The Power of Story.

"All human beings love parables, because all human beings love story.
We live our lives in narrative. We all love stories."
--Matthew Hauge.

Oh Professor Hauge, you and your wise, simple, words, still inhabiting my mind years later, thank you for those.

I have been especially challenged with the contents of my own story recently. I seem to find myself preaching to others about how important their stories are and how they should be shared with those around them to enrich & benefit the way we interact with one another. Yet, sharing my own story seems too scary, like too much of a burden to release to anyone. A double standard at its finest. However, I am facing a thick realization of how false that actually is. I am realizing that I am the one afraid of my story. I am the one who feels burdened by its contents, and I am the one who has named it Unworthy, Gruesome, and Filthy. Yes, it has its gruesome moments, but those are not what the entire story is about. No the story is about something so much bigger, and so so much greater than those things. The story is made up of the journey and all that it

but those are not what defines the story. What defines it is the place I stand today. The place where I can say I have been more than used & abused, wrestled with God more times than I can count on fingers & toes, but in that same place I stand, still hand in hand with a God who has an incredible plan.

 I was reading Bittersweet recently, because of course I can't go anywhere without a Shauna Neiquist copy of something or other on hand.  But while I was reading I happened to read a story called, "Your Story Must Be Told." A story I really needed to read in this season. A story that gently reminded me yet again that my story is my own and also, that it is God breathed.

There is power in our stories.  Stories connect us to people and draw us in close.  Stories have no rules no boundaries no guidelines.  Stories move us, make us laugh, distract us, entertain us, challenge us, and guide us. Our story does nothing less that all of these things. My story is not a story of shame or filth, but rather, a story of faithfulness. Faithfulness of an unfailing God and faithfulness of a girl who knows her God adores her. Keeping that story hidden is the shame, the story is a gift. And this is what I am learning.



Danielle Nicole.

Be Desperate.

We often love conveniently,
comfortably, conditionally, easily, affordably, rationally.

But what about the things that we love desperately?
Aren't those the things that speak from the deepest depths of our souls?
The things that speak most honestly about our dreams and desires, but also directly about our fears and flaws as well.
Those we love desperately have a separate hold on us.
We love them with all that we have.
That makes us uncomfortable in moments.
The thought of losing those things and people can't be imagined without being connected with deeply intimate pain.
And so we stand in fear of that kind of love. The kind of love that pushes our limits and exceeds our expectations.
We cover up our love for those kinds of things by playing too cool for hugging mom, or playing hard to get for that guy of our dreams, or by holding back from our friendships. Loving desperately makes us feel weak and vulnerable, and we are not okay with that.

But what if we overcame the fear of loving things out of our control.
Like loving friends, those who can choose at any moment to love us back or to leave us. Seriously scary, and yet, we love them desperately, just in secret.

How much richer our lives would be if we could love them desperately out loud; without care of love in return. How much more we could offer those around us that would affirm and bloom one another if we would allow ourselves to love desperately. We don't naturally live our lives in relationships to their full potential, and I am not outside of this we. I do not live naturally to my full potential; there are only a very few who know that I love them desperately.

But what if I chose to love more desperately.
What if I chose to look right at my fears, of rejection, and abuse, and abandon, and then choose to look beyond those, at the person those fears stand in front of. Seeing their needs and fears beyond my own.
I think we desperately need to conquer fear. It constrains us, usually in those places we feel most comfort, the places that keep us stagnant.
We were made for so much more, let's live that way, starting with how we love each other; desperately, with all the efforts we're made of.




Danielle Nicole.

Attraction to Detail.

I am attracted to detail.

There is something inside me that is so completely fulfilled by someone's unique & intricate attention to details. That same part of me also draws me in to things that require a deep attention to detail, such as planning an event. This photo might describe me better than most words can. It was taken from a Tea Party I planned for a very dear friend of mine's birthday last year. The very act of gluing lace, punching paper hearts, or of finding delicate vintage beads & pearls to drape across each table adds details so small, yet so very important to me. A hint of burlap, a cube of sugar, the broken handle of my Goodwill treasured tea pot, all of these things are the kinds of things I notice in my daily life. The way things layer, the way things feel, and the way that layers and feelings can add to an event or to a moment of someone's life.

In this desire of my heart, I am attracted to hand written cards, photographs, flowers, language through eyes, textures, and sparkle. And, yet, while details really add a certain something that soothes my senses, the most important details in any event revolve around the people attending. Will they be comfortable? Will they feel at home? Will they feel loved?

These are three particular details I find most important in every moment of my life. I want those I love, and those I surround myself with to feel comfortable, at home, and loved, especially in the moments I am with them. It is in those three details that I feel relationships, at least those I am involved in, are able not only to survive, but to thrive, and to grow, and to mature. I want to grow in my relationships to a higher, deeper, more intimate potential everyday, and I think a good starting place is feeling comfortable, at home, and loved in relationship with those that will allow and push me to grow.





Danielle Nicole.

To Be, To Love, To Eat.

 A Shauna Niequist book never fails to meet me right where I am at, and her latest, Bread & Wine, falls into suit once more. As I finished this book I thought about the times I had first read Cold Tangerines and then Bittersweet.

When I remember the season I first read Cold Tangerines I remember a second year of college with all of it's excitements and unknowns, but also the knowns and comforts of being a second year and not a freshman. It was sparkly and fun and screamed celebration all of the time. There were celebrations for living in our first apartment, for declaring our majors, and for dating our first serious boyfriends. I started my first small group off by having us all dive into this book. We got to know each other and learned fun, little, somewhat surfacy, but genuine things about one another throughout each page turned. 

And then our group stayed together and grew. And life kept happening as it does. Over the course of the next year and a half there were disappointments, and breakups, and deaths that were near to us. And just when we thought we couldn’t handle one more thing paining our hearts, bittersweet came to our doors and as we tried to wait for one another in different parts of the state to come together to read it, we each ended up reading it cover to cover in a couple days and bursting into confessions when we finally met faces. Bittersweet pulled us up from the graves we were stuck in, from the muck and tears, and darknesses we were blinded by and gave us new light, and new perspective. It reminded us of the good and of the Lord’s faithfulness, and of the truly bittersweet nature of this life.

And here I am now having just finished Bread & Wine, with those same girls, now begging me to send them my copy when I am finished so they can sneak a peak before their copies reach their doors. As we sat around the table tonight eating Shauna’s Basic Risotto and giving updates, I couldn't feel more at home, or at peace, or in the presence of God. Just eating, and sharing honest bits of food and of life together really is one of the most spiritual things we can do. Bread & Wine is gently calling me out. Reminding me what is needed at my core. Begging me to slow down and just be, and love, and eat. And as we caught up and drank red wine and finished our meal with vanilla ice cream swirled with cookie butter that night I was reminded of the chapter in Bread & Wine, A Bass Player's Birthday and this gem within it:

"But that night wasn't about the food. The food and the table and the laughter helped to create sacred space, a place to give someone the gift of words. That's what the night was about-- sacred space and words of love. Well, that and fresh raspberry ice cream." 

sacred space & words of love. 

Something each of us girls needed and provided that night together, around the table. Thanks Shauna for the beautiful reminder, and for the invitation for this group of girls to slow down, to love, and to eat. 

Danielle Nicole.

"My prayer is that we'll find ourselves drawn closer and closer to the heart of the story, the beautiful, beating heart of it all, that the chaos around us and within us will recede, and the most important things will be clear and lovely at every turn. I pray that we'll understand the transforming power that lies in saying no, because it's an act of faith, a tangible demonstration of the belief that you are so much more than what you do. I pray that we'll live with intention, hope, and love in this wild season and in every season, and that the God who loves us will bring new life to our worn-out hearts this year and every year, that we'll live, truly and deeply, in the present, instead of waiting, waiting, waiting for perfect." 

--Shauna Niequist, Bread & Wine.

"Gather the people you love around your table and feed them with love, honesty, and creativity. Feed them with your hands and the flavors and smells that remind you of home and beauty and the best stories you've ever heard, the best stories you've ever lived."

--Shauna Niequist, Bread & Wine.

Dream Big.

"You can never outdream God"

God is so big.
So why do we always feel like our dreams are too much, too big, too unattainable.
Our God is infinite in size and in love and in power. The end.

Dream Bigger.


Danielle Nicole.

Simple Reminders.

I need to be reminded often of people's love for me.  True confessions.

All my fears seem to stem from my biggest, binding fear of abandonment.
I am so afraid that I am not good enough, or that I am not working hard enough for my friends love, all the time. I catch myself recently so frequently bound by a fear of losing the interest of those dear to me.

But today the cutest little card found itself in my mailbox, and within minutes of that my eyes were met with the sweetest simple text from a dear far-away friend. It is in moments like these that I am confronted with the lies I let myself believe. It is reminders like these of people's love for me that I am able to see truth clearly. Even little acts of intention seem to bring a wealth of freedom to a bound heart.
This such freedom was given to me today in these simple, yet invaluable, gifts of affirmation. & it is from that freedom I have received that I am beyond encouraged to write messages to those I love and who bless my life. A pay it forward revelation of sorts.

So friends, don't keep silent today. Tell someone what they mean to you. Tell your friends you love them. Choose to be intentional. It really could be freedom someone really needs today.


Love you guys,


Danielle Nicole.

Another November.

You were the first person close to me that wasn't over the age of 80 in my life to go.
You were the first person I had to see beat their parents to the kingdom.
You were the first person who brought many people of my past in a room of dark skirts and damp eyes.
You were the first person to move away to a new city when we were children.
You were the first person to teach me how to craft for every holiday.
You were the first person who told me I should love books.
You were my first friend.
You were beautiful.

Julie,
I am learning this year that it doesn't matter how many more years go by, November 9th I am always going to wake up feeling a little heavier in my chest. I am always going to listen to Maroon 5 and the Fray. I am always going to scrunch my nose a little extra. I am always going to craft in your honor. I am always going to sneak away for a moment to feel sad, and I am always going to remember this day. Dance with the King for me today, & I'll dance here; in my living room, with my holiday socks and project out, in your honor. You're beautiful and you're still so loved. I miss you.



Danielle Nicole.