PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE DAY 3: What drives your life.

Ok, so I'm back.Vacation was good and i totally forgot my book:(ooooppps.
Well todays reading was very very very good. i really enjoyed it and got a lot out of it. This chapter starts off but giving you examples of things that we let drive our lives.
1.)Many people are driven by guilt.
"They spend their lives running from regrets and hiding in their shame."
Although I dont know a lot i do know this, God forgives our past and FORGETS our past. He doesnt hold us accountable to all of our sins,we ourselves need to learn to stop living in shame and regret,how will we ever see what God truely has in store if we are always worrying about our past?
"We are products of our past, we dont have to be prisioners of it."
We need to stop letting the past dicate our future. We need to leave the past in the past and just let it be.Worrying about it all the time will not change it,yes it will always be there but it will only hang over your head like a rainy cloud if we let it.
2.)Many people are drivenby resentment and anger.
This one very much hit home for me. i do have a lot of anger and resentment towards my bio-dad. and now at 19 i see how this statement is true. I let that anger and resentment allow me to justify why i shouldnt be the one to work on our relationship. I think well he's hurt me before am I really ready to let my heart out there again and give him a 2nd chance, and honestly half of me wants a realtionship with him more then anything(i mean come on he's my dad)but the other half lets that anger take hold and i lose all motivation to start a fresh relationship with him. the book say's "God specializes in giving people a fresh start" thats what i need to do with my dad, God put His heart out there for me, why can't i do the same?ok i will work on this.
i encourage you if your holding resentment towards someone, let it go."Resentment and anger hurt you more then the person who wronged you."
3.)Many people are driven by fear.
"Regardless of the cuase fear driven people often miss out on great opportunities becuase they're afraid to venture out.Instead they play it safe,avoiding risks and trying to stick to the status quo.Fear is a self imposed prision that will keep you from what God intends for you to be. You must move against it with the weapons of faith and love.
4.)Many people are driven by materalism.
I think this is a very true statement for most of us today. People want the "american dream" but the sad thing is the "american dream" doesnt often include God. God says the most valuable things in life aren't things. We must think about what we are truely saying, if all were living for are materalism. Where is all that going when you die? where will you be if your identity is wrapped up in these things,and these things go away? You can lose everything on this earth in a minute.We can't let our desire to have great things take control. Its not bad to have great things, its only a problem when your worshiping the worthless things more then you are God.
5.)Many people are driven by the need of approval.
This one i can relate to also. I think being the younger child i always wanted to prove myself, i tried to do everything my sister did,but i tried to do it better, years later i found that she is naturally talented at things i cant do to save my life. But having that mindset that i need to be pleasing everyone early in my childhood it really stuck with me while growning.I soon was the girl who didnt know how to say no, i needed to please everyone at all times or i didnt feel loved. Then as i got older and we moved to California and i became the fat kid, i found myself trying to fill this role more then ever,but in the wrong ways. i did everything that my friends did just to fit in and i quickly lost my motivation for life. Now as a christian, i hae learned a valuable lesson. We must first minster to God, then oursleves, then others. once i started saying no i doing what i wanted(that sounds bad but you know what i mean) i found that i wasnt warn out all the time. i learned that the people that matter most in my life loved me anyways.
The benifits of a purpose driven life.
1.)knowing your purpose gives you meaning for your life.
"We were made to have a meaning." God knows our meaning, seek Him and you will find it.
2.) Knowing your purpose simpilfies your life.
Once we figure out our purpose it will be easy to leave all the other "gunk" behind and and focus on what God has in store for us. And focusing on your purpose will bring you a lot of peace because now were not worried about if we will ever find it.
"It defines what you do and dont do."it will be so much easier to do what were supose to do when we know what that is.
3.)knowing your purpose focuses your life.
"If you want your life to have an impact focus it." Focus on what your purpos is and spend your time fulfilling that purpose. You can make an impact on peoples lives just by having yours figured out:).
4.)knowing your purpose motviates your life.
Purpose produces passion. When we have that motivation back in our lives that we have lost, we suddenly feel needed,wanted, and thats a great feeling,but its what you do with that feeling that really counts.
5.)knowing your purpose prepares you for eternity.
"Many people spend their life trying to create a lasting legacy on earth."Guess what?people will forget who you are and what you did. Your generation will die along with you, only to have other"legacies"in the next generation,and after,and after. Its eternity thats important.What are you doing to further the Kingdom?Heres 2 questions to really think about(in case God asks you on JD)"What did you do with my Son,Jesus Chirst?""What did you do with what i gave you?"

Point to ponder: Living on purpose is the path to peace.
Verse to remember: "You,Lord,give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put there trust in you."Isaiah 26:3
Question: What would my family and friends say my driving force in life is?What do i want to be?

Well kiddos,this was an awesome read today:)love ya.Have a blessed day.

PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE:You are not an accident. day two

I really enjoyed todays reading it was helpful in things I'm currently going through in my personal life right now. i love it how God shows you something remarkable without you expecting it, it just shows that our God is a truly awesome God. 

So you were not an accident. We hear this all the time, that He knew us before the womb, and he knit us in the womb. But reading this chapter it really put it all in perspective for me and i was amazed when i read this today. In this book it says, "Your parents may not have planned you but God did." i love that probably because in the worldly view i was a complete accident, but God planned for me, and he planned the parents i would have. which when i really think back on my life I'm thankful for my parents, even the hard times, this chapter really let me realize that i was holding really big resentment that im now working on letting go .

Psalm 138:8 says,"The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me." I think this verse says it all. He WILL fulfill His purpose but we have to be ready to take on the challenge. We have to be ready to surrender to Him, and lose our lives to take up his cross. 

In this chapter there was a poem that i think explained the whole chapter to the T and  i loved it, its by Russell Kelfer

you are who you are for a reason 

you're part of an intricate plan 

you're a percious and perfect unique design

called God's special woman or man.

you look like you llok for a reason

our God made no mistake

he knit you together within the womb

you're just what he wanted to make 

the parents you had were ones he chose 

and no matter how you may feel 

they were custom-designed with God's plan in mind 

and they bear the master's seal 

no,that trauma you faced was not easy 

and God wept that it hurt you so 

but it was allowed to shape your heart 

so that into his likeness you'd grow

you are who you are for a reason

you've been formed by the master's rod 

you are who you are beloved

because there is a God. 

so with this in mind heres todays work.

Point to ponder:Your not an accident

Memory verse:"i am your creator,you were in my care before you were born." isaiah44:2

Question: I know that God uniquely created me. what area's of my personality,background,and physical appearance I'm i struggling to accept?

and with that have a very blessed day.god bless. 

PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE:it all starts with God.

So last night i started a book called, The Purpose Driven Life by:Rick Warren. Its a 40 day discovery on what your truely called to be for God. Day one's title was It all starts with God.
Day one talked about how your life is bigger then you. ".....everything got started in Him and finds its purpose in Him."Col.1:16. As humans we tend to rely on yourselves to find our meaning of life. But focusing on what we think we are destined to do will never help us find the answer. "You didn't create yourself, so there is no way you can tell yourself what you wre created for." This is so true, to me it seems that once I let God take complete control of my life this simple question was answered. God has called me to be a full-time pastor, and this is now my life's desire. Even though I didn't stay in Texas the calling is still there(duh) and in the near future i will be taking the steps to becoming this.
"You were made by God for God- and untill you understand that, life will never make sense." My life always seems so complicated, worring about what everyone else wants me to do, and trying please always please others. But thats not what my life should be about, the only place i need to look for an answer is to God. Even in ministry(4-fold ministry) it's 1.)GOD2.)YOURSELF3.)CHURCH4.)OTHERS. We first ministry to God then ourselves, and i always tend to put myslef 4th.
One of my fav. qoutes from the book last night was this, "The easiest way to discover the purpose of an invention is to ask the creator of it. The same is true for discovering your life's purpose:Ask God." It's that simple.
So heres our little study guide for day one. Point to ponder:It's not about me. Verse to remember:"Everything got started in Him and finds it's purpose in Him." Col.1:16 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? I think a couple good ways is to always stay connected with God, my prayer never stops in the morning in continually through out the day, there's always an open line of communication with Him. Also to remind ourselves that we were created by him for him not the world. There's this song i like called "Finish Last" and in the song it says,"i wanna finish last,last in the worlds eyes,no mattr what i do i will be first in your eyes." and i love that its kinda like a life quote.
well thats about it. hope you have a blessed day:)