Danielle Cerise

Letters and Beluga whales!

dbaker06 — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:46:28 +0000

Today, I was told to write a tax letter to those we were sending tax receipts too. However, in the process my dear friend GJ (7) helped me write another letter, and I honestly think we should send it out! Let me know what you think!

Dear Friends!

You are the best friends ever. Remember all the times that we had so much fun together on a roller coaster. Remember the time we went to the park and we were little girls and we got on the swings and went swimming together. Those are the best times EVER! And I have more memories! Debra and Kendra played at the park. They helped me when I fell off a cliff at the park. And I hugged my friends one time when it was my birthday, all my friends came! I got a beluga whale and a blue pony!

This year I am asking for a pink sparkling unicorn. Would you get me one?! YES! Well then, let me give you a hug! The beluga whales are friends which represents that we are friends.

Well see you soon! And happy happy holiday!

Danielle and GJ

JOY

dbaker06 — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:04:34 +0000

I have been told that I have a lot of joy. It is funny because most often when I hear this, I feel as though I am in a season of depression or not so wonderful moments. I often see myself from a totally critical view and then someone comes along and tells me that I am so full of joy. This fills my heart.
Within the last two or three weeks my heart has been bursting with joy. Why? Well there really isn’t any reason specially for it. I know that there have been not so pretty moments but for the most part I am just living. I know that this season, this year being in Houston has been very difficult. I never imagined how hard this would have been; however, coming back from Christmas break, the Lord just renewed my joy in him. Sometimes life is just too…. I don’t even have a word for it… its that good. I feel like there is a lot of stuff that I have been given in my life and often it is so easy to be down on myself or even sit in those places of hardship and just shut down, but I am some days fighting to be joyful. These past weeks, I have not felt like I was fighting for joy, I simply woke up and there it was! Sometimes after a long couple months, waking up and overflowing with joy is just what you need to make it through the next long season of your life.

So dear friends, embrace the little moments, play tag in your small house, laugh until it hurts (like 10 times a day), have a good cup of coffee and watch the rain fall, be in the moment and have a conversation with someone who needs a little more attention that day, and love life. God is incredible and knows just what you need so take it and love it!

My Portion

dbaker06 — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:56:37 +0000

“The Lord is my portion, therefore I will wait for him” Lamentations 3:24

As I read this morning, I came across this verse. I have never realized what it means for the Lord to be my portion. I guess in this season there are things that my heart is waiting for. I need guidance and wisdom most often on how to deal with certain things. I have a yearning for something; however, I must wait. In this waiting period, I have struggled a little bit. I have struggled knowing how to be accept what is and why it is the way it is currently. I don’t truly understand allowing the Lord to be my portion and why I should even wait for him. I am not good at waiting. I am pretty sure my patience is that of a fly. But this morning as I read this verse, I stopped. in a strange way I understood in my soul what this meant. I don’t know if I can put words to it but I know that while I wait, the Lord will fill me up and he will be enough for me… always and in my current limbo period of waiting. I know that whatever the plan is, whatever this all ends up playing out to be, the Lord is first and foremost my portion. He is all my heart needs to continue on this amazingly crazy and wonderful journey that I have walked through for the past 6 years with. My spirit is seeking to be refreshed daily and hourly by the incredible love that comes from the Lord. I have continued to feel this. I have continued to be filled with joy and laughter. I can only hope and pray that this continues this way.

So here I am, in this limbo, waiting, but with the knowledge that the Lord fulfills every need I have. And he really cares and he really loves me. And what is better than that, my friends?

Hope, Peace and Mary

dbaker06 — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 17:52:51 +0000

In the spirit of understanding Advent more and what it is to anicipate the coming of Christ, I have been spending my morning devotions focusing on what it would have been like to be alive when Christ was born, especially what Mary may have felt as the Lord spoke to her about carrying the Son of God. This is a bit from my journal and I hope it speaks to you.

I am amazed at the way you so humbly ame and spoke to such a young girl and promised her a son, but not just any son, THE Son, the man who would change the world. God, I can’t imagine what was going through her mind and how afraid she was. God, Mary had something. She found favor in your eyes and she trued you, despite the fear that came over her, she trusted you. She knew you would take care of every detail and you would provide peace to her heart through it all.

God make me into Mary for one moment. God put me in her shoes and let me feel what she felt and go through what it would have been like. Mary was very scared when you sent the angel to her and wondered if she was in trouble, that the life she was living had not been a worthy one. But then you bring the angel to say that you are proud of her and to have peace in her heart because you are most definantly with her and you have incredible plans for her life.
Then you threw a double whammy at her. She i going to have a child, not just a child, but the child, the Son of God, the one everyone has been waiting for, and God chose her to carry and give birth to. He chose her, Mary, a teenager, is going to have the Son of God, the Messiah, the one they all were waiting for, the one she had waited for all her life. SHE was going to give birth to him. But this was not as she thought it would be. This was not what anyone expected it would be. Did that change what the angel said? Did that mean that it wasn’t really Jesus in her, the Son of God? How could that be. Just because it wasn’t how she thought it would happen, did that mean it wasn’t true? How precious the peace you brought upon this young woman, who in fear and trembling gave herself to carry the most important man in history and took the responsibility to keep him safe and trust you when you asked for him back, in a way that meant watching him die for the world that killed him.
I pray that you, Lord would make me like Mary, saying yes to whatever you call me to do, knowing that you are using me to change the world, and knowing that you have everything in your hands, whether or not I understand any of it or not. Help me, in this season of anticipation of your coming understand the hope and the peace that you brought the world through a baby, who would one day be the one who changed it all. Let me not be distracted from this fact and grow me closer to you as I understand more fully how to love and honor you.

Pancakes and Thursday Mornings

dbaker06 — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 17:40:58 +0000

At 6:40 my alarm stirs me awake. I wipe the sleep from my eyes, jump into the shower, and make my way to the kitchen table where Mishone and the rest of my house meets for morning devotions. Mishone and Rocky have already been up for an hour already making pancakes. Once devotions are finished we continue making pancakes, putting them in the oven as each one gets done so we can keep them warm. Soon we see kids going by our house on their way to school. We gather up the plates, forks, pancakes and the coffee table and head out to see the neighborhood kids and get them pancakes. Each Thursday we are out there we meet and see someone new. Many times our neighbor, Ms. Avis, will yell over to us about how we have pancakes again and we will offer her and her grandson pancakes before he goes to school. There are a group of guys that live in a house only a block away and every day of the week all we hear about is them getting their pancakes on Thursday. It has become my favorite day of the week. I love seeing the kid going to school and getting to see them for even just a mintue in their big coats and wishing them a good day at school. I have met a couple moms that drive over and ask what we are doing and we often meet their car full of kids!
It has been a challenge sometimes though. It is hard to have to get up earlier in the morning (if you know me, you know that this is a challenge!), it is a scarifice in our budget but nothing can compare to the joy I see of the kids faces when they start waving from far off because they see us with pancakes or the mom who has opened up to us because we are outside each Thursday.
This has become a simple way to love our neighbors. Our lives are not our own and we know that though our resources come from the God who provides. So we trust that each week we are able to greet those that walk by us with a warm smile and a stack of pancakes! Through this simple weekly thing, I hope that it opens up a whole new world of relationships and opportunities to meet those that we live around.

break my heart

dbaker06 — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 18:57:56 +0000

Hello friends! I am so sorry it has been a couple weeks! I am currently on a technology fast and that has limited my time to blog but I am excited to share what is going on! Here is something little to tie you over and ponder! So far Houston is great and I am growing and being challenged immensely while being immersed in the love of the Lord! Can’t wait to share more!

We arrived at our house to grab a few things one afternoon and there was a note on our door. As we read the note, it was not your typical “Welcome to the Neighborhood” letter. In fact, it was the opposite and requested that we leave. There was a fear of what our presence would do to the neighborhood. It expressed concerns for their children and less violence. Now we knew that what we were wanting to do was to love the neighbors, but this person did not understand. It was a hard note to get and immediately I became defensive. They do not even know us and they already wanted us out. As I prayed and processed this, I was challenged not to get defensive but to accept it as a piece of what my neighbors of a different race have faced more times than I have or will ever have to. Discrimination based on the color of one’s skin and white flight. White flight is essentially when a minority family moves into a primarily white neighborhood, but because of fear, many white families move away thinking that the property value will decrease and violence will enter what is a quiet neighborhood. Fear is the main drive to this flight and it has happened and still is happening all over the U.S. I felt a piece of that this day. I felt unwanted because I was white. I felt nervous because I was there but no one knew me yet. But the Lord knew this. I had been praying so long for the Lord to break my heart for what breaks his. THIS was that breaking. THIS was a piece of what breaks his heart: prejudgments and fear of his beloved children based on their skin color. I am learning and processing this note as the Lord moves in my heart to. I am thankful for this note and pray that I would continue to feel the heart of the Lord as I struggle with brokenness and injustices that are happening all around me. God is the redeemer of all things and he makes beautiful things out of us.

so long, farewell…..

dbaker06 — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 18:44:57 +0000

Hi Friends!!!!
Well this is it probably! My last blog before Houston and my adventure to the place where everything is always bigger! My emotions are crazy and all over the place but my heart is standing on the promise that this is what I am supposed to be doing. I can’t believe that only three days from now I will be boarding a plane and meeting my team. My head is spinning with to-do lists, last minute visits with good friends, prayers that fill my broken but excited heart as I say goodbyes to the people who have been family to me for the past four years. I don’t know how often I stand back and see the impact people have had on my life, until I have to think about leaving. I have truly been blessed!
I will be authentic and tell you these past two weeks have been difficult. Things keep coming up, little things, huge things and somehow I have become this big ball of emotions. These last days have been worse. At one point this summer, I remember being this way; struggling to keep it together and be excited for what was to come. Please, don’t get me wrong, I am so thrilled for Houston, and come Friday when I step off that plane, I will be beyond ready and excited, but for now, I struggle. I get emotionally about saying goodbyes and the fact that I won’t be around for so long. On top of that, everything is changing! People are transitioning, the Lord is moving, and while we think it is always going to be butterflies and unicorns, it is HARD! We all are confident in the things the Lord is calling us to. He has been BEYOND faithful to show this, but a part of us longs to keep it the same. Goodbyes are difficult, dare I say one of the hardest things to do (top 5 in my book), but once they are said and God sweeps in to comfort our hearts, we are able to embrace the will of our ever-loving God as we walk hand in hand to the next adventure.
So here I am, eyes slowly back to normal after the hour of crying I did right before I laid down and relaxed in the Lord’s arms. There are still many goodbyes to say, but I know God is with me in each. I continue to thank him for the family and the friends that I have in this life and all that he has done for me and will do for me as I move to Houston!
Love D

at the very time he promised….

dbaker06 — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 17:53:47 +0000

I love scripture when I see how God fulfills a promise to his beloved and they are surprised. It is kind of cool and totally reminds me of myself when I finally see something come to pass in my life that the Lord has spoken. I love reading this story about Abraham and Sarah and the promise that he would become a father of many nations. As they both struggled to believe this promise, God continued to be faithful because, ultimately God’s faithfulness is not determined by our actions or the amount of faith we have in what he has promised. These promises God had made to Abraham and Sarah were way beyond what they could do on their own. In fact they tried it on their own, but God used this as a chance to show himself faithful. They responded out of fear several times. But don’t we all? We all respond out of fear at points because we forget the character of God. We forget who it is that has promised it to us. We forget who God is and that when he promises things, he is ever faithful. Personally, I think I often respond out of fear because I wonder if God will respond the way I want or even had it pictured in my mind. I am sure the same goes for Sarah and Abraham. Sarah thought she would be pregnant and have a child when she was younger. They were told it would happen, but the time was not stated. Naturally, and out of fear, Sarah turned to a maidservant to give her husband a child. Yet, even through there was doubt, the Lord turned it into an opportunity for Sarah to see the promises come in his timing and in the way he choose to play them out. Genesis 21: 2 says that he fulfilled his promise at the very time God had promised him. Wow, what incredible timing. The Lord’s timing is much better than my timing. His promises are fulfilled in a greater way than I would fulfill them. Just because the time when a promise is fulfilled is not the same time I would have had planned, doesn’t mean that the promise won’t ever happen. Let me repeat that: Just because the time when a promise is fulfilled is not the same time I would have had planned, doesn’t mean that the promise won’t ever happen!!!! (I say that again to remind myself )
The next part of this passage is basically Sarah’s reaction to Issac’s birth: “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me…Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.” (Genesis 21:6-7)
I LOVE Sarah’s reaction here. Have you ever seen a promised fulfilled in your life and just stopped and kind of laughed? I have and it is a fun place to be in because you know it is from God and not something you made up or manufactured! Sarah is stunned by what has just happened. Her reaction is to laugh, which is interesting because that was her reaction when she heard the promise once before, but the laughter was out of disbelief and hesitation. This time the laughter is out of amazement and seeing the promise pass. He took Sarah’s reaction of disbelief to amazement as she saw the promise fulfilled. I pray I never loose the amazement when I see the promises fulfilled in my life.

Books Books Books

dbaker06 — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 03:03:03 +0000

While going to school is great and all, time for reading books is limited, or atleast books I want to read. However, during my time at Mission Year I will have the opportunity to read and diaglou about these books and articles. I hope to share my insights on here as well. I challenge you to read one of these books with me and as I discuss or reflect throughout the year, reflect and post your insights as well.
Here is a list of the books I will be reading:
Restoring At-Risk Communities- John Perkins
The Way of the Heart- Henri Nouwen
Why are all the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?- Beverly Tatum
Serve God Save the Planet- Matthew Sleeth
The Ragamuffin Gospel- Brennan Manning
Jesus and the Disinherited- Howard Thuman
Jesus for President- Shaine Claiborne and Chris Haw
Wisdom of Stability- Jonathan Wilson Hartgrove
Flat Broke: Women in an Age of Welfare Reform- Sharon Hays
The House on Mango St.- Sandra Cisneros
Simple Spirituality- Chris Heurtz
Welcoming the Stranger- Mathew Soerens and Ginny Hwang
Sidewalks in the Kingdom- Eric Jacobsen and Eugene Peterson

Can’t believe I am a little more than one month away from leaving!!!!
Peace and Blessings

He remembered….

dbaker06 — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 23:06:32 +0000

The story of Noah and the Ark is commonly known. I have heard it since I was little it seems. So many songs and hand motions have been developed to help me remember; however, I learned something new from the story just yesterday. (This is why I love the Word of the Lord! Always something new to gain for it!)

So we all know the story, God saw that the world had become evil and decided to destory it and essentially start over. But he saw that Noah and his family were faithful and loved him, so God told Noah to build a boat and gather the animals… two by two. Noah follows the Lord’s commands and when the big day comes, the Lord shuts him and his family in the boat. Then the rain comes. The flood begins and it lasts probably what seemed forever for this tiny boat (granted it probably was big but still, think about it, even a big boat is small in the ocean) and after 150 days Noah is still on the boat, waiting. Here is what I love: Genesis 8:1 says, “But God remembered Noah… and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded”. Do you catch that? “God remembered Noah” It had been 150 days of rain and just being on a boat, waiting for the chance to get off. If Noah is anything like me, I would have been seasick, frustrated and may have even thought the Lord had forgotten about me. The text does not give any indication that the Lord was actively speaking to Noah but it does say the Lord remembered him.

God is faithful to us. He does not call us to do something and just leave us on our boat forever. There was an end for Noah but it was in the Lord’s timing that he spoke and he sent the wind to drain the earth, essentially. As we move, the Lord does not forget us. The Lord has called us to do great things, but they are not always easy and we may feel like we are on that boat for a lifetime, but the Lord remembers and he is faithful to complete the work that he has begun. Rest in that today.