We are already half way through our book! Being able to chat with you girls through this blog and share my thoughts and feelings with you has been amazing! I love that we can grow as women of God together.
"There could never be a more beautiful you; Don't buy the lies disguises, and hoops they make you jump through; You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do; There could never be a more beautiful you."
I praise God for my beautiful friends :)
This chapter was a little bit different from the previous chapters, but it really spoke to me. finding a purpose for our life seems like a huge task, but a vitally important task. Without a purpose, we seem like robots living hour to hour, day to day, with nothing driving us. Not having a purpose is a scary thought to me!
ReplyDeleteI've always believed that God does everything for a purpose. He is not wasteful. He uses each experience, each moment of every life to weave an intricate pattern that shows Jesus' face. Sometimes we fail to see the big picture becuase we have a "faulty focus" like Linda said. But God takes each tear, each smile, each breathe, each day and makes a purpose for us. He whispers this purpose to us and nudges us in the right direction. We just have to stop and realize what He is telling us.
"And we know that God causes all things to work togehter for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. For whom He foreknew He also predestined to become comformed to the image of His son" Romans 8:28-29.
Tha purpose I liked best was Phyllis'. The 4 words Phyllis uses to describe her purpose are "purposely, faithfully, creatively, and paradoxically." I want to live out these 4 words too. :)
I also liked Mimi's statement on page 117 when she said that "You can mimic goodness but godliness cannot be imitated." I think it is easy to get caught up in being a "good" woman instead of a Godly woman. Being good doesn't mean living life with a Godly purpose and certainly doesn't mean right by God. I tried to look inside myself and see if I am settling for good or reaching for Godly. Which are you doing?
My adviser said something to us as a group the other day - that she wanted us to come up with a plan (or focus, rather), for what we want in the next 5 years. 5 years??? I don't know where I want to be 5 months from now, let alone 5 years. And it's a balance, you know, what she wants me to be focused on and what God wants me to be focused on. She's looking for things like career aspirations, technical details, "I want to be the boss of 27 people and work on turbine blade heat transfer" type of information. Information that I can't give. Because you know, in 5 years, I kind of want to be a wife, with a church that challenges me and friends that support me. I want to spend time ministering to others on the weekends, and maybe take a few beach vacations and hang out with my family. Career-wise? Eh. I have absolutely NO aspirations to be a powerful business woman. None. I want to be happy. I want to be where God wants me, and I don't know where that is yet.
ReplyDeleteI feel like my failure to meet my adviser's expectations of a plan and a focus for my life might also match that my failure to match God's expectations. He says things like, "where do you see yourself as a member of my kingdom?", and I say, "well, I'm happy... I think I make others happy in God's kingdom... that's good, right?" Sure, I go to Bible studies and I volunteer at my church and I pray with others. But those are things I do because I can, not because I plan them (the "settling for good" part of that, instead of "reaching for Godly"). If it weren't for Dave, I would be in a completely different church/faith situation in State College, and I'd probably be less involved in whichever church I would have ended up at. There was never a focus or a plan...things just happened (but is where I am right now God's plan? I think so...). I definitely need to be more purposeful in reaching for a Godly focus.
A life purpose statement... I love this idea! "Betty Scott Stam wrote hers in the form of a prayer: 'Lord, I give up all my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes, and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my life, my all utterly to Thee to be Thine forever. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Use me as Thou wilt, send me where Thou wilt, work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost, now and forever.'" Isn't this a wonderful prayer?
ReplyDeleteAfter some meditation I think that I have finally completed my life purpose statement. Here it goes...
I want to live my life by going into any situation with the mindset of what can I do for others, not what can I get out of this for myself. A dedication to worship God by lifting up and encouraging others.
I want to live my life by blessing others with the blessings God has graciously given to me.
I want to live my live by daily submitting myself to prayer for my husband, my broken family, my community, my country and the furthering of the gospel throughout the world. Also, may I be in constant communion with God so that I can follow the steps He has prepared before me, His will for my life.
As I look back on my life I realize how faithful God has been to me. He has walked beside me through the darkest seasons of my life. The most content seasons of my life were when I submitted to God all that I could not change and trusted that He was in control. My career has bot begun the way that I dreamed it would but I am so much happier when I trust that God is in control... He has never let me down. I want to live my life trusting the creator of the universe to be in control of my life path.
I want to live my life walking in the footsteps God has placed before me, that I may fulfill my purpose.
On page 118, when talking about the womens' life statements whom the author writes about in this chapter says, "Each woman's life goal was a process, shaped and refined over time... Ask yourself: Where do I want to be ten years from today?" The life statement that I wrote above is not where I see myself today but rather where I would like to see myself... I know that I can only accomplish my life goal with God's help.
I encourage all of you ladies to meditate on your what your life statement might look like.
Jenna,
ReplyDeleteAll I can really say is that was beautiful. I have been so busy and have taken a sideways step away from God, but you just reminded me how much I want to be God's servant and walk with him through my life.
Libby
Thanks Libby :) I want to encourage everyone to see God in every moment. Our days are busy, and for me they seem to get even busier the older I get. I don't read my Bible every day and I don't always set aside a block of time to pray. In the past I've gotten very discouraged with my inability to get through the One Year Bible or be able to pray for at least 10 minutes every day. Recently, I've been doing something a little different... I've been trying periodically praise God throughout the day, I've been trying to see God in people and the beauty of his creation. If I see someone or hear of someone who God lays on my heart I send up a short prayer for them. If I have a quiet moment, like in the car or when blow drying my hair, I try to use that time to pray for someone that God brings to my mind. I've been learning that my relationship with God is not that 20 minutes I that I try to squeeze into my day to do my devotions but rather a constant communion with Him. I can talk to him no matter what I am doing. Our relationship with God shouldn't be an all or nothing engagement. It is my hope that the more simple moments I invite God into my life, the more I am going to make time to read His Word and the longer time I am going to devote to prayer. Anyways, it's just a thought.
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