~Verse of the day~

Ecclesiastes 3:1

​“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven”

~Dani

~I'm not who I was~

As Christians it's very important for us to be able to look at our lives at the end of the year or at the end of a season and see how much we've changed for the better in our lives!

There are things that we go through that tests our faith at times and times when we ask God "Why?" 

But if we can somehow trust in the almighty God and hold on to a good attitude, then that struggle can benefit us and it can even help others around us to be lifted up out of their struggles that they may also be facing!

Never underestimate the power of your testimony! If someone sees the way that you made it through, it will help them to keep the faith and not give up! 

You can help others to realize that their life isn't over and that God still has a plan even if they have fallen short of God! We can show them that God loves them with an unconventional love and though they have messed up..God's love is unchanging toward all of us!

We have to believe that God is going to take care of us, because he sees around every corner and he sees our breakthrough up ahead! 

He knows everything about us and still he loves us!

When we make mistakes..He forgives!

When we DOUBT..He sees a way OUT!

When we are hopeless..He fills us with hope!

When all odds are stacked up against you..He is right there with you!

When we are sad..He is our shoulder!

He NEVER changes! He sees all things and yet..He loves us more deeply than anyone ever could! He wants to better us and He wants us to improve as days go by!

I can't describe to you how much I've changed within a year, I was really struggling last year even though people didn't see it written on my face but I didn't want pity..I wanted to give it to God so I could change for the better!

Pity doesn't always benefit us..It can cause us to remain in our problems longer and we will become comfortable in our pain, when we do that and we allow people to step in where God should be stepping in..We cannot change, instead we end up staying there longer and that holds us back from changing for the better!

I don't know about you but I don't want a pat on the shoulder and remain in that painful season in my life..I want to change so I can move past it and become stronger in the Lord!

I gave it to God and He gave me strength, joy, peace, confidence, courage and so much more than that!

I am a better person today and I'm not who I was!

~Dani

~Verse of the day~

Psalms 95:1-2

“Oh come, let us sing to the LORD;

let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;

let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!”

~Dani

~Don't You Worry~

Many of us over worry about everything to the point that we cannot sleep or even stay focused doing simple tasks!

There's a big difference in worrying about important things and just worrying about insignificant things in this life..the things that we just need to let go of!

When life becomes difficult in areas that used to be simple..that's when it's time to give it to God!

Sometimes we just have to relinquish our control to the Lord and place those things in his hands!

Now Ladies, since I'm a woman as well I can say this..I know that we naturally worry about our family's needs and that's alright but don't allow the little issues to cause you to lose sleep because when that happens..suddenly daytime issues with the kids will become more difficult and you may lose your focus or become frustrated with them..don't allow worry to steal your Joy and Peace! 

You have to give that to God and go to sleep so daytime tasks can be done more easily! 

Put your worry to rest and trust in God to take care of the other things on your mind!

Today, I want you to ask God to give you his perfect Peace and put all worry out of your mind! God has a purpose for your daily life and worry isn't part of that purpose so let's surrender it to God starting now!

Philippians 4:7

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

~Dani

~Where is the love?~

"Bitterness" the taste is bad enough but once you allow Bitterness to in-root itself into your heart..nothing feels the same in life!

Not only does Bitterness cause problems for you but also for your loved ones around you! 

Suddenly, the smiles are no longer natural but become forced and the joy begins to die away like a fading flower..once the sun has gone the flower can no longer grow but dies.

There are days when all you want to do is hide away from your friends and family, then all you do is think about yourself and what you need all the time.

When your life begins to revolve around what benefits you and you alone..that's when bitterness sneaks it's way in!

It's not so easy to break free from it either! The only way to find freedom from the bitterness is to let go of the pain that caused you the bitterness in the first place..You have to decide to move past it in order to break free from it.

Are you tired of feeling disappointed? Are you ready to wake up happy and have joy in your life again? It's not too late! God is ready to lead you out of the darkness that bitterness holds on you! Cry out to God and He will attend to your cry and He will heal your heart so that you'll be open to love others again! He can restore the trust again! You can have peace again! Let go of the hurt and reach out for God's heart so you can reach out in love! God doesn't want you to be bitter..He wants you to be better!

Isaiah 38:16-17

"O Lord, by these things men live,

and in all these is the life of my spirit.

Oh restore me to health and make me live!

Behold, it was for my welfare

that I had great bitterness;

but in love you have delivered my life

from the pit of destruction,

for you have cast all my sins

behind your back."

~Dani

~Verse of the day~

John 14:27

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

~Dani

~Verse of the day~

Mark 11:24

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

~Dani

~Verse of the day~

Romans 10:17

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

~Dani

~You've got me~

Do you ever feel like you're all alone?

I'll admit that I struggle with as well but when this happens my mind goes to this verse..

Psalms 42:5

"Why are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you in turmoil within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation"

If you notice this verse is repeated many times throughout psalms 42 and so on, have you ever wondered why it was repeated so many times?

I think that the reason for that is because David was feeling lonely and desperate to hear from God, like we sometimes feel in our lives.

It's good to know that even kings sometimes feel lonely and it can cause us to realize that when that feeling comes over us we don't have to fear that we're alone..because God isn't far from us, we just have to reach out to him at times, I love to read this part of the verse as well..

Psalms 42:1-4

"As a deer pants for flowing streams,

so pants my soul for you, O God.

My soul thirsts for God,

for the living God.

When shall I come and appear before God?

My tears have been my food

day and night,

while they say to me all the day long,

“Where is your God?”

These things I remember,

as I pour out my soul:

how I would go with the throng

and lead them in procession to the house of God

with glad shouts and songs of praise,

a multitude keeping festival."

"As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you.."

When we read this part it helps us to remember that..much like a deer thirsts for water, we cannot be satisfied without a drink from the fountain of living water, we cannot live our lives to the fullest unless we have God leading us to where we need to go or to comfort us in times of loneliness! 

God will be there to bring us comfort..because He is the comforter and the fountain to satisfy our every thirst! 

Reach out to Him today and don't be afraid to ask for what you need from Him..He is there to listen to your every need but don't forget to thank Him just for being there and for being your strength when you were in your weakness! 

I'm so glad that we serve such a mighty God, aren't you?

~Dani

~Verse of the day~

1 Corinthians 13:4-13

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

~Dani

~Resting In The Peace~

Why do we try so hard sometimes to do things on our own without God's peace? No matter how hard we try..we will always find out in the end that we are only human and we simply cannot survive without that higher power that we can only find in God!

We aren't promised tomorrow but God promises that He will be beside us at ALL TIMES! 

He is our constant, the one we can always depend upon..no matter what we're currently facing in our lives!

One of the hardest things to do is learning to relinquish control and putting our full trust in God to work everything out, while we are holding on to the hope that He is going to make a way and where there's faith and hope..there will also be peace!

Philippians 4:6-9

“do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”

I want you to put your trust in God the rest of the week FULLY, and watch what happens in your life! 

Wait and see..God WILL amaze you and lead you in His truth! 

You will have such peace, far beyond your understanding! 

Because when you trust in God..

God brings out the "The Best" and not "The Stress" in every single area of your life! 

Walk by faith and not by sight! 

Trust in him and do not depend on yourself! 

Have hope in God and feel His peace sweep over you!

I will tell you, You haven't felt peace until you've felt the peace of God over your life!

~Dani

~It Takes Faith~

There comes a time in every persons life when they aren't sure what the outcome will be, when that happens we have to choose to have faith and to trust that God knows what's best for us, there comes a time when we have to hold on to hope and avoid negative thinking, yet we have to have confidence in the fact that things will work out for the good because of our faithfulness to God!

This world has a way of pushing and pulling at us, trying to get us to overlook God's plan and to become distracted by plans according to the worlds standards..If we aren't careful, we will get sucked into something deceptive and ungodly, we will be confused and unprepared because it wasn't a matter of timing but the fact that the world isn't the right fit for us because we are living a life to please God and not the world!

As Christians we have to have faith in the unseen and in the things that haven't taken place yet, as well as to hold on to the faith while you are walking down an unfamiliar road, we have to be cautious to the Holy Spirit and follow after God's plan for our life, we have to remember to walk in faith and not in sight because if we do..God will send blessings in our lives and at the same time he will prevent us from going down dangerous areas..no one wants to hit a pothole while driving at a fast speed when it could've been avoided, so that is why we trust in God and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit because we cannot fully comprehend what will happen in our lives on our own, we need him to lead us in the way that we should go and trust him even when he tells us "no" but if we depend on him in all areas of our lives..he truly takes care of us and helps us to see the things that he protected us from more clearly and we will start to see his plan unfold before our very eyes before long!

Trust in God's plan, Have faith in that plan and hold on to the Hope that God will not let you down and he Will see you through ALL THINGS! God knows your whole heart so shouldn't you trust in him to take good care of it?

1 John 3:20-22

“for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 

Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.”

~Dani

~Verse of the day~

Psalms 33:4

“For the word of the LORD is upright,

and all his work is done in faithfulness.”

~Dani

~Verse of the day~

Matthew 6:34

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

~Dani

~Verse of the day~

Psalms 38:15

“But for you, O LORD, do I wait;

it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.”

~Dani

~Adoration over Frustration~

Life can become so crazy so quickly, things change, people change, people even leave but I'm so glad that we have a living God that never changes!

So often we allow the craziness of this life to control our attitudes and we welcome Satan into our home when we begin to worry and become negative!

Being negative steals so many things from us! It steals our peace of mind, our Joy, our compassion for others and it even separates us from God!

I know it's hard but we must find a way to give it all to God so we can live in Peace and have Joy in our lives!

One of the worst feelings is when you're laying in bed at night awake from worry, there comes a point when we have to choose to let go and let God!

We are only human and we cannot survive without God's comfort when life seems to be falling apart!

We sometimes develop this attitude of.."I am independent, I can handle it alone!" Without even realizing it!

How do we do that? We WORRY instead of PRAYING! There's where we make our mistake is by leaving God out of our problems by not praying for peace of mind..Much like Peter did when he worried about the storm and took his eyes off of Jesus but when Peter cried out to Jesus for help..He reached down and pulled him up!

We need to become like that and allow God to reach into our situation and pull us out of it!

We mustn't forget that God is with us and for us!

I am reminded of a song by Kari Jobe that says..

"I know that you are for me,

I know that you are for me,

I know that you will never forsake me in my weakness,

And I know that you have come now even if to write upon my heart to remind who you are!"

That's what our focus should be, we should always depend on him..whether if it's simply adoration unto him or if we are sinking in our worry..we should know that he is just a prayer away!

Psalms 37:5-6

“Commit your way to the LORD;

trust in him, and he will act.

He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,

and your justice as the noonday.”

I know that it's hard to admit that you need help sometimes but as Christians we have admitted that we couldn't go it alone in this life and that God is on our side to see us through!

~Dani

~Blindly Leading..~

Proverbs 4:13-19

“Keep hold of instruction; do not let go;

guard her, for she is your life.

Do not enter the path of the wicked,

and do not walk in the way of the evil.

Avoid it; do not go on it;

turn away from it and pass on.

For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong;

they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.

For they eat the bread of wickedness

and drink the wine of violence.

But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,

which shines brighter and brighter until full day.

The way of the wicked is like deep darkness;

they do not know over what they stumble.”

We are in the day in age where there are too many who have so much pride and boastfulness that they think they are doing the right thing, that they have become leaders and have many followers but it's not the righteous type of leaders..it's the blind leaders who are so corrupt and set in their ways that they are leading people straight to hell!

They are so certain that they are right but what they are doing is wrong and not of God!

It's become so popular to claim that you are a follower of Christ..yet deny his word..what's even worse is that they make the excuse of.."Someone has to stand up for those who cannot defend themselves!" But really all they are doing is mocking God because they are denying his written truth and they are trying to justify the error of their ways by saying they are "helping someone in need" when really all they're doing is condemning them to hell!

The bible clearly speaks about men turning away from the words of  knowledge and about how they will argue with believers who are trying to point them back to truth but they will hear nothing of it!

You see, they have hardened their hearts to the things of God so much that they no longer speak or stand up for truth!

We shouldn't listen to everyone around us because many of them are liars now! Would you close your eyes and allow someone to lead you to the edge of a cliff and push you off? No. 

So why would you take everything they say to heart before reading the word of God to verify it?

Not everyone who tells you something with a smile on their face is a person of truth so you have to read the word of God and find out for yourself! 

You have to pray and get into the word! Ask God to reveal to you the truth and to clean you from the corruption that has been deeply planted in your heart and He Will!

Here is what's happening right now and what we should be doing as followers of Christ and doers of the word!

2 Timothy 4:1-5

“​I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

We must ask the Lord to give us a pure heart and truly believe in his every word before we can reach out to others!

We don't need to blindly lead someone down a dark path that leads to death and suffering! 

We have to love them like Jesus but rebuke our neighbor when God leads us to do it..we cannot delay telling them because if you wait too long to tell them..it may be too late to reach their soul. 

As Christians we have to listen to the Lord and go when he says "Go!" Because if we don't..we will be judge by him in Heaven and he will ask us  "Why, Didn't you follow me?"

I don't know about you but I'd much rather be bashed by the ungodly than to face God in eternity telling me how disappointed he was in me for not reaching souls when I had the opportunity and means to do so!

We have to Obey His word and we have to reach the lost so we can win some souls for Jesus!

~Dani

~Listen, Trust, Love & Obey

I understand now what Jesus meant when he was saying.."they know not what they do"

It's starting to become very hard to watch as people are so disillusioned by what lies they have come to believe and what they are doing to promote them.

They cannot think with a clear conscience because they know not what they do and that what they are doing is sinful.

It's painful to see people turning against each other but more than that..it's painful to see how they are mocking God and mocking anyone who mentions His name in a manner of praise!

It's beyond shameful to see people living a "double standard" way of life where they are comfortable living in sin and only create riots to promote what's best to accommodate their lifestyle in America..yet they criticize those who try to pave a way in this country for justice and benefiting a positive future for the children but that legacy won't be able to exist once people only change the laws that benefit their "peace of mind" instead of thinking about how it's going to affect those who are on this earth long after we're gone!

What about their future? 

What about their dreams? 

Don't the children of America deserve their own hopes and dreams to come to pass? I think so!

Since when did we become a country who doesn't think about others?

When did we become so spiteful and bitter when someone speaks for freedom, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?

America has turned their back on God and have come to hate those who dare to say the pledge of allegiance or to even say "God Bless America!"

When that's how this country came to be great in the first place!

People have turned their backs on law enforcement officers, firefighters, Veterans and anyone who is trying to fight for our freedom at all costs and to give this country a good foundation to stand on!

I shatter at the thought of the danger we would be in without them standing up to fight for such a cause even though many have turned away or slandered our good veterans names and the cause that they so proudly stand up for..still they fight because they are fighting to make America what she once was!

They believe so strongly in America that they would give up an arm or leg and even their very lives if a citizen was in harms way..And yet no one reaches out to say "Thank You" to them!

And no one gives them a feeling of pride or satisfaction to come home to, they are overshadowed by riots and controversies where we used to stop everything to welcome them home with group hugs and big smiles on our faces!

Among many other things..this is one of the Big problems that has happened in America and it needs to stop!

Let's speak life into America again!

let's believe with those who believe in how great she is! 

Let's reach out to the community like we used to! 

Let's dream of something great happening again!

Let's keep putting out the good in this world..why? Because that's what Jesus did and we are called to be a reflection of him so others might see Jesus in us! Even though people will mock you or mock God..show them the love of Christ and listen to what God speaks into your heart to say to them..even when it's something that's hard for you to say..

it's not heartlessly judging when you feel led to say something and it's in a loving way to someone else..that's the way Jesus did and that's the way we should approach witnessing to those who are lost! The ones who often accuse Christians of harshly judging are usually those who are hurting the most and if you truly have a heart for the lost..God will give you the opportunity to talk to them and he will give you the very words that will reach them!

~Dani