Recent WOWs!!

Ok So here is the lastest story......buckle your seat belt bc God really took me for a ride!! :)



I am fixing to start my senior year here at NGU and this means I have to take and pass the Praxis 2. So on July 25 I took the PLT.....I studied and studied only to find out that I took the WRONG ONE!!! yes that is right the WRONG one!! I took the Early Childhood PLT. When i signed up for the test i did not have my codes with me so i told the lady that i need to take the PLT but i am not sure which one. I told her my major was Early CHildhood, and she said well you should take the Early Childhood PLT. I didnt argue bc this logically made sense!! Well I get to Greenville Tech to take the test and one of my classmates is there and she is taking the K-6 PLT. I still didn't say anything bc i didn't know what the difference would be and i was under the impression that once you signed up for that exam you can't change. So I took the one I signed up for, and I feel really good about it!! However too bad IT WILL NOT COUNT!!!!!

I made all kinds of phone calls when I got out but could not get any answer! Finally Monday i got the worst news! By South Carolina State law I have to take K-6 PLT. Which means that I have to pay AGAIN to take the right PLT... this upset me like no other. I was in a daze....and i was so upset with myself for not asking questions before I took the test! I was soooo mad! I couldn't eat...or sleep, and then Tuesday while washing clothes....I had a talk with God.....I just couldn't understand why all of this was going on! I had thought about quiting school and doing something else..... I had almost come to the conclusion that I would not make it out of school! Then while reading my bible and reading that Crazy love book, I had a peace that was undescribable.....

All this time I was worried about what I was going to do! never even thinking about the fact that it wasn't just me in this! God has always promised to take care of me and to NEVER give me more than i can handle... Why would that change? It wouldn't!! In the midst of my crisis I forgot to think about the one thing that mattered! GOD!! Instead of turning around and praising Him I asked why! Who am I to ask GOD why!!???

I was reading in the Crazy love book and Chan talked about the profile of a Lukewarm Christian, and really asking ourselves if we are truly and completely in love with God. My actions during this small and oh so temporary problem, said other wise... If i truly love someone I put my complete trust in them! If i truly loved God then I would have run to Him first and thanked Him instead of being angry!!

So after much prayer while sitting in the floor of the landury room, I gave it up! God is having this happen for a reason! I just need to trust and obey and He will take care of the rest!! The next day was great! Yes a part of me was still upset but I wasn't really worried about it! I knew that everything would work out and there was some lesson here for me to learn.

Wednesday came and pasted and I Continuly prayed Lord thank you for hard times and thank you for your peace....Thursday came and I continuly prayed the same thing! Well I was about to leave work and Skip told me to wait bc Lauren had something to give me! Well she came back and handed me a card..... I was kinda like ok! well I opened it could not speak! I just started crying.... All of the Full time staff in student Services and all of the Support staff took up money and gave it to me for my test!...... I could not even count it I was so amazed....I had been praying, "Lord you know my needs! I trust you! I know you will provide!".....Then there standing in Student Services....the Lord provided!! I can never thank the Lord or all people that gave enough..... I really didn't know what i was going to do to pay for this test I had to retake, but i knew that i just needed to trust.....

Lesson learned.... God will provide and he WILL NOT let you down.....and.....God places you in places and in situations just so He can show His Glory!! This is such a little thing that happened.... but the things i have learned from it is eternal!

To my WONDERFUL NGU family! I can never thank you enough.... I could not ask for a better family! I say family and mean it in every sense of the word! This summer we have become a family! We have prayed for and took care of each other thourgh all kinds of trials and struggles... When I think of yall i am reminded of .... 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3

"We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ."

That Crazy Love Book again!

So I am almost finished with chapter 2 now in the Crazy Love book. It has taken me forever to get this far!! I have never realized how true selfish I am, and I dont even mean to be!! God has done so much for me and yet I still question Him! WHO AM I TO QUESTION GOD!!!??? He created, He has the hairs on my head numbered, He knows when I will lay down and when I will get up! I have NO NO NO NO right to ask him why or to question Him about why something is happening the way it is!

A large part of chapter 2 talked about "Justified stress?" When I read this part I was just struck down and completely convicted. I am a constant worry wart! I have gotten better but I still struggle with worrying about the stupidest things. However I struggle with stress alot more than I do worrying! I stress constantly about school!! Are my grades good enough? Did I devote enough time to studying for that test? Am I going to lose my scholarships!? constantly stressing about having too much to do!

Well this is what Chan says about worrying and stressing.....

"Worry imples that we don't quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what's happening in our lives."

"Stress says that the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace towards others, or our tight grip of control."

OUCH....I have never thought about it that way! I used to sing this song when I was little..."My God is so great so strong and so mighty, THERE IS NOTHING MY GOD CAN NOT DO." If I truly believed that then I would not be worrying or stressing over anything! The first hint of feeling overwhelmed I would give it to the Lord!! But yet what do I do...I hold on to and try and handle it myself until I am about to fall apart and then I give it to God all messed up and out of wack! So often I live my life like it is all about me! My problems, my goals, my whatevers.... When it has never been about me! It is and always has been about God!!

God has put up with us not obeying Him since the beginning! And you know what he still loves us! WOW.... talk about flattering! that is pretty stinking amazing! We live our daily lives most of the time with out even thinking about God! In this movie of GOD'S life we each have a sec in it.... Am I taking my second and living it for God's glory!?? My daily life should not revolve around gaining ANYTHING of this world! Everyday my thought should be What can I do today that will give God the most Glory? At any moment am I ready to meet Jesus? Will I be caught worrying about my silly life or will I be caught glorifying the one who created me and gave me the very breathe I breathe!!

This Crazy Love Book

"The Heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." ~Psalm 19:1-4

So this week while at home I worked with Youth Serve. One day JOsh and Dustin were telling me about this book call Crazy Love by Francis Chan. So I went and checked it out and ended up buying it!

I have started reading it and watching the videos that go with it online. The first part is about How AMAZING God is and how AMAZING His love is. I used to think i understood God's love for us! NO WAY!! My little feeble mind can NOT wrap around something that BIG!!!

The first video was a image of earth and as you zoom out it shows you what you would see if you were so far away from earth!! I strongly recommend watching it on www. crazylovebook.com it is called "the awe factor" As i sat there and watched it I was speechless!! God created ALL of that!! ....... I can not put into words how amazing that is! I just sat there even after the video ended and looked at it!! it was BEAUTIFUL!!! And you know the crazy thing is people say there is no God and it was all created by one BIG loud noise!!! HOW IN THE WORLD!!!?????

God shows us His Glory because he is SOOO worthy to be praised!!! If there were something else bigger than Him then God would be sinning!! That would make God an idolater!!! THAT ISN"T POSSIBLE!!

Everyday when i get up I see God's glory by simpling being able to breathe! When you think about how complex our Body is... there is no other answer than God! So many times we step outside and we just go about our daily lives and just forget to Praise the one who created EVERY LITTLE THING!!! I love to go hiking! I love to go because it reminds me not to take it all for granted!! The Lord gave us this AMAZING land with all these waterfalls, and animals and mountains and rivers and oceans. Take time and enjoy it!!

"The Heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." ~Psalm 19:1-4

This passage is amazing!! The land we live on can not speak verbal words but there beauty speaks VOLUMES!!! You can not go any where and not hear it!! The Land SCREAMS!!

HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD!!!!

Do I take the time to listen and then Praise teh Lord who gave me life!! Who let me wake up in the morning!! Who gave HIS SON!!! to die for me!!

There is a song that talks about how undeserving we are of this AMAZING gift! It goes something like, What can i say, What can I do but to offer this life completely to you!!

What am I doing with what GOd has done!?? Am i takin it for granted? Or am I living a life that honors Him and Glorifies Him at all times!! Am I willing to give my life up and let him guide it and direct it?

All through high school I was the girl who always had a boyfriend.... However after my last break up with the guy I thought i would marry! God has shown me that my life is not mine! It is His! And that is not what He has for me. I used to look for Love and affection in all the wrong places! All the Love I EVER needed was right in front of my face!!! God's love me is so Great!! That is all I need! I do not have to look for love in other places!! GOD SATISFIES ME!!

Reluctant Obedience

"Obedience to God's will is the secret of spiritual knowledge and insight. It is not willingness to know, but willingness to DO (obey) God's will that brings certainty." ~ Eric Liddel

This week I have been studying about the early churches obediece to Jesus' Global mandate. The study started with the quote above. At first I didn't get it. But after the study is over i completely understand and totally get it!

At the beginning of Acts the church had a really good start they were preaching God's word and getting a GREAT response. And then the hard ships came and they became more reluctant to obey. Then you have Barnabas the Encourager. The more I studied the more ties I saw to my life. When you first commit to something I am all on fire for it and start strong and then after awhile when I hit hard ships I freak out and start to second guess myself! The Lord did not give me a spirit of fear!! The Lord said it and that should be it. I should not be questioning anything! I hate how the devil has his sly ways of getting in there and having us second guess ourselves!!

When the church in Acts got that way the Lord sent Barabas to encourage them and to lift their spirits! It is the same with us...Sometimes we work so hard and feel as though we are getting nowhere. That is when times get tough. However we can always have Hope in the Lord. Because the question is not will we succeed in obtaining God's Global goal!! In Revelation 7:9-10 we have beautiful picture of what the success will look like. "After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that on one could count, from every NATION, TRIBE, PEOPLE, AND LANGUAGE, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robesand were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.'" HOW BEAUTIFUL IS THAT!!!???

I already know that the madate will be completed but the question is, am I going to be apart of the generation who steps up and completes the task?

The challenge has been set! Now I must try and work UNreluctantly towards the goal that the Lord has sat in front of me!

Now think about that quote...."Obedience to God's will is the secret of spiritual knowledge and insight. It is not willingness to know, but willingness to DO (obey) God's will that brings certainty." ~ Eric Liddel

God of this WORLD!!

Been awhile since I have wrote on here, but oh has alot gone on!! I am now at summer school. YUCK!! But I know that this is where the Lord wants me this summer, even though this is not my place of choice. haha

This week has really been tough because I keep thinking "Man I do NOT want to be here!!" My attitude has be beyond negative! Well Fuge staff got here today so that means school work in Student Services is going to be CRAZY. Plus my Best Friend from home is leaving to go to Kentucky tomorrow and i don't get to hug her bye or anything. :( When I finally stopped I was sitting at my desk having a pity party when I started thinking...."Danielle WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!?? You are making yourself miserable!!" I should not see this as aweful!! This summer can be full of opportunties to Glorify my father if I choose to let him use me!!

All week in my bible study I have been studying how God is a Global God. I have studied passage after passage about how God wants His name spread all around the world. WHAT AM I DOING TO FURTHER HIS KINGDOM!!??? -->OUCH<-- In my bible study I ran upon this saying...."Jesus is not our personal possessive savior, he is "SAVIOR of the world." Lately I have been treating Him as just my savior. I have started to put him in a box and look at what Danielle wants not Him. -->Don't want to go through that again<-- I know the Lord has something GREAT planned for me, and just because i am some where i do not really want to be means nothing. Jesus is still the Savior of the world!! I NEED TO LIVE AND ACT LIKE IT!! Last Sunday was homecoming at Ebenezer Welcome Baptist Church and Travis Henson spoke. He gave a great challenge to me! but all week i have just decided to forget the challenge. Well i can't do that anymore. It is time for me to face the challenge and Do what the Lord has placed me here to do.

Travis spoke on the passage from Joshua 1:1-8. He talked about how the Isrealites were on the bank of the Jordan River. He talked about what he thought they were doing on the banks.

• Looking back to see how far they had come, and Praising the Lord for his Faithfulness!
• Looking around at where they were, and making that place as a Landmark in History for how far they had come, and again continuing to Praise the Lord for His faithfulness.
• Looking ahead to see the Promise land and what the Lord had in store for them. Not just giving up and settling for just the edge of the promise land, but continuing and trusting in the Lord's promises to bring it all to completion. (Phil 1:6)

This really stuck with me all week, and i havent been able to shake it! Instead of looking ahead and trusting, I am looking ahead and shutting down. The Lord has started to use me in mighty ways...I can't just stop because i am somewhere i do not want to be!! I pray that the Lord change my heart and give me a heart for what he wants to be done on this campus and in my life this summer. I have got to continue to look ahead and trust the Lord's plan. I have got to look ahead and not get distracted my the stupid things the devil puts in my life to try and trip me up!

I look back on last semester and all i can do is lift my hands up to the Lord and Praise him! I went to Ecuador and found my heart, and realized that my God is a global GOd and he wants me to be a part of spreading his word. After much prayer I started my Journeyman Application and the Lord has given me Peace beyond understanding. I am so excited about where he is going to take me and what he is going to do, but yet i am almost scared to death. I can't get scared!!! The Lord knows everything and will take care of it all!! I MUST KEEP MY EYES ON HIM!!!

From here on out! I have a new attitude!! I will live everyday for Christ and look for every opportunity to share God's greatness and grace with others on MY mission field this summer, the NGU campus! I Pray the Lord breaks my heart for what breaks HIS!

I WILL be exalted!

Wow! It has been awhile since i have been on here. Since the last post the Lord has really been working and showing me some great things! I have since gone and come back from Ecuador where the Lord finally showed me where He has placed my heart. I found my heart in Ecuador at camp Chicocuco sitting on the volleyball court. Today in my bible study the Lord really just showed me the challenge he has placed before me!
Today my bibe study opened up with a quote by J. Hudson Taylor, which states, "How often do we attempt work for God to the limit of our incompetency rather than the omnipotency."
WOW!!! I can NOT number how many times i have taken something the Lord has said and just ran with it and tried to do it myself instead of allowing him to use His All amazing power and authority. Instead of following his will i thought i could do it better. Who am i to think that i could do anything better than an ALL power God who CREATED me!! Talk about a defiling action towards the Lord. OUCH!!
The Bible study part today was on studying how the Lord uses ordinary men to fulfill His purposes and draw more people of ALL nations to Himself. In every story I studied today they all had one common line. "The people saw and FEARED the Lord" This is not a fear like being scared this is a fear of reverence.
That is not the most amazing part though. He uses ordinary men to do all of this. Now how can God use ordinary sinnful men to Glorify himself and bring others to him. This is the thing that has been skipped over soo many times in these stories.
These men had a responsibility to God, and they did not take it lightly! They were constantly listening and doing as The Lord ask them. Even if it seemed impossible to them.
Am I allowing God to truly use me? Am I constantly listening to what he would have me do so that HE may be glorified?
There is only one true thing worth all the time in the world and that is doing everything for the Glory of the Lord. Why should I live my life only for the things that will be gone when i die? LIVE FOR ONLY THE ETERNAL!!!! The Eternal is the only thing that truly matters! The Lord has said in Psalm 46:10 that he WILL be exalted among the nations and with in the Earth.
The Lord wants to use me in ways that because of my incompetency i can not do on my on. But by doing everything with his omnipotency He will get all the Glory and Honor that he So GREATLY deserves!!

Blessing and Purpose

So I am now working on week 2 in God's heart for the nations.... This week it is on God's blessing and purpose for us.

The bible is made up of 66 books but this 66 book has a introduction, body, and conclusion which by literary terms makes it one book as a whole. The first 11 chapters of Gen is the intro and the body runs from Gen 12-Jude. The conclusion is Revelation. In the intro there are major themes that are tracked through the rest of the book. This week we are looking at two of the themes. These themes are found in Gen 1:28 1- God desires to bless his creation (blessings) 2- in the context of blessing we discover God's purpose and man's responsibility (purpose/respondsibility)

After the intro to the build of the bible the intro makes a statement that really hit home... "God will accomplish his purpose voluntarily or involuntarily." God told the poeple at the tower of Babel to go out and multiple and all they wanted to do was build a tower and stay right there. So God sent His judgement down and divided all poeple through out the earth. God will have His will accomplished in some way! This means we may go through difficult and hard things if we try and stop Him. This speaks even louder when you think about Abraham. God told Abraham to go and He would bless him and make him the Father of many and the Lord held he promise. Abraham was blessed because he did as God asked. It is the same with us...if we obey God and do His will like he has asked we will be blessed! But if not We will go through hard times!! Like the book said God's purpose will be accomplished! Am I willing to set my desires aside and Do as the Lord asks?

God wants me to be a blessing and wants others to be a blessing to me.
God also wants me to take respondsibility for my actions and do as He has asked and carry out His purpose... That in itself is such a blessing!! We don't deserve his favor, but he doesn't just give us favor, He says he will bless us and He loves us more than anything and WANTS us to be apart of His plan! What is hold me back?--->OUCH

The Perfect Man

Well this has absolutely nothing to do with the bible study I have been working on but I listened to Perry Noble out of New Spring and I was just crushed....The Lord just knocked me in the face!



I first saw only part of this serman but then downloaded the Podcast of the serman to hear the rest of it...The part I heard was Perry telling singles guys how they should be askin the girls out instead of being so scared!....However the whole serman was for women tell them how to be the Godly wife/future wife that God wants them to be.



He gave an accrosstick for the word WIFE....



W - Words - How do I use my words? Not just with talking with men but with talking to anybody! bc our speech is the over flow of our heart...So what is my speech saying about my character....Do i have an uplifting character? Or do i tare poeple down instead. The way I talk about men also factors in....Am i constantly degrading men bc of bitterness in my life.... This kinda got me! Sometimes my words are not so hot....Sometimes i forget to think before i speak!



I - Intentionality - Are you intentionally putting his needs before yours? This had alot to do with married women but the things that were said for singles were like WHOA!... When I am getting to know a guy....DON'T ACT LIKE I LIKE SOMETHING WHEN I DON'T! It is ok to just be me....bc if i am not honest about my likes and dislikes then that makes me a liar!!!... you can't build a relationship on lies! If you would like to watch him play a sport or watch a sport just to spend time with him then you need to tell him that!...BE HONEST!!



F - Forgiveness - Are you a forgiving person? Are you are person who seeks revenge or a person of mercy and grace? When Perry got here it was intense... Perry said straight to the single girls... that I can't let my anger and bitterness from previous relationships dictate how i treat all guys... I have to go let go of all that mess.. When i think about that the Lord taught me last week and how it relates to this week.. me holding on to that bitterness does me No good...and it brings NO Glory to God... that would be defiling His name... It is easy to say, but hard to do... Love unconditionally! Love with the AGAPE love... Be that reflection of Jesus in how i treat men.. Until i can do that The Lord is not going to bring a Godly man into my life...

E - Expectations - He started this one off and It hit me like a ton of bricks..."The Perfect man DOES NOT exist, so stop looking." WOW...OUCH! Girls are always makin their list and if the one thing is off then NOPE!... Gettin down to the eye color hair cut and hair color is a little crazy... Remember the Lord knows our wants and NEEDS... So while I wait on the Lord to show us the right one... I have to stay focused on Him and remember he knows my needs, and I can't be critical of what the LORD is giving me... Instead be forever greatful and thankful...

Even though I am no where close to getting married, I have got to trust the Lord and learn as much as I can while I am waiting on the Lord... This waiting is so hard, but the Lord has taught me so much. I have found that being single is actually great... hard, but great. Plus the Lord is always with me with Him I am never alone....

So why missions?

So the theme of "to the glory of God" continues today... However the scripture today looked at how I should live to glorify God. So I made yet another list...

• Glorify God with my body by what i eat, drink, wear, and do (1 Corithians 6:20;10:31)
• Glorify God with your talents/gifts (1 Peter 4:10-11)
• Glorify God with unashamed suffering (1 Peter 4:16)
• Glorify God with your death (John 21:18-19)
• Glorify God with creation (Psalm 72:19 Habakkuk 2:14)
• Glorify God with the way we live and shine His light (Matthew 5:13-16)

So...That is what I have to do to Glorify God with my life....well the first one gets a big OUCH!!.... 1 Corithians 6:20 says to glorify God with your body. In the verses before verse 20 it is talking about fleeing from sexualimorality and talking about our bodies being TEMPLES!! ok so what does that have to do with anything....well just think if you were living in a temple what would bring into the temple? Drugs, alcohol?....Nope i didn't think so...so why do we say trying it never hurt anybody? I bet that what that addicted said before he/she was hooked! WAKE UP The HOLY SPIRIT LIVES INSIDE OF YOU!!! and the Holy Spirit is one of the trinity...so that means that GOD lives in YOU!! YES YOU! So would you give God Drugs and alochol!? ummm...NO! Ok so those are obvious things! what about the things we eat and taking care of our body? How would you take care of a Temple? Constant cleaning, constant tiding up...And so it is with our bodies.....We have to constantly clean up acts wise and think about the food we put in our Temple! Is a constant stream of junk food keep your body nice and tidy!? No This can even relate to you outward appearance....Am I taking care of my Temple, keeping it in good shape?...OUCH....that hurt my diet! Now back to outward appearance....what i put on my body should Glorify the Lord...is my wordrobe one that says Glory to God? Or do i show off something that makes my brothers or sisters stumble.... bc i hate to tell ya making a brother or sister stumble is not bring Glory to God! I know i struggle with this...Girls like to be cute...and now days cute is not glorifying to God.... it prolly would make God throw up! Lord, what do i need to take out of my closet to better Glorify you!?

Number 2...Glorify God with my talents/gifts.... And we all say but i don't know what they are... I am calling your bull.... If you have a talent/gift more than likely you enjoy doing BC YOU ARE GOOD AT IT!! So guess what...God says I gave you that for a reason! TO GLOIFY ME! Is that what you are using it for? What talents might you have that you are scare to show poeple?..OUCH!!!... I think i need to sing more than I do... I let me fear of what people will think about my voice get in my way...I let sheer FEAR get in my way....OUCH.... letting fear get the best of me is like telling God he can't handle my fears!! better yet not using you talents and gifts that the Lord has blessed you with is like saying NO lord i don't want your blessings!...ARE YOU KIDDING ME!! You are going to tell an ALL POWERFUL GOD NO!!...OUCH....Or better yet am i using my talents to bring glory to the WRONG things!.....Holy Cow... talk about a jealous God!! remember GOD WILL NOT PLAY SECOND FIDDLE!!

Number 3...Glorify God through my suffering...wow! Now this....this..is hard!! So many times when we hurt we just want to get angry and pout and whine...when we should be praising the Lord for the hard times.... Hard times builds one up!... Plus lets quickly review... God goal is to Glorify Himself.... so us suffering and us turing around and praising him brings him Glory!! So when people say suffer for Jesus.... it is like basically saying To the Glory of God!... There is so many times when i get so caught up in the hurt and just throwing myself a pity part that i forget to Thank the Good lord above... Sound crazy...not when you weigh out the other end... Praise the Lord for suffering that will one day cease...or... Refuse to Glorify God for taking on the suffering that could have easily been ours on the cross... talk about perspective... our little suffering could NEVER compare to the suffering the Lord went through on that CROSS... Even Jesus praised God for His suffering on the cross! If Jesus can do it while HANGING on a CROSS... I am pretty sure we can praise Him through ALL of our sufferings!!....

Number 4...Glorify God with your death...ok now this i still don't think i complete understand.... In John 21:15-19 is when Jesus ask Peter do you love me? and Peter says yes Lord and Jesus asks him 2 more times.... And the last 2 verses says..." I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!"....after doing some other reading I think the Lord is saying....no matter what may happen to you in death, make sure you live everysecond to the glory of God! It makes me think about this...When i die will poeple say She died for the Glory of God? not talking about dying a mrtyers death...but dying in away that there is no question who i worshipped and there is no question that for whom my life was lived for! EVEN OUR DEATH should bring Glory to God!!

Oh and number 5...Glorify God with creation...Oh how marvelous it is!! And the amazing this is that he gave it to us so we could enjoy it!! So are we abusing his creation?.... Are we allowing creation to Glorify Him or are we hiddinger that.... OUCH...littering...my littering can kill creation (animals)....

And Number 6 the last one covers and to me kinda ties in to number 4 with John... all i have to say is Matthew 5:16... "Let your light SO shine that they may SEE your good works and Glorify your Father in Heaven!" Do I live in such a way that the only reason they can give is God.... Does the way i live my life say "to the Glory of God" Will people literally say Glory to God...NO! but it should point them to God and NO WHERE ELSE!! Talk about a powerful verse!!

So all of this and what does this have to do with God's heart for the nations....well...this was in my book and I love the way they explain this...Glory is a noun which is used to describe the POWER of God. And then it says that God Glory "is the self-manifestation of God's character, atributes, and actions as he invades human reality." God's passion is for himself and his glory.....so that is the reason for ALL of His actions... This means that since God's passion is for is glory and if we are to have the heart and mind of God then our MAIN goal should be to bring Glory to God!! How does this die in with the nations? well God created all! And God's goal is to have ALL of his creation (which means ALL nations) bringing him GLORY...So what did he tell us to do...Go out and tell the Nations! about Him and his Glory... So that they too can bring him Glory... So how do I become a missionary for chirst... JOhn Piper is quoted saying "A heart for the glory of God and a heart of mercy for the nations make a Christ-like missionary."

So my challenge... Have a heart for the glory of God and a heart of mercy for all of God's people! Christianity is not just a US thing...God did not just write the bible for the US God wrote the bible for EVERYONE!! for ALL NATIONS... so ALL NATIONS! will bring Glory and Honor to His name...So Am I doing what the Lord is calling me to do for his ultimate Goal?...wow...What a question...

NO Record

So today I started out by looking at what God does for the "sake of His name." This study lead me through many different verse and at the end my list looked something like this

• Blots out my sins and keeps no record (Isaiah 43:25 & 1 John 2:12)
• Preserves my life (Psalm 143:11)
• Leads me and guides me (Psalm 31:3)
• Listens to my pleas and Opens my eyes (Daniel 9:17-19)
• Has me suffer for Him (Philippians 1:29)

After taking a min and really looking at that list....I got to thinking....PRAISE THE LORD.....If it weren't for the frist I would be DEAD! The second one made me think about a corny shirt i saw once that said "Jesus is my 'lifesaver,'" but this makes that shirt not look so corny! haha bc it is soooo true! The Lord saves/preserves my life....I actually like the word preserves better... He keeps my life for His use... If you preserve something you save it for a later use or for a better use well considering with out Christ our life would be no more He deff uses our life for the better...WOW..what a concept...The third one is what I struggle with the most...I am constantly saying Lord YOU HAVE MY LIFE....yet sooo many times I try and take certain parts back from Him...I have got to stop doing that!! God has preserved my life for better use...LET HIM USE IT!! I have become an Indian giver! I give God my life and then say oh no sorry i need that back...nope sorry that is not how it works!! I don't completely understand why letting the Lord guide me is so hard...I mean Duh Danielle He is God!! He has said he is not going to lead you the wrong way! He has promised me only good!! WHY DO I HAVE TO BE SUCH A CONTROL FREAK??...haha The forth one well i feel bad for the Lord cuz i know i prolly talk His hears off!! But The Lord doesn't see it like that!! HE LOVES HEARING FROM US....even if we are always whining about something! He still wants to hear from us and comfort us! HOW AMAZING IS THAT!?? And the cool thing is He not only listens He opens my eyes....WHOA! yeah he actually wants to give us advice and help us, but the 1 million dollar question is "Are we letting him talk?" Are we soo busy complaining and tell him what is wrong that we don't give him time to open our eyes and see what he is trying to tell us!? And the tough one...He has me suffer for His name sake...or is that tough...I would say no....but that depends on how deicated you are i guess....The Lord has given His all for us and then some...we should at least be willing to be uncomfortable and suffer!! God sent his SON to DIE!!! an aweful death....I think the least we could do is suffer.... Jesus we through all of that and never once complained!! yeah talk about a WOW!!!

After making my list the book brought Isaiah 42:8 to my attention, " I am the Lord; that is my name; I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols." He has said it again....I THINK HE MEANT IT!

Later in today I read a statement that was very interesting.... we always are using the statement for the GLory of God.....most would say that statment is just an attchable religious phrase.....Oh so not true....All of the verses i read today said over and over again that he Lord i PASSIONATE about His glory!! HE IS A JEALOUS GOD....and has every right to be!....He created us to be imitators of Christ!...but yet we do NOT show his Glory...we defile His glory....If you created something you would want it to praise you right....well the same is with God...except God is not like humans...if we weren't praised for our creation we would be angry and take revenge...but God is different like i saw yesterday HE LOVES US UNCONDITIONALLY!!

So "for the glory of God" is not to be used to emphasize a point bc THAT IS THE POINT!!! Everything should be for HIS GLORY!! HIS WONDERFUL AMAZING GLORY!!

AMAZING GRACE

Today message was a branch off of yesterdays....The Lord hit me so hard with Isaiah 48:9-11, I didn't make it past there.
In the book there is this quote from Nichousa Ludwig Zinzendorf, "I have but one passion - It is He, it is He alone. The world is the field and the field is the world; and henceforth that country shall be my home where I an be most used in winning souls for Christ." WOW...That is my new life statement....I just want to live for Jesus!! I just want to go and do and be whatever Christs wants me to be! If that means I am in a country where my life is at risk, by God that will be home!! They always say "home is where your heart is" Well my heart is not on this earth!! My heart is in Heaven with God! So wherever his heart is there mine will be, and that will be my HOME!!
Ok so after my fire was lit with that quote...I read Ezekiel 20:5-14...And this is just telling the story of the Isrealites in a nut shell kinda....And I have heard the story over and over again, but i have never read it in Ezekiel so this was new...Well through Ezekiel i have learned alot! I like to keep things simple....but the story of leading the Isrealites is not as simple as i once thought.....The Lord always promised the Isrealites that he would deliever them and make them a great Nation...Well I always thought it was because they were after his Heart!!....NAHHH...WRONG!!! It says in verse 7 that God told them to "Cast away all the detestable things your eyes feast on, every one of you, and DO NOT defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD" ok so after God's spill the Isrealites did what they should have right...haha nope think again...and this is where it really got me....at the end of verse 8 it says that God was going to pour his wrath down on them...ok i was thinking "Yeah i would to...those dumb Isrealites didn't listen.." OUCH.....How many times does this dumby not listen!?? But you can't just stop there....The Lord goes on to say that he had to uphold his name!! So what did he do.....he brought them to the wilderness and this time he gave them the 10 commandments.....Did the Isrealites listen this time....haha NOPE!!....did the Lord send down his wrath yes!....He parted the Red Sea and kill all the Egyptians that were after them....
WOW!! Talk about a loving God!!.....That is something my mind can not comprehend! We mess up and we do the exact opposite that God tells us to and he still LOVES us....He still blesses us!!....does that mean that we should just keep doing the opposite NO!! Even the Isrealites finally got it!! How many times will it take for me, for the world to understand that God is not going anywhere and He LOVES US!!....And more than that He could very easily send His wrath but he DOESN"T!!! HE UPHOLDS HIS NAME!!! Over and over in Ezekiel and other places the Lord says MY NAME WILL NOT BE PROFANED!! Everytime we try to degrade God and tell him he is nothing....oh you got!...He will show you that he is something....Like the verse yesterday from Isaiah...I have my reputation to keep up.....I will not be second fiddle to any God or people!!

And we are Blessed that God's reputation is one of LOVE.....WOW!....Is my reputation one of LOVE....or is it one of revenge and haterd??...

Oh Lord...I cry out to you begging for forgivness because sometimes I am not known for Love....Lord help to love like you!!....UNCONDITIONALLY.... Lord I pray that i would not be like the Isrealites and not listen...but to earnestly listen to what you have to say to me... and then DO what you have instructed me to do!! Thank you Lord...for NOT pouring your wrath on me...even though I so rightly deserve it!!....Thank you for me a God of Love.....

A Jealous God

So....today i have started the bible study God's Heart for the Nations.....And I decided that I needed a better way to keep up with how the Lord is speaking to me....not just through this study but through life in general.....Plus my countless journals are not so easy to find anymore! haha

Okay so the first verse in lesson one is the memory verse for the week...Isaiah 48:9-11 The English Standard verse says it like this...."For my name's sake I defer my anger, for the same of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in th urnae of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should me name be profaned? My glory will not give to another." Okay so my simple mind did not truly get what he was saying...there were some words that just made that a little confusing...So I Visited the great site of Bible Gateway....I looked at serval different versions and the version from the Message really did it for me...
"But out of the sheer goodness of my heart, because of who I am,I keep a tight rein on my anger and hold my temper. I don't wash my hands of you. Do you see what I've done? I've refined you, but not without fire. I've tested you like silver in the furnace of affliction.Out of myself, simply because of who I am, I do what I do. I have my reputation to keep up. I'm not playing second fiddle to either gods or people."
WOW!! From the beginning of this verse till then end...I was completely speechless....I am so thankful that He does have ahold of his anger and His temper...If it were anyother person they would let us be destoried! But OUR AMAZING GOD....doesn't! And most of the time we don't even stop to thank Him....OUCH......Then He doesn't just stop there he keeps going!! He is like a silversmith....constantly refining us to reflect HIS image!! Even though we will NEVER be perfect and HE KNOWS that He still refines us! He still wants to mold us and make us more like Him.....WOW...I don't know about you but if I am working with something/somebody and I know they aren't going to change I give up...it seems pointless to me...and God doesn't!! HE SEES POTENTIAL IN US!!!! The last line of that verse says it just like a good southerner would, "I'm not playing second fiddle to either gods or people." HOW MANY TIMES DO I PUT GOD SECOND!!! OUR GOD IS A JEALOUS GOD!!! I am so thankful He is because if He wasn't I would be destoried!!
This weekend I went to South Eastern Simenary with my church and Mark Driscoll spoke on worship! Anything we do that is not worship is a form of idolatery!! When he got done speaking I left hurting! There is sooooo many times when I put all kinds of stuff before God and most of the time i don't even think twice about it!! For example...School...So manytimes i don't go to church or i don't do my bible study because I have procrastinated and have to do my school work!...not only did i put school work before him but i didn't use my time in a way that would be a blessing to Him....
Oh Lord....Help me to ALWAYS keep you first!....Help to thank you, not just with my words but with the way i live, for being a jealous and GRACIOUS God!!....You looked down and saw me in my filth and lifted me up and made me WHITE AS SNOW!!!

I can't wait to see what the rest of this week holds!!.....