Tag Archives: bible

Oct 29 2026

From Dreams to Destiny: YWAM Santa Cruz’s Inspiring Journey

article by Dana Taylor

She dreamt of a roller coaster and received a message from God.

A sunset view of a wooden roller coaster with palm trees in the background, located at an amusement park.

When she was eight years old, my daughter, Cary, told me, “When I grow up, I’m going to be a missionary.”

A playful photo of a woman and two children, all making silly faces. The woman is in a dark jacket, while the children are in white tops, with the girl on the left having red face paint. They are posing in front of a backdrop resembling a house with a window.
Taylor girls, Dana (mom), Sara and Cary (sisters) circa 1987

I wasn’t surprised considering our faith-conscious household. My Oklahoma-born husband was a man of strong, sincere Christian belief and I openly pursued healing energy prayer and Christ-centered spirituality.

🌏After high school graduation in 2000, Cary flew off to Hawaii to experience the basic Discipleship Training School (DTS) at Youth With A Mission (YWAM), Honolulu base. Growing from “the Jesus movement” in Southern California in the 1960’s YWAM is a global movement of Christians from many cultures, age groups and Christian traditions throughout the world. YWAM is an all-volunteer organization that follows principles of caring for the needs of the world through Christ’s love in practical ways. With over three hundred YWAM bases around the world, they feed the hungry, care for the homeless, orphans and elderly. For young adults, YWAM offers an alternative lifestyle for youth bombarded by a modern selfish, materialist, culture. Cary’s six-month DTS program included three months of Biblical study at the Honolulu base, followed by three months ministry work in India.

🌴Afterwards Cary explored other avenues but ultimately returned to YWAM Honolulu in her early twenties, where she met her husband, Chris Solima. They married and traveled the globe doing mission work. By the time their first child arrived in 2014, they were the base leaders at YWAM Honolulu. By then, Cary’s mystical side often led their way through dreams.

A happy family portrait by the beach, featuring a woman and a man embracing each other while holding a smiling baby. The backdrop shows water and a colorful sky.
Cary, Chris and Baby Noah Solima

One tropical Hawaiian morning, she awakened and told her husband, “God just told me I need to go to Asbury University in Kentucky to get my master’s degree.” And so they went. Needless to say, the two Kentucky winters were quite a shock from Hawaiian tropical warmth, but she earned her degree.

A college campus scene featuring a pathway leading to a flagpole with an American flag, surrounded by autumn foliage and brick buildings.
Asbury University, Wilmore KY

By 2019, Cary and Chris had three children, two boys and a girl, and headed to Chris’ hometown of San Jose, California, waiting for further Divine direction. When covid shut down the world in 2020, I joined them in San Jose. Through God’s grace, housing and financial needs were met, even as a fourth baby (another boy) was born.

Then came another dream. At the height the pandemic Cary dreamt of the roller coaster on the Santa Cruz boardwalk, and she understood the next mission. God’s next direction was clear: take Youth With a Mission to Santa Cruz. She sensed the roller coaster was a metaphor for the ups and downs of beginning a whole new ministry.

🏄‍♂️Santa Cruz lies on the California coast, a place of windswept beauty, where monarch butterflies migrate every fall. The protected waters include a kelp forest visited by whales, dolphins, sea lions and thousands of birds feast along the shore. A few miles inland begin the stands of beloved redwood trees. The human population is a mix of wealthy tech workers from the Silicon Valley, long term descendants of characters captured in tales by John Steinbeck, off-the-grid free thinkers, artists of all types, druggies, surfers, and lost souls.

🙏How could she and Chris possibly begin such an undertaking? No one receives a salary in YWAM. Full-time YWAM staff need to raise funds from monthly donors and earn money in traditional ways. Cary and Chris had little money and four children to support. But, as the scripture goes, With God All Things Are Possible.

With the generosity of spirit-led donors and churches, YWAM Santa Cruz was founded. In 2021, we all moved to the Santa Cruz mountains. Recently completed duplexes nestled on the banks of the San Lorenzo River in Ben Lomond became the first YWAM Santa Cruz base, surely a miracle in a tight real estate market. One by one, staff to teach and lead outreach trips signed on. By the middle of 2022, the need for more housing and teaching space became clear. How would God provide?

Through local church leaders, Cary and Chris met a man connected to the Asbury University. That man was a board member of the Redwood Christian Park (RCP) in Boulder Creek, three miles up the mountain from Ben Lomond.

Logo of Redwood Christian Park featuring tall green trees within a hexagonal shape.

The RCP had been founded in the 1950’s by families affiliated with Asbury University. The master’s degree Cary earned at Asbury gave her credibility and connection with the RCP board during a time of difficult transition for the Redwood Christian Park. Between the lightning strike-caused CZU complex fire of 2019 and the pandemic shutdown, three seasons of lost church camp summer revenue had reduced the RCP to a skeleton staff waiting for better times. The RCP board of directors invited Cary and Chris and other YWAM families to move into vacant houses at the RCP in December of 2022. It has been a blessed and mutually beneficial relationship between the two organizations now thriving on the sprawling property.

We still marvel at the divine plan revealed through Cary’s dream to attend Asbury in 2017 that opened a vital door five years later in 2022 for the future of the YWAM Santa Cruz ministry. In the summer of 2023, a cottage on the RCP was provided to me. Currently, I live in the Asbury House.😊 My role in supporting YWAM Santa Cruz is primarily providing childcare and carpooling, for two more sons were born. Cary and Chris now have six children, five boys and one girl. There’s also Leroy the cat, Ollie the golden retriever, a snake named Paris, plus chickens and even quail!🤩

🎉In November of 2026, YWAM Santa Cruz celebrates its 5th anniversary. Through a ministry begun with a prophetic dream, students now take a deep dive into Biblical literacy and discover the joy of fellowship under the redwood trees. They participate in local ministry to the Santa Cruz community through youth programs and engage with the unhoused. They travel to foreign lands, teaching in places like Cambodia and Nepal. And this is just the beginning.

I wonder what the next dream will reveal?

For more information visit YWAM Santa Cruz

Make reading ALOHA SANTA a holiday family tradition!

Mar 26 2025

The Power of Extravagant Tenderness

a book review by Dana Taylor

If you’re looking for a break from the harsh headlines of anger and aggression across the land, order a copy of The Whole Language: The Power of Extravagant Tenderness by Gregory Boyle. “Father G” or “G Dawg,” as he is often called by gang members of the streets of Los Angeles, is the local Catholic priest and founder of Homeboy Industries. My introduction to Father Boyle’s work was his bestseller Tattoos on the Heart, which I reviewed back in 2011 (see review here.) Father Boyle offers employment, encouragement, and “extravagant tenderness” to the homies and homegirls of LA.

“What began in 1988 as a way of improving the lives of former gang members in East Los Angeles has today become a blueprint for over 250 organizations and social enterprises around the world, from Alabama and Idaho, to Guatemala and Scotland.” Homeboy Industries website

To get a good feel for the style and language of the book, watch this short video of Father Boyle speaking to a group.
In The Whole Language, Father Boyle weaves his philosophy of boundless compassion with poignant glimpses of the colorful men and women of Homeboy Industries, complete with salty language. Saints and sinners are quoted in a beautiful flow of prose that touches the heart and spirit. And despite best efforts and encouragement, the adversity of poverty, addiction, and mental illness still takes a high toll of death and destruction in Homeboy territory.
Yet, it is clear that Father Boyle has made a positive difference for thousands of people across LA and the world. His legacy has just begun. I recommend reading The Whole Language like a daily devotional, a few paragraphs a day to set your mind and spirit on a good course for the hours ahead. You just may find the Grace of God through the Power of Extravagant Tenderness for yourself.

The Whole Language: The Power of Extravagant Tenderness is available at Amazon.

Feb 6 2025

Protection in Storms: A Teaching Meditation

by Dana Taylor

Can prayer influence the natural world? Stories abound. The Bible shows us Jesus calming the sea in several gospels. Jesus is napping during a boat crossing while his disciples keep watch, when a sudden storm overtakes them. Fearing for their lives, the disciples awaken their master asking, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Jesus rouses and takes control of the situation saying to the wind and sea, “Peace! Be still!” and the danger quickly abates, much to the amazement of his companions. Who is this this that even the wind and sea obey him?

As a long-time follower of Jesus, I believed him when he said followers would do his works and even greater things. I began in the realm of healing prayer and energy healing. Later, I delved into influencing the natural world, including the weather. Through the years I’ve learned how to connect with the forces of nature and have gathered more than a few anecdotes. It’s not unusual for my family and friends to call and ask for intervention.

Protection in Storms

My husband, David, once called me in the midst of a humdinger Oklahoma City hailstorm. “Do you hear that?” he asked. Indeed, from my California connection, I heard the pounding of ice on his roof. “Pray for my car! It’s out in the open in the driveway.” Staying on the phone, the two of us prayed fervently for the protection of his old jalopy. Spirit surged as I spoke my prayer language, lost in the power and emergency of the moment. At the same time, only a couple of blocks from David’s house, my friend, Helen, was dashing in her car toward the nearest shopping mall, hoping to get in the covered parking garage before her car was too damaged. Unfortunately, she didn’t make it before the power of the storm blew out her rear windshield. By the time she got to safety, she was covered in shards of glass. David’s car remained intact, without even the dimpled damaged expected from a hailstorm. In the days after the storm, he realized the amazing grace we experienced, as cars all over town drove with vinyl covers over broken windows. Windshield repairs and car rentals were in high demand that spring in OKC.

A few years ago, when I was living in Hawaii, my daughter in Missouri, Sara, called and said, “Pray for Will and Gracie right now. They are on the school bus in a terrible storm and a tree has come down in the road.” Once again, I kicked into high prayer mode. This time modern technology showed me the moving storm on my phone. Their bus was in a significant red zone. In that instance, I connected with the energy of the storm and began visualizing the area over the familiar streets. I saw Will taking care of his scared sister in the bus. As I spoke protection and dissipation of the storm, I watched in real time a horseshoe shape of calmer color push into the red zone over their area. It was a fascinating confirmation of the work I was doing.

When Fires Rage

One more story. Last summer on July 24, 2024, at about 7 PM, I sat on my couch after a long day and opened Facebook. The first post to catch my attention was from YWAM (Youth With a Mission) asking for immediate prayer for YWAM Chico, CA. A brush fire had recently broken out, raging out of control, and was headed right for the base. All staff had been quickly evacuated. My adrenaline spiked, knowing the YWAM Chico base well. Situated in a hilly canyon, the base was formerly a popular hotel, known for healing mineral baths. It now served as a major West coast base for the YWAM organization and has strong connections to my younger daughter, who is also involved in YWAM. I surrendered to an inward call from spirit to pray. The prayer became a guided vision. A still power rose within me, and I worked in partnership with unseen spiritual beings. In my mind’s eye, I saw the main buildings and the encroaching fire. We built a dome of protection over the base, an energy field woven together. After that, we began to talk to the fire, which seemed to have a presence. We directed it to go another way, down a hillside and move on around the base in its relentless consumption of fuel. After about 45 minutes of being in a spilt state of consciousness, the vision lifted. It was over. What just happened? I thought. Had it been real? A figment of an over-active imagination? As it turned out, that had been the beginning of the Park Fire that continued burning for three weeks and consumed over 95,000 acres. YWAM Chico was miraculously spared. The fire raced up to the buildings and stopped, even the resident ducks and chickens survived.

These are all examples of working with natural forces for protection in the midst of encroaching devastation. In my experience it’s possible to connect with the Gaia spirit and other elements to shield and mitigate the worst of damaging forces of nature. I recorded the following meditation as a teaching tool for people who are interested in developing their consciousness and capacity to work with the weather. Climate change is real, but so is the power and protection Divine Intervention when we learn how to connect. I encourage you to give it a try.

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