choose to serve him daily and learn to lay down the things that aren't worth it at the end of the day!

Pick up your bible and read it as often as you possibly can! Pray as often as you can! Thank God for his grace every chance that you get!

He deserves our very best effort on a daily basis, let's make the most of our lives by serving God to the best of our abilities! He's worthy of our praise and our song!

Give your all to God today and make the most of life by being living proof of Jesus' sacrifice! Serve him and remember if you fall..He will help you to stand again and he will forgive you of your mistakes always, because of his mercy that's offered daily to us!

~Dani