There Is More To Our Lives Than Just Outward Circumstances

Sometimes you’ve got to reach out, turn the knob, force the door open and step through to the other side. It’s this little thing we call faith. It’s action. It’s movement. It’s trust. I don’t think God wants me to stand in the hallway waiting for Him to open all the doors. He wants me to have enough trust in Him to take some initiative. He wants me to jiggle some handles and pick some locks and pry into some places. Satan wants me to think I can’t go because the door didn’t magically fling open the moment I stepped in front of it.

Life has two sides....Because God loves us so much, He gives us a free will and a choice to which side our thoughts will be focused on....the negative or the positive.

Focusing on the negative gets us no where. It accomplishes nothing.

Focusing on the positive fills our lives with joy and hope. It also shows that there is something different about us. When we choose to focus on the good that God has placed in our lives, we are being a living example for Him. We are showing others that there is more to our lives than just outward circumstances. 

When we choose to look at the everyday ordinary and find God within the rubble, we are being a witness for Him. We are telling others that He is more than enough, that He is indeed all we need to be truly happy.

Blessings,

Dalinda

When We Give Away Our Kindness To Someone It's Not Gone...It's Invested

You and I are called to build up and strengthen one another, and we must continue to study and be filled with the Word of God so that we can see people as individuals who need to be built up. It is important that we learn what it takes to help strengthen each other. In our busy hurried up lives, we often don’t even take notice of the people around us who are broken, weak and discouraged, much less acknowledge or seek to understand them. God instructs us to take the time to notice, to consider, to understand and appreciate the people around us with a loving and compassionate spirit. When we give away our kindness to someone it’s not gone---it’s invested! We need to continuously seek ways in which we can encourage one another as God encourages us; He has made it our responsibility to foster the well-being of each other, not tear each other down!

We live in a world where everything we do makes a difference, and when we are kind it affects more than just the person in front of us. We don’t have to do something big and recognizable to make a difference and we won’t necessarily change someone’s life with our acts of kindness, but smiles, thoughtful words, and encouragement do make a difference and can have a ripple effect even if we don’t see it. 

It’s so important to associate with people who challenge us to better ourselves physically, mentally, and spiritually rather than with those who spend time and energy on petty gossip in an attempt to destroy others. We shouldn’t be looking for garbage, and if we do hear it we shouldn’t believe it. If we really want to avoid gossip, we need to let the gossip end with us instead of participating in it.   

When we encourage one another, saying encouraging words to other people's hearts, we have a much greater effect than when we criticize. I wonder how other’s see us. Do they see us as peacemakers who encourage, love, and want to help build others up? (That’s how I would love people to “gossip” about me!) 

Blessings,

Dalinda

We All Lead Toxic Lives - Part 3 - Health = Positive Things Minus Negative Things

A toxin is a substance that interferes with normal cellular function, thereby causing malfunction, which is disease. All disease is the result of malfunctioning cells, no matter if the disease is a "common" cold, a mental illness such as depression or a life-threatening cancer.

Why are we willing to ingest chemicals in the form of prescription drugs that are alien to our body, but we are skeptical that natural substances can heal? Why are we willing to recognize the damage of an obvious poisoning - a major chemical spill, for instance - but we ignore the devastating effects of small amounts of toxic substances, which accumulate in our bodies and make us a little bit sicker everyday?

Our bodies have an amazing capacity to heal, but they are more vulnerable than you may realize. There are many dangers around us that go unrecognized, but they take a toll every day. 

I have suffered from mercury poisoning for the past 15 months. Because of this, my cells stopped working right and made me sick. (You may be surprised to discover what is toxic to your cells.) But God lead me to self-healing through detoxification with Whole Body Vibration, a far infrared sauna and drinking alkaline water. I am now well on my way to healing my cells. PRAISE GOD! 

Healthy cells refuse disease; no one with healthy cells has any reason to become sick. 

A healthy life, well past one hundred years old, should be our birthright. John 10:10 says, "The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life." 

Health doesn't happen by chance, but by choice, you can take steps now to ensure that you will live free of diseases that plague our society. Choose health over illness; wellness over disease. 

Jody and I will demonstrate Whole Body Vibration in The June Healthy Living Expo at Whole Foods Market on Thursday, June 27, 2013, 2-8pm....Free Admission...Come check out what Whole Body Vibration has done for us. 

Rocking the nation with Whole Body Vibration at Circulation Nation!

Blessings,

Dalinda

Limiting God

When it comes to following God's plan, do you ever feel like you are on a scavenger hunt without a list of what to find? Do the what-if's fill your mind?....What if I fail at whatever He wants me to do here? 

In the life of the faithful, there is no room for "I believe, but...". Either you do or you don't. God is not a contingency plan. He is the master.

"God wants me to get where He wants me to go more than I want to get where He wants me to go" is a saying I read in a book by Mark Batterson. God knows His plan for me. My role is to listen and obey.

In my life, there is freedom right now, freedom to not worry if all the pieces don't fit into a tidy picture or preconceived notion. I find myself enjoying a front row seat to His work in my life as He leads me in new directions and sears new passions into my heart. I don't know where this is all going, but I don't have to. My God is bigger than what I could dream up anyway, and to base my life on my own limited scope is, well, limiting God.

It is my prayer for each of you that you recognize what the leading of God looks like in your life, and that you follow hard after Him - for He is our firm foundation. 

I am reminded of the lyrics, “on Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.” He laid Himself down years ago for us and if we choose to build on that knowledge nothing needs to catch us off guard. He is our support when life gets shaky or scary.

I serve a God of limitless possibility, a God who can feed 5,000 with a few loaves of bread and a couple fish and still have leftovers. I want to be part of what God is doing, wherever He is doing it. 

Blessings,

Dalinda

Growth Takes Action

If we're not a little bit uncomfortable everyday, we're not growing. All the good stuff is outside our comfort zone. 

The Lord is not wanting me to just be okay with inconvenience. It's one thing for me to stand in line and observe, it's a whole other story to choose to let my story collide with inconvenience. Be faithful, even in the wilderness, even when no one else is looking - He is preparing you for the great work ahead.

We ask and expect God to move the obstacles from our path when it is not the obstacles that need to be moved, but we who need to be moved. Sometimes we are on the wrong path and the hurdles we cross are there to redirect us, to slow us down, to get us to pay attention to our surroundings and realize we should be on another road. But instead of slowing down, examining ourselves, assessing where we are, where we’re going and why we’re going there, we just keep on running. All the while, asking God to knock down the hurdles when it was actually He who placed them on the path to get our attention.

I joyfully launch each day with God!

Blessings,

Dalinda

The Gift Of Grace

Is everything 'good' in my life? No...but I choose to see the good. I am thankful that God has blessed me with the ability to see Him in all things. Peace does not come due to an absence of problems but because of the presence of a peaceful God in our heart. - Tracie Miles 

I am thankful that God has called me by name. I am thankful that He sees in me what I can't see in myself. I am thankful that He has given me the confidence...the Holy Spirit...to share His name with those around me.

Grace means giving someone a break when they deserve it the least...that's exactly what God did for us. We have been given such an amazing gift of Grace through our Lord Jesus...shouldn't we also dispense that same grace to those around us?

Blessings,

Dalinda

"Oh No, She's Up!"

Satan can only harm you when you give him entrance. Don’t believe his lies and in so doing allow him to steal your identity. I want to be the type of woman that when my feet hit the floor in the morning Satan says, "Oh no, she's up!"

If Satan can keep me bound in his lies, he can rob me of my ability to produce the seed God has planted in me. But Satan is intimidated when he hears me coming wrapped up in the truth of God’s word. When I wear God’s truth in my daily life, every move I make produces a sound that reminds Satan of his defeat.

The truth is that I’m victorious, forgiven, free, redeemed, loved, an overcomer, able to do all things by Christ’s power....Amen!

Blessings,

Dalinda

Faith Is The Bridge Between Where I Am And The Place God Is Taking Me

True living begins by trusting God with our plans. Trusting God is not always easy, but I make the choice to trust Him no matter the outcome in this life. He NEVER stops being faithful no matter how bad it gets.

It's the audacity to believe that God has bigger plans for me than I could ever ask or imagine. And that not only does He want me to pray audacious prayers, He wants to answer them.

For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves. So trust Him and never push away the instrument He is using, or you will miss the result of His work in your life. 

The road to greater things is not marked by easy answers. Life will never be pain-free, and the call to guard our hearts should never be misconstructed as a way to justify selfish motivation, or to retreat from experiencing life in order to stay safe. The true meaning is to guard our hearts against the deception of the world, the lies of the enemy and the negative and harmful desires of the flesh, so that whatever flows out of our hearts and into the lives of others comes from a heart that is passionate for Christ and the truth of His Word.

Life is full of emotions and relationships. Some days are tougher than others and it's easy to allow stress and the need for control to drive our decisions rather than trusting God. But when we submit our plans to The Lord, He graces us with His mercy.

God's will is the most hopeful, pleasant, and glorious thing in the world.

Blessings,

Dalinda

I Am Thankful For The Things In My Life That Keep Me Weak And DependentOn God

What makes us feel weak? It is being under attack, feeling inadequate to handle the pressures and the problems that we have. If you feel weak, then it is not only the devil that makes you feel that way, but it is God too. God makes us feel this weakness to keep us from adopting attitudes that could render us useless in the work of spreading His kingdom. The worst thing we can do is become arrogant about his revelation. It is more important to keep us humble than it is to make us comfortable, so God allows the thorn to go on.

Strength builds through our weaknesses. There are things that I have experienced this past year that I would have crumbled under a few years ago. And maybe the circumstances of this past year will enable me to withstand the pressure of something in the future that I could not handle today.  

Psalm 84:5-7 says, "What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord, who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs. The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings. They will continue to grow stronger,

and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem."

Always remember, the devil is being defeated when we are feeling attacked and under the gun, when we feel weak and helpless and do not know what to do, when we are not sure how to respond, when in our perplexities and sense of weakness we come before the Lord and plead with Him for strength to go on one more day and for grace to help us stand. That is when we are winning and when the kingdom of God is being spread more abundantly than ever before.

Blessings,
Dalinda

Reflections Of The Past Bring Promise For The Future

This time last year I was just beginning my long, medical journey. I was awaiting some test results for MS. I had lost my peripheral vision in my right eye and was having bad headaches. This journey lasted for 14 months. I just found out a couple of weeks ago what has been wrong.

As I look back over the entire journey, I see how my time in the desert was both necessary and ordained by God for it prepared me for His vision. The process was so painful, but the results have been pure gold.....The testing of our faith transforms us into a servant worthy of big dreams with bold outcomes.

I have come a very long way since this time last year. Just a few weeks ago, I found out that I have had mercury poisoning from a silver filling in my tooth that contained mercury. If God had not lead me to Whole Body Vibration, which is a tool for detoxification, I could be completely blind in that eye or worse.

The mercury poisoning caused the cells in my body to malfunction. There are two reasons why cells malfunction: deficiency and toxicity. Deficiency means the cells are not getting enough of what they need to function properly. Toxicity means the cells are being exposed to something that is interfering with their normal function.

I had that filling removed and immediately noticed a huge difference in the way I felt. I felt physically calmer and blind spot I have in the lower part of my visual field is improving....Words just can't explain how good I feel! I am in just total awe of the awesome God I serve! I can't wait to see His plan for my life continue to unfold. 

Blessings

Dalinda

He's In The Mountain-Moving Business

Life rarely goes the way we plan and we say, "If only I had enough faith...my parents wouldn't have died." Our problem is that we put the emphasis of our faith on ourselves. If we have faith, our problems will go away....Not so!

I have learned that faith isn't about believing everything will turn out well…it’s about trusting God NO MATTER how things turn out. 

Jesus isn't prodding us to show more faith. He is pointing us to the object of our faith - God. However small our faith, God can move mountains. When we follow His will, He will move mountains for us. He will show us the direction He wants us to take. He may move the mountain; or He may carry us over, around, or through it. 

Personally, I am glad my life hasn't gone the way I planned, because His plan has been so much better. If you trust in Him and Him alone, He'll take care of your needs and then some - blessing your life in ways you can't even imagine! 

The next time a mountain looms ahead, God wants us to apply to His moving company. He will take us to the right destination.

Blessings,
Dalinda

Bloom For Him

There are many gifts locked away in all of us just waiting to bloom and bring glory to God....but it takes effort. It takes stepping away from ourselves to step out in faith. Sometimes, we just don’t feel like putting forth the work it takes to “bloom,” to BE more, to DO more than what life already demands. So our gifts and our talents and our blessings to others remain locked away, never seen or appreciated. And God’s glory never given.

Just as a beautiful garden is meant to be shared, so should our faith! So should our joy! So should our love for the creator of all things wonderful. And so should our testimony! We’re to share our story; how He lifted us from a lifeless stage and set us free to bloom and bring glory to Him.

We basically limit God and His blessings by not stepping out in faith. You have the authority (I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. – Luke 10:19) to step outside of the walls that constrict and limit your growth.

Anything that distracts, diverts attention from or inhibits you from carrying out the dream God has given you is work of the enemy. Don’t muddy the waters of God’s plan by over-thinking or over-complicating it with human nature.

Simply do the will of the Father....Bloom for Him!

Blessings,

Dalinda

It Matters How We Live

We serve a God who offers us the power to make courageous choices.

Sometimes God gives us an opportunity to be a blessing to others in ways we didn't seek or even see coming. He gives us a new place to stand and glorify Him.

Most of the time when I am given an opportunity to bless God it takes me way out of my comfort zone. But it always opens my eyes to the fact that when I ask God to use me, He will. Just not always in the way I am expecting. 

Sometimes, God leads us to new territory by opening our eyes to what He sees. We don't know what this awareness will lead to, but God has a plan for it....and it's ALWAYS better than our plan!

Don't shy away from what He is trying to show you because it will lead to His purpose for you, whatever that looks like. 

Is fear weighing you down, like an invisible ball and chain? Fear makes you believe that your entire future rests in your hands. All our angst leaves no room for God to have the victory. 

Most of us have heard the story of David and Goliath. Young David defeats Goliath. Not only does he defeat him, but he was calm, cool, and collected because he was confident that the Lord would deliver that victory. He had experienced God's deliverance from bears and lions in the pasture and was sure that God wouldn't fail him now. David choose to do the best the he could, all the while trusting God with the outcome -- leaving room for God to have the victory. He knew God would deliver him, but he had to take some responsibility for his own actions. God wants us to live with the constant recognition that life is a gift and it matters how we live.

Blessings,

Dalinda

It's Time To Take Flight

If He can transform creation, then why do we ever question that He is ready to do a transforming work in us?

We all have areas in our life where we esteem ourselves or view ourselves as more developed and mature than we truly are. Yet the truth is, we all have areas of needed growth and development and areas we need to mature in. That especially holds true for spiritual growth and maturity.

God our Father has given each of us an unction, a sense of knowing that if we don't allow the process of change to take place, we will never reach our full potential.

We must always be willing to change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves, otherwise we harden. People don’t change because they are comfortable; transformation requires us to get uncomfortable. Though the battle is the Lord’s, the responsibility to make Godly choices is ours.  It's not one decision that pushes you forward into the next, but a series of small decisions that connects the events of your life.

When the Lord allows us to suffer for a little while, perhaps it’s the road we must walk down in order to discover the ultimate healing our lives need. 

Each and every one of us is in need of ongoing change in our life. We all need the transforming power of the Holy Spirit to help us become more like Jesus. We will never attain perfection or be perfectly like Jesus. That is why Jesus came and paid the penalty for the sins and imperfections in our life. Our faith in Jesus and in His sacrifice of taking the punishment for our sins is what makes us righteous before our Heavenly Father God. Our faith in what Jesus did is what makes us spotless in God’s eyes. What a magnificent thing! But, we still see our own imperfections and flaws and areas of needed change. Jesus cares about them and desires transformation within us because they affect and work to hinder our blessing in this life. They also get in the way of our ability to influence others for the Lord.

Simply having knowledge about God and His Word can become a place of pride. We can tell all our friends, neighbors and relatives about God but they are more interested in the difference God is making in our life. 

There are times when God will allow people to help us. There are times when only God will be your coach. If human hands were to help the butterfly by cutting him out of the cocoon, his wings would be drooped and unable to take flight. My friend, God knows what is best for you. He knows just how much push, stretch, and relaxation you need to bring you out and up. 

Like the butterfly breaking out of his cocoon, it is time to take flight.

Blessings,
Dalinda

Being Empty Of Ourselves

It is only after we realize it is not about us, but rather The Lord, that we can even begin to serve Him as we should. 

Arriving at the place of being empty of ourselves is not an easy task and it is rarely ever a quick one. God didn’t promise this life would be easy or that following Him would be either. What he did promise was He would be with us, never leaving, never forsaking.

Desperation becomes a great place when it causes you to cry out to Jesus, the only One who can save you. ✞ 

Someone once said, "It remains to be seen what God can do through a man or woman who will give Him all the glory." If we press on and are sincere about spiritual maturity, we will all eventually be empty of ourselves and ready to be used by God to fill other empty people. 

Jesus walked out of heaven and announced His love for us. He lived a life we could never live. He died a death we deserved to die. He incurred the wrath of God against sin, rose from the dead to put God’s life back inside of us. If that doesn’t show radical, scandalous love, I don’t know what does!

I am so grateful that He loved me enough to pull me out of darkness. He's the reason I wake up smiling. He's the reason I reach for my dreams. He's the reason life is so totally amazing.

Blessings,

Dalinda

Faith Shouldn't Die If The Answers Come Slowly

Faith shouldn’t die if the answers come slowly; the delay may be God’s way of working His will in our lives.

All of us have been in a situation that required perseverance, and I believe that God often delays answers to our prayers to cultivate persistence in us.

Often, we ask for something and when we don’t get an answer immediately, or we don’t like the answer that is sent to us we give up and walk away. 

After 11 months of doctors and no answers, believe me, I was about ready to give up on finding a diagnosis. But, I was persistent and kept going. Finally, God led me to healing through Whole Body Vibration.

We have to approach every closed door that we come to until the right door opens; we need to keep knocking until we get an answer.

The very fact that we continue to ask, seek, and knock demonstrates that we are truly dependent on God; true prayer means business, and it keeps on asking and asking with persistence and faith. God is waiting for the persistent prayers of His people, and for those who continue to knock, the door will be opened. 

Blessings,

Dalinda

Not Everything Can Be Explained

In this broken world we live in, I don’t want to do my boys the injustice of making them think there are always answers and explanations. Sometimes there aren’t any. The reality is that life is filled with unknowns, unanswered and unanswerable questions. Not everything can be explained. Not every event has a purpose we can see or understand. But God’s sovereignty and goodness are not up for debate. 

Even if there were answers, we wouldn’t understand them. "Why" is often a tool of the enemy to make us doubt, to make us angry, to make us resentful toward God.

My husband and I have tried to teach our boys that we don’t have to be controlled by the uncontrollable, inexplicable. We can choose to trust God rather than focus on the events we are quick to judge Him for. We don’t have to let the blame cast by why keep us from trusting in Who. 

Blessings,

Dalinda 

Spiritual Cartwheels

God is using me right now, the way He wants to use me right now. God orchestrates everything together to bring you to this very place called ‘today’. 

If people could only see the way God works in the lives of His children: life is never dull or boring. It’s far from dull or boring. He is constantly at work. God is good....all the time!

God knows that it is difficult for us to just jump over the edge in faith. He wants us to keep trying, but He understands that it is difficult. All I can say to this is that I am extremely humbled by the fact that God holds open His arms to me despite my (sometimes) lack of faith. In my health circumstance, God did exactly as He said He would in His word. I am still doing spiritual cartwheels in amazement and great joy....because my God is great and He is faithful and He does as He says He will do.

He can be trusted! He will do as He says He will do. Just remember to do what He wants you to do, and that is to love Him, praise Him and TRUST Him through it ALL. 

He is the reason I am doing spiritual cartwheels! ✞ 

Blessings,

Dalinda

God’s Fingerprints

If we intend on trusting God to completely transform our life then we don’t get to pick and choose the pain he uses to get us there. It doesn’t work that way.

God has a way of meeting us in the darkest of circumstances. God will take perceived hindrances or weaknesses in our life and find a way to use them for His glory. I know that His love brings with it a joy and peace that doesn’t make logical sense. There is no explaining it. Yet, when you find it and grab hold of it with all your heart, there is no denying it. 

He takes the wreckage and turns it into a masterpiece.  He takes the seemingly broken beyond repair and makes it beautiful and useable again.  He takes the heart that’s lost all hope of surviving and somehow pumps life back into it.

I am abundanly blessed and blown away at the goodness of our God!!! Just before I left to go to the dentist to get my tooth fixed, I received an email from Glynnis Whitwer from Proverbs 31 Women's Ministry. She was notifying me that I am not longer on the waiting list to meet with a publisher at the She Speaks Conference....Woohoo! I am doing two phone conferences before I go in July. I really see God's fingerprints all over this -- from my health issues, to healing, to telling my story in book form -- all to give God the glory for my story. 

I also have a few other blessings that I will reveal in the near future. :)

Oh, I almost forgot....I got the mercury filling out (the metal fillings that were used prior to 1996 contained mercury) and all is well. It is so strange, but a good strange....The nerve behind my eye is already doing something. I saw a flash of light. Woohoo!!! I still have one blind spot at the bottom of my vision field. Praying is continues to heal! I get my permanent crown in a few weeks and when I do, I am also getting my last mercury filling out and replacing it with porcelain. More detoxing is in my future! 

It is amazing the way God is healing me! 

Blessings,
Dalinda

Can He Count On You?

God makes His promises to us with the full knowledge that we have a free will and that we might not choose to receive His promises. Our character and response will only be known when it is tested. The testing and risk God takes is all part of the promise. If we respond with obedience it brings us in line to receive from His faithfulness. Even when we get it wrong, like the Israelites and His disciples, God in His mercy wants to restore us and bring us into obedience and steer us back into His faithfulness. It’s wonderful to know that God wants to grow our character as He leads us into His promises.

It only takes one obedient individual to bring about God's miraculous power for this generation. Can He count on you?

Just as faithfulness holds immeasurable blessings from the hand of God, unfaithfulness to God and His Word only lead us to hopelessness and eventual destruction. Walking in God's will is the only path that ultimately brings any lasting rewards. The world's ways offer temporary fixes at best and destructive ends at worst. Being faithful in a faithless world is not always easy in the short-term but it is always better in the long-run. Psalms 15:4-5 states that the man "who keeps his oath even when it hurts . . . will never be shaken. Ask God to make you a faithful servant today so that you too can withstand the storms of life and remain anchored on the ever-faithful God who cannot be moved.

Blessings,

Dalinda