My Mess to His Masterpiece

Embracing my story. It's not perfect, but its real…

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Happy Mothers Day to these amazing Mamas and our f Happy Mothers Day to these amazing Mamas and our future mothers!  I wouldn’t want to do life with anyone else!
Kennedy Paige, as you turn three today, I want to Kennedy Paige, as you turn three today, I want to celebrate the wonderful blend of girly grace and tomboy spirit that makes you so unique and precious to us. 

I’ll never forget the day you and your cousin Levi turned our bathroom into a makeup studio, covering yourselves in a layer of lipstick that emphasized your love for makeup, your playful spirit and that mischievous charm that is evident when you smile.

Your affectionate hugs and radiant smile light up our world, Kenzie-Kenners-Bane. You are fiercely determined when you set your mind to something and that spirited personality will take you far in life. 

I hope that you never lose the joy and sparkle that you have today, and that you will always be unapologetically yourself. You are beautiful, you are special and you are loved! Happy Birthday, Kenzie!
Gratitude. The practice of being thankful. Day 2 Gratitude. The practice of being thankful. 

Day 2. Still hanging out in the ICU, where Daddy’s receiving the very best care. 

Thank you for all the prayers, texts and encouragement. I am sharing it with him to spur him on when he is discouraged. 

It’s hard to hit a bump in the road to recovery, but isn’t that just a part of life? 

 Sometimed it is difficult to see the “why,” of a particular situation, but the Bible has a ton of great examples, like Moses when he stood in front of the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21–29) or Paul and Silas when they were in jail (Acts 16:22–24) and my personal favorite, when Joseph was sold into slavery (Genesis 37:18;36).

We can’t avoid the bumps and potholes in our lifes journey. As I’ve always said, it is what it is. What the enemy means for evil, God uses for God. 

Gratitude is a choice. 

Choosing gratitude means keeping our hearts and our hands open to receiving the good with the same hope and expectation that we do the bad. 

LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago.

Isaiah 25:1
Hope is a light that shines in the darkest of time Hope is a light that shines in the darkest of times. 

It is the belief that better days are ahead, even when everything seems bleak in the moment. 

We cling to hope, for it has the power to lift us up and carry us through the toughest of challenges. 

Let the hope we have in Christ be our guiding light in moments of uncertainty and despair. 🌟 #hope #believe
Daddy. I can’t recall him ever complaining about Daddy. 

I can’t recall him ever complaining about going to work and I can’t remember a day that he wasn’t standing behind his chair, cutting someone’s hair. 

His barber shop has been a staple in our small community for more than 60 years. 

He has had the privilege of serving judges, politicians, law-enforcement, high ranking military officials, pro-athletes, blue-collar workers, and even the homeless … people from every race, place and background. Daddy has welcomed them all to his barber chair.

He once explained to me why he named his shop “The Kings Chair.” It was his hope that everyone who sat under his sheers for a cut and an old fashioned shave would leave looking and feeling like a King.

Barbers cut your hair, share your life experiences and give you great advice. 

They are there for men through break-ups and make-ups, through getting fired from one job and receiving a promotion at another. 

They tell you how cute your daughter is when she’s  born, and offer condolences when a loved one passes away. 

Most men won’t go to therapy, but when they need a safe place to express themselves, a place where they can talk to someone about life and let off a little steam, guilt, hurt, etc, while not compromising their masculinity … many times, that place is in the barber chair, sharing their heart with a barber that they’ve gone to routinely. 

It is a barbers job to stay current on world events, politics, and sports.  But the most important job that a barber often has lending their minds and ears to you throughout life’s ebb and flow. 

That’s my dad. That’s the place my dad has crafted and cultivated for 60+ years. 

Daddy is not a perfect man, but he has listened, story-told, and been there for thousands of men (and many women) for more than 6 decades. He’s been that for me since the day I was born.

Daddy needs our prayers this week as he works his way back to his place behind the chair. 

Please remember him in your prayers as he does everything in his power to continue being your barber, your local historian, your therapist and your friend 💕
Rejoice in the resurrection every day! We serve a Rejoice in the resurrection every day! We serve a risen Savior!
Do you ever struggle believing God for something b Do you ever struggle believing God for something big?

Imagine how Abraham and Sara felt. They were too old in the natural to have children. Rather than trust God, they tried to help Him out by producing a son through Sarah’s maid, but that only caused all kinds of strife. 

Abraham eventually learned this principle that you don’t have to strive, force, or manipulate to receive the promise of God.

What Abraham had to do, and what we must do as believers, is become fully persuaded that at the right time, God will bring it to pass.

How we wait on God is important. 

Psalm 16:8, Deuteronomy 32:10, Zechariah 2:5

Praying for you today, friends, that your faith will not fail you! 

“I have set the Lord before me. I shall not be moved. I am the apple of His eye. He surrounds me with a wall of fire. He will be the glory in the midst of it all.”
If there were ever any one thing in history to enc If there were ever any one thing in history to encourage us, it was this profound statement from Jesus. May we celebrate Him today and always, because #Heisworthy
New post on the blog. Link in bio. New post on the blog. Link in bio.
New post on the blog! #mess2masterpiece New post on the blog! #mess2masterpiece
As I read through Mark 6-8 last week, I scribbled As I read through Mark 6-8 last week, I scribbled this simple observation in the margin of my Bible:

Jesus never sent the crowd away hungry. 

In John 6:35, Jesus says, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

Bread has been a staple since the beginning of time. When the Jews were wandering in the desert for 40 years, God rained down “bread from heaven” to sustain a nation. A person can live a long time on just bread and water.

This verse from John and the miracles recorded in both Mark 6 and 8 weren't just referring to a need for physical food. 

In both examples, the people were hungry, they had been there all day, and they had traveled far with their families. 

Yet, they did not want to leave. 

Their hunger for spiritual truth and what Jesus had to offer them was stronger than their physical hunger for food. 

This was a once-in-a-lifetime, not-to-be-missed, hang-on-every-word opportunity to hear Jesus speak, and the people weren’t going to miss any of it.

Today, we are constantly on the search for that one thing that will satisfy us – make us feel good, make us prettier, quench our thirst, de-stress, de-tox, get rich quick, or entertain.  We reach for whatever that may be, and we get some temporary relief, but a short while later we begin to feel the hunger all over again.  And this time, we may have added a little regret or guilt.  So we begin again, with a little more to compensate for the regret or guilt we’ve piled on, and soon we need even more. 

But we can never be completely satisfied with the things of this earth.  It always leaves us wanting more. 

Only Jesus can truly leave us satisfied. 

We are created with that longing for fellowship with God.  And only after we have filled that eternal longing with the perfect love that Jesus Christ can give, then Jesus can begin to help us with the rest of our lives. 

For the crowds of many, Jesus provided them with spiritual satisfaction and truth, and then he made sure to take care of their physical hunger. 

He will do the same for you today.
Matthew 23 Before pronouncing the "woes" in Matthe Matthew 23
Before pronouncing the "woes" in Matthew 23, Jesus told His listeners to respect the scribes and Pharisees due to their position of authority, but not to emulate them, “for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. Everything they do is done for people to see."

Man, does this preach (and convict).

These were leaders who were supposed to know God, help others know Him, and follow His ways. 

Instead, they added to God’s Law, making it a cumbersome and heavy burden. 

Even worse ... they did not follow Him with a pure heart. Their religion was not true worship of God; rather, it was rooted in a prideful heart that desired to be the object of one's worship. They wanted to look good in the eyes of others. 

Jesus tells the religious leaders they appear clean on the outside, but they have neglected the inside. They perform religious acts but do not have God-honoring hearts. It does no good, Jesus says, to clean up the outside when the inside is “full of greed and self-indulgence." 

With our culture fixated on appearances, it's easy to fall into the same trap. Pretending to be perfect and godly while our hearts are far from it. 

Jesus offers salvation not to those who perfectly obey all the rules, but to those whose hearts are sincere and trust Him enough to obey. This is our calling and the most effective way we can be an example to others.#justbereal
Imagine you are a house. You’ve curated just the r Imagine you are a house. You’ve curated just the right look, given attention to every big and small detail, and then Jesus comes in. He rearranges the furniture, and cleans out the clutter so it aligns with His taste/style.

In Mark 11, that's exactly what happens. Jesus enters the temple, rearranges everything, and realigns things with Gods purpose. 

Jesus starts using the Temple for what it was designed for. 

The Sanhedrin did not like this. They did not respond well to Jesus’ authority. 

I think we are a lot like the Sanhedrin. We don’t understand that we are the temple of God and God has authority over us whether we acknowledge it or not. 

When Jesus comes into your life and starts rearranging your furniture, cleaning out the clutter, and realigning the purpose of your life, do you rebel against Him and say, “By what authority are you doing all these things? This is my life and I am going to live it the way I want! And no one is going to tell me what to do! Who do you think you are, Jesus!?”

Or do you submit to God and say, "Not my will, Lord, but yours?"

It should be an easy answer, shouldn't it? But many times we enjoy our house being set up and decorated the way we want it. We don't think God has a right to come in and disrupt it. Much like the temple in Jesus time, our lives are Gods temple. We are on display for Him, designed to be used by Him for a specific purpose. He has the authority to do what He wants, but because He is a gentleman, He asks us to invite Him in. He wants us to look around and say, "Do whatever needs to be done here so my house can be your home, Lord."
I've been reading the New Testament with a group o I've been reading the New Testament with a group of intentional women in the new year (You Belong) and this is something I've been reminded of repeatedly over the past week. 

Our market today is flooded with easy formulas that make us lazy and complacent. 

Wanna get skinny quick? Take a pill.

Wanna get rich quick? Follow this formula.

Wanna heat and eat? Check the frozen aisle.

I'm not saying that any one of these things is wrong in itself. 

But we are saturated with quick fixes that produce laziness. Even our Bibles can be interpreted for us rather than getting in the Word and digging. 

Pre-chewed food will eventually lead to decay. It will keep us in infancy rather than growing and developing the kind of teeth that can chew meat.

I want more. This morning God said, "Be up front with Me. I want to give you the world. Just ask."

One of my goals this year is to trim the fat. Be intentional. Dig deep. Cultivate a life that is  focused on honoring God. Be grateful. 

That may seem like I'm setting the bar too high. Like I'm setting myself up for failure. Maybe. 

God says be direct. Ask for what we need and He will give it. I just want more. More of Him, less of the world. One sure way to reach that goal is to be intentional in His Word. 

I'm so grateful for my friendship with @melnahm and her deep desire to know God and His Word more. We are of the same heart. 

How about you, friends? Do you want more of God this year? 

#youbelong #womenhelpingwomen #godsword
One of my favorite verses to be reminded of each m One of my favorite verses to be reminded of each morning comes from the book of Lamentations.

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

January 1 is often seen as an opportunity for a new beginning. If the previous year was disappointing or we made significant mistakes, many of us tend to use this day to wipe the slate clean and hit the reset button. 

It's an aged old tradition that inspires  us to do more and be better. 

A new year for most means finding a new resolve, quitting that bad habit, choosing a healthier diet, or managing our finances better (rather than vise versa).

Here's the thing.

New starts aren't limited to January 1 in the Kingdom of God. His mercy is new every day. 

Rather than finding our resolve once a year, why not make it a practice for every day?

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24). 

Joy and mercy are available for every believer, all the time. A new day, new mercy, all sufficient grace, and the power to be made perfect in our weaknesses.  Let this be our encouragement now and forevermore.
Of all the love stories ever told, the greatest is Of all the love stories ever told, the greatest is the one written from Genesis to Revelation. #godsgreatlovestory #jesuslovesme
I was lonely my whole life, even in a crowded room I was lonely my whole life, even in a crowded room and especially as an adult. This sadness hung on me like an ill fitting garment until I met Jesus. Only then did I realize what it felt like to be seen, known, and loved so completely and wonderfully well. 

“He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” (Isaiah 53:3)by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” (Isaiah 53:3)

People come and go, but Jesus comes and stays. 

#encouragementfromGodsWord
Back in the day, we made a pledge to a kind of lov Back in the day, we made a pledge to a kind of love that I’m sure neither of us fully understood. 

I wasn’t thinking then of all the disappointments, the hard places or the ambushes that we would face together. Most girls don’t. I was duped by fairy tales and photoshopped wedded bliss. Love is blind and marriage is the eye-opener. 

Our early years together were hard, marred by unrealistic expectations, heated words and mistakes that two broken people are bound to make. 

I understand it so much more now. Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it really do labor in vain. Thank God for resurrections,  in both people and marriages.

Howie, you are the one who knows every page of my story. You know the places in me that are broken, the things that cause me shame, and the ones that laid the foundation for Jesus to be my “why.” You have seen every part of me (and I don’t mean the 50 year-old sag, the C-section scars, the random hairs, or the cellulite and spider veins) yet you choose me, and us, every day. 

Thank you for being my safe place, my strong tower, my wise counselor, my co-collaborator in life and my best friend. Our marriage and your love are both gifts from God and miracles that I am extremely thankful for, today and always. Happy Anniversary 🫶🏻

Special thanks to the talented @aronrae.photography for always capturing the best shots of us 📸
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Hey there, thanks for stopping by! My name is Danielle … radically redeemed and wildly loved by a Savior who’s teaching me that real is not perfect. In fact, I am learning that being real is quite messy.

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For we are God's masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Ephesians 2:10
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