In reflecting on this, my first Mother's Day without Danielle, I have had time to reflect upon my life and Danielle's as well.
I received my mom's Amplified Bible to use as a reference yesterday and I saw a note in it that said Danielle's favorite verse in the bible was II Chronicles 5:13-14 "And when the trumpeters and singers were joined in unison, making one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and other instruments for song and praised the Lord, saying, for He is good, for His mercy and loving kindness endure forever, then the house of the Lord was filled with a cloud. So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the House of God."
This verse has special meaning to me because she lived, loved and laughed the same way when she was a child. She would sing praises to the Lord all the time, just dance and sing His praises. Then as a teenager she departed from that but was always still filled with the spirit of love for everyone and protection of everyone whether she showed it or not. She loved the people she loved, deeper than anyone else I know.
As mothers, we should always have love in our homes and show children how to always love and show love and kindness to everyone no matter their situation or stature in their peer groups. Love never fails, it's not touchy, it's forgiving and everlasting. "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." - 1 Peter 4:8 NIV
Danielle was almost always smiling and happy and I truly believe that she had God's love in her heart! There is no way to bask in the love of God and be unhappy at the same time! You can also choose to be happy, just as you could choose to be miserable. Danielle made a conscious effort to be happy all the time. I think she would want us all to rejoice the same way and live a happy, satisfied and fulfilling life!
Showing posts with label 2010. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2010. Show all posts
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Don't Judge or Seek Revenge
James 1:19-20 - Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
I have been dealing a lot with this topic lately. According to the word of God we shall not judge for we shall be judged. Seeking revenge on someone hurts no one but ourselves because it takes up all of our time. We can't study the word of God when we are constantly plotting and planning against someone that has wronged us.
God meant for us to be good listeners so that we can be slow to speak, which gives us time to have a Godly thought to give to the situation. If we are quick to respond or lash out, it will almost always be a nasty blow to someone that could have otherwise been someone we should have shown kindness to. My mom told me once to "kill em with kindness" and I'm telling you over and over, this advice is good advice. It has always worked for me and I am certain it will work for you.
If you are planning on getting through a rough situation that challenges your faith, it is crucial for you to follow this lesson. We are meant to be Godly examples and if we are constantly seeking revenge, we can't possibly be setting a good example. By being vengeful we will do several things, of which, driving away other Godly people is the worst. If we lose our Godly friends we lose our grounding to the word and then we will wither away like a dying flower with no water.
So if you are faced with a horrible situation, don't react, listen and wait for God's words to come, I promise it will. He never leaves your side and he said vengeance is His...so let him do His work. Don't try to do His work for Him, if we do, He may just let us take ourselves down the wrong road and trust me that is not a road we want to travel unprotected by God!
I have been dealing a lot with this topic lately. According to the word of God we shall not judge for we shall be judged. Seeking revenge on someone hurts no one but ourselves because it takes up all of our time. We can't study the word of God when we are constantly plotting and planning against someone that has wronged us.
God meant for us to be good listeners so that we can be slow to speak, which gives us time to have a Godly thought to give to the situation. If we are quick to respond or lash out, it will almost always be a nasty blow to someone that could have otherwise been someone we should have shown kindness to. My mom told me once to "kill em with kindness" and I'm telling you over and over, this advice is good advice. It has always worked for me and I am certain it will work for you.
If you are planning on getting through a rough situation that challenges your faith, it is crucial for you to follow this lesson. We are meant to be Godly examples and if we are constantly seeking revenge, we can't possibly be setting a good example. By being vengeful we will do several things, of which, driving away other Godly people is the worst. If we lose our Godly friends we lose our grounding to the word and then we will wither away like a dying flower with no water.
So if you are faced with a horrible situation, don't react, listen and wait for God's words to come, I promise it will. He never leaves your side and he said vengeance is His...so let him do His work. Don't try to do His work for Him, if we do, He may just let us take ourselves down the wrong road and trust me that is not a road we want to travel unprotected by God!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Transformation from Caterpillar to Butterfly!
Corinthians 3:18 - "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."
Most of us understand the transformation of the caterpillar into a butterfly, but has anyone explained the transformation from your OLD self in the flesh of our earth to your NEW self in Christ? The world wants to conform us, God wants to transform us! Jesus gives us a heart of wanting and appreciation, little by little he transforms us into his image. When we submerse ourselves in the teachings of the Bible, we learn little by little and become transformed little by little so that eventually, we can be transformed from the animal that crawls to the Christian that flies!
We need to stop thinking God is mad at us for not being perfect Christians. We all learn at different paces, we all have different amounts of time that we can devote to our learning. You may only have 15 minutes a day to devote to the Lord, but eventually you will have more time and be able to grow into your NEW Christian life in your own time. Just like the butterfly that develops from the cocoon, we develop as Christians the same way. If you are going through struggles in your life, think of the butterfly in the cocoon, he struggles and struggles to get out of it and then becomes this beautiful animal of God. Your struggles too, will transform you into a beautiful person of God. Sometimes, we have to go through struggles to develop into our NEW Christian lives.
Don't try to be someone else, because when God transforms you, you will be your own butterfly! So get into your cocoon with the Holy Spirit and be transformed into the image of Jesus!
Most of us understand the transformation of the caterpillar into a butterfly, but has anyone explained the transformation from your OLD self in the flesh of our earth to your NEW self in Christ? The world wants to conform us, God wants to transform us! Jesus gives us a heart of wanting and appreciation, little by little he transforms us into his image. When we submerse ourselves in the teachings of the Bible, we learn little by little and become transformed little by little so that eventually, we can be transformed from the animal that crawls to the Christian that flies!
We need to stop thinking God is mad at us for not being perfect Christians. We all learn at different paces, we all have different amounts of time that we can devote to our learning. You may only have 15 minutes a day to devote to the Lord, but eventually you will have more time and be able to grow into your NEW Christian life in your own time. Just like the butterfly that develops from the cocoon, we develop as Christians the same way. If you are going through struggles in your life, think of the butterfly in the cocoon, he struggles and struggles to get out of it and then becomes this beautiful animal of God. Your struggles too, will transform you into a beautiful person of God. Sometimes, we have to go through struggles to develop into our NEW Christian lives.
Don't try to be someone else, because when God transforms you, you will be your own butterfly! So get into your cocoon with the Holy Spirit and be transformed into the image of Jesus!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
The Letter...
To all of my friends on Facebook and friends of Danielle's, you already know I received a letter from Danielle's accused killer on Monday. I felt compelled to write about it today rather than the last 2 days because I wanted to reflect upon what the letter meant to me and how it would affect others, myself and the case against the accused.
I was startled as you can imagine finding it in my mailbox to begin with, however, it was what I had been praying for sometime to receive. I wanted him to acknowledge the fact that he took her away from me, tell me he was remorseful, ask for forgiveness, tell me thank you for trying to lead him to Christ and for hurting so many people by taking her life. What I received in my eyes was exactly that. However, after reading it over and over to my family and friends, they really didn't feel the same way.
I think when you want something to be true so badly you see it from your own perspective. As a wise friend told me today, she sees her glass half full, not half empty. I think this is what I felt as I read the letter. I think I wanted so badly for a truthful, well thought out apology, I saw that in his letter he sent. The letter was an answer to my prayer, I know that without a doubt. But, I do believe that because I forgave him a long time ago for what he did to my family and most importantly my child, it was a closure that I had been longing for since he was arrested.
I still believe he meant the apology, I just have a greater understanding of the fact that not all people see situations from the same side of the fence. I'd like to end by saying that if you are faced with choosing how you view something you see or hear, the Christian thing to do is believe God has control over all things and He knows every ones thoughts before they think them and he is the only one that should be judging if Daryl was sincere or not. Not me.
I was startled as you can imagine finding it in my mailbox to begin with, however, it was what I had been praying for sometime to receive. I wanted him to acknowledge the fact that he took her away from me, tell me he was remorseful, ask for forgiveness, tell me thank you for trying to lead him to Christ and for hurting so many people by taking her life. What I received in my eyes was exactly that. However, after reading it over and over to my family and friends, they really didn't feel the same way.
I think when you want something to be true so badly you see it from your own perspective. As a wise friend told me today, she sees her glass half full, not half empty. I think this is what I felt as I read the letter. I think I wanted so badly for a truthful, well thought out apology, I saw that in his letter he sent. The letter was an answer to my prayer, I know that without a doubt. But, I do believe that because I forgave him a long time ago for what he did to my family and most importantly my child, it was a closure that I had been longing for since he was arrested.
I still believe he meant the apology, I just have a greater understanding of the fact that not all people see situations from the same side of the fence. I'd like to end by saying that if you are faced with choosing how you view something you see or hear, the Christian thing to do is believe God has control over all things and He knows every ones thoughts before they think them and he is the only one that should be judging if Daryl was sincere or not. Not me.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Strife, what strife?
For where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is strife and every evil work. - James 3:16
Strife is a very sneaky thing. It can sneak in like cancer and steal your peace, destroy relationships and extinguish all hope for your future. You must always stay on guard against strife and make the decision to walk in love and peace. Keeping strife out of your life is a vital key to living the abundant life God has in store for you!
Follow the example of Jesus and let your words and actions bring life to those around you. Focus more on loving people than proving your point in an argument. As you honor and prefer others and lay your own opinions aside, you'll discover a level of peace and rest you've never experienced before, then shall follow new levels of victory and abundance.
Husbands and wives, always kiss goodnight and say your sorry even if it's not your fault in your eyes, friends always hug and tell each other your sorry even if it hurts you to do so, families don't hold past arguments over each others heads and live for the next argument, love one another as Jesus loves us and you will never have strife in your house!
Strife is a very sneaky thing. It can sneak in like cancer and steal your peace, destroy relationships and extinguish all hope for your future. You must always stay on guard against strife and make the decision to walk in love and peace. Keeping strife out of your life is a vital key to living the abundant life God has in store for you!
Follow the example of Jesus and let your words and actions bring life to those around you. Focus more on loving people than proving your point in an argument. As you honor and prefer others and lay your own opinions aside, you'll discover a level of peace and rest you've never experienced before, then shall follow new levels of victory and abundance.
Husbands and wives, always kiss goodnight and say your sorry even if it's not your fault in your eyes, friends always hug and tell each other your sorry even if it hurts you to do so, families don't hold past arguments over each others heads and live for the next argument, love one another as Jesus loves us and you will never have strife in your house!
Monday, April 5, 2010
Forgive Past Hurts...are you kidding me?
Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice; and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Ephesians 5:31-32 (KJV)
This verse means so much to me. During the loss of Danielle, it was very difficult for me to see anything else but hurt until I realized that with forgiveness and without anger I felt so much better. Did you know that unforgiveness, bitterness and resentment block the flow of God's blessings for your life? Holding on to the hurts of your past can poison your present and limit your future. But when you let go of these emotional wounds, you open the door to the life of victory that God has planned for you!
So trade your sorrow for His joy. Trade your shame for His peace. Trade your insecurities for His love and mercy. We are not defined by our past. We are defined by God's Word and His plan for our lives.
I did so I know you can...If you've never read Total Forgiveness by R.T. Kendall, please do it. I read this book last week and it changed me forever. I thought I had already forgiven but I had no clue of TOTAL forgiveness until I read this book. It will be the best thing you ever did!
This verse means so much to me. During the loss of Danielle, it was very difficult for me to see anything else but hurt until I realized that with forgiveness and without anger I felt so much better. Did you know that unforgiveness, bitterness and resentment block the flow of God's blessings for your life? Holding on to the hurts of your past can poison your present and limit your future. But when you let go of these emotional wounds, you open the door to the life of victory that God has planned for you!
So trade your sorrow for His joy. Trade your shame for His peace. Trade your insecurities for His love and mercy. We are not defined by our past. We are defined by God's Word and His plan for our lives.
I did so I know you can...If you've never read Total Forgiveness by R.T. Kendall, please do it. I read this book last week and it changed me forever. I thought I had already forgiven but I had no clue of TOTAL forgiveness until I read this book. It will be the best thing you ever did!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Faith
Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek Him. Hebrews 11:6
Most people have faith the grain of a mustard seed and according to the Bible that's all you need! However, it is our doubt in God's ability to answer prayers that debilitates our faith and discourages us from sharing His gospel with everyone no matter what we think they will say. Most Christians today have a fear of failure when witnessing to their friends that need the Word of God. Never fear, you do what you can and God will do what you can't!
Most people have faith the grain of a mustard seed and according to the Bible that's all you need! However, it is our doubt in God's ability to answer prayers that debilitates our faith and discourages us from sharing His gospel with everyone no matter what we think they will say. Most Christians today have a fear of failure when witnessing to their friends that need the Word of God. Never fear, you do what you can and God will do what you can't!
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