Category Archives: life

affirmation, choices, God, Growing, Lessons, life, purpose

Finding Your God- Given Purpose!

We live in a world filled with challenges and it is very easy to get so caught up and lost in the hustle and bustle of everyday living. And in this very mixed up place it is very possible and most likely that we will lose sight of the deeper questions that echo within our hearts that are meant to guide us to better and more productive places. Questions like: “Who am I?” “Why am I here?” You know, those fundamental questions about our purpose in life which often lead us on a quest for real meaning and personal fulfillment. Many believe that understanding and embracing our God-given purpose is the key to unlocking a life of true significance and I have to agree that this is the track that we need to be traveling on.

Discover The Source Of Your Purpose:

Our sense of purpose is intricately woven into the very fabric of our existence. For those who believe in a higher power, understanding that they are created by a loving God provides a proper foundation for discerning our unique purpose. This belief suggests that each individual is intentionally designed for a specific role or calling in this grand tapestry of life. This makes sense to me, because when I look around, I see a design and if there is a design, then there must have been a designer.

Unfold Your Unique Talents and Passions:

God endows every individual with a set of unique talents, gifts, and passions. These innate qualities serve as clues to our purpose. When we identify and cultivate these gifts, talents and skills, we often find ourselves naturally gravitating towards activities and pursuits that bring us joy and fulfillment and this is a great indicator of where we can locate and get in touch with our purpose.

Serve Others As Light To Guide You To Your Purpose:

One of the most powerful ways to fulfill our God-given purpose is through service to others. Acts of kindness, compassion, and selflessness not only impact the lives of those we serve but also provide a sense of purpose and fulfillment for ourselves. This principle is echoed in many faith traditions, emphasizing the profound impact of loving our neighbors and is best summed up by the Golden Rule, which states that we should do unto others as we would have others do unto us.

OvercomeChallenges And Navigate Detours:

The journey towards fulfilling our God-given purpose is not usually a straight path, in fact it is often a bumpy road of curvy ups, downs and sideways. Challenges, setbacks, and detours are part of the human experience. It is in these moments of adversity that we can, in fact discover real opportunities for growth and self-discovery. Trusting in God’s plan, even when it seems unclear, can lead to unexpected blessings and a deeper understanding of our purpose.

Live With Intention And Mindfulness:

Living with purpose requires intentionality and mindfulness. It involves aligning our actions, decisions, and priorities with our understanding of God’s calling for our lives. This may mean letting go of distractions, negative influences, or unhealthy habits that hinder our progress towards fulfilling our purpose. The biggest battle you will ever face will be with yourself!

Find Fulfillment Beyond Material Success:

The world today often equates success with material wealth or external achievements. This is why it is extra important to recognize our God-given purpose and how it can lead us to a deeper, more meaningful form of fulfillment. True contentment is not solely found in worldly possessions, but in the knowledge that we are living in accordance with our divine calling by being who God created us to be and by doing what God gifted us to do.

Embrace The Ever-Evolving Journey:

Understanding and embracing our God-given purpose is not a static endeavor. It’s a dynamic, ever-evolving journey that requires openness to growth and change. As we mature and gain new insights, our understanding of our purpose may deepen, leading us to new opportunities for service, learning, and self-discovery. It is not about perfection and getting everything right. It is about learning from our mistakes, sins and failures, so that we are better the next time around.

Live And Learn!

Embracing our God-given purpose is a transformative journey that offer us the invitation to seek a life of meaning, significance, and fulfillment. It calls us to recognize our unique gifts, while using them to serve others with love and compassion, all the while trusting in the divine plan even and most especially in times of uncertainty. As we walk this path, we discover that our purpose is not only a destination but a way of living that brings light and hope to the world around us and this is purpose fulfilled…

affirmation, appreciation, bible, choices, Enlightenment, Expectation, faith, God, grace, Gratitude, Growing, happiness, life, love, mindfulness

Life Is Good!

So many times in our life and living, we are so focused on the next goal, the next day, the next accomplishment, the next “whatever”, that we miss the moments that are life. When we measure the success of failure of our lives through the lens of tasks accomplished, goals obtained or actions taken, we miss the biggest part of life by ignoring the obvious.

In the meditation movement, we are encouraged to be present in the moment, so that we don’t miss the life that is happening right in front of us. It is very helpful to take a step back every now and then to make sure that we are focused on what really matters and not on just what we have convinced ourselves that matters.

Being present is our God given capacity to step out of the busyness of life and into the moment, so that we might take in all that our present experience is offering us. Some of us are great at this and some of us battle to slow our minds down enough to allow ourselves the opportunity to enjoy this moment of life.

“15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” -Ephesians 5:15-16

It is possible to live life and yet not really be living at all. It is possible to miss all the good stuff while we are focusing on all the stuff that we are trying to bring into compliance. In those rare moments when we are actually present, life becomes magical. We see and smile at the fluttering butterfly. We breath in the sweet smell of the beautiful flowers and feel pleasure from the inside-out.

There is nothing wrong with getting things done. Accomplishment is a very satisfying gift in and of itself, but don’t allow the goal of accomplishment to cause you to miss out on the precious gift of life and especially life in the moments that all too often get missed.

Life is about so much more than what gets done through our accomplishments. A life well lived is a life that had learned to experience life as it happens by enjoying the precious gifts the moment.

Someone has said that this life is God’s gift to us and what we do with this life is our gift to God. When I give someone a gift and they appreciate and enjoy it, that is a gift to me. The fuller life that God has for each of us can best be experienced by not missing, but enjoying the moments.

Life is a collection of moments, enjoy everyone of them!

affirmation, appreciation, bible, change, faith, God, grace, Gratitude, Growing, journey, Lessons, life, personal growth, scripture, self improvement, Suffering

It’s All Good!

Many years ago, one of my best friends tuned his back on me, stabbed me in the back multiple times and began the unraveling of a life that I had spent all of my life trying to build and grow. The confusion, heartache and stress that it brought into my life, ultimately brought me to a place of just wanting to die. I asked him multiple times what was going on, what had I done in an attempt to find out how I might could fix what was obviously very broken. I never found out the answers to any of the thousands of questions that I had and eventually that became okay, because at the end of the day – that’s life.

As I sit here this morning, thinking about how grateful I am for the blessings that God has poured out upon my life, I can’t help but think back to those very dark times when I really didn’t care if I made it though another day or not. While I did not want to live, because the frustration, heartache and pain was just too much, God never left me. His presence was always with me, holding me and keeping me safe from myself. God used a lot of different things and people to help put the broken pieces of my life back together again. I am sure that to others I appeared broken, confused, lost and probably best just forgotten, but to God this “ole boy” was a different story.

Only a small handful of people really know the struggle between light and darkness that I was engaged in and of those that would say that they did, most of those people did nothing to help me, instead they looked down their noses in judgement and speculated in their gossip. It’s sometimes seems that others get their good feelings for themselves in the misery of others, which makes absolutely no sense to me, but I am sure that I have been guilty of the same.

At some point, the God, Who never left me, helped me to find my way out of the darkness and into His marvelous light. All of my life, I have witnessed God doing amazing and beautiful things through ordinary people. I now have a better understanding of how God uses the broken to bring blessing and it has changed the way I live by changing the way I see life, others, myself and God.

While I was lost in the darkness, wandering around trying to make sense out of the senseless and discover the purpose which I had lost somewhere along the way, God was preparing me to receive a gift, a new and improved outlook which reminds me that “God Gives Beauty For Ashes!”

To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes,the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD,that he might be glorified. -Isaiah 61:3

My point is this: Whatever is going on in your life at this particular time – EMBRACE IT! In my ole country boy way of putting things, I would just have to say: “It’s All Good!” It is true that God uses even the bad for our good as we love and trust Him. Life is probably not going to work out the way you think it should, no matter how good your thoughts and plan might be. Things will happen. Some days the sun will shine on you and some days the rain will fall, but remember this: There is a God, Who loves you and who has a plan to bless you. According to that plan, He will use even the bad for your good as you love and trust Him…