Journal
My brother said he never wanted to be rich when he grew up. He just wanted enough! Enough, however, isn’t attainable, no matter how much we may try. At Christmas, we get constant enticements through commercials and social media blasting our screens with what someone else has and we don’t (but should have), or what we “deserve” to get for Christmas, and our loser status if we don’t get it. The noise can be overwhelming. In our human mind, we get depressed that ‘the good life” – getting enough – will always be out of reach. When we think only as human beings, we stay stuck inside our insatiable appetites of want. We keep ourselves trapped in the relentless gnawing itch of desire, which leaves festering wounds of unhappiness and self-loathing.
Are you seeking happiness or joy?
Happiness is temporary because it can only give you a physical feeling based on false, warped cultural truths. Joy, however, is eternal. It comes from a supernatural, powerful, and perfect God. And the wonder of it is that joy is attainable. It’s a Christmas gift you can receive immediately. It comes wrapped in contentment found in the birth and sacrificial life of Jesus Christ. It’s the gift of a life that is not subject to this world and eternal places where the relentless desire itch is satisfied. The Christmas gift of eternal joy can only be attained by choosing heart knowledge and not head knowledge. When we believe in God’s unwavering truth, our attitude shifts. It’s a mindset change that allows our heart to lead. It means believing in the awe and wonder of God, and its transformative gift. When that happens, personal desires become secondary and aren’t the priority. Our focus shifts to what God desires for us and for His Kingdom purposes: “His will be done on earth.” The Father’s desires lead us to joy found outside what is being advertised on our screens, which is empty, temporary happiness. Instead of having an appetite for the things of this world, we can have an appetite for His Kingdom living and choices.
Will it require the abandonment of cultural lifestyles or desires we once thought important?
It may. Often, where we are today is not the perfect place God has for us, and there may be suffering while untangling our lives from the grip of our failures and selfish desires. Being willing to abandon our plans for God’s better plan leads to a place of the unknown – wonder. It leads to contentment when there is nothing, and a joy that is inexplicable when it looks hopeless. It’s a place of safety that doesn’t make sense. When we are willing to surrender ourselves, He gives us the desires of our hearts, and it comes in profound ways we never saw coming. Worldly desires and choices change, and what we thought we wanted shifts toward desiring what God wants first to accomplish in our life, and to what pleases Him most – the desire to know Him. He becomes the God who gives enough.
Are you living a life of wonder and wanting to know more of God?
The truth is, we aren’t just physical beings – we are spiritual beings! We have a soul that will live forever when our physical body turns to dust. To know God, we must believe Him. And we must believe in the miraculous because God is a miracle God! We must believe that what He told us and is recorded in the Bible is true – all of it – the miracles of healing and restoration, the obstacles, challenges, and battles that were overcome, and all the disruptive, sacrificial choices that were made that changed the narrative so that God’s purposes could be fulfilled. There is no compromising or “living on the fence” with God. In our world today, it’s essential to trust in a living, supernatural God who sent the Son as a baby and who achieved His mission on a cross to save us for all eternity. He is the joy giver. As a child believes in all the wonders of childhood with unabashed enthusiasm, can we remember to embrace the wonder of who God is in our lives?
This Christmas, shift into a full-out childlike wonder of God.
Jesus said in Matthew 18:3, “…unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” This Christmas, shift your mind to your heart. Think and live in the spiritual and supernatural wonder of our Creator, leaving your natural mind and the limiting physical world behind. Remember that God operates in the miraculous. His power is seen in the wonder. He parted seas, helped a small, skinny boy to defeat a giant, and allowed three men thrown in a fiery furnace to walk out unscathed. God brings protection and provision endlessly. II Corinthians 5:7 says, “For we live by faith, not by sight.”
God surprises require us to stop thinking practically and start living in the unknown.
Living by faith means we never stop asking, but we also have to make sure we don’t cover our ears and stop listening. His directives can come through the Bible, or in prayer, or a trusted prophetic revelation. God requires us to trust Him even when the waiting seems long and hopeless. His miracles come in unexpected ways, from unexpected people, and in unusual places. We stop thinking with our intellect and start looking for God’s surprises. Get excited that you can’t attain the desires of your heart in your own strength. God can. His gifts of wonder are always aligned with His perfect purposes. Proverbs 9:10 says, “The awe (wonder – sometimes called ‘fear’ because God’s ways are strange and inexplicable) of God is the beginning of Wisdom.” He is an ever-present, wonder-working God. Be ready for God to amaze you in profound ways above all you have ever thought or dreamed.
This Christmas, may your eyes be filled with wonder – a magnetic fascination that brings you eternal joy and wisdom.
Inner Views
BIO
Innovative, creative, and inspiring, Brandi McDaniel is the woman high achieving leaders seek out when they are looking for inspiration for their next project. Known for her heart for connectivity, an ear for listening, and for her sage wisdom and inspiring words, Brandi has helped a number of organizations and individuals get clear on what practical steps to take next as they seek to expand their voice, build their organization or brand, and leverage their skills and talents for the furthering of God’s Kingdom. She believes that an environment of expected excellence with balanced nurturing and support is the key to helping others unlock their own potential and access their God given talents. Brandi leads from a place of service and is excited to serve Influence Women as the new Houston Chapter Director, whose purpose is to empower and equip women to create radical cultural change through the use of arts, media, and leadership from a biblical worldview.
INNER VIEW
Kathleen Cooke: In our artistic careers, we often go off and do what we want to do and disregard what God wants us to do. What has he taught you about this?
Brandi McDaniel: I can best answer this one from an example in my life. There was a time when I had asked our teenage son to go outside and mow our grass. He started mowing the grass for a little while, but then decided to wash and detail my car. He came into the house, and he was so excited to tell me how he had washed and detailed my car for me as a surprise. I thanked him for doing that and then asked him if he had mowed the grass like I had asked him to do. He sheepishly said, “No, but I’ll get to that tomorrow.” While washing and detailing my car was a good and kind thing to do, it was not the thing I had asked him to do. It was still disobedience. God brought that memory back to me recently to remind me that sometimes I have allowed myself to get busy doing lots of ‘good’ things but neglecting the thing that God is calling me to do right now. Honestly, it kind of wrecked me to think that I could be doing a lot of good things for God, but still ultimately ignoring the call of my Lord by not doing what He asked me to do specifically. Like my son, I was guilty of being asked to mow the grass, but I was washing the car instead! God opened my eyes to this truth, and I immediately began to pray in submission to God’s greater will on my life with the promise that I will do the thing that He is asking of me now, because the thing He is asking of me is of the utmost importance to Him.
Kathleen: Our world is full of fear and uncertainty, and a creative career in the arts may be the most challenging to undertake today. How do you break that fear factor?
Brandi: I wrote a bible study on this called: “Move: Answering God’s Call in a Time of Uncertainty,” which then inspired a play based on the same concept, which will go to the stage in 2026. My family had a series of many (home) moves in just a few years and it made me think about the very human experience of the Israelites who were called to move from their known home in Egypt and onto an uncertain road into an uncertain future and what that must have felt like to trust God in the face of the absolute unknown. What I discovered through writing and teaching the study was that God layered in a consistent invitation to His people to trust Him above all else, even when all else seemed uncertain. Repeatedly, God provided for the Israelites amid their physical hardships of leaving their known home and crossing the desert into the unknown. From direction, to food, to making a literal path through the water, God continued to show up for His people. This truth invited me to look at my own life, and I saw that the same has been true for me over the years. There is a lot of evidence that God has shown up again and again in my life amid hardships and trials with all sorts of unexpected provision. He has even made a way when there has been no way! When I focus on this truth and meditate on His Word, I can trust that just like He has shown up over and over again in my life and in the Israelite’s lives, He will do it again.
Kathleen: What have you learned about keeping boundaries in a creative life?
Brandi: After God reminded me not to wash the car when I have been called to mow the grass, I protect my time now more than ever. I know He is not asking me to give my time to things He hasn’t called me to in this season of life, but to apply the spirit of discernment that He has given me to know which things He is asking me to invest my time in now. With that alignment, I now pay close attention to the specific calls of the Lord and invest my time accordingly. One of the things that encourages me is Jesus’s own walk with the Lord. I look to Jesus’s example in scripture where He never stepped out ahead of His Father, but remained submitted to His Father’s will in His life on matters of timing. One of my favorite examples of this is in the Gospel of John, when Jesus delays his trip to Bethany after hearing of Lazarus’s illness. On the surface, it seems shocking that Jesus would not rush to Lazarus’s side to help him, but it is because Jesus has trusted God’s timing that we see the miracle of Lazarus’s resurrection. In the story, Jesus appeared to have arrived too late, but we discover that because Jesus never ran ahead of God, He was right on time. When I was much younger, I can admit that I often ran ahead of God and said yes to too many things out of fear that I might lose the opportunity if I didn’t. I operated from a place of fear instead of a place of trusting God’s timing. I found myself overcommitted and overwhelmed very quickly, and because of it, many of my days were more stressful than they were peaceful. I was running ahead of God versus trusting His timing. It was a hard lesson, but an important one. Today, with Christ as my constant example, I better understand the importance of setting time boundaries based on God’s timing, not my own. I no longer allow myself to overcommit or try to run ahead of what God has planned for me so that I don’t miss the miracle.
Kathleen: In today’s economy, it’s easy to choose projects for a financial gain and not consider them from an influential perspective.
Brandi: When it comes to choosing projects that are ‘influential only’, first ask yourself: Is God calling me to this project in this season of life? If yes, am I willing to invest the time, energy, (physical, emotional, intellectual energy) that is required to do this project well? Am I willing to serve in this space joyfully, understanding that it may require even more of me before the project is done? Do I trust that the Lord will provide for me and for this project in any way that I lack? If the answer is yes to all of those things and you decide to commit to the project, then be assured there is no greater gain, no richer treasure than the salvation of a soul. While we cannot personally save a soul, we can surely lead people to the One who can. May your every effort to lead others to Christ be blessed and fruitful.
Connect with Brandi and the Houston Chapter:
Instagram: @influencewomenhouston
Inner Views
What does it really mean to have “influence”? Read this week’s INNER VIEW as Flo Oramasionwu unpacks both the privilege and responsibility of having influence, and how she lives as an “encourager” of others everywhere she goes.
BIO
If you were searching for a soulful pop singer with a huge, heart-stopping voice, the Canadian Prairies is likely not the first place you’d start looking. But that’s exactly where Flo got her start. Flo is a multiple award-winning soul/pop artist who captivates with undeniable stage presence in every type of venue from intimate clubs to arenas. She represents encouragement, personal strength, passion, and positivity. Her enduring message of faith and self-empowerment reflects her resolve: to overcome all obstacles and continue to live out her dreams, “I believe this dream is bigger than I am.” Luckily her voice is bigger than her dreams. She is passion in living form and travels into realms of soul that some artists never tap into, and this is only the beginning.
“And as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.” – Marianne Williamson
INNER VIEW
Kathleen Cooke: As an award-winning musical artist in Hollywood, what lessons has God recently taught you about who He is?
Flo Oramasionwu: God has taught me that He is personal, present, and REAL! Not just a distant God that our parents, grandparents, and friends teach us about. Not a fictional or past character that was just active in the historical Old/New Testament times. JEHOVAH JIREH has come through for me in so many miraculous ways throughout my journey in LA that my mind is blown! He is not only faithful, but He is also so loving. He does miraculous things through people (even absolute strangers) and circumstances.
He moves and creates the resources to bless, encourage, and keep you going on your journey to ensure that you are on the right path. He’s got your back. He KNOWS you so well. He not only supplies your needs but also provides for your desires and the things that sometimes you think are unnecessary or may feel frivolous. He wants to give you the things that make your heart jump and smile. He truly is our provider. And, when God does it, He does it in beautiful ways.
Kathleen: The music industry is a constant struggle to create more music and get yourself seen. It takes enormous grit and endless determination. What have you learned about setting aside your ambitions and choosing God’s perfect plan for your life and work?
Flo: God has patiently taught me the importance of surrender and not to obsessively strive so much that there’s no room left for Him to drive. In other words, He’s been showing me the beauty of letting Him take hold of the “steering wheel” while I rest in Him and enjoy the beautiful view from the passenger seat.
Ambitious striving to accomplish specific dreams and goals can turn into an idol. It requires trust and faith to let go and leave it in God’s hands. He not only knows best, but His way is so much better than what we could ever try to do on our own. He is so much more efficient than our timing and far more effective than our efforts could ever be.
I personally don’t believe there is anything wrong with aiming for excellence (Daniel and Joseph were men of excellence), or having a vision (David had a vision for building God’s temple and left the blueprints to execute them with his son Solomon) and working towards it. But I do think God wants to eliminate the fear of needing to do everything on our own or else it won’t be completed or get done well. God knows and places the desires we have in our hearts for a reason and a purpose. He created us with gifts and abilities “for such a time as this” (as Mordecai told Esther) in history. He will fulfill the things He has planned for us. There is no need to spin our wheels and strive. God’s got this, and He’s got us!
Kathleen: It takes great faith to set aside yourself and your way for God’s way and choose to trust Him. You make yourself vulnerable and exposed in a world that thrives on self-assurance. What has God taught you about choosing Godly choices? (more…)
