If I told you I was about to take a HUGE leap of faith into a very unpredictable life...what would you say to me? Would you give me advice? Would you FIRST ask me WHAT huge leap of faith I was even about to take?
Maybe it's not my job to tell you. Maybe it's very personal. Maybe its what you DO see...but also what you don't see...because...all YOU need to know is my status in life at the moment...
Name: Danielle M. McClure
Purpose: Only God knows.
Relationship status: God is my soul's desire.
The rest, you don't have to know. I believe in "Opportunity for Destiny." At least right now I do.
This is my take on it all.....
I believe God has a very divine plan for my life...and the opportunity to SEIZE that life...is in my own FREE WILL-ed hands. It's in my hands...to Choose Him and His plan for my life.
Whether or not its in front of people, behind the scenes, or something completely unrevealed to even ME...it's there. He shows me only whats in front of me now...and one step at a time I go.
Would you agree that "one step at a time" may be the exact pace God likes to reveal things to us? Maybe you do. I believe it because that's all He seems to ask of me...to take one step at a time with Him. I think that's what He asks of us all. And so, if we keep our eyes on Him, He continues to lead the way...He WILL. He DOES. God gives us opportunity...for LIFE. A great life because its OUR journey with Him. It may not be easy. It may be straight-up HARD sometimes. But, we have the opportunity to have purpose...by giving in...to Him and His promise to strengthen us along the way. And His plans... to use us. I believe if we wake up to the reality around us...and what God seems to have set in front of each of us INDIVIDUALLY...our life, circumstances, beliefs, hearts desires, dreams, and even the PEOPLE in our lives...begin to take deeper meaning than we ever saw before. I BELIEVE...God has always had purpose for each of us. So we take another step forward, or jump on Faith alone...we pray and finally trust that God knows EXACTLY what He wants to do with us.
God is good. More random thoughts later.
cya
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Questions...
I don't know how everyone else talks to God...prays to God...same thing.
Do you ever just ask Him lots of questions? Not only ask though, do you expect answers?
I'm not saying we should EXPECT anything from Him...He has made promise after promise after promise to us already....and not only that, He made this amazing sacrifice to redeem us... Why then do we really ask Him for more?
No, I don't really believe that we SHOULDN'T ask Him questions...or pray to him for requests...because I think that's part of a relationship. I believe He WANTS us to ask Him questions...and if you have requests in this life, who better to bring them to than the Creator of Life? And He DOES listen to us...so we should bring Him everything that we need to.
But solely the topic of questions...I just seem to have more lately. Ugh...I wish I was more simple minded... :/
My questions are sort of simple though. No more complicated than the type of question a daughter would ask her dad such as "Why is the sky blue?" I mean...I think we probably all wondered WHY once... ha maybe not...
My dad always says ... "It's good to ask questions. You learn that way."
Yeah...seems true. I guess to live and never WONDER would be boring...I mean, there's so many cool things around us, so many interesting things we DON'T know...so many ways GOD can impress us.
But when it comes to asking God deep questions...some people say, "You'll never know, least not till heaven..so why ask?" I'm not sure that's good enough. I think...we wonder for good reason. I think wondering leads us to thinking...leads us to praying...leads us to releasing the idea that "knowledge" holds anything in comparison to GOD, himself.
This post is really going nowhere. All I know now is that WONDERING is good. God wants us to wonder...because He wants us to be His children who CARE...about Him and His ways. I then think that He will teach us. :) Just like my daddy says..."Learning is so good"...ha too bad those World Books 2004 daddy bought us don't hold all of life's answers and wouldn't even compare to God's Encyclopedia of Life.
Do you ever just ask Him lots of questions? Not only ask though, do you expect answers?
I'm not saying we should EXPECT anything from Him...He has made promise after promise after promise to us already....and not only that, He made this amazing sacrifice to redeem us... Why then do we really ask Him for more?
No, I don't really believe that we SHOULDN'T ask Him questions...or pray to him for requests...because I think that's part of a relationship. I believe He WANTS us to ask Him questions...and if you have requests in this life, who better to bring them to than the Creator of Life? And He DOES listen to us...so we should bring Him everything that we need to.
But solely the topic of questions...I just seem to have more lately. Ugh...I wish I was more simple minded... :/
My questions are sort of simple though. No more complicated than the type of question a daughter would ask her dad such as "Why is the sky blue?" I mean...I think we probably all wondered WHY once... ha maybe not...
My dad always says ... "It's good to ask questions. You learn that way."
Yeah...seems true. I guess to live and never WONDER would be boring...I mean, there's so many cool things around us, so many interesting things we DON'T know...so many ways GOD can impress us.
But when it comes to asking God deep questions...some people say, "You'll never know, least not till heaven..so why ask?" I'm not sure that's good enough. I think...we wonder for good reason. I think wondering leads us to thinking...leads us to praying...leads us to releasing the idea that "knowledge" holds anything in comparison to GOD, himself.
This post is really going nowhere. All I know now is that WONDERING is good. God wants us to wonder...because He wants us to be His children who CARE...about Him and His ways. I then think that He will teach us. :) Just like my daddy says..."Learning is so good"...ha too bad those World Books 2004 daddy bought us don't hold all of life's answers and wouldn't even compare to God's Encyclopedia of Life.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Faith, Hope, and Love...and Peace, that passes all understanding.
Take a minute and stop what you're doing. Stop worrying about anything, stop busying yourself..and try to relax. Now do one thing...
Breathe.
Take a deep breath.
Maybe do it again. Take a moment to focus on the oxygen going into your lungs... to help you...Live.
Breathing. It's actually something most of us take for granted. I don't think my sister takes it for granted as much as I do honestly. Anybody who struggles with asthma or any other breathing problem knows how great it is to get a FULL breath in. Sometimes the rest of us just go about doing our daily routine, rushing around, filling our day with "plans" and figuring out where and what to do next. We have so much we NEED to do...or so, we think.
But sometimes, that wears us out. We become "out of breath." It's like God is screaming to our bodies... "Slooooow down. Breathe with Me." When the Bible says that He is the "Breath of Life"...its like saying that God is our oxygen. Without the OXYGEN...we die. Without God...we die. Every breath has great value...because to live...is to breathe...and on this earth...we only get so many breaths...and then, we stop breathing. It's not really morbid though...its kind of beautiful. We all will inevitably die to this earth, and simply inhale our last and final breath...just right before we enter the place of PEACE and REST. And it's the breath that seems to have the final say right before we go.
So the reason I'm so focused on breathing today is because yesterday, I watched my Nana sleep. She was sleeping and the only other thing she was doing...was breathing. I watched my Nana BREATHE yesterday for a good amount of time. It really hit me. Somehow watching her breathe just made me see this face of peace that I haven't honestly seen on her in awhile...due to the sad effects of Alzheimer's disease. But, nevertheless, she looked beautiful. It was like I could see through her, breath by breath, and just remember how great her soul really is.
Since yesterday, I can't stop seeing that memory of her just inhaling, though not the way I prefer it...but even with the oxygen machine, she was still TAKING the breaths.
She lived this amazing life of Faith, Hope, and most of all...Love. She was a woman who reminded me of Jesus in everything I can remember about her. Even WITH the disease, her loving inner spirit breathed the greatness of who she is and was. I only have memories of how great she was to me...and everyone she was around. Thank you God for her example.
So as she takes her final breaths...(and yeah, its very hard still to think about)...I hope and pray she is continually at Peace as she sleeps. And then I hope and pray that WE remember that one day we will ALL get to the same point as she is...its just up to us to VALUE every single breath we take...and live our lives out with:
Faith...in our God who walks with us every step of the way...
Hope...that this earth life can give us the BEGINNING of the eternal life we have with our awesome God...
and simply, LOVE. (1 Corinthians 13) Because Love never fails.
So, Breathe it in. Live it out. And have Faith, Hope, and Love...
Then you will get this greater sense...of a True Peace....that passes ALL understanding.
Breathe.
Take a deep breath.
Maybe do it again. Take a moment to focus on the oxygen going into your lungs... to help you...Live.
Breathing. It's actually something most of us take for granted. I don't think my sister takes it for granted as much as I do honestly. Anybody who struggles with asthma or any other breathing problem knows how great it is to get a FULL breath in. Sometimes the rest of us just go about doing our daily routine, rushing around, filling our day with "plans" and figuring out where and what to do next. We have so much we NEED to do...or so, we think.
But sometimes, that wears us out. We become "out of breath." It's like God is screaming to our bodies... "Slooooow down. Breathe with Me." When the Bible says that He is the "Breath of Life"...its like saying that God is our oxygen. Without the OXYGEN...we die. Without God...we die. Every breath has great value...because to live...is to breathe...and on this earth...we only get so many breaths...and then, we stop breathing. It's not really morbid though...its kind of beautiful. We all will inevitably die to this earth, and simply inhale our last and final breath...just right before we enter the place of PEACE and REST. And it's the breath that seems to have the final say right before we go.
So the reason I'm so focused on breathing today is because yesterday, I watched my Nana sleep. She was sleeping and the only other thing she was doing...was breathing. I watched my Nana BREATHE yesterday for a good amount of time. It really hit me. Somehow watching her breathe just made me see this face of peace that I haven't honestly seen on her in awhile...due to the sad effects of Alzheimer's disease. But, nevertheless, she looked beautiful. It was like I could see through her, breath by breath, and just remember how great her soul really is.
Since yesterday, I can't stop seeing that memory of her just inhaling, though not the way I prefer it...but even with the oxygen machine, she was still TAKING the breaths.
She lived this amazing life of Faith, Hope, and most of all...Love. She was a woman who reminded me of Jesus in everything I can remember about her. Even WITH the disease, her loving inner spirit breathed the greatness of who she is and was. I only have memories of how great she was to me...and everyone she was around. Thank you God for her example.
So as she takes her final breaths...(and yeah, its very hard still to think about)...I hope and pray she is continually at Peace as she sleeps. And then I hope and pray that WE remember that one day we will ALL get to the same point as she is...its just up to us to VALUE every single breath we take...and live our lives out with:
Faith...in our God who walks with us every step of the way...
Hope...that this earth life can give us the BEGINNING of the eternal life we have with our awesome God...
and simply, LOVE. (1 Corinthians 13) Because Love never fails.
So, Breathe it in. Live it out. And have Faith, Hope, and Love...
Then you will get this greater sense...of a True Peace....that passes ALL understanding.
Friday, July 9, 2010
God creates Beautiful People
Today has been a good day. Breakfast with my grandparents and a bunch of their posse. :) I got called out a lot today for some reason by random people...they said I was "out of place"....what? Because I'm too young to be with the "Jack's Gang"? Goodness...haha
Not only was it great to hang with some awesome older people, BUT I saw another friend of mine who was doing the same thing with her kids and her father-in-law. :) Breakfast with grandparents is just fun :) Coffee and quality time with a pretty cool generation of people who actually have some pretty great things to tell us about....maybe our generation should stuff in a biscuit and just listen to the fun they can tell us all about :)
Then....later, I ran my errands and had lunch with one of my great friends that I only met a few years ago. I love it :) God gives me built in friends that have known me since my birth (aka my Grandparents) and NEW friends...like some that I've just met since I've been in Florence. God is good. I realize this without a doubt :)
So honestly, it's interesting how much VALUE every person on this earth really has. From grandparents to parents to siblings to extended family and to people we meet who we come to LOVE as MUCH as family...our friends. They all give so much to us if we just open up to WHO they are.
The other day I went to visit my other grandmother who isn't at a restaurant for breakfast on Friday morning with friends.My grandmother, who sadly lost her husband, my Granddaddy, earlier this year. My grandmother, who has Alzheimer's, and honestly, can't remember me anymore I don't think. I got to visit her at a place that specializes in Memory Care. It was an experience. I walked into a room full of dining tables and chairs with older people sitting all around them, not saying too much at all. They all have either Dementia or Alzheimer's. Some worse than others. Nana seems to have it on a pretty bad level compared to most. They ate some delicious food: fruit, chickin, green beans, and CHOCOLATE CAKE :) Nana didn't eat anything really, but mom and dad sure enjoyed some of it ;) ha. Anyway, God was there...even as I looked around a room full of people who struggle with REMEMBERING...God is still in them. It was pretty sad for me to SEE this though. But then, I look over and a group of 5 ladies and my daddy starting to sing some hymns....SINGING line by line...HYMNS....by what?...by MEMORY???
God is good.
It hit me that if my generation ends up in a place like this...will we even know church hymns? Would we even know the same songs? Be able to sing TOGETHER? I dunno... Nevertheless, THIS group sounded beautiful...I cried a little... but hey, its hard not to cry when you SEE God.
So to end this LONG post...I sat with Nana for awhile as the others continued singing and my mama and Daddy were just great helping sing along with them..they started a whole circle full of Memory Care patients singing gratefully to a God who loves them so much.
But Nana just sat in her chair at the dinner table. I watched them singing over in a corner. I looked at Nana. She wasn't singing. BUT. She had her head leaned back...with a slight smile on her face. She had her eyes closed. She looked at peace. God is good. My Nana who I used to play some hardcore Scrabble with...shoot basketball with outside...and just confide in anytime I needed, was sitting beside me, saying nothing at all, BUT in peace and listening to people singing to a Great and Awesome God.
I'm blessed to have 2 grandparents who are still decently healthy. I've had one grandfather who is already WITH God, and one grandmother, Nana, whose life is relying on daily PEACE with God. I have a great family..period. AND... great FRIENDS-still expanding! So, to see the value of each person individually, if I open myself up to letting God SHOW me, I can see how great He created PEOPLE to be.
-danielle
Not only was it great to hang with some awesome older people, BUT I saw another friend of mine who was doing the same thing with her kids and her father-in-law. :) Breakfast with grandparents is just fun :) Coffee and quality time with a pretty cool generation of people who actually have some pretty great things to tell us about....maybe our generation should stuff in a biscuit and just listen to the fun they can tell us all about :)
Then....later, I ran my errands and had lunch with one of my great friends that I only met a few years ago. I love it :) God gives me built in friends that have known me since my birth (aka my Grandparents) and NEW friends...like some that I've just met since I've been in Florence. God is good. I realize this without a doubt :)
So honestly, it's interesting how much VALUE every person on this earth really has. From grandparents to parents to siblings to extended family and to people we meet who we come to LOVE as MUCH as family...our friends. They all give so much to us if we just open up to WHO they are.
The other day I went to visit my other grandmother who isn't at a restaurant for breakfast on Friday morning with friends.My grandmother, who sadly lost her husband, my Granddaddy, earlier this year. My grandmother, who has Alzheimer's, and honestly, can't remember me anymore I don't think. I got to visit her at a place that specializes in Memory Care. It was an experience. I walked into a room full of dining tables and chairs with older people sitting all around them, not saying too much at all. They all have either Dementia or Alzheimer's. Some worse than others. Nana seems to have it on a pretty bad level compared to most. They ate some delicious food: fruit, chickin, green beans, and CHOCOLATE CAKE :) Nana didn't eat anything really, but mom and dad sure enjoyed some of it ;) ha. Anyway, God was there...even as I looked around a room full of people who struggle with REMEMBERING...God is still in them. It was pretty sad for me to SEE this though. But then, I look over and a group of 5 ladies and my daddy starting to sing some hymns....SINGING line by line...HYMNS....by what?...by MEMORY???
God is good.
It hit me that if my generation ends up in a place like this...will we even know church hymns? Would we even know the same songs? Be able to sing TOGETHER? I dunno... Nevertheless, THIS group sounded beautiful...I cried a little... but hey, its hard not to cry when you SEE God.
So to end this LONG post...I sat with Nana for awhile as the others continued singing and my mama and Daddy were just great helping sing along with them..they started a whole circle full of Memory Care patients singing gratefully to a God who loves them so much.
But Nana just sat in her chair at the dinner table. I watched them singing over in a corner. I looked at Nana. She wasn't singing. BUT. She had her head leaned back...with a slight smile on her face. She had her eyes closed. She looked at peace. God is good. My Nana who I used to play some hardcore Scrabble with...shoot basketball with outside...and just confide in anytime I needed, was sitting beside me, saying nothing at all, BUT in peace and listening to people singing to a Great and Awesome God.
I'm blessed to have 2 grandparents who are still decently healthy. I've had one grandfather who is already WITH God, and one grandmother, Nana, whose life is relying on daily PEACE with God. I have a great family..period. AND... great FRIENDS-still expanding! So, to see the value of each person individually, if I open myself up to letting God SHOW me, I can see how great He created PEOPLE to be.
-danielle
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
"God never left me"
Somewhere between THIS and THAT...there was a really hard time going on in my head. You know, the things you can't get out, things you wish your mind would skip around or avoid altogether, but instead these are the things that CONSUME you? When they call it a "Battlefield of the Mind"...its because a life WITH God and yet STILL being human, can really cause a natural conflict.
I believe that sometimes we really do trust people. When we give a piece of ourselves away, not only are we admitting it to another, but we're saying it out loud to ourselves. Sometimes, being completely honest to ourself is whats truly the toughest.
So, when we remember that whether or not we are saying things out loud to ourselves or anyone else, God knows and hears our every thought. And that's OK. You know why? Because God is biased. He loves us more than anyone else ever could, and especially more than we know how to love ourselves. HE gets us...HE has "got us" from the beginning of time. Individually. And He knows that being completely honest with ourselves might even cause us to "think" that He loves us a little less. That never has been and never will be true.
God never left me. God has been my soul's dependence since I was born, and the minute I finally recognized that, was when my life changed. He is my strength, my trust, my love, and my security. He never left me. Why? Because He KNOWS me...and Loves me anyway.
So remembering this...makes me feel so much better. :)
"Dragging my fears out the door. Lord I'm still trying my hardest.
All I have, all i have, well you know it's Yours. Every breath, every step, every moment I'm looking for. All I have is Yours" -Mat Kearney "All I Have"
I believe that sometimes we really do trust people. When we give a piece of ourselves away, not only are we admitting it to another, but we're saying it out loud to ourselves. Sometimes, being completely honest to ourself is whats truly the toughest.
So, when we remember that whether or not we are saying things out loud to ourselves or anyone else, God knows and hears our every thought. And that's OK. You know why? Because God is biased. He loves us more than anyone else ever could, and especially more than we know how to love ourselves. HE gets us...HE has "got us" from the beginning of time. Individually. And He knows that being completely honest with ourselves might even cause us to "think" that He loves us a little less. That never has been and never will be true.
God never left me. God has been my soul's dependence since I was born, and the minute I finally recognized that, was when my life changed. He is my strength, my trust, my love, and my security. He never left me. Why? Because He KNOWS me...and Loves me anyway.
So remembering this...makes me feel so much better. :)
"Dragging my fears out the door. Lord I'm still trying my hardest.
All I have, all i have, well you know it's Yours. Every breath, every step, every moment I'm looking for. All I have is Yours" -Mat Kearney "All I Have"
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