Tag: daily life

Life’s 5 Greatest Questions (Purpose Driven Life)

Posted on by Mary
Questions

Hi Friends today we are going to tackle life’s 5 greatest questions. These are 5 questions posed at the end of Rick Warren’s book The Purpose Driven Life (Not an affiliate link).

But first a little back story

I started The Purpose Driven Life in 2019. The book originally came out while I was in Bible College and many of my college peers (including my future hubby ) had to read the book for various classes. It was not part of my reading so I just didn’t read it.

Over the years hubby and I talked about me reading it but I just never “got around to it”.

So I started it towards the end of 2019 but I was diving deep into it even listening to the messages that went along with each chapter. I was learning so many things. I couldn’t get enough.

I had been struggling with my purpose. That happens when you find yourself living in the expectations of others trying to fill in all the gaps. Things start getting cloudy and lines are blurred. What I didn’t know was God was using this book and the corresponding messages to draw defining lines for me AND for hubby. (he would listen to the messages right along with me. ) I couldn’t read the book in 30 days but I finished the book and messages not long after quarantine hit in 2020.

And this blog post got added to a long list of others.

I knew that I wanted to blog out my answers to the questions BUT……I knew that many of my fellow ministry leader friends and fellow Christians didn’t appreciate the book. And so…I let my fear leave this post on the every growing list of posts that found me crippled by other people’s opinions.

And for the last year and a half this post has haunted me, eveytime I read through the list I would become even more aware that I was not CHOOSING Courage. Even over the last few months I have found myself saying “next week”. I would feel that twinge of fear and hear that echoing “BUT, But, BUT…and the excuses would roll around my heart.”

So today…

Today I am answering these questions. I am not going to get into negative discussions about the book or the author. These are my answers to these questions. These are the things I have had to wrestle through. And the person I have to answer to is God.

So here we go.

1)  What will be the center of my life?  

The center of my life will be Jesus. In everything I say and do I hope will reflect him being the center of my life. I know somedays I will make wrong choices BUT my desire is to quickly get refocused back on Jesus.

2)  What will be the character of my life? 

I want the Character of my life to be that of integrity and purity. Choosing what is right over what is easy. Not looking for my own profit or gain but seeking to be honorable in all that I say and do.

3)  What will be the contribution of my life? 

I want my life contribution to be that of a godly influence to everyone within my sphere of influence. I don’t just want to be good . I want to impact Christians and help them reach their full potential rather than live a life of mediocrity. I want to help Christians choose excellence rather than living in name only, seeing that their lives are fully devoted to Christ rather than only bits and pieces through this blog and personal interactions and teaching.

4)  What will be the communication of my life? 

First and foremost the gospel but then to believers to commit living a life of better Jesus followers. Sharing with other believers how to live more like Jesus and encouraging each other to grow in our walk with Him,

5)  What will the community of my life be? 

First and foremost my family. These are the people I do life with the most. But then it is my connect group, some close friends and my church family and those I serve with as well as my community here on my blog.

THIS IS MY SPERE OF INFLUENCE!

It took me all of 30 minutes to write this blog post and nearly a year and a half to gather the courage to do so.

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey. Have you read the book and wrestled through these questions? Did they come easy for you or not so much? Let me know in the comments below.

If you are new here Welcome! I am so glad you are here! Please introduce yourself in the comments below.

Fell free to check out the rest of the posts in the Choosing Courage 100 day blogging project!

Strength Divided

Posted on by Mary
Strength

Welcome to the 4th and final post in our DIVIDED mini-series. Today we will be talking about what it means to have divided strength!

I don’t know about you but somedays, weeks, months, or even years I feel like I don’t have any strength left to move one foot in front of the other. Let alone love God with all of the strength I have left.

If I love God with all of what I have left what on earth am I going to use to care fore my family, home and anything else that comes my way.

We buy into lies

We convince ourselves that we con’t have enough to give everyone some of our strength. And we convince ourselves that God doesn’t really want “all”of my strength BUT he wants us to be good stewards of our strength being stingy with who gets some of it and who doesn’t. the reality is God wants ALL of our strength. He wants us to love hime with every bit of strength we have , even if it’s microscopic and seemingly non-existent.

Because it is only when we love God with all of our strength that we find the strength to keep going. Because it is God’s strength.

God’s wants every part of us…

This passage was never about dividing up our being….God wants every single last itty bitty part of us.

He wants all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our minds and all of our strength. He doesn’t want us to be divided in any of these aspects but instead he was us to be FULLY and WHoLLY devoted to him and Him alone.

Our personal strength can be doled out between all of our friends, family,, our employer , our home, our money……but if our strength is all handed out to all of this people and things, then we are divided and we aren’t loving God with all of our strength.

When I try to give little bits of my strength to everyone else I end up exhausted, worn out and frustrated because I just never seem to have enough to go around.

BUT

When I love God with all of my strength, I am enabled to do things I never thought I had enough strength to do. I have more hope, more peace, more love, more grace and more mercy that I ever could have imagined!!!

Because we are no longer striving to live our lives in our own strength, but in the strength of Jesus.

So

Love God with everything you have….all that you are and watch what he does with it. Because out of your dedication to him comes a greater love than we can ever imagine! It is hard work and takes LOTS of dedication and DEVOTION!

Thank you so much for Joining me today on this crazy Choosing Courage 100 day blogging project.. We only have 4 days left! Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and if you are new here please introduce yourself in the comments below. I can’t wait to get to know each one of you!

Feel free to poke around and feel free to catch up on the Choosing Courage 100 Day writing project

One Week Left: Week 13 Update

Posted on by Mary
Week

WOW can you believe it that today is day 93! After I hit publish on this post we will have exactly one week- SEVEN DAYS in this 100 day Blogging project left!!!

A Lot has Happened in the last 100 days. My head swims with all of the emotions that have come and gone and come again. I wish I could share them all with you BUT that will have to wait for another post!

Choosing Courage- 100 Day blogging Project

This past week was a nice change of pace after blogging everyday through the month of October on a serious subject. It took a lot of work and brain power but it was good. So last weeks less intense pace was a nice break!

The mini-series was a struggle- actually just one day was but in the end I was really pleased that the struggle brought out the post I was hoping for if not a little better!. (It’s always neat when those things happen)

I have one more post in the mini-series and that will go live tomorrow!

Moving forward

This week my major blogging goal is to tease out the new blogging schedule that will begin next week though I think hubby thinks I should take a mini- break. I will see how that goes. I don’t want to undo the habits and momentum I have gained over the last 14 weeks (Or at least that is what it will be next Tuesday).

Hubby

Hubby made it through his CRAZY weekend and he is still alive PTL!!

It was a great weekend overall for him and for us!

The Kiddos

They have been jumping into the second quarter of school. Everyone one has recovered from their colds and we are just moving along looking forward to Thanksgiving next week and a much needed longer break!

I hope you all have a wonderful week. Let me know in the comments below what you are up to! If you are new here WELCOME!!! Please introduce yourselves in the comments and I would love to connect with you!

You can check out the other posts in the choosing Courage -100 day Blogging Project here..

Happy Homemaker Monday

Posted on by Mary
Monday

Happy Monday everyone. Mondays tend to be very low key around here but today was a little different both pups needed to go to the vert and then all the other scheduled stuff that needed to happen. So I got a Buch accomplished but it just didn’t feel like enough!

Breakfast time….what is on the plate this morning::::

Coffee.

  Looking around the house::::

I have lots of work to do….and I mean LOTS

On today’s to do list::::

  • Over the next few days I am revamping how I handle my priorities more on that TOMORROW

Currently reading::::

  • Hello Fears
  • Get Out of Your Head
  • My Bible
  • Corrie ten Boom(biography with the kids for morning basket)
  • S.H.A.P.E.
  • Practical Dreamer

On the TV this week::::

different Strokes and Promised Land

The weather outside is::::

It was GORGEOUS today but the rest of the week is Cooler (60’s) and wet

On the menu this week::::

Monday –  Beef Stew

Tuesday –   Scalloped Potatoes and Ham and salad

Wednesday –   Pulled Pork and French fries veggies

Thursday –   Leftovers and salad

Friday –  Chili and Biscuits

Saturday –  Pigs in a Blanket (Cabbage Rolls)

Sunday – Masjed Potato Sundaes

I never did get to make the cabbage rolls and the Mashed potato Sundaes last week. I will post a recipe or at lease instructions on how to make them.

If I have a few minutes to myself, I will::::

Clean my craft room

New recipe I tried, or want to try this week::::

None

One of my simple pleasures:::

Hubby and I working together at night time but separately. Me blogging / planning Him working on his upcoming Old Testament Survey class he is teaching. (Did I mention that hubby took on a part time Professor job). it’s not a typical Professor position but it is part of his passion! Teaching pastor’s!

Favorite photo from the camera::::

Monday

In case you are wondering they are watching for woodchucks!!! It’s Nuggets favorite thing to do.

Praying for::::

♥♥  Lots of friends and family who either have COVID or knows someone who does. One person in particular is not doing so well but is making strides in the right direction.
♥♥ Our Search Process ♥♥Friends and family who are struggling

Bible Verse, Devotional that is resonating with me at the moment:::: 

I had t chuckle when these verses were next in my reading of James this evening.

And for more Happy Homemaker Monday posts Check out Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Thanks for joining me for My Choosing Courage 100 day writing project.. You can check out all the other posts by clicking here.

Not Exactly What I Had Planned

Posted on by Mary
Planned

Today did NOT go as Planned! When I woke up this morning I had a long list of things that needed to be done and accomplished. I had goals and intermingled with those goals and tasks were the everyday things like Google meet appointments, helping the kids with school work, making meals and house hold chores. Nothing earth shattering.

But Planned does NOT mean it’s going to happen.

I am a planner by nature. So I live off of to-do lists and getting things done….and then there are days like today…you know the ones. Everything takes WAY longer than it is supposed to. Or everything seems to go wrong or as this morning goes everyone needs something. It’s not a bad thing necessarily but you start something and then you continue to bounce from one thing to the next and it feels like nothing really gets finished. Take our vitamin boxes for example. I needed to fill them up today. Mine is finished after being interrupted 3 different times and I cannot even tell you how many times I lost my coffee cup as I played mommy pinball.

Sometimes we lose sight of what’s most important…..we forget where our strength and endurance comes from. JESUS! When I was sitting waiting for the next surprise IEP meeting to start and I check todays #Hopewriterlife writing challenge over on Instagram and the word for today is HOPE. So this is what came to mind and what I ended up writing…

I don’t have to plan Hope.

And today is the last day of the @hopewritersInstagram wring challenge. It’s been fun for sure but a little taxing on top of the writing challenge I have going on over on my blog. 

Can I tell you though that this week has been crazy busy and crazy messy! But in the middle of all the crazy and messy I still have hope! Because hope isn’t in an empty schedule or a less stressful day. Hope is a person. Hope is Jesus!
If all lease is in complete chaos we can still have peace and comfort and hope! Because HOPE IS IN COMPLETE CONTROL!

No matter the crazy and messy and confusing and overwhelming- HOPE is always there.

And in the middle of all the crazy- I had peace. It was the exact reminder I needed. The words of my own instagram post hit me like a load of bricks. So as much as I wanted to share my answers to the Journaling sections of Hello Fears (book by Michelle Poler) There is always tomorrow!. Those answers aren’t going anywhere.

Have you had any days like that recently?

Thanks so much for joining me for Day 33 of my Choosing Courage 100 day writing project. If you are new here you can check out the rest of the posts here.