What is your purpose in life? Why are you on this earth? The daily stresses of life keep us in this box that says I must pay my bills, get a diploma, find a career, get married, have kids, support my family... Whoa! slow down. Yes those are all awesome things we should set a goal for, but why are we living? Is it to accomplish a list and then die? I would love to hear your ideas. Just thinking about it though, we are breathing to glorify God, to bring His Kingdom to earth. We immerse ourselves in His Word and focus on growing in our faith. We find where He is working around us and we join Him. That's where our true success will take place because all things are possible with Him. We must join God's active work not expect Him to join our agenda.
Something to consider: when thinking about work and what we want to do in life, I've always used the concept "what would I do for free?" What do you find yourself doing, thinking about, and planning in your spare time? Where do you feel God is placing you in the moment? What is your role when it comes to people and serving in God's Kingdom? Think about what you like to do for others and receive nothing in return. Where is your heart and what are you constantly wanting to see change or enhance?
For example, I constantly think about the youth in our age. I see kids and hear stories and want to see them loved and feel secure. I recently started working with a business that uses nature and outdoor guided trips to enhance quality of life. I find that getting back to the simplicity of God's creation is sometimes what is needed to refresh the mind and ease stress/depression. Along with that, building community with activities and learning healthy communication among teens is so important. Social media, video games, and phones have created shallow relationships, leaving no understanding of how to trust, talk, and express.
Another example is my cleaning business. I truly love to clean and I like to serve people. I like being able to help someone and feel that satisfaction. Yes I would even do this for free. Laugh if you want, but I find myself cleaning even in my spare time. I see my cleaning business as a ministry. If you consider your work as a ministry, it is so much more rewarding to finish the daily work and many times I forget I'm even getting paid.
These are just some examples to get your mind working, now think about what YOU could write pages about or talk about for hours or do for days on end. What is your passion? Identify it, live it, and share it!
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
Saturday, February 18, 2017
Saturday, February 4, 2017
Faith in Action
"In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." -James 2:17
I've had people ask me about what I think about politics and if the world is headed for collapse. What do you think? I put it back in their court. How many hours a day are we bombarded with news, social media, and much of which can be gossip? I am not saying to shut yourself in a room and block out all global communications. Rather I think it is important to be aware of what is going on in our world and how things are changing throughout history.
The important thing to recognize is how are we going to react to this information and what is our role within it. If we start to stress that the world is ending and that one person is going to make that happen, we have lost all faith. We are just a dead leaf that is blown anywhere by the wind and ultimately piles up with all the others to cause a mess.
So what do we do? Well, what can you do? What are you passionate about? Where do you feel that action needs to be taken? And I'm not talking about walking down a street holding a sign. I'm talking about using your hands, feet, mind, and heart to make a difference. Use that energy to build programs, start support groups, or volunteer. Why are we blaming one person for making the world collapse if we are not contributing to improving society?
“Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events. It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”
― Robert F. Kennedy
You will get discouraged, you will experience failure and rejection, you will want to give up. That is good, that means that something is happening! You are learning, growing, becoming stronger! Every mistake should get you more pumped to try again because now you know more than you did before. You might not see the change that come from your efforts...ever...but there is always a reaction to the action.
“It's the action, not the fruit of the action, that's important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there'll be any fruit. But that doesn't mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.”
― Mahatma Gandhi
"Can we be optimistic about the future? What about the prediction that things will get worse before they get better? Is our obligation simply to hold on as the world collapses around us? What if we are invited to trust that God is at work in our time and that, even if we can't see whether the world is getting better or worse, we can cooperate with our Creator's agenda that we become better people who live out a legacy of love in a world desperate for healing?" -Mark Scandrette from Soul Graffiti: Making a life in the way of Jesus.
God has the ultimate power, so find where He is working and join in. He has given you the gifts to accomplish what He places before you.
“Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.”
― Catherine of Siena
I've had people ask me about what I think about politics and if the world is headed for collapse. What do you think? I put it back in their court. How many hours a day are we bombarded with news, social media, and much of which can be gossip? I am not saying to shut yourself in a room and block out all global communications. Rather I think it is important to be aware of what is going on in our world and how things are changing throughout history.
The important thing to recognize is how are we going to react to this information and what is our role within it. If we start to stress that the world is ending and that one person is going to make that happen, we have lost all faith. We are just a dead leaf that is blown anywhere by the wind and ultimately piles up with all the others to cause a mess.
So what do we do? Well, what can you do? What are you passionate about? Where do you feel that action needs to be taken? And I'm not talking about walking down a street holding a sign. I'm talking about using your hands, feet, mind, and heart to make a difference. Use that energy to build programs, start support groups, or volunteer. Why are we blaming one person for making the world collapse if we are not contributing to improving society?
“Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events. It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”
― Robert F. Kennedy
You will get discouraged, you will experience failure and rejection, you will want to give up. That is good, that means that something is happening! You are learning, growing, becoming stronger! Every mistake should get you more pumped to try again because now you know more than you did before. You might not see the change that come from your efforts...ever...but there is always a reaction to the action.
“It's the action, not the fruit of the action, that's important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there'll be any fruit. But that doesn't mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.”
― Mahatma Gandhi
God has the ultimate power, so find where He is working and join in. He has given you the gifts to accomplish what He places before you.
“Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.”
― Catherine of Siena
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