Who Are You?

If you heard the song in your head when you read this, you get bonus points!!!

Lately, I've felt like life has been handing me a lot of pop quizzes. Some situations that feel like deja vu. Others come out of nowhere.

It's as if the universe leans in and whispers, "Will you still stumble the same way, or will you stand in who you've become?"

The tests aren't new. We all go through them. How I perceive them and respond to them is what is different.

Now I recognize them.

I pause.

I reflect on what I think the test is about.

What would the old me do? How should this new version of me handle it?

Truthfully, sometimes I still slip. I still feel the pull of old habits, the weight of old wounds.

What I'm seeing is that, more times than not, I'm choosing healthier reactions and feeling stronger and stronger in the process.

All of this reinforces that I'm not who I was. I am becoming this better version of myself. More than anything, I'm seeing that I have the power and knowledge to hold myself and course correct when I do slip.

That my friends is real growth.

I recognize now that the tests aren't to break us or break us down. I think they are just God's way of checking in. Giving us a chance to ask ourselves... Who are you today?

Talking to God

This website and everything that will come from it is my daily, unspoken conversation with God.

There is no greater truth than this: He gave me this purpose.

I've been gifted with the profound realization that I don't have to look outwardly for anything. It is all coming from within me. It's flowing to me and through me. It all comes with a great clarity that a spiritual connection isn't about external performance - it's internal presence.

Creating. Loving. Healing. Hoping. These are our unspoken prayers that directly connect us to Him.

God is not in the noise.

Not in the rules.

Not in the guilt or the gold stars or the fear of not being enough.

The truth is:

You don't need a church pew to find Him.

You don't need approval or perfection.

You don't need to go anywhere but inward.

These words I type... it's just little ole me, Dani from WV, with heart cracked open, hands to keyboard trying to show Him that I remember why I'm here.

I'm here for those who still feel lost, who still think they have to do more, be more, go somewhere else to find Him. I'm here for those that need to not feel so alone in the struggle. Those who may just need that one divine message to help them find their purpose or give them hope.

I'm here because He refused to give up on me when I begged Him to take me too.

This is the work I still have to do. I asked. He answered.

Versions of Me

I used to define my life by what happened. Who left. What broke. What didn't come through. But lately, I've been seeing it differently... not a series of events, but as a series of selves. There is an evolution... an evolution of Dani.

I used to look back and lay blame, ache for emotional restitution and I'd wish away all the brokenness. Yes, maybe it could have been different - better. But would I give up where it brought me and who it made me? Looking at Jack and feeling Tony in me, I would resoundingly say no.

Each one of me had her own way of dealing with the complexities of life that overwhelmed her.

The one who kept quiet to keep the peace.

The one who stayed small to stay out of the way.

The one who ran.

The one who stayed too long.

The one who smiled when she wanted to scream.

The one who hid the bruises.

The one who let her heart break so others' wouldn't.

I can now look back and respect each of them. I can empathize. But most importantly, I can choose to become the one who finally said ENOUGH.

And that's exactly where I find this new version of me - focused, determined, flowing with the divine direction I've been given... and finally, feeling excited and proud of who I'm becoming. This version of me is a force, a truth teller, and hopefully a lighthouse.