Faithfully.

My God is doing some crazy amazing things in my life. He is stretching me in ways that I could not ever imagine. He is humbling me daily--and to be honest--sometimes it really hurts. He is preparing my heart for the one He is sending to captivate it. He is beckoning me to the cross daily and I am hard core sprinting to get there. He is stirring up exciting things in my life that I didn't even know existed....and I love it.

Yesterday when I got home from school the Lord was knocking at my door (my heart's of course). I mean I have been meeting with Him everyday but it wasn't the same as it had been in the summer. I haven't had unlimited amounts of uninterrupted time. I haven't been completely focused. So yesterday was a pleasant surprise. I love writing poetry/songs. It's just something I have always done I may not be good at it but it is an outlet just the same. However, because of my crazy life I haven't written in awhile. I have blogged and I journal daily but sitting to listen and ponder and write hasn't been apart of my life for a while. And so yesterday I felt the Lord whispering to the deepest crevices of my heart... "pray. think. write." My future--especially my future spouse-- has been on my heart lately. Maybe it is because my little sister just got married or maybe it is because the Lord is shaping me for that time of my life. I don't know. All I know is I listened and thought and wrote--and this is what I came up with.

"From Now Until Forever"

Morning and night I think of you,

yearning for my heart to be wooed.

I often wonder where you are,

how could my soul travel so far?

I'm ridiculed for all my waiting,

in a world that sees nothing worth saving.

But you, Beloved, deserve so much more,

even though we've never met before.

I pray today will be the day God brings you to me,

if not then, my love, you should know

that I'll wait patiently.

I know you're the man I've been praying for,

My darling I am wholly yours.

Chorus:

From now until the end of times,

there is no man that is better.

It's only you. Beginning now.

And going on forever.

You're hidden from me at this moment in time,

as I continue this mountain I climb.

So I'll give my heart to the God above,

who showers me with agape love.

My vision of you is so surreal.

How could I be so blessed?

But my Daddy has started a stirring down

deep inside my chest.

It's you I wait for whole, complete,

white, untouched and pure.

I won't give up or give myself away,

on that please rest assure.

I pray this will be the day that God will bring

my wonderful husband to me.

If not, don't fret, my God is good,

and I'll wait faithfully.

Because I know that you're the man

that I've been praying for,

My darling, I love you, with this you know

that I am wholly yours.

Just think how many amazing things we miss out on when we don't stop to listen, think and pray. He desires to reveal so much to us. What have you missed out on?

Wordless Wednesday

Slideshow of my first year!!

My Mission Field

Home.

Picture this: The wall is made of Jasper. The great street of the city is of pure gold, like transparent glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every type of precious stone. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. There is no temple in the city because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. There is no sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light. (Revelation 21 paraphrased)

This scripture brought me to tears. Not because I was sad or scared. Not because I was hoping I wouldn't die before getting married or having children. Not even because I would miss my family and friends.... this scripture brought me to tears like Peter after the crucifixion.

"There is an ancient story passed down through generations of Christians about the apostle Peter during the latter years of his life. It was said that he would often weep whenever a cock would crow. Of course, if we know Bible history, we understand why. But it was also said that Peter would often weep at other times, and no one quite knew the reason. Finally, one day, a young saint worked up enough courage to ask him about it.
"Peter, why do you so often weep?" he inquired cautiously. Peter turned to the young man, and with a look of intense yearning burning in his eyes, he replied softly, "Desiderio Domini."
Translated from Latin into modern-day English, "Desiderio Domini" means "I dearly long to be with my Lord."
Peter had spent his time among men. Now he was ready for heaven, with a longing that grew each and every day to be able to run in the loving arms of his dearest friend and Savior, Jesus Christ." --Taken from 'When God Writes Your Love Story'

I have always thought of the 'last days' before our Beloved returns to filled with turmoil and fear. I have even prayed that I will be gone before that time occurs do to intense anxiety and terror. But after reading this I discovered that those days are a mere countdown for the wedding of all weddings. For the celebration of all celebrations. It should be a time of great anticipation and excitment. Our Knight, our King, our Savior...JESUS CHRIST IS COMING BACK!!

So I will often shed tears at my readiness to be with my Lord. I will keep my eyes fixed upward anticipating the arrival of my Beloved. But I will also live each day out for Him and His purpose so that when I do face Him for the first time I will hear Him proudly say, "Well done my good and faithful servant. With you, Stephanie Marie Daniell, I am well pleased." No other sound will be quite so sweet.

My First Class

The school year is approaching and my heart is kinda torn. I was sooo ready for summer the first week of June that the sadness didn't really hit me. Yes I loved my class but I didn't really feel the effects of how much I would miss them until recently when I started thinking about my new class. I am sure I will have amazing kiddos and absolutely fall in love with them but it won't be the same as my "first class". My first group of babies that I lived life with, taught how to read and write, add and subtract, and how to love and respect themselves. I saw such growth in my class. They came in scared, unsure and looking to be told what to do and left confident and ready to be challenged. Here is a few of the things my babies did last year that will forever be embedded into my heart:

-When getting on to my class for their excessive talking I said the rest of the work time would be done in silence. I then told them that if anyone talked from this point on that they would pull their color and lose their sticker for the day. Just then one of my "talkative children" said 'but what if we have something funny to say'? I heard a gasp come from all of my kids as I whipped my head around at him and gave him the scariest teacher glare ever seen. Just then one of my students jumped up and said "cue dramatic piano: dun dun dun dunnnnn!!" I burst into laughter and my entire discipline speech few out the window.

-Every week when getting our new spelling words we practice using them in sentences on a assignment we do. I began with the word seen. "Who can use that in a sentence?" I asked. "Yes, Bella?" "Seen. Have you seen my puppy?" Bella asked. "Good I said as I wrote the sentence down on the board. "Ok," I began, "the next word is cute. Who can tell me a sentence with 'cute' in it?" "Yes, Evan?" "Cute," Evan said very confidently, "Miss Daniell is really cute!!" I turned around super fast to see a little boy, red as a tomato, and to hear the entire class erupt into laughter. "OK...", I said, "that was a good one but I am just going to move on."

-During morning calendar I teach my kiddos Spanish. One of my boys screamed out, "WOW Miss Daniell... you are really good at Spanish. You sound just like my friend's mom and she's a REAL Mexican!" Ohhh no...that's not politically okay to say young 6 year old! haha

-"Ms. Daniell... one day I was riding in the car with my mom and dad down the higway. Then, I saw bluebonnets and I jumped out of the car and picked one. As soon as I did all the cops showed up because its against the law. Then they took me to ju-bee!" Laughing I asked, "you mean juvy?" She said, "ya kids can't go to real jail Miss Daniell...." "Ohh", I said, "that's a crazy story!" "I know...I AM CRAZY Miss Daniell!"

-"Miss Daniell...you just have no idea how complicated life is until you start school...especially first grade!" Laughing I said, "oh baby...you just wait!" haha

**I loved my first class and will forever have them in my heart! 14 days until school starts!**

The girl in the picture.

So some of yall may be wondering who the girl from the picture below is. Well this blog post is dedicated to getting to know the one and only REAGAN WILLIAMS! Reagan and I met last year at super summer. When you get to know us you may think that we have been friends for ages but that would be a false statement. The Lord brought me this wonderful girl only a year ago, dressed as a pirate and sporting pigtails. Some of yall may be asking yourselves "what the heck am I reading"? Well this my friends is what I have seen in and love about this dear friend of mine.

Reagan is a few years younger than me (she says she remembers me from high school when she was a freshman and I was a senior and president of FCA) and she goes to Dallas Baptist University. She LA-HUVES (that is loves for all of you who can't sound out) Jesus with all her heart, mind and soul. She challenges me to get to know my Beloved better and encourages constant conversation and a relationship with Him. The picture from below is a picture of us with the bracelets she got in Tokyo on her recent mission trip. She bought me one that was pink--my fave color- and that says Beloved in Japanese--Beloved is my fave name for the Lord!

She has many different qualities that I admire and these are just a few of them: she is filled with joy, gentleness, she is kind, loves children, desires to know more and more about the Lord, is beautiful inside and out, is a woman who fears the Lord (Pro. 31:30), has a heart for missions and God's children, is burdened by the eternal life of unbelievers and simply loves because we are commanded to.

"Reagan you are such an amazing blessing to my life. Your love for the Lord overflows and pours out on everyone that is around you. Your obedience to our Daddy is so great to see and I cannot wait to see the amazing things He does with your life. He is so enthralled with your beauty and your life is like a sweet incense rising up to Him. You are filled with His goodness and His will is being worked out through you. Continue to seek Him. Continue to praise Him. Continue to love and obey Him. Cause He is going to rock your world with His glory and I hope that I am close enough to have some of that splatter off on me! I love you friend and I leave you with this truth that describes us perfectly!!

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

It is right for me to feel this way about you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God." -Philippians 1:3-9

Wonderful Wordless Wednesday