DALANEL

Tuesday Testimony: No More Being “That Girl”

Post from Testimony Share:

At one point in my life I was in a really low place. My life didn’t seem like a life worth living. I couldn’t see that proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel.” I had given up on life, given up on myself, but most importantly given up on God.

I got to this point for many different reasons. For five years of my childhood I was abused. It was a time when I felt the most alone. At that same time my parents were getting divorced. I felt alone, I felt abandoned, I felt broken.

Flash-forward to being 18. I just graduated high school. I was suffering from depression and anxiety disorder. I felt a mess. In 2012 Evan and I started dating, he was a faithful follower of Christ, I was not. But because I cared about him I thought that trying this church thing out couldn’t hurt. I went a few times and every time I went I felt like Pastor linden was directing the message right at me. It made me confused and uncomfortable.

I stopped attending while Evan was back at Ohio University. But I kept feeling this pulling on my heart that I eventually shut out. A year or so passed and it was January of this year 2014. I was at my lowest point of my 21 years thus far. I was depressed, slitting my wrist and not myself.

In April of 2014 I was sent to Dublin Springs mental hospital because I attempted suicide. I spent a week and some days there. After realizing that suicide was not the answer, and being put on two different anti-depressant I was released back to reality. I did a lot of praying and soul searching the next month.

On May 11th of this year I was here at church watching my boyfriend’s younger brother Ethan be baptized. While he was in line to be next I heard this audible voice talk to me. The voice said “Go and follow me, Show me your faith and I’ll show you mine.” So I went down to Evan and his dad Gary, I asked them if I feel like I should go up there and claim Jesus as my savior should I go? They both answered yes with a huge smile on their faces.

I went up that day and accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Since then I have prayed daily about not having negative thoughts about harming myself and hopefully eventually not needing to take my anti-depressants anymore. It is now November 24, 2014 and with the help of my Savior, my therapist and my friends and family, I have not had another thought about harming myself or ending my life.

I am now working on forgiving the two men that hurt me those many years ago. I am a new person. I am finally me. No more being “that girl” who suffers from depression. No more being “that girl” who was abused. No more being “that girl” who doesn’t follow Jesus. I am now a follower of Christ and will forever be changed.

Monday Motivation: Take a Seat

Hm, how about that? Take a seat? What does that mean?

I mean, take a seat. Sit down. Breathe for a minute. Things are constant in this world these days. Can we just sit down and pee for a minute? Can we eat something…and focus on the food?

Take a seat. Relax when you can. Some say you can rest when you finish the race. I think, in some cases, if you work yourself to death, you ain’t finishin’ nothin’.

Excuse me. I meant, you aren’t going to finish anything. Good grief.

Anyway, let’s slow down if only for a moment. Observe. Study.

Look at me, asking for this on a Monday. But that makes it all the more challenging. Love yourself. Find time for yourself.

Take a seat.

-Dante Writes

Don’t Forget About the Lonely Folks This Holiday Season

Real quick.

Technically, this should be an all year theme, but, at least for the holidays, please…please…don’t forget about the lonely people.

There are plenty out there that have no family. They will be spending this holiday season alone. The family doesn’t have to be permanently gone. Someone may be on a business trip. Hey, Black Friday starts on Thursday now-a-days. Corporate doesn’t care.

Main point is, there will be higher rates of depression. Suicide jumps.

What can you do? Well, you can always keep them in your prayers. If you know people that will be on their own, perhaps invite them to your table.

And, if you’re reading this and feeling down and out of it, I want to personally let you know that I’m going to say a prayer for your mental health and strength.

People, we can’t forget about the reality of this…situation.

That’s all I wanted to say.

-Dante Writes

Keep Shining

Keep shining. It’s not a new phrase, obviously. But, from a spiritual standpoint, it’s something to look into.

Matthew 5:16. What does it say? Let your light so shine before men so that they may see your good works and honor your Father in heaven.

That’s easy. But, do we understand its meaning? What is this light?

I’m going to attempt to break that down.

The light is the Holy Spirit, in my opinion. Obviously, you have to understand why I think it’s the Holy Spirit.

When we accept Jesus into our lives, we accept His Spirit. As the Holy Spirit comes in us, we are alive. We have new life. We receive the fruits and gifts of this spirit.

Before we accept Jesus, we must imagine ourselves as candles. We are not lit. We are candles with a dry, cold, wick. Lifeless. Stiff. A corpse.

Okay, let’s pause here and go back to the Bible. When the Holy Spirit first came, a large group of people were waiting for His arrival. The disciples and a bunch of others spent time praying and praying for this “comforter” as Jesus called it, to come. When the Holy Spirit finally came, He came in like a rushing wind. One of the things people noticed about each other was that there was a fire on top of their heads. It was like they could see small flame. Yes, Acts 2:3 says this.

Fire.

So, back to the candle. Before the Holy Spirit arrives, we are not lit. We have no fire. No light. Only by when the Holy Spirit comes upon and in you, do you receive this fire.

So, let’s say you have the Holy Spirit. You are now lit. And so, back to what Jesus was saying: Let your light so shine…

Hm. He wants it to shine. You know, He also made a statement about how useless a light is if it’s hidden. Makes sense. If you’re walking in the night, and you can’t see, but you have a lamp that’s covered…does that make sense? Why stumble in the dark when you have a lamp? In the end, you might as well just sit the lamp down and leave it. What good is it?

The world is dark. Very dark. The fact that it is dark makes Jesus’ words so powerful. When we enter a dark room, one of the first things we attempt to do is turn on the lights. That’s what God did in Genesis 1:3. The world was a dark place. He turned on the lights before He went to work.

So, why do we not care for the darkness? Darkness can cause confusion. You can’t see. You’re disoriented. Darkness can cause fear. You can’t see any potential dangers. You stub your toe on the chair that shouldn’t be there. In the movies, horror thrives off of dark and unknown. Countless Bible verses connect darkness to evil while light is good.

The unsaved are looking for a light. A real light. Truth. As we become a light…

Hold on. Remember the candle example? So, a lot of times you’ll notice that when it comes time to light multiple candles, usually, we light one and then, we use that one candle the light the other candles. It’s interesting because all of these lights or flames come from that one original source.

It’s the same with the spirit. The Holy Spirit is the original flame. As Jesus says it: No one comes to the Father except through Me. No one can receive this fire except through Me.

So, the Holy Spirit gives His fire…His light to us. We now have the same fire that He has. We have the same light.

Once again, we look back to Matthew 5:16. As we get this light, we have a choice. We can hoard the light for ourselves…never to share it…or we can shine brightly, so that the blind can see. So that darkness and evil can be cast out.

Our command is to let it shine, so that others may see this light and honor our Father. It makes a little more sense now, right? Our light is the light of the Holy Spirit, who is God. So, when people see this light,they are seeing God, through us..

That’s why it’s important to live the godly life. We are the light. As people look at our light, they are supposedly seeing God. Are we to put God in a negative light? What is the quality of our light?

The idea of being bold applies here. Let this light shine. Brightly. Let’s not be ashamed of it. We have…we are…a holy light.

Being a lighting designer puts me in an interesting position. I deal with light on many levels, and have quite an appreciation for it from a spiritual level to a physical lever. From the literal, to the metaphorical.

As a leader of a ministry, it’s my job to ensure that there is a clear biblical foundation. I use Genesis 1:3 as the crew Bible verse. But, Matthew 5:16 is a verse I use as motivation. Not only do we light, but we are a light.

I end all of my emails to my crew members with “Keep shining”. It’s something to remind them of their job. They are to keep shining. Again, being a lighting designer or technician that is part of a ministry is a very powerful thing.

That’s what all Christians need to remind themselves of: Keep shining. The winds of the world will attempt to put out our candle’s flame, but we gotta keep shining. People will persecute us, yet we keep shining.

Also, don’t assume that others will shine. You be the light as if you’re the only one.

I remember a time when I was with the Boy Scouts. I was new. I noticed that a fellow member of my church was there too. It was a comfort because he was somebody I could relate to from a Christian standpoint. Yet, he spoke the same way the other guys did. He acted the same way the rest of the boys did.

Me? Well, the rest of the scouts would sometimes ask why I never cussed, among other things. My answer: That’s not my style. It wasn’t who I was. What I started to learn was that you have to take responsibility for your light. Just because you know someone else in the situation to be a Christian does not mean you can take a break and not have to shine as brightly. He may need the light just as much as the rest.

Lastly, make sure you light others. Remember the candle example. A candle can light another candle. That’s why you have to be a Christian to minister. You can’t give something that you don’t have.

So yeah, spread your light. What’s that saying: A candle doesn’t lose its fire by lighting others.

Isn’t that something? You don’t lose anything by spreading your light. Your light doesn’t die. So, spread, spread, spread! And if your light is ever dimming, as all candle lights do, then be sure to go back to the source. This source never dies out. It shines as strong as the first time it was lit. But it was always lit. The flame never started and it will never end.

You know what you have to do.

Keep shining.

The best of Wednesday Word

Here are a few of my favorite Wednesday Word posts. The first Wednesday Word post appeared on DALANEL November 13th 2013. Yup, it’s almost a year since I started this series.

This one was from a pastor, who ended up dying shortly after giving this word.

I’ve always had a tendency of playing the Jonah card with being the leader of the lighting crew at my church. But, I, and the rest of us, can’t do that.

This is the only word so far that I did the video myself. Check it out as I talk about how you will be healed.

A couple of Wednesday Words later, and my sister takes the baton. She preached during Sunday service on a fruit of the Spirit. Goodness.

Just a few of my favorites. Which Wednesday Word impacted you?

Dante Writes

 

The best of Monday Motivation

I should tell you all (though you may have already noticed) that I’ve been spending my blogging energy on my lighting blog DLN Stage Lighting. It’s a blog about lighting, but it is also home to my lighting crew from my church.

Anyway, I have returned to DALANEL. This week, I’ll be looking at past posts of my weekly features. This is mainly because I am still working on the lighting blog and also because I’m struggling to find content.

So, what are some of my favorite motivations?

Remember one of my first ones? Tell a Joke. I tried to encourage people to be funny that day.

I liked the one where I ended up motivating people to motivate others.

Let’s remember to do our research before we accept or reject information as fact.

This one was of passion and fire. Fight back. The world is trying to take you out, but be strong.

Which Monday Motivation spoke to you the most?

-Dante Writes