Write it on the wall, please!

What is God’s purpose for my life? Do I even have a purpose in life? How will I know what God wants me to do? Will He write it on the walls, or do I need to discover it? HELP…I want to live purposefully! Sound familiar? Well, I have good news! YOU HAVE PURPOSE. Read on to see…

P… A Plan has been created for your life by God ….just for YOU! Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you, not to harm you; plans of hope and a future.” Trust God. He indeed is the Man with a Plan.

U…Unique is one of God’s favorite characteristics, I’m convinced! There is no one like our God, and guess what? There is no one like YOU either! Ephesians 2:10 says, “that we are God’s masterpiece…a work of art!” Unique and one of a kind. What does He want you to do for Him that only YOU can do?

R…Redemption is always on God’s radar. He wants to take your “mess” and weave it into His plan for you. Yes, He wants to use your past, your pain, your faults for His glory. Impossible you say? Why don’t you take a stroll through His Word and read about the lives of Joseph, Moses, David, Paul, and Peter.

P… the Power of the Holy Spirit is absolutely necessary to fulfill God’s purpose for our lives. “Apart from Him, we can do nothing.” (Jn. 15: 5) “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurable more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.” (Eph. 3:20)

O…Obedience and commitment on our part is required. God may call us to do something that seems impossible or makes us feel uncomfortable. We must trust Him and obey Him. “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” Heb. 11: 8

S…Serving is something we do for others, but whenever we do it with humility and passion, we somehow are the ones that gain incredible blessing. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord…” Col. 3:23.

E…Experience life to the fullest! I am fully convinced that people that live life purposefully, who know who they are in Christ and what God has given them to do, truly experience abundant life. They are fruitful and they are fulfilled. (Jn. 10:10)

So, are you living a life with PURPOSE? I want to challenge you to consider that question. In the last year, I have had the privilege of meeting with so many of you and helping you find your purpose in the Kingdom. Some of you would prefer Him to write your purpose on the wall, right? That may or may not happen. But I can guarantee that if you seek Him, you will find Him. Because remember…he is the Man with the Plan.

Encourage - Putting the courage "in" someone!

Thanks to a sweet friend's encouraging words and posting my blog on her facebook page, I decided that after a year's sabbatical from blogging, it might be time to try and start again. Thank you, Ande!

As I thought about her words, I thought about the word "encourage." The dictionary defines encourage like this, "to give support, confidence, or hope to someone; to give support and advice to someone so that they will do or continue to do something; to help." In other words, when we encourage others, we put courage into them! What a gift and a blessing! Of course, the opposite is true: when we discourage someone, we take the courage right out of them. Ouch.

I don't know about you, but I love to receive words of encouragement. I don't care if they are face to face, facebooked, emailed, snail mailed, or written on sticky notes! They give me courage to keep on keeping on. They give me courage to do things I might not otherwise do. They give me courage to blog when I haven't in a year! They put courage into me!

The Bible uses the Greek word paraklesis for the word encouragement. The Complete Word Study New Testament says, "the entire Scripture is actually a paraklesis, an exhortation, admonition or encouragement for the purpose of strengthening and establishing the believer's possession of redemption." So...the Bible is living, breathing, encouragement meant to remind me that I have been redeemed! My freedom from the bondage of death and sin has been paid for by the blood of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Thank you Jesus!

I challenge us all to do two things:

1. The next time you feel led to write a note of encouragement -- do it! You just might be putting courage into someone!

2. The next time you pick up the Word of God, know that He is speaking words of encouragement over you reminding you that you have been redeemed. You are free!

"For I know that my Redeemer lives and that in the end He will stand upon the earth." Job 19:25

"David was greatly distressed...but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God." 1 Samuel 30:6

Now, go...put courage into someone!

Manbreak or womanbreak?

I can't help but talk about my children. It seems God uses them to speak to me so much. Yesterday morning as I lay in my bed...realizing that it was nearing 8 am and it was Monday...I was thrilled! My kids had a teacher-in-service day. And although I usually don't understand the reason for these days, I am grateful that I do not have to get up and start the daily grind. Well, I do eventually have to get up...but not at my usual 6am. Ok, most of the time it is 6:30. Anyway...Ryan (my 5 year old) came running into my bedroom at about 8:15 am and jumped on the bed and crawled under the covers and laid down next to me. He loves to do this. So we cuddled for a few minutes and he said, "Mommy, do they have man breaks?" "What?!" I asked ,very confused. "You know, Mommy. Do they have man breaks or woman breaks?" "Ryan, what are you talking about?" He was beginning to get frustrated with my lack of understanding. "MOMMY...like me and sissy have a kid break from school, do they have man breaks and woman breaks?" I got it. He wanted to know if his daddy and mommy ever got a break. "Well, I said, today Mommy's getting a little break (Yeah, right!) by not having to take you to school. And Daddy gets a break on the weekend...and some holidays." "Oh..." He said. "Why do you ask?" I responded. "'Cause you and daddy need a break, too. You need to rest." What a genius of a little boy! At five, he recognizes the importance of breaks...of resting. Albeit, we could rest a lot more if he did not wake us up at 7 am on Saturday mornings!



"And on the seventh day, having finished His task, God rested from all His work." Genesis 2:2

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened heavily, and I will give you REST." Matthew 11:28

"Sabbath: uncluttered time and space to distance ourselves from the frenzy of our own activities so that we can see what God has been doing; is doing....The precedent to quit doing and simply be is divine. " Eugene Peterson

So...take a man break or a woman break...You need it and it is divine.

Don't Get Distracted

The family had a great time outside this evening. We even had our dinner outside on the back patio. It was wonderful...everyone ate their food (that's a feat in itself!) and behaved appropriately at the table. I went inside to fix our dessert of fresh strawberries and Cool Whip and Ryan followed me inside. He decided that he would have his "new" yogurt that comes with the Oreos to put on top. (Like my new ploy to have him eat healthy?!) Fine with me. So, we carefully peel the silver liner off of the vanilla yogurt and then he meticulously peels away the silver liner from the oreo container. "Are you going to put that on top?" I asked. "No, I am just going to do it outside." "OK," I answered. He then proceeded to go back outside to the patio in the backyard, dropping only a few oreo crumbs for Bekah to later find smashed into the bottom of her feet. I continued to prepare our strawberries and cool whip when I heard a screeching cry. I knew the cry was from Ryan. The cause: that was up for grabs. Could he have fallen into the pool? Off of the trampoline? Maybe he was bitten by a spider or a snake? Maybe he fell on the concrete and scratched his leg or arm. The screeching cry then turned to sobbing as I heard the door open and Ryan walked in. He seemed to be intact. At least his body parts were. "What happened?" I asked as I ran to him. "Doc (our dog) ate my yogurt and oreos!" he exclaimed. "How did that happen?" I asked, knowing that Ryan often gave Doc some of his food. "I was in the front yard catching a spider and I left my yogurt on the ground next to the pool...and Doc ate it!"

Moral of this story: Really there is no moral, but perhaps a lesson. Don't get distracted...the dog just might eat your "new" yogurt with oreos.



"Keep your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith." Hebrews 12:2

Lord, help me not to be so easily distracted. I don't want to miss out on enjoying You.

This is so weird...

Ok, I finally did it. This blog thing. Though it was quite easy to set up and get started, the continued writing will be the test. I want to do this...

The title of my blog needs a little explanation, I'm sure. It's just a reminder to me that if I am sitting on the throne of my life, there is not room for the One who desires to sit there. And the "get real" part...let's face it...we all need a reminder that we need to get real with ourselves, others, God. Living authentically is something God has been dealing with me about for the last year and a half. It begins with realizing how much God loves you...just the way you are...and that there is nothing you have done or could do to make him love you any less. There is great freedom in that.

So... for now I'll go. I'll be praying God gives me something else to say.