Writing Your Story 2021

Stories come out of living the life we have been given and sharing that personal account with others.

When it comes to knowledge, we can’t offer more than we have. Nonetheless, it is imperative to share what we can when it comes to the gift of understanding. I learned this as I entered the confessional. In sharing what was in my heart, the priest sitting on the other side of the divided screen offered these words of wisdom, “What you have is not for you alone, but meant to be shared with others.” At first, I did not understand what he meant. Yet, as I walked out the door with the blue sky above my head, I could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit fill me with utterance and discernment, as those fifteen words replayed in my brain. This giving me the clarity… my joy in life comes from serving others.

There are open doors and opportunities all around us, through the means of communication, to deliver all that God has entrusted us with. As Johannes Gutenberg, a German goldsmith, was given the knowledge to bring us the printing press and Alexander Graham Bell a Scottish-born inventor, scientist, and engineer, delivered the gift of the telephone or Lawrence Gilman Roberts an American engineer who came through with the Internet; It was Mary a first-century Galilean Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph, who opened the door and gracefully gave birth to our Lord and Savior Jesus, our only true Connection with God.

What is God calling you to do? I may not know what it is, but I do know it is important. From the very beginning when He created this world, He had a plan. God’s Word is a reminder and comforter to this truth. Here are just five Bible verses that prove God’s love for us and that He has a great plan for this life that He has given to us.

  1. Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” [Jeremiah 1:5]
  2. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” [Luke 12:7]
  3. “From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.” [Acts 17:26]
  4. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” [Jeremiah 29:11]
  5. He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,” [2 Timothy 1:9]

The next step is up to us. Writing Your Story 2021, is more important than ever. The call to take what we have been given and share it with others is so important. As God does not force Himself on our right to choose, it is my prayer that in our time together God would give us clarity, hope and inspirational-motivation. May we take charge of this life God has given to us with our own God- given gifts and circumstances and unique stories and use them to serve and bless others. May God’s grace enlighten us to be more empowered to move in the directions we may have otherwise avoided or didn’t think possible.

“May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you His favor and give you His peace.” [Numbers 6:24-26]

A teacher is not so much responsible for what our students know, but more so for the seeds we plant to help them grow.

Father in the Name of Jesus, by the power and grace of the Holy Spirit, be with us, direct our path, fill us with the riches of Your grace, transform our mind with a healthy balance that is good for our body and soul. Guide us with Your gracious love, that we may press forward to being all that You created us to be. In Your Holy Name we pray… Amen

Sweet blessings in 2021 and always,

Deanna Danielle

Deannadanielle.com

Immaculate Heart of Mary ~ The Gift of Christmas ~ IHM Premiere *

This Is How You Do It

Basic instructions

I was in only in kindergarten, yet, all these years later, I can still see her standing in front of the classroom ever so gently looking down at our table and saying, “This is how you do it…” As we cut out the identified shapes, our teacher explained to the class the proper way of holding the scissors, how to pass them to other students, and how to safely walk with them to put them away. Forming a fist around the closed blades with the handle exposed as our teacher had instructed, one of the students asked, “Why do we have to hold it this way?” Tenderly she replied, “It is for your safety and the safety of others…”

Teachers need to be equipped for it all. Trusted educators, who not only pass on knowledge and truth, but also correct a fault with patience and instruction. Communication is one of the most important roles of a teacher, nonetheless, handing forward the benefits of faith, hope and love is the greatest gift a teacher can give. My kindergarten teacher had done this remarkably well as her first priority was to keep us all safe while we were learning new skills.

The same way teachers mold and shape us, filling us with important life lessons from an early age that will stick with us throughout our entire lives, we can turn to the Bible for those lessons from God. Someone once told me we can interpret “B.I.B.L.E.” as our “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.” I love this because it reminds me that, like my kindergarten teacher, the Lord’s intention is to protect us and keep us safe, while teaching us to navigate life.

“This is how you do it,” flows like a mighty river through God’s written word. “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them.” So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up to the mountain of God. {Exodus 24:12-13]

God spoke to Moses high on the mountain, where He was able to give him a higher and wider level of view and understanding. After the climb, “Moses remained there on the mountain with the LORD forty days and forty nights. In all that time he ate no bread and drank no water. And the LORD wrote the terms of the covenant—the Ten Commandments—on the stone tablets...” [Exodus 34:28] Set in stone a vital foundation of basic instructions for our protection and the protection of others was written by “the finger of God”… [Exodus 8:19–20]

The 10 Commandments [Deuteronomy 5:6-21]

  1. “You Shall Have No Other Gods Before Me” [ Deuteronomy 5:7]
  2. “You Shall Not Make for Yourself an Idol” ([Deuteronomy 5:8]
  3. “You Shall Not Make Wrongful Use of the Name of the LORD Your God” [Deuteronomy 5:11]
  4. “Observe the Sabbath Day and Keep It Holy” [Deuteronomy 5:12]
  5. “Honor Your Father and Your Mother” [Deuteronomy 5:16]
  6. “You Shall Not Murder” [Deuteronomy 5:17]
  7. “You Shall Not Commit Adultery” [Deuteronomy 5:18]
  8. “You Shall Not Steal” [Deuteronomy 5:19]
  9. “You Shall Not Bear False Witness Against Your Neighbor” [Deuteronomy 5:20]
  10. “You Shall Not Covet … Anything That Belongs to Your Neighbor” [ Deuteronomy 5:21]

These 10 Commandments from God are as timeless and powerful today as the day they were first put in writing. Basic instructions filled with faith, hope, love and sense. Extraordinarily beneficial in teaching us how to live better, healthier, protected and productive lives for our own good and the good of others. There is a reason and a purpose that you and I were created, great plans for us to grow and flourish. It is no secret that life will always have its challenges, yet, at the same time those challenges can make us better if we seek the intimacy in direction and guidance from the One who created us. Life’s greatest reward is knowing that our Creator is by our side all the way. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, One God, Creator of all things, Omnipotence (all-powerful,) Omniscience (all-knowing,) Omnipresence (all-present,) is closer then the breath we breathe; if only we want Him to be.

“‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’ Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'” [Matthew 22:36-39]

Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” [Proverbs 22:6]

Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love Him and keep His commandments, to a thousand generations.” [Deuteronomy 7:9]

A teacher is not so much responsible for what our students know, but more so for the seeds we plant to help them grow.

Father in the Name of Jesus, by the power and grace of the Holy Spirit, be with us, direct our path, fill us with the riches of Your grace, transform our mind with a healthy balance that is good for our body and soul. Guide us with Your gracious love, that we may press forward to being all that You created us to be. In Your Holy Name we pray… Amen

Sweet blessings always,

Deanna Danielle

Deannadanielle.com

“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” [Proverbs 22:6]