Thanking God on Friday - Daniel

Well, Daniel is done and I sure had fun (this goes along with a rhyming activity that Beth had us do, that REALLY helps to remember what each chapter is about). I have truly loved this study and got a great deal out of it. A main point throughout the study was to learn, and man did I learn. There isn't enough room in this post to address each lesson (so, I challenge you to participate in the study), but I will go over a few points that stuck out to me (in no particular order):

• Being humble. There is an entire chapter on how God humbles us (chapter 4). I learned that it goes beyond just teaching us a lesson, but the He also builds us up from that so that we can bear fruit. Beth says that "God is not trying to destroy us. He's trying to keep us from destroying ourselves."
  
• Another big lesson was the fact that we are holy (2 Timothy 2:20-21). We are separated from ordinary and are each given a special significance or purpose, one that we need to use. This entire section (chapter 5) spoke to me and made me realize that I am valuable to God.
  
• Lastly, I learned about being deliberate. Deliberate in my walk with God, deliberate in treating others as Christ would treat them, deliberate with my prayers... Daniel was deliberate in his relationship with God and that made the connection stronger. He was deliberate in his prayers to God about his dreams and his concerns. I need to be more deliberate.

As I flip through my study guide I see so many principles, verses, history lessons, and commentary and I wish that I could share it all. There is so much history in this book and God really used Beth Moore to put it all together in an understandable, visual (I'm very visual) and great way.

I definitely learned something!