Brotherly Love.

We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

1 John 4:19+

I had a wonderful weekend at home.

I took the boyfriend out on a date.

Even opened his door a couple times,

And enjoyed watching a few hours of home videos.

I really loved watching my little brother and I interact at that age.

"Look, dad, I got this for my sister."

When everyone else was going crazy for piñata candy.

"Thanks Dani, I've been wanting this so very bad"

When I gave him a hot wheels set for his 5th birthday.

I'm blessed to have a brother who thinks of me before himself.

God is love.

Love is not rude.

Be.You.(tiful).

I'm home for the weekend.

Mmm. It's so good to watch cable.

Project Runway, I missed you.

Anyways,

"For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ..having gifts that differ according to the grace given us." Romans 12:3-8

What's your gift?

The one that's yours.

Given by grace.

One of my goals is to be truly myself.

But it's impossible when I wish I were someone else.

God is love.

Love does not envy.

Happy February.

It's my favorite month!

I love the colors,

and the candy,

and the cheesy boxed valentines.

But the best part is that there is a holiday that celebrates love,

a fruit of the Spirit.

Last year I practiced "14 Days of Loving Others,"

(The Jesus way)

and it made such a difference in healing parts of my heart.

This year, though, I think I'm supposed to spend 14 days focusing on

The way God loves us.

"By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us,

and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need,

yet closes his heart against him,

how does God's love abide in him?

Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth."

1 John 3:16-18

He taught us what love is by dying for us.

The least I can do is keep our hearts open

and love those in need.

Praying that God's love would abide in me.

He is love.

Love is patient.

Hoping.

Recently I've been having a struggle to find hope.

It's really hard for me not to know what's coming next.

I'm a person who dwells easier in the future than the present.

And I feel like I'm wandering around in the dark.

It took me a while to turn to the one who is Hope.

I tossed around for a couple of weeks before I started opening my Bible again.

And I was given these words:

"You have kept count of my tossings;

put my tears in your bottle.

Are they not in your book?

Then my enemies will turn back

in the day when I call.

This I know, that God is for me.

In God, whose word I praise,

in the Lord, whose word I praise,

in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.

...

That I may walk before God

in the light of life."

Psalm 56:8+

God is for me,

and he saves my tears...

I find hope in that.

Valuable.

Control.

I've been controlled, and I like being in control.

But when we hold on so tightly to someone

that we can't let them go...

to be who they are,

to pursue what they love,

to do what they feel called to,

we steal their freedom

and we forget about grace.

Acceptance.

I want to accept others just as they are.

Letting go.

I want to release others to God.

I want to be supportive of other's decisions.

I want to extend real grace to others.

"Acceptance means you are valuable just as you are. It allows you to be the real you. You aren't forced into someone else's idea of who you really are. It means your ideas are taken seriously since they reflect you. You can talk about how you feel inside and why you feel that way--and someone really cares. You feel safe."--William Barclay.

Safety.

Freedom.

Love.

Seeking to please only God.

Leaving behind the people pleaser.

Accepting others.

Learning is a journey.

Grasping Grace.

I haven't been living like I have been given grace.

I'm a perfectionist,

a people pleaser;

I'm determined,

a goal seeker.

And I've been running in circles

trying to earn God's love.

It's not about salvation for me;

It's about being lovable.

But this past week I've been shown some powerful truths.

"I have never stopped loving her"

God loves us even when we are unlovable.

Nothing I can do will impress God,

Jesus did that through His scars.

What I do for God isn't important,

it's about what He has done for me.

Grace is free, I can't buy it.

I have peace with God.

I still don't get it.

I feel a little lost when I read Romans.

But like my spiritual mentor said to me,

"If you grasp this, it's going to change your life."

"Grace received but unexpressed is dead grace. To spend one's time debating how grace is received or how much commitment is necessary for salvation, without getting into what is means to live by grace and enjoy the magnificent freedom it provides, quickly leads to a counterproductive argument. . .My plea is that we claim it and allow it to set us free. When we do, grace will become what it was meant to be--really amazing. When that happens, our whole countenance changes."--Charles Swindoll, The Grace Awakening

Guide.

"What are you thinking?"

"I'm not. I'm just looking at my bright star."

"I'm doing exactly the same thing."

I sought the Lord and he answered me

and delivered my from all my fears.

Those who look to him are radiant,

and their faces shall never be ashamed.

Ps. 34: 5

Thanks for looking to the Lord with me.

Pursuit.

Love.

I think it's the most complicated command of all.

I think it's sometimes the hardest action to give.

Love anyways.

Even when the giving seems endless,

and the taking begins to empty you.

Pursue love.

The 1 Corinthians 13 kind of love

that doesn't insist on it's own way.

that is not irritable

or resentful.

The kind that bears all things,

endures all things.

Because someday,

you might just find somebody who loves

as strongly and sacrificially as you love.

Together you'll make the world better.

Let love purify you.

Let love make you stronger.

Sweet Dreams

I like Pinterest,

because it puts pictures to my dreams.

Newest dream...

have a cupcake cafe.

Because you can't be

stressed & bake at the same time.

Conquest.

I feel pursued.

The Lord has completely been showing me His love.

Lately.

This verse feels true:

Cheer up, Zion!

Don't be afraid!

For the Lord you God is living among you.

He is a mighty savior.

He will take delight in you with gladness.

With his love, he will calm all your fears.

He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.

Zephaniah 3:16-17

I mean, that's what

every sunrise

sunset,

budding lily,

and answered prayer

is:

God's way of wooing us to himself.

"My whole hearts has not one single grain,

this moment,

of thirst after approbation.

I feel alone with God;

He fills the void;

I have not one wish,

one will,

one desire,

but in Him;

He hath set my feet in a large room.

I have wondered

and stood amazed that God should

make a conquest of all within me by love."

--Lady Huntington

He is delighting and rejoicing and pursuing you,

look for it.

My Help

Do not put your trust in princes,

in a son of man,

in whom there is no salvation.

When his breath departs,

he returns to the earth,

on that very day his plans perish.

Blessed is he

whose help is the God of Jacob,

whose hope is in the Lord his God,

who made heaven and earth,

the sea,

and all that is in them,

who keeps faith forever;

who executes justice for the oppressed,

who gives food to the hungry.

Ps.146: 5-8

Who is your help?

Who is your hope?

Let my answer be you, Lord.

I wait for the Lord,

my should waits,

and in his word I hope;

my soul waits for the Lord

more than the watchmen for the morning.

Ps 130: 5&6

For Us

A prayer I've been praying:

Give us pure hearts.

Teach us, compel us, to hunger

and thirst for righteousness.

God, we don't want hearts of stone.

We want hearts that are tender.

We want hearts that break

when your heart breaks;

We want hearts that cry

when your heart cries.

Hearts that are torn by injustice,

that cry out for peace.

I want to be more like you;

start with my heart.

Matthew 5:8-10

God blesses those who are merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

God blesses those whose hearts are pure,

for they will see God.

God blesses those who work for peace,

for they will be called children of God.

Trying Hard.

Let love be genuine.

Abhor what is evil;

hold fast to what is good.

Love one another with brotherly affection.

Outdo one another in showing honor.

Do not be slothful in zeal,

be fervent in spirit,

serve the Lord.

Rejoice in hope,

be patient in tribulation,

be constant in prayer.

Contribute to the needs of the saints

and seek to show hospitality.

Romans 12:9-12

This verse means a lot to me right now.

I feel like I need to be changed.

I see so much wrong with my heart, soul, and mind.

Each day is a fight to focus;

to continue to hope,

to continue to love,

to find contentment.

And I try to put up this strong front,

I don't allow myself to be hurt.

But that is just so exhausting.

It is so much better to surrender.

I just can't quite figure out how to get to that place,

and stay there.

Be Real.

I like it when people are

real

and honest

and themselves.

Quit trying so hard.

Vineyards & Deserts

I was recently asked if I have a life verse...

I don't know if I could choose one verse,

but this is the one I immediately thought of:

Hosea 2:14-15

But then I will win her back once again.

I will lead her into the desert

and speak tenderly to her there.

I will return her vineyards to her

and transform her Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope.

That verse makes me think of

loneliness & hard places

rebellion & return

transformation & hope.

There can be vineyards in the desert.

"We tend to want to pick our blessings from the tree

while they are still green,

yet God wants us to wait

until they are fully ripe."

Seriously, read Hosea 2, all of it.

Better.

Psalm 84:10

A single day is better in your court

than a thousand elsewhere.

For the Lord is our sun

and our shield.

The second part of this is easy for me to know in my heart.

I'm still praying that the first part would

become more than just intellectual truth.

A Day.

Some glorious morn--but when? Ah,who will say?

The steepest mountain will become a plain.

And the parched land will be satisfied with rain.

The gates of brass all broken; iron bars,

Transfigured, form a ladder to the stars

Rough places, plain, and crooked ways all straight.

For him who with patient heart can wait.

These things will be on God's appointed day.

It may not be tomorrow--yet it may.

Take heart, When God requires you to wait.

Even in a Deluge

The earth be immersed in a deluge of rains,

Yet, the soul, stayed on God, may sing bravely its psalm,

For the heart of the storm is the center of calm.

Be glad and serene when the tempest clouds form;

God smiles on His child in the eye of the storm.

----------------

This weekend I spent some time in the hospital

with my grandpa who is dying of leukemia.

I have never seen someone so calm,

so strong in the Lord,

so confident that God

gives and takes away.

I arrived outside his door to find him highlighting in his Bible--studying Joseph

"I'm going to preach until the day I die", he said to me.

And yet, there is this part of my heart

that lives in denial,

that is so determined not to lose him,

that is still afraid of the dark.

Fly or Fall

What's the difference between

giving up,

waiting,

trusting,

hoping,

and surrender?

Because they all seem so jumbled to me right now.

I'm tired of waiting.

Waiting here in line.

Hoping that I'll find

What I've been chasing.

When do I give up

What I was wishing for?

Listen.

You are

The only thing that's beautiful in me.

Listen.