Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

This Thanksgiving I am going to be super grateful. Because I know that the thousands of orphans are praying and hoping that one day they will have what I have, or even half of what I have.  Kids that are praying for a family to take them out of their cribs and to love them for the rest of their life. I can't even think of where I would be or who I would be now without my family. They are who I am.

I'm going to make a list of some of the things I am thankful for, It would take me days to list everything I am thankful for.

• Being saved from my sins by my Savior who died on the cross for me
• my family, mom, dad, brother, brother's girlfriend, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins
• my dog, Honey
• my job
• my cousin Taylor
• the Bible
• food
• school (especially my English and biology teachers, and my fitness and weights class)
• that I was able to go on my missions trip over the summer
• my warm bed
• my cell phone
• hot water
• 3 + meals a day 
• Grace Church Sr. High group
• Friends
• Friends
• and more Friends
• heaters
• winter coats
• for all of the people who are in the process of adopting their kids or who have already adopted them
• the Holy Spirit for living inside me 

This list goes on and on and on.

Hope everyone has a SUPER blessed Thanksgiving. What are you thankful for??

Happy Thanksgiving!
Love,
Dakota

I am Second

Today I am second. I will never be first, EVER. I am third. I can be any number but first. No matter how hard I try, I will never be first. I don't ever want to be first. One day I hope to meet the One who is first in my life. I don't know when or how but He does.

You may have heard of this line of videos on youtube called I am Second. They interview famous people to hear their testimony. At the end of every video the person says their name and then says "And I am Second".

Do you know what the phrase "I am Second" means? It means God is first and I am second. Some people may refer to the acronym JOY. Jesus, Others, Yourself. Yes that is also true but these videos have inspired me in many ways. Sujo John reminds me that I need to share the Word of God with everyone for I don't know when their last day will be or when my last day will be. If I put it off and wait they may never get to hear the amazing news.

Sujo John and his wife worked in the twin towers. Sujo worked in the north tower and his wife in the south. His story is amazing. He was just having a typical morning at work just like all of the other people in those towers on that awful day of September 11. He was doing something as casual of sending a fax out at the fax machine. Then the unthinkable happened. The plane crashed into the north tower. Him and everyone else run down stairs to get outside. His wife is 4 months pregnant. The building starts shaking. He thinks "If this tower goes down I may never get to see my wife or the baby she is carrying." Once they get down he sees bodies on the pavement of people who have jumped out of the plane and the building. Everyone had the fear of death on their face. He was trying to call her but the cell phones weren't working. He talks to people who are around to him and as they hear the other plane crash into the South Tower. He starts crying out to Jesus. He asks 15-20 people around him to do the same. After a while he trys to go find his wife. Not knowing if he would ever find her. He decides to go back to those people who he cried out to Jesus with. Only to find their bodies which were crushed by the building and debris. He hears God say to him "They made their peace to me in their dying moments and now they are resting to me." He gets out to a small shop where a woman pulls him in. She reaches for his phone to try and contact his family. Sujo started to tell her what he thought had happened to his wife. While the woman had his phone it rang. It was his wife. He answered with a lot of fear. But when he answered, it was his wife. She had been running late and didn't make it to work when the buildings were hit.

This is basically his whole story but go watch the video. Watch other videos and tell me which ones are inspirational to you and why.

God Bless, Happy Thanksgiving!
Dakota

P.S. $473 dollars have been donated to my beautiful angel tree babe Leilani. Thanks to everyone who has donated!!!!! God is good!!!

Hot Chocolate!!!

Yesterday, I had a hot chocolate stand in front of my house to raise money for Leilani. I was surprised that very few people came even though it was so cold. Surprisingly we did raise $95 dollars for her!! We had 5 customers. I knew all but one of them. So Later today I will put that money onto Leilani's fund. I'm still hoping to get to that $1000 mark before New Years. We can do it!!!!!!

Complaining

Every Thursday (and Sunday), I go and meet with a wonderful youth group at my church. Last night in our small group discussion we talked about being branded, what are Christians branded as a whole. What do you think of when you think of Christians? I think of people who love the Lord. But I'm sure other people think of other things like judgmental, no fun, etc. It was also pointed out to me that Christians tend to argue about things and complain about the world today. I thought of that as a challenge.  For all of today I have tried not to complain. Not whine about being cold or tired. Not complain about being hungry or thirsty. It put me in a better mood. Out of the whole day, I only complained twice. Once for having to take notes in History, and the other was for something just as silly. It also put me in perspective. Looking back on today and writing this post I realized that there are people who are freezing. People who don't have a heated house to come home to. People who are exhausted, working multiple jobs just to provide food for their families. People, children who are starving and parched. People who would be thankful to have to take notes in a high school history class. Thankful for things that I complain about. Just little things like taking notes in a history class.

So, I have a challenge for you. How long can you go with out complaining? Just try, for one day. See if it makes your day better. When I realized today that every single thing I complained about was something that people were praying for. I realized that I am a selfish person who complains about the stupidest things. Today was an amazing day because I didn't complain. I thought before I said anything. I thought about each and every thing before I said it. Well maybe not everything but more than I usually do. I just stopped complaining for a day. One school and work day (and it is Friday so I did have to clean preschool bathrooms) and I held my tongue and didn't complain. So, I did it. Why can't you. I challenge you to not complain (or try not to complain) for one whole day. Whether it is a week day where you have to work or go to school. Just try. Let me know how it made you feel and how many times you complained (if you complained at all) that whole day. I hope it will effect you like it did me.

Much love and God bless,
Dakota

P.S. don't forget to donate to Leilani!! She is at $122 dollars raised!!!!!

How to Donate to Leilani

There are a couple of different ways to donate to this Angel. One way is to go through me. You can mail/ give me money or a check and I will donate it for you. You can also do it yourself through RR. Go here and scroll way down to the $0-$99 and it is in alphabetical order once you get down to the $0 because that is how much she still has. Find Leilani, click donate (you can donate $35 and get an ornament or just donate), if you click the $35 for the ornament it will add a donation of $35 to your gift basket, if you click donate you can do a PayPal donation. Type in your donation amount and click the "Check out with PayPal button at the bottom of the page.

Thank you so much!!!!!!

My Angel Tree babe

The moment you all have been waiting for has finally come!!! This time tomorrow you can start donating to my Angel for Reece's Rainbow annual Christmas Tree. Today I get to tell you who my child is. I have advocated for her on my blog before but the next two months she will be the star of my blog. Please join me to donate to this beautiful baby. And help me advocate to find her forever family. We all know she needs it. This sweet angel has hydrocephalus (with shunt), spastic tetraparesis, convulsive disorder, Hep.B, valgus feet, and optic discs atrophy. She was born in March of 2009 making her 6 years old. She looks smaller than the average 1 year old. Probably weighs less too. My angel tree baby is.......


DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!!
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LEILANI!!!!!!!!!!

To donate to her (STARTING TOMORROW NOVEMBER 1st) go here and use paypal. You can also mail me money and I will donate it through our paypal. Thank you for your prayers and support. 

Much love,
Dakota  

My Own Little World

I'm sure you have heard Matthew West's song, My Own Little World. But have you really listened to the words? The words that say "Father, break my heart for what breaks Yours"? Do you know what those words are meaning? Sure I listen to music. But do I always listen to the words or pay attention to what the songs mean? No, hardly ever. Some songs I am surprised by what the words are saying as they are so amazing and inspiring and other times I am shocked at how terrible they are. Even though they have a good beat doesn't mean it has good things to be singing and praising about. Today's music is disgusting. They are about terrible things that I don't want to be singing about. They have a good beat and they get stuck in my head and I find myself singing them.

Anyways, back to the Matthew West song. In it it says "break my heart for what breaks Yours". To me that is saying that so many things make God sad. The things He sees going on in the world. For example, the orphans whom are being so mistreated and the people who are living on their streets. The video of this song is focusing on people who are homeless. But I can relate to it by how my heart breaks for orphans. "Break my heart for what breaks Yours," He breaks my heart for the orphans because it breaks his heart. "That my own little world is not about me" That is a hard one for most people to understand, including me. It is hard for people to realize that the world is not about them. There are 7 billion other people on this earth. Too many don't have what I have. I am very fortunate to have what I have.

All of the orphans who have next to nothing, all of the people living in third world countries have next to nothing. I have so much stuff that I do not NEED but want or would like to have. I am very grateful for what I have. Operation Christmas Child is starting up again. If you don't know, Operation Christmas Child has volunteers everywhere who fill up shoe boxes with toys, drawing/coloring stuff, toothbrushes, socks, gloves, hats, and many more. Then they mail them off for orphans everywhere. Imagine how thankful they are to receive these.  They are thankful for things that we are accustom to having. We are so used to having socks on our feet every day and being able to brush our teeth twice a day. This year take the time to buy stuff for a shoebox to make a Child's Christmas dream come true!

In MY own little world, God breaks my heart for mistreated orphans with disabilities. I am coming to the realization that the world is NOT about me. I know less than 200 people out of the 7 billion people whom I share the earth with. God is showing me what is in the bigger picture of my world. The orphans, how many people there actually are who are affected by job loss, disablities, losing their houses. It is happening everywhere!!!! All over the whole entire WORLD. These things are happening all day every day!!!!

The chorus of this song sings
"What if there's a bigger picture?
What if I'm missing out?
What if there's a greater purpose?
I could be living right now
Outside my own little world"


What if there is a bigger picture?
What if I am missing out?
What if there is a greater purpose?
And I am living in my own bubble with my few friends.


Slowly, my eyes are being opened to the bigger picture, slowing I am seeing what I have been missing out on, slowly I am seeing what my greater purpose is, and I am slowly getting out of my bubble to reach out to all of the other people here on earth with me. But it is all slowly happening. In God's timing. NOT mine. '


Good night, God Bless,
Think about this tonight.
Dakota