Are you grateful for your dear friends? Don’t you appreciate those who stand by you to cheer you on to carry out a vision that seems daunting?  Well, I sure am grateful for this very special woman we are featuring this month!  Dani Taylor served behind the scenes for over a year and a half with the leadership team.  She hosted events in her home, spent hours at meetings, donated goods, woke up early to meet with me at a coffee shop before she headed off to work (many times!), and prayed over this ministry.  So much of what Beautiful Bricklayers is today has been directly impacted by Dani’s dedication and service.

Here’s a little glimpse into the lovely heart of this very precious sister in Christ, Dani Taylor:

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I’m 27 and I LOVE Bricklayers!  I’m really close with my family and I love spending time with them; they are a super funny group of people and I love laughing with them.  I’m really into healthy living – home remedies, cooking, working out, conscious living, etc.  I love the ocean and all the animals in it!

This month’s theme is “Gratitude” and you are a person with a very thankful heart.  Would you share some of the ways you have been intentional to foster thankfulness in your life?

I think one way that I try to foster thankfulness is by constantly acknowledging all that the Lord has done for me and the ways in which he has blessed my life.  If I have a hard day at work, the first thing I do when I get in the car to drive home is list things I am I am thankful for.   I never want to do it – it’s so much easier to let the bitterness fester and to claim that I had a bad day at work and get sympathy from others (which I still do, no one is perfect :-).  But, I find that as soon as I start listing what I’m thankful for, everything comes into perspective and my heart is filled with gratitude and praise and then that doesn’t leave any room for bitterness, anger, discontentment, or envy!

What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve experienced in trying to maintain contentment?

This one is very hard, I feel like this is an area where I often feel a lot of spiritual attack: staying close to the Lord and believing his Word is what keeps my head above the water.   It’s so easy to listen to the world’s lies and think, for example, that I should be married by now and have achieved a certain level at work.  I find social media really stirs up discontentment in me, so I try my best to stay away from it.  The moment I remember that I am not in control and that the Lord is in charge of my life, I can relax and give everything over to him.  It’s funny because it’s so hard to let go of control, but as soon as I do it, I can relax and know that I am fully taken care of and looked after.  He can take care of me far better than I could ever take care of myself! 

Do you have a passage in Scripture that has served as an anchor to your soul to keep you grounded during particularly difficult seasons in your life?

Yes! I memorized Psalm 42:11 (NLT) which says: “Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again – my Savior and my God.” This has been such an encouraging verse for me.  It allows me to acknowledge my feelings of sadness and discouragement but to remember that my hope is in the Lord and I should praise Him through every season of life! 

In your singleness, what has the Lord been teaching you that you would like to share with other women?

To wait on Him and to use this season of life when I have extra time and devote it to the Lord – to spending time with Him, reading the Word, and memorizing scriptures.  Life is only going to get more busy and hectic from here on out and I want to know that my life is (and always will be) rooted in the Lord and His truth.

How have you been able to “rejoice with those who rejoice” when you yourself would love to have that same kind of rejoicing in your own life?

This is the one area that I feel the Lord has given me His strength.  I so badly want for my friends to be in relationships and I feel such joy and happiness for them when this happens!  It also gives me hope, if it can happen for them, it can certainly happen for me!  It’s also a way that I can see the Lord answering the prayers that I’ve prayed for my friends and their future husbands.  I think it has also helped that both my sisters have been in serious relationships for the past few years; to see them so happy makes me realize I would never want to deprive anyone of that joy!

What advice or words of wisdom do you have to share with other Beautiful Bricklayers as they navigate singleness and dating relationships?

Trust in the Lord and know that He is good! Draw near to Him and let Him take care of the rest!

***Would you like to nominate a girlfriend of yours to be interviewed for the Beautiful Bricklayers monthly spotlight?  

Please email us at: beautifulbricklayers@gmail.com with the girl’s name and reason why you think she should be featured on our blog.***