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When we don't have goals we are easily distracted....

As a corporation needs a mission statement to define the business, we as humans also need a mission statement to direct our lives and define our accomplishments.  In life we need to have our own mission statement.  Write down on paper, what your dreams are, what you want to accomplish, what are your responsibilities.  Make sure you have a clear plan...this is what we are all about, these are our goals and this is how we plan on accomplishing them.  Don't go through life not knowing your purpose.  Are you hoping that you will end up in the right place?  Don't miss your destiny.  Faith without actions is death.  Ninety five percent of people do not have a plan in place to achieve what God brings to them.  Maybe it is a new job or starting a business or maybe you want to get married whatever it may be you need to have a plan of action.  The scripture says in Habakkuk write the vision and make it clear.  Write down you goals and what you want to accomplish.  It is not enough to have it in your head, something happens when you write it down and it becomes a part of you.  Keep your goals in front of you, put them on your mirror at home, and set them next to your bed so you can review them every morning and every night before you go to bed.  Keep your vision in front of you to help you stay focused.  Set long term and short term goals.   Where do you want to be 10 years from now? Where do you see yourself in your career, in your finances, in your relationships?  You need to look way down the road and set the direction of your life.  Make a decision and say this is where I am headed and write it down.  Have some big goals out in front of you.  You also need to have some short range attainable goals.  For instance, I am going to lose 20 lbs or I am going to start working out 4 days a week....I am going to take a course to improve my skills, pay down my debt....   You need short term attainable goals so you can celebrate on your way to your long term goals.    A goal alone is not enough you need to have a plan to attain your goals.    Know what steps you are taking to achieve your goals.  I know for myself, I have said I am praying, keeping my chin up and believing but that is not enough I need to make a plan of action.  Proverbs 16:9 says in his heart a man plans his course but the Lord will direct his steps.  If I don't plan my course than God cannot direct my steps.  Make a plan with your goals.  The planning part is the reason why many people do not see their dreams come to fruition.  Goals without plans end up being ineffective.  Plan your future today.

Many blessings,

Melissa

I believe that living your life for God will make life much more enjoyable.  I never thought about worship as living, breathing and having constant conversation with God but I am going to start today.  He is going to be tired of hearing from me J

Question to Consider:  What common task could I start doing as if I were doing it directly for Jesus?

I personally do not like cleaning the house, especially washing the floors and the toilets.  Now I am going to do it full of spirit...cleaning for Jesus and I bet you I will find it much more enjoyable.

Last Monday I woke up and felt awful as the morning progressed the worse I felt. So I had my son take me to the doctors.  It turned out that I had pneumonia and I was in the hospital until late Friday night.  Therefore, once again, I am just now getting back to the Purpose Driven Life Chapter 7.

After reading this chapter, I want to bring glory to God in every area of my life.   If God is inviting me to live for his glory by fulfilling the purposes he made me for, then I want to accept the invitation full heartedly.   I dream of fulfilling my purpose on this earth!

Question to Consider:  Where in my daily routine can I become more aware of God's glory?

Sometimes life seems so fast and full of commotion that I do not take the time to be aware of all of God's blessings that surround me.   During my daily routine I would like to remind myself that everything that I do is because of God's glory and everywhere I look I can see God's glory. But for me it has to be a conscious daily decision to become more aware of God's glory. 

 We are truly blessed.

Melissa

This chapter is written so eloquently and puts it all in to perspective.  I think my favorite sentence in this chapter is "When life gets tough, when you 're overwhelmed with doubt, or when you wonder if living for Christ is worth the effort, remember that you are not home yet.  At death, you won't leave home - you'll go home."  That is so very comforting to me.  I myself need to think more about not getting too attached to this earth and remembering that it is only temporary.  When you think that way it really changes your priorities and puts what is important into perspective.

Question to Consider:  How should the fact that life on earth is just a temporary assignment change the way I am living right now?

For me the fact that life on earth is just a temporary assignment makes me remember to not sweat the small things...sometimes I care too much about what other people think about me, or a ponder over their negative words, or I worry about our financial state, when in the end it doesn't really matter.  

Many Blessings,

Melissa

I have never thought of life as a test until I read this chapter.  Maybe if I had, my life would have been different...  Instead of looking at the negative things that have occurred in my life as disappointments perhaps I should have thought of them as a test and I would have persevered and come through them in a more positive manner. 

Question to Consider:  What has happened to me recently that I now realize was a test from God?  What are the greatest matters God has entrusted to me?

I recently started a new job and I now know that it is a test from God.   It truly is not the job that I wanted and for a week or so I was really struggling with it but once I came to the realization that God gave me this job and I stopped fighting it and it became a gift.  Instead of dreading it every day, I now have fun with it and try to make the most of it.  I do believe that I will pass this test and God will open another door.  It is a relief to know that God is handling it and I can pass the test.

What are your thoughts about Chapter 5?

Many blessings,

Melissa

It was several weeks ago that I received a call about a job.  Immediately the next day I went on an interview and was offered the position to start the following day, which I did.  My main focus immediately changed and I lost the essence of what is most important to me.  Every morning I got up at 6:30 AM, picked up around the house, started a load of laundry, ate breakfast, got ready and headed to the office.  At the end of the day, I would arrive home between 6:30 and 7:00PM to prepare dinner, clean up, complete the load of laundry that I started in the morning and get ready for bed.   There didn't seem to be enough time in the day to get what I wanted accomplished and yet I could not get myself out of bed any earlier. 

Every day I would mentally beat myself up because I was not spending time in prayer with God.  It is amazing how quickly our focus can turn.  The job was overwhelming to me and when I needed prayer the most I couldn't find the time.  Something was not right.  And every night before I went to bed I would say to myself... I am going to get up at 4:30AM to start my day right spending time in prayer and working on my web site but the alarm went off and the snooze button was hit until the very last minute before I had to get out of bed. 

It occurred to me that if I had a baby crying for me in the early hours of the morning, I would be out of bed in a split second focusing on what was important to me, yet I cannot get out of bed two hours early to spend time with God, who has always been there for me.  So it is my sincere apology to everyone for losing my focus.  The baby is crying and my focus is back.  Nothing would ever stop me from taking care of a crying precious baby and that baby for me is God and you!  When my alarm goes off tomorrow morning at 4:30AM it will be a delight for me to get out of bed and remember what is most important in my life.  I will be restarting The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren and will resume writing about my experience on Friday after I read Chapter 5.   Please join me on this journey and once again forgive me for losing my direction.

Many blessing to you!  And may we all make the time to focus on what is most important to us J

Melissa

Live Life Blessed!

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The Purpose Driven Life - Chapter 4 Made to Last Forever

Another thought provoking chapter.  Can you imagine what our world would be like if we all believed that our life on earth was preparing us to live eternity in heaven.  Maybe our world would be a much better place.  I can honestly say for the most part I live my life in the here and now but this chapter has opened my eyes to there is more to life than just here and now.   It is certainly comforting to think about death as a reunion of loved ones who are believers, released from all pain and suffering, rewarded for our faithfulness on earth, and reassigned to do work that we enjoy.  It is nice to know that our purpose on earth does not end here.  I don't know about you but I want to make sure when my time is up on this earth I am sitting with God in heaven. How about you?

Question to Consider: Since I was made to last forever, what is the one thing I should stop doing and the one thing I should start doing today?

For me one of things that I am going to stop doing is speaking ill of other people and the one thing I am going to start doing is praising others for all of their good.

I would love to hear your comments on the Question to Consider...what would you change?

Many blessings,

Melissa

As I read this chapter it really gave me a lot to think about.  I believe I have a lot of different things that drive my life.  One being to ensure that my family is happy and taken care of.  I always try to be kind to others and to be true to God's word.  That is really important to me but I also live a materialistic life.  I like the nicer things and I do care about what other people say about me...maybe too much.  This chapter certainly opened my eyes and will have me thinking a lot about what is my purpose and how I relate it to my life. 

I don't know if I have true meaning in my life other than to be a good person and make sure my family is taken care of.  There are times when it is hard to get out of bed because I feel like I do the same thing over and over and I do not have purpose in my life.  And now it makes sense, I truly do not have meaning in my life or I would not fall into the ruts of wondering is this all life is about getting up and doing the same thing over and over day in and day out. 

This chapter also reminded me that I am not here on earth to fill my own legacy I am here to prepare for eternity.  I truly hope that I can answer the questions --"Did you accept what Jesus did for you and did you learn to love and trust him?'  "What did you do with your life   -- all of the gifts, talents, opportunities, energy, relationships, and resources God gave you?   Did you spend them on yourself, or did you use them for the purposes God made you for?  From this day forward, I am going to try to remind myself of these questions throughout my day everyday!

Question to Consider:  What would my family and friends say is the driving focus of my life?  What do I want it to be?

Many thanks for visiting and sharing with us.  Have a blessed day!

Melissa

The sentence that really stood out for me in Chapter 2 is "God made you so he could love you.  This is the truth to build your life on."   I never thought about it in this way that God made me so he could love me.  I don't think I truly allow God to love me or anyone else for that matter.  I guess when I was born in the back of mind I always wondered if I was worthy.  This chapter was very inspiring to me.  It is a wonderful feeling to know that we were all specially created by God and we are truly loved.  So often I remember things that have happened in my past and the negative words that were said to me that made me feel unworthy of unconditional love. 

The question to consider:  I know that God uniquely created me.  What areas of my personality, background and physical appearance am I struggling to accept?

What were your thoughts after reading this chapter?

Have a blessed day!

Melissa

Today is the first day of our exciting journey reading the Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren.  Each day I will be writing here sharing my thoughts and adding discussion questions.  I hope we can all interact and learn what our purpose is together.

Chapter 1 It All Starts With God

I think this bible verse says it all:

"Everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him."

Colossians 1:16b

For me it is hard to remember every second of the day that life is really about living for God.  When I first wake up in the morning I thank God for the wonderful day that is ahead of me and when I go to sleep at night I thank God for all the blessings the day brought me but when something is not going my way it really is hard to remember that is not about me, it is about living for God.  I think from the time we are infants we are programmed to believe life is all about us.  We want all eyes, ears and love on us.  Our egos thrive on ourselves and as a culture it is all around us to live life for us.  Through reading this chapter I am going to focus my mind and love on living for God and not myself.

The question to consider:  In spite of all the advertising around me, how can I remind myself that life is really about living for God, not myself?

Please share your thoughts with us.

Thank you for joining us and many blessings.

Melissa