Dan VanWinkle

It is truly amazing how God works through people. I am so thankful for the friends that I have, the times that we have shared, and the bonds that we have made. God has really blessed me with a lot of things, but today in church, He really opened up my heart to see that I am not the only one who goes through these valleys. The sermon that pastor gave today was all about how we have to go through the valleys to get to the peaks. I have been in a valley for a while now, and I think I am ready to start the ascend to the peak. One thing that sticks out in my mind from todays sermon, is that we should not make life decisions while in a valley, because we cannot see anything clearly. We should only make life decisions when we are at the peaks, because when we are at the peak, we can see everything clearly.

I realized today that I wrote about my life using the analogy of peaks and valleys just under a month ago, but I haven’t really climbed out of the valley that I was in, I was trying to make my own path up to the peak, rather than take the one that God had pointed me towards. In case you don’t read my MySpace blog, here is what I said about a month ago:

Life is an amazing journey. I think that I have finally gotten out of the many valleys of my life, and am excited to be climbing again towards another peak. While I know that the valleys in life are necessary to get to another peak, it is so scary being surrounded by so many massive mountains. I think that God is leading me down a completely different path than I wanted to go down before, and I know that taking this path will lead me to the peak with the most beautiful view. This is going to be a tough climb, so please pray for me that I can keep God beside me.

Speaking of keeping God beside me, I always used to think that I was supposed to follow God, and here recently, thanks to a lot of conversations with Him, I have realized that I am supposed to walk with Him. I know that many of you may think that I am crazy, or that I am just speaking gibberish, that is ok, one day I am sure you will understand. I used to dwell in my insecurities, but tonight God showed me that in this climb, there will be no place to stop and dwell in an insecurity, and that excites me. Hopefully I will never have to see dwell in another insecurity again, I know that with God at my side, I have all the security I need. God has done a lot to prepare me for this next climb, and tonight has given me peace, the final tool that I needed to get out of this valley. Please know that I am keeping all of you in my prayers, you are always on my heart. Have a great memorial day weekend.

Isn’t it amazing how God reminds us of His plan?

God led me to this on Facebook tonight, and it describes what I am going through perfectly. Thanks to Todd Denman for allowing me to share this with you all.

True Love

I’m so confused.
I don’t know what to do.
Should I stay and wait,
or should I run from the truth.

I’m wanting this love,
that i’ve never known.
I just can’t stay patient.
Because I feel so alone.

I want to be touched,
I want to be held.
I want to feel loved,
like the kind I’ve never felt.

These thoughts circle in my mind,
It’s all I can think about.
God, ease my soul and mind.
So I can wait to see what true love is about.

Wispers in my ear,
telling me i need it.
Messages from society,
telling me to feed it.

It’s just so hard to let go,
of the ways of my flesh.
If i can only persevere,
and get through this test,

I’ll end up in the right place,
end up at the right time.
I’ll find what I’ve been waiting for,
True love and a wife.

Why do I rush?
I need to slow down,
Deny myself and live for you,
Because then I’ll be found.

I’m denying myself now,
giving it to you.
Take me and shape me,
It’s all up to you.

One day I’ll be there,
I’ll look at her face.
I’ll see a reflection of You,
And all of Your grace.

Until then,
I will seek only you,
every day and every night.
Because Your love is the only True.

-Todd Denman

Yay, my friend Katy is back in Cincinnati and we got to hang out today! Um, that’s all I had to say, I think it is important enough for a post anyway!

The past 24 hours has been a blast. Last night at 10 o’clock, I joined up with some friends to watch some a pretty amazing fireworks show. Afterwards, my friend Jordan and I were wrestling around and he was flipping me over his back slamming me into the ground, and I have the bruises to prove it.

Today, I went to my cousins wedding and got to dance with a beautiful girl. Not only was she beautiful, but she was wonderful conversation. All in all, it was a good start to the weekend. My friend Katy is coming back into town today, so I don’t think that anything can ruin my weekend. This means if you have something to tell me, tell me now!

Sullivan – Tell me I’m Wrong Short Video

Well, I did the unthinkable, I reactivated my facebook account. It will only be for the Summer, so enjoy it while it lasts. What you all really need to do is bookmark this page right now, sign up for the RSS feed, and check back as often as possible.

Life is so much fun! It is amazing what God gives to us undeserving people. God has recently shown me something that is sure to make my life a lot more interesting, and I am so grateful for it. I am so amazed at how He provides the weirdest things to remind us that just because He is God, and He loves us. For the first time in my life, I can truly say that I believe that not everything bad that happens to you is bad, it is just God’s way of reminding us that this earth is not our final destination, and what comes after this life is so much more amazing than we can even imagine.

It is crazy how fast this quarter went, and I am so glad that I chose to live in the room right next to yours and we got to know each other more this quarter. You have been an inspiration on so many levels, from your humbleness to the way you lived your life for God. You are going to be missed by many of the brothers. I will miss hearing you play your guitar and getting the silliest songs stuck in my head. I will miss you always taking the time to listen and offering words of encouragement. I will miss finding some new Miis to create. I will miss shooting darts with you. I will miss your “I got nothing”‘s and how you let us know that we have gone too far with just a look.

I wish you the best of luck in what ever life throws at you.

I just did quite a few updates to the site, so overall it looks a lot cleaner. I still have to fix a few links at the top, and customize a few things in the gallery, but for the most part, the website design is the way I want it, at least until I find something I like more than this… Please leave me some comments and let me know what you think.

Yeah, you read it right, new old photos… I have been putting all of my photos on here for the world to see, but nothing new yet. Some of it isn’t the greatest photography I admit, but give me a break, I don’t have the greatest camera. Anyway, to check out the new photos, click the “gallery” link up top.

Leave me some comments too, I mean, you know you want too…