It CHALLENGES you to go on a journey to FIND out your GOD-GIVEN purpose. It is a chapter a day for 42 days. The book CHALLENGES you to memorize verses from The Bible and to crEAte a group to share your journey. IT IS LIFE-CHANGING.
I have decided that I am going to RE-read the book & share my journey with whoever wants to be a part of it. I'll discuss how I am applying it to my life, challenges I have faced, the clarity that it has given me & give us a place (this blog or my Facebook feed) to have our very own Bible Discussion. If others interact I KNOW that this will help others & may just bring people closer to GOD OR bring people to God that never knew him before. You will ALWAYS be able to go back to my blogs to join in on the discussion, even if you start a little later.
I have to tell you....when I first started reading this book I was slowly falling into it & by day 4 or 5 I thought to myself: "I've gotta blog about this!!" Then EVERYtime I thought about making time to blog about it, keep up with each chapter, & keep up with my life....I decided: I'm going to read it through & then RE-read it & REALLY discuss the topics it challenges us to think about. So here goes...
Day 1: It All Starts With God
Daily Verse: "Everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him." Colossians 1:16B (MSG)
Daily Question: "In Spite of all the advertising around me, how can I remind myself that life is really about living for God, not myself?"
What I journaled the day of reading: Turn to God & STOP focusing on why people hurt ME, don't understand ME, don't agree with ME & stay focused on the positive things & FOCUS on being me & loving the people God has put in my life to love, care for, & touch.
What I can ADD after reading the book through & applying what I've learned in my life: This entire year I have had to make some decisions that were ScarRy, HARD to make, & (although I KNEW I was being called to do it & GOD wouldn't remove it from my heart) had NO idea what it would be/look like/who would agree with me/how I'd pull it off/ AND about 500 more concerns that ran through my head. SO....I get to the point where I LITERALLY step out into FAITH.....& I mean WAY out. There were a few WORLDLY things I KNEW would go along with my decision. I credit this knowledge to my sales career.
1) I'd be dealin' with REJECTION & it would be PERSONAL this time.
2) There would be people that wouldn't GET IT & now I know....MAY NEVER GET IT. Some of those people are the people that are closest to me.
3) I'd have to do some educatin'.
4) I may be entering into something I THINK I can't handle, BUT will have to TRUST GOD to KNOW that I can.
5) Life would change.....in ALL kinds of ways.
6) I'd have to THROW my ego out the window......This may have been the hardest part for me. Not sure, BUT I can tell you that in my day-to-day decisions I have to check myself on this.
All that said & taking into account EVERYTHING listed about that went with it & then some, would I change my decision to MOVE FORWARD in making a LIFE change and CAREER change? NO!!!!!!
Praise JESUS! Now that I'm finished talking about MY initial worries & how the decision would & has affected ME, I can sincerely say that this chapter helped to bring it ALL back to what REALLY matters! I still don't know what life is going to look like 6 months from now, but I KNOW that ALL the decisions leading up to it, came from the RIGHT place. The WHOLE reason I did this was because I felt like God was calling me to do it. I mean...it reached a point in my previous position that I felt like I was DISOBEYING God & the mission he was giving me.
There was a time when I was going through college & I was working at a little home decor shop in my hometown & one of the gals that worked at a restaurant a few doors down came in to do some shoppin' while she was on break. I had brought my Bible to work & was reading it when it was slow. When she walked in I closed it immediately & put it under something...pretty much hiding it. She walked straight up to me, pulled it out from beside the register, patted the top of my closed Bible & said: "Keep reading it. I read mine everyday & I think more people should." She kept shopping & shot her typical BEAMING smile at me. I can tell you that I NEVER want to feel that SHAME again & I was starting to feel it & more & MORE the longer I kept working in a position that was less than what GOD HAD PLANNED for me.
Buck Up Baby!! DO NOT BE AFRAID of ANYTHING of this world. We are ALL made by God, for God & HIS glory. He LOVES us! He LOVES us enough to give us LIFE & although it may be hard sometimes, I truly believe EVERYTHING will be worth it.
I met with a friend today that is REALLY going through a hard time. After I left, I felt like the conversation we had was EXACTLY what they needed. People will not understand every decision we make. Sometimes people won't MAKE THE EFFORT to understand the decisions we make, and FRANKLY...they don't have to. It is our responsibility to KNOW that our decisions are grounded by what God teaches us. Our thoughts & decisions transcend this world IF our FOCUS is to please GOD & not anyone else.
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