God’s been working on me. Two words keep popping up everywhere I turn: steadfast & mindset.

He reiterated the importance of mindset to me again this morning through a devotional I read.

The thing is, when living for God, it’s not about saying no to this world – it’s the fact that we get to see yes to God.

Yes to His lifestyle.

Yes to His ministry.

Yes to following Him.

All in. 100%.

We get to say yes to the King of Kings. It’s a privilege- not a prison.

You are who God says you are, and nobody can change that.

Nobody.

When Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were taken to Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar tried his best to change who they were. The king immersed them in a new culture, a new society. He even went as far as changing their names, which was a pretty big deal back then.

You’ve heard of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? Plot twist – that’s not even who they really were. Not even close.

Although the new names Nebuchadnezzar bestowed upon Daniel and his friends were meant to encourage them to take the plunge into a Babylonian lifestyle – these men were not about to conform to the pattern of this old world.

These new names said that they were servants of various deities – but God – God said they were His.

And we all know how that chapter in Daniel played out.

The world will say all kinds of things about you – call you all kinds of names. Just don’t forget what God said about you first. Don’t forget He calls you daughter/son.

You get to choose the voice that you will listen to – the voice that you will believe.

God says you’re strong

God says you’re beautiful.

God says you matter.

God says you can.

God says watch me work through you.

God says you are His.

No voice, no human, nobody can say who you are – only God.

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2

The above page is from Lisa Bevere’s Lioness Arising.

💗Happy Mother’s Day💗

-Mommas are fierce.

-Mommas have purpose.

-Mommas are willing & able.

-Mommas love unconditionally.

-Mommas don’t need the glory.

Don’t forget how important you are.

-When you’re tired.

-When your house is messy.

-When your kids make mistakes.

Keep going. God chose you. He chose a woman.

Adversity.

Defined by Merriam: a state or instance of serious or continued difficulty or misfortune.

Did y’all catch that? Continued.

Adversity. It’s inevitable.

Frank spoke about adversity this past Sunday. He touched on the following four points:

1. Adversity gets our attention. Matthew 11:28-30

2. Adversity reminds us of our weaknesses. 2 Corinthians 12: 9-10

3. Adversity motivates us to cry out to God. Psalm 34:17

4. Adversity purifies our faith. 1 Peter 1:6-7

Adversity. Will it make us, or will it break us? Is our foundation in Christ strong and steady, or will we crumble underneath the pressure?

God never promised everything would be hunky-dory. [Frank didn’t use the word hunky-dory. I threw that in.] But God promised He would not leave us. He promised He would not forsake us. He promised He would hold our hand and walk with us through whatever this ol’ world throws at us.

He promised.

He is the same God that stood in the fire with Shadrach. He is the same God that stood with Daniel in the den of a lion.

And He wasn’t scared. He wasn’t shaken.

Invite Him to stand with you today.

“17The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears;

He delivers them from all their troubles.

18The LORD is near to the brokenhearted;

He saves the contrite in spirit.” – Psalm 34:17-18

I’m a sinner, but man am I trying.

Everyday is a new day. Every battle a new battle.

Some days ghosts from the past whisper in my ear.

Taunting me.

Trying to strangle me.

Telling me I’m not good enough.

But some days they don’t.

Some days I mess up so badly I think, “What in the world did you just do, Daisy?”

But some days I don’t.

Some days are smooth. Carefree. Peaceful.

I bet you feel the same.

Don’t let the mess ups define you. Let them drive you.

Drive you to do better.

To try harder.

To focus more on the end goal.

To be the best you can be for Jesus.

That’s all He wants. All of you for all of Him.

“17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.[b] The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling[c] the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” – 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

Lately, I feel like I’m sitting still. I feel like I’m sitting still but everything around me is just swirling out of control.

It’s literally been tragedy after tragedy. In my community. In the lives of my friends and family. In the world.

It’s easy to feel helpless. It’s easy to feel out of control. This is exactly why it’s so important to have a deep, strong foundation built in, on, and through Christ. Without that foundation, I would be floundering right now.

Sometimes I feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day to pray for who I need to pray for. Really pray. Not just flippant little prayers that I murmur and then move on from. I catch myself doing that and honestly it’s shameful.

People and prayers shouldn’t be dismissed. They should be taken seriously.

Will you help me out today? God knows what’s on my heart, and He knows what’s on yours. Let’s join together with purpose and intentionality. Let’s reach Heaven for the people that are hurting physically and spiritually.

A team of people working together can make a much bigger impact than just one – especially when God is their captain.

“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.“ Matthew 18:19-20

I saw God today.

I heard Him.

I felt Him.

I watched Him move through His kids. He whispered to them, and they listened.

And when they listened mountains were moved. Miracles happened. Love was poured out in abundance.

I saw God today.

He’s still right here with us, y’all.

Speaking.

Moving.

Loving.

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38

God transforms.

Reforms.

Restores.

God will shake you to the core.

Let Him.

God redeems.

Esteems.

Gleams.

God will lead you to His stream.

Let Him.

Let Him today.

“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” John 14:26

Dear Mommas & Teachers,

You’ve almost made it. Yes, you’ll breathe a sigh of relief that first day off. No lunches to be packed. No clothes to be pressed. No papers to bring home to grade.

But man you’ll be sad, too.

Another year.

Another milestone.

Another group of your kiddos moving on.

It happens fast.

Too fast.

So hang on tight mommas and teachers. They’ll be moving on before you know it. And when they go they will take a little piece of your heart with them.

I hope the year was good. I hope you gave it your all. I hope you did everything that you could do to pour love and life into those babies.

And I hope you never forget this.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

Words.

Man, they are powerful.

There’s a reason God warns us to guard our tongue. Guarding our tongue helps keep us out of pickles and predicaments we could never even fathom. Guarding our tongue protects us and the people around us.

Our spouse & our children.

Our family & our friends.

Our co-workers & clients.

Our waiter & waitress.

Our checkout person at Walmart that cannot help that the coupons are just not working.

Flippant words tumbling out of our mouth like clowns in a circus car essentially do more damage than we could ever possibly imagine. We may forget the words we said spoken out of anger, exhaustion, or boredom – but those very same words may haunt someone for the rest of their life.

It’s true. Words are that powerful.

We get the choice and the chance to use our words for God’s Kingdom. We get the choice to hold our tongue when something or someone ticks us off. We get the chance to shower people with uplifting words full of hope and love.

The truth is our words could potentially send someone that’s already on the verge of a breakdown over the edge – without us ever even knowing.

But.

But our words could save someone’s life, and that person is God’s child. He knows them. He sent His son to die for them.

Y’all, choose life. Choose love. Choose wisely.

“Evil words destroy one’s friends; wise discernment rescues the godly.” – Proverbs 11:9