NEEDED

            So the other day I went hiking with some of my friends here at YWAM and had the craziest realization. So I wondered off on my own for a little just observing just how beautiful the mountains were when a thought popped into my mind. But before I tell you what I thought about I want you to picture your favorite place. Where do you look around and go WOW the world is so beautiful! It could be the beach, the mountains, the city, or even looking at animals, just think of something that completely awes you in nature. Ok do you have a place or thing in mind? As I’m looking around at these majestic mountains that God created I realized that God finished creating all of this and thought, “you know what this world needs? A Dani. That’s what will make this world complete.” Guess what guys!? God didn’t just think that about me, He had that same thought about you! That is just SO exciting when you let it sink in. God created this amazing world we live in and said I need you. You will make this world complete. It’s just so crazy. When that realization hit me I couldn’t stop smiling. It is just so freeing to realize that God made each of us and everything He made was good. You are good; you are loved, and cherished by the one true King! My mind is just blown and my heart is so filled with joy right now.

            I just want to go more in depth about what I mean when God said “I need a (insert your name) in this world” because I feel like so many of us instantly think about how worthless or talentless we are. Those thoughts about being unimportant are total lies. They are lies that the enemy LOVES to feed us. In Genesis 1 it goes through everything being created and after each thing was created God said it was good. That means that after he created you he said YOU ARE GOOD ! Yes we sin, yes we mess up, yes we don’t honor how great God is like we should but God still loves you and made you for a reason. Each of us were created in His image. Each of us here on earth has characteristics of God in us. Your talents, your personality, even your looks are made in Gods image.

            God also gave us free will so those talents He gave us can be misused but that doesn’t mean that you are loved less. God wants to see each of us living to our full potential but that means that we must seek Him first. Ask God to show you what He wants you to do with the gifts and abilities He gave you. It amazes me that God has created mountains, beaches, lakes, rivers, plants, animals, and so much more but He chose to make you and I because He saw the lacking in the world without each and everyone of us in it. I hope that out of everything I wrote or ever right I hope that you realize just how loved you are and how important you are no matter what you do. So I just want to finish off by saying as much as I love each of you guys, JESUS LOVES YOU MILLIONS OF TIMES MORE! His love for you is so intense that it’s actually unfathomable.

Not Your Fairy Tale Love Story

         “Love is patient, love is kind…” I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve heard this but I don’t think I’ve ever truly understood what this means until just recently. For the past year I have been questioning what Gods love looks like for a long time but I’ve started to realize just how true that saying is. Gods love IS patient and His love IS kind. I mean God continuously took care of me and loved me for 20 years even though I didn’t want anything to do with Him. He waited for me to say I believe in you. He wanted for me to say I love you too. As He waited he didn’t stop loving me though. I use to ask why he hasn’t shown me this crazy expression of love but this past week I’ve been realizing that Gods love is not like the love we see in movies. It’s not this rollercoaster of emotions that are going from one extreme to the next. His love is truly steadfast. It’s never changing. Nothing we do can make Him love us more or less. It’s truly the most beautiful act of true love.

            Some of us may struggle with what steadfast love looks like because we’ve grown up with parents who often portray the rollercoaster love so we think that that is what Gods love looks like but it’s not. For those of you who have not been blessed with people who have shown you what true steadfast love looks like, I have hope for you. It has nothing to do with your actions, or even your earthly parents. If you want to experience a love better than any love story you have ever read or watched listen to what the bible says about Jesus love: 1 Peter 2:24 “’He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; ‘by his wounds you have been healed.’” Read that again and this time really read it. Do you realize what that is saying?! It’s saying that Jesus took on OUR sins so that we might live for righteousness...by HIS wounds you have been healed! I mean what greater love is that? But you know what’s even crazier than that? The fact that as Jesus died on the cross for you and I even though He knew that some of us may never accept him or that we would repeatedly reject Him yet He still chose to die for us.    

            I still cannot get over how amazing Jesus love is. I mean He already sacrificed so much for us aka His comfort in heaven next to God to show His love for us but He just loves us so much that He wanted to do more. He didn’t just die so that we can be forgiven from our sins. He died so that we can live in righteousness; so that we can be healed. That doesn’t just mean that we get to live a slightly better life in Him but we get to be FULLY HEALED. It’s so cool because God is so patient that even after He gave up his son he still patiently and lovingly waits for us to say yes to His love so that we can live fully in Him. And even after we invite Him in he is so patient that He waits to heal us until we ask because He never wants to force us to do things we don’t want to do. It’s not that his love is changing or inconsistent. It’s that his love is patient. His love is kind. He waits on us to accept His love and sacrifice. I mean just think about that. To me this kind of love sounds a heck of a lot better than the love we see in movies.

            Want to know the secret to getting this kind of love? Saying yes to God. Yup that’s it. All you have to do is say yes to Gods love and seek Him earnestly. He doesn’t just want to be your father but He wants to be your very best friend. He wants to be there for you through it all, the good, the bad, and the ugly. God wants to have a personal relationship with each and every one of us! Just invite Him in and you can even ask Him to reveal His love to you and He will. That’s how much He loves you. He is willing to show His love for you in an even more personal way even though He already showed you by allowing His son to die on the cross for you. Guys I am just so excited to realize how personal of a God I have and I just want you all to get to know Him for yourselves so that you can live in the freedom that I have found in loving Jesus Christ! If you don’t understand how to talk to God or just want to discuss anything I posted in hear feel free to contact me! I love you all and thanks for listening to my rambling thoughts!