purpose

Setting Concrete Goals

March 13, 2017 by Mary

Do you have any life goals that you would like to work toward and/or achieve in the next twelve months?

Some areas you may want to consider are family, church, work, personal life, education, etc. When you set a goal, it is good to write a statement reflecting the goal. Your goal statement should be specific, achievable and measurable. A goal is something you work to accomplish. You do activities and ACCOMPLISH goals.

A good idea or example is to write three goals in the following categories. Remember to make your goal statements bite size enough that you can achieve them, yet big enough that you have to work toward accomplishing them!

Family Goals:
1.
2.
3.
(Good concrete examples are: Spend 30 minutes per day quality time with each person. Schedule a 7-day vacation. Etc.)

Educational Goals:
1.
2.
3.

Work/Career Goals:
1.
2.
3.

Personal Goals:
1.
2.
3.

List the goals above in order of priority by assigning them to either A (high priority) or B (low priority). Do the same for the category B priorities!

I realize that most of us set goals at the beginning of each New Year. Some of us just mull them over in our head while others list them out. By this time, you may have put aside some of those goals or decided that they are not achievable and have given up on the idea of accomplishing them. The first quarter of the year is a good time to reflect upon our priorities, look at our goals, and perhaps break them down into smaller bites so that we can accomplish them, even if it requires taking baby steps.

10 Important Things About Your Purpose

March 9, 2017 by Mary

10 Important Things About Your Purpose

1. As Mother Teresa so aptly put it, “we can do no great things, only small things with great love.” We were each created with different and unique abilities and capabilities. There is purpose in doing those things we do well with great love.

2. Some of us are born with quieter dispositions and happily do things behind the scenes, while others have a greater understanding of leadership at the front and center. Neither of the two personality types is right or wrong. “For we have many parts in one body, but these parts do not all have the same function.” Romans 12:4 We are all created for a different function.

3. Regardless of our physical, intellectual, emotional or socioeconomic standing, each of us is equal to the other in the eyes of God. It does not matter if we are a movie star or a homeless man—the eyes of God see purpose in each of us.

4. Growth means evolving, changing and moving in new directions. Our purpose may change during our lifetime. God put us on the earth to be the best we can be and our purpose must be flexible enough to hear and obey whatever it is he is asking us to do now.

5. When we are still and focus on the beauty of the everyday moments in our lives and give thanks we are more likely to find purpose, rather than searching for it and becoming discontented. The discontented places in our hearts are not from lack of purpose, but rather a lack of understanding that we are truly loved just as we are.

6. Your purpose correlates with what you hold dear in your heart. “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” Luke 6:45. Of what things do you speak? It is normal to feel lost, lonely, isolated and confused from time to time.

7. Spiritual health helps us gain a sense of acceptance, both inward and outward and will supply us with the resource of inner peace and an understanding that God doesn’t judge us by performance, He looks at our heart. “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind.”Luke 10:27

8. When we put God first and give him everything that we are, he will show us our purpose. Understand that your purpose may change….it is not a life sentence.

9. Being purpose driven may cause a sense of shame, guilt and rejection if the great light bulb doesn’t light up and show you what you have been created for, when in reality, the bible tells us, “you were created for such a time as this” Esther 4:14, meaning that each day holds purpose. Our purpose is driven by our daily choices.

10. It is healthy to aspire to do great things, but important to be happy with yourself just as you are and know that you are loved and valued and don’t have to be anyone other than who you are to be acceptable in the eyes of God.

Day 66: Spiritual Wellness

November 21, 2015 by Mary

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Struggling to Find Purpose?

June 12, 2015 by Mary

If you are struggling to find purpose in your life, read my article Do you have a life verse? at (In)Courage.

Holy Discontent

April 1, 2015 by Mary

Several years ago I went to a pastor’s conference at Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago. One of the speakers did a teaching on “holy discontent,” which he described as passion burning inside of each one of us to do something great. It will be different for each of us, but we all have a passion that drives us. We can choose to ignore it, or we can embrace it and watch how God uses it.

A book that I am reading, A New Look at Prayer: Searching For Bliss, by Bill Huebsch, says this in regard to the subject of passion and inner yearnings:

“Many people live their entire lives without following their inner call. They never do that thing which is most “them”, never follow their heart. In their thinking, they’re being responsible adults, doing the work expected of them, earning a living, making a name, caring for others, obeying the rules, perfecting the world, running the ship, keeping things tidy…and so these people never know the bliss of following their yearning, listening to their ache, doing their thing in life…how very sad because when we listen closely to that deep, inner voice, and follow our real route, then the world too, prospers because all of us are living according to our created purpose.”

It’s funny how when we are receptive to the messages God has for us, we will find and discover them around us each day.

What is your holy discontent? What ONE thing has been a constant in your life? Is there something that you would like to achieve, a people group you long to help, something that you dream about or something that you would quit your day job to do, if you could?

Take chances. Live your dream. Invest in yourself, and by doing so you will help change the world around you. I have a plaque on my desk to remind me that I am moving in the right direction and it reads, “Follow Your Heart.” I need a visual reminder to assure me in moments of self-doubt that I can do all things through Christ, who is my strength. (Philippians 4:13)

List three things you would like to try:

List three places you would like to visit:

Define your “holy discontent”. Write it down. Pin it up somewhere that you can see it, daily. Once you begin to see and understand what it is that you are passionate about, your “holy discontent”, you can begin the process of working toward something.

Begin to “Follow Your Heart” today…. try some new things, go somewhere new, work toward listening closer to your inner voice, following your real route…the route that was designed especially for you. How would your journey look? Describe…