{no chains} today.

Sometimes we little human beings 

can forget 

who we are

and why we're here.

Sometimes we find ourselves

chained to things that God never intended for us.

To our to-do lists.

To our "what-ifs".

To keeping up. 

To striving to be like so-and-so. 

Today,

this day,

let God take those chains off. 

You get to be the brilliant, beautiful kid 

that He made you to be.

That's it. 

That's enough.

You are uniquely His. 

He made you from scratch

and He loves you like crazy.

Let that feed your soul today.

The hunger?

The longing?

Let God fill that. 

Today.

Walk today with your head held high. 

You are a child of the King.

He wants you to be you. 

Not someone else.

Wonderful, beautiful, unique, creative...

you.

You made my whole being;
    you formed me in my mother’s body.
 I praise you because 

you made me in an amazing and wonderful way.

    What you have done is wonderful.
    I know this very well.
 You saw my bones being formed
    as I took shape in my mother’s body.
When I was put together there,
 you saw my body as it was formed.
All the days planned for me
    were written in your book
    before I was one day old.

~Psalm 139:13-16

Many blessings for your Friday,

Deni

{always faithful} now.

God is always faithful. 

He is near. 

To you.

And me. 

No matter what. 

He hears you...

even when you may think He doesn't. 

He is with you

in the storms of life

and when it's smooth sailing. 

You can be sure that 

He will remind you of His love for you

today.

In the small things

and in the big. 

Whatever you are going through, 

He is there.

And He's not leaving.

Look closely today.

Keep an eye out for Him. 

And when you see the reminders of His great love

for you,

own it. 

It's yours. 

A gift from the King

who loves you endlessly.

Strength! Courage! Don’t be timid; don’t get discouraged. 

God, your God, is with you every step you take.

~Joshua 1:9

Many blessings,

Deni

ps Thank you for your prayers yesterday. 

I enjoyed my first day of substitute teaching! The kids were wonderful . :)

{a new chapter} today.

I have gone and done it now.

Lost my ever-lovin' mind.

Yep.

Today, I step into a public school classroom

as a substitute teacher.

For the first time.

See?

I told you I've lost it. 

I'll be back with a group of kids that I love getting 

to help…

middle schoolers. 

Before my time in Children's Ministry, 

I volunteered for years 
with middle schoolers 

and high schoolers.

Middle schoolers?
Yes.

I love getting to help them.

Maybe it's because middle school was so bumpy for me. 

Maybe I get them a little bit. 
Maybe.

And today? 
This new chapter?
If I'm honest,
this page has got me a little scared. 
There are what-ifs and this-could-happens
running all over it. 
But so is God.

What scary things do you have on your to-do list today?
Let's give them to God.
Let's hold each other up
to the Light. 
Let's ask God to take the scary 
and make it the exhilarating. 

So, if I could ask a favor of you…
would you say a small prayer for me today?
However God leads you to pray
would be such a gift. 
Thank you.

In the new chapters
~big and small~
it means the world to know that 
someone is whispering your name to
Awesome God. 


Don’t worry about anything; 
instead, pray about everything. 
Tell God what you need, 
and thank him for all he has done.
~Philippians 4:6


Many blessings,
Deni

{do what you do} today.

I know that sometimes you're tempted to think

that the small things you do 

don't matter.

That your effort isn't appreciated. 

Isn't noticed. 

But…

what if you didn't do what you do?

What if the world…

didn't have all the small things that you do every day?

A piece would be missing.

Ever get to the end of a puzzle

and find that the last piece is missing?

You feel cheated, don't you?

The picture isn't what it should be. 

Yep.

That's the world without what you have to offer.

Without your gifts.

Incomplete.

And so, today…

when you're just about ready to buy the lie that 

what you do doesn't matter,

don't. 

Without you doing what you do,

this world would be less rich and colorful.

The grand picture wouldn't be as beautiful.

And we just can't have that, 

can we?

So smile at a stranger today.

Or go the extra mile while working on a project.

Or hold the door for someone who has passed through many of them.

Or give grace even when you think it's not deserved.

Or hug someone. Twice.

Whatever you do, 

don't stop doing the small stuff.

Do what you do. 

It's all of the little things

that make this world 

such a beautiful place to be. 

I was hungry, and you gave me food. 

I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. 

I was alone and away from home, 

and you invited me into your house. 

I was without clothes, and you gave me something to wear. 

I was sick, and you cared for me. 

I was in prison, and you visited me.’ 

“Then the good people will answer, 

‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and give you food, 

or thirsty and give you something to drink? 

When did we see you alone and away 

from home and invite you into our house? 

When did we see you without clothes 

and give you something to wear? 

When did we see you sick or in prison and care for you?’

“Then the King will answer, 

‘I tell you the truth, 

anything you did for even the least of my people here, 

you also did for me.’

~Matthew 25: 35-40

Many blessings,

Deni

This post is in honor of my friend Sue. 

When I worked at Greenridge,

her Thursday hugs and conversations were little things

that made my world a more beautiful place to be. 

{just a beat or two} today.

It will be tempting to move too fast today. 

Too quickly.

You have a schedule to keep 

and things to do, right?

But still…

what if in the busyness 

you were, well, 

still?

Just a bit. Just a moment. 

Maybe the pace could slow by a beat or two.

Just long enough for you to notice something 

that you might not if you were moving 

too fast.

If we moved more slowly

we might notice

the things and people around us 

just a little bit more. 

The stranger who holds the door for us. 

The uniqueness of the winter landscape.

The helper that gives you his or her very best.

The beauty of the path that we're traveling. 

Together.

Maybe this day,

this Monday,

you and I could 

notice more,

appreciate more, 

be connected more,

simply by slowing down 

just a beat or two. 

God says, 

Be still and know that I am God. 

I will be praised in all the nations;

    I will be praised throughout the earth.

~Psalm 46:10

Many blessings,

Deni

{beautiful things} today.

There are beautiful things all around us.

A bird soaring

or a wispy cloud floating overhead. 

Or the small stillness of a quiet house

or the dancing flicker 

of a candle's flame. 

There is the hope of things to come

in the smallest of things. 

A flower standing tall

or a warm and sunny spot by the window.

If we aren't careful,

we'll miss these treasures today.

The small and the beautiful will be passed by

in favor of the immediate 

and the loud.

There are things to do,

yes.

But…

what if today

you and I were extra careful

~extra mindful~

to notice the beauty 

in the small things that surround us?

Today,

let's stop and look and thank God

for the beauty that He wraps us in.

Doing so might just help the 

not-so-beautiful moments seem smaller 

and less overwhelming. 

There is beauty waiting to be discovered 

in your adventure today.

Let's go.

Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, 

and don't get worked up about 

what may or may not happen tomorrow.

God will help you deal with 

whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

~Matthew 6:34

Many blessings,

Deni

{a do-over} today.

I know some mornings you wake up feeling 

more limited 

than others. 

Some mornings are just like that. 

From the second your feet hit the floor, 

you feel the tough moments from yesterday.

You may regret something said or done. 

You may just feel stuck.

What about a do-over?

A mulligan?

A re-start?

What about stopping to pray

about whatever is gnawing at you?

What about giving that to Him?

How about right now?

Each beat of your heart 

is a chance to start over.

To try again.

And guess what?

You don't have to try on your own.

You can ask God for help.

A fresh start with Him has limitless possibilities. 

Wouldn't a few less limitations feel great today?

There's hope floating beyond this moment. 

Take a minute to stop, talk to God,

and start over.

Game on.

If you don’t know what you’re doing, 

pray to the Father. 

He loves to help. 

You’ll get his help, 

and won’t be condescended to 

when you ask for it. 

Ask boldly, 

believingly, 

without a second thought.

~James 1:5a

Many blessings,

Deni 

His Kid.

I love this chunk of Scripture. 

Today, perhaps, it's something that I need to hear. 

Okay…there's no perhaps about it.

I do need to hear it.

Maybe you do, too.

Things can look scary sometimes from our point of view. 

We're kids

~God's kids~

and kids don't always understand what the parents are doing.

But…we have to trust that our best interest is at the forefront

of the decisions they make and things they do. 

I guess it's like that with God.

You don't always know what He's doing.

Perhaps you'd like to interject that you'd like to do this or that.

But, 

in the end and always, 

it's best just to sit back

and let Him be your parent.

Let Him decide. 

Trust Him for the outcome. 

And enjoy being a kid

~His kid~

today.

Many blessings,

Deni

{once upon a time} today.

Once upon a time, 

the world was yours for the taking.

You could be anyone

and do anything.

Anything.

The future was without limits.

There were no obstacles. 

The world was your oyster. 

Was. 

Sometimes we believe the was.

We buy into the thought that those days

~those possibilities~

have passed us. 

That we could have had adventures. 

Could have had. 

But 

then there's today. 

This seemingly endless streaming of seconds. 

That turn into minutes

that flow into hours.

This day could be

yours for the taking.

God has given you a moment. 

Here. Now.

Why not speak your big dreams 

to the bigger God

and agree that an adventure needs to 

start today?

Don't you think He has plans for you today?

You can count on it.

Why not stop and tell Him 

of your dreams and hopes

and whisper in His ear that maybe you've bought into the 

lie that the days of possibility have passed you by?

And ask Him what He has in mind for you 

today.

And then, 

with your eyes set on the horizon,

and once-upon-a-time hopefulness flooding your heart,

move.

And be the person that God 

has made you to be 

~big dreams and all~

today.

So be content with who you are, 

and don't put on airs.

God's strong hand is on you, 

he'll promote you at the right time. 

Live carefree before God; 

he is most careful with you. 

~1 Peter 5:6-7

Many blessings,

Deni

Zephaniah 3:17. today.

For when your mind is racing.

And when your heart is in your throat.

~He is with you.~

For when your journey has taken you down 

a path that is hard to reconcile.

~He is mighty enough to save you.~

For the mornings when you wake up feeling less than.

And you feel so very small.

~He will take great delight in you.~

For when the next chapter looms.

And you just want the page to turn already.

~The quietness of His love will calm you down.~

For when you've forgotten that you were chosen by God

for this moment, for this day.

~He will sing with joy because of you.~

He loves you more than you could ever understand.

And He's got something planned for you today.

Trust Him. Seek Him.

Listen to Him sing over you.

Today.

Many blessings,

Deni