Dr R.C. Sproul on Life’s Purpose

Posted on July 9, 2009
Filed Under Spirituality | 1 Comment

I try not to be overtly religious on this site but I am a follower of Jesus.  Here is a small video that explains in very concise terms what our life’s purpose is fundamentally about.  I am not endorsing R.C. Sproul nor do I agree with all that he teaches.  For that matter, my wife and I disagree at times but I continue to love her.

Tell me what you think about this video. Do you agree, disagree?

God Designed You For Your Destiny

Posted on July 8, 2009
Filed Under Spirituality | Leave a Comment

God Designed You For Your Destiny

God has given each one of us a destiny to fulfill. Learning to live life with a sense of destiny is life transforming and glorious. Jesus lived His destiny and you and I are called to live ours. It will take trust.

The whole concept of destiny can be very disturbing. Why? It requires trust!

Destiny refers to a course of events that are predetermined. It may be thought of as a future predetermined, whether individually or generally. It is a concept based on the belief that there is a fixed natural order to the universe (laws). To predestine is to fix upon, decide, or decree in advance; to foreordain or elect by divine will or decree.

I have identified 7 principles for destiny discovery and fulfillment.

1.You have a God-given destiny – Life has meaning because God has made you for something. The purpose of life is to reach for that unique calling (Ephesians 2:10) NKJV – For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

1A – Your destiny requires your cooperation – your destiny will require your cooperation in making God led choices.

2.God designed you uniquely for your destiny – Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” You were specially designed for your destiny –your task was not an afterthought by God – it springs out of your personality, gifts, and the way you are made. When you are walking in your destiny, it fits like a glove. The desires of your heart reflect God’s purpose for your life (Ps 37:4) – Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

3.Destiny is something you are, not something you do – It is not a predetermined, etched in stone endpoint that you can miss; but a dynamic, ever developing interplay between what we were born to be and what you have done with your life so far. The more you become who you were made to be, the more you will do what you were born to do (Eph 1:4-5) – just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

4.Your whole life prepares you for your destiny – very event and circumstance has meaning, because God leverages each experience to help you accomplish His purpose for your life. The refining transforms you into the image of Christ and prepares you to be part of His bride – (Rom 8:28) – And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

5.Your destiny is bigger than you – Our ultimate fulfillment comes not from pursuing happiness for ourselves, but from bringing life to others for the sake of the Kingdom. If your dream doesn’t involve serving others in a way that stretches you way beyond your limits, then it is not big enough. It really is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35) – I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

6.You must die to fulfill your destiny – While God’s desire is that we live an abundant life, a direct pursuit of happiness can never reach it. True joy only comes through a sacrificial death to self and a fundamental realignment of our wills with God’s purposes. Only those who lose their life will truly find it – (John 12:24-25) – Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. 25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

7.Living your destiny brings productivity and fulfillment – When you do what you were born to do, you function with maximum effectiveness and exceptional joy in the doing. (flow) Having fun without serving productively does not satisfy. Producing fruit without joy in the process is soul deadening and does not satisfy. Productivity with fulfillment is the symptom of a life aligned with destiny (3 John 1:2-4) – Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. 3 For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

Through the Fire

Posted on June 11, 2009
Filed Under Life in General, My Journey | Leave a Comment

We had a fire at our home back in January of this year and it was a total loss.  We were at the movies watching “Last Chance Harvey” when we were notified by the police that our house was on fire.  It was almost surreal standing there in the bitter cold of mid January in Pennsylvania watching our house burn.

During the months following this tragedy it was a good time to reevaluate some things in our lives including my decision whether to continue with this website.  I have finally decided to keep it going but with some significant changes.

We will be posting alot more content including video and audio.  Lood for the focus to be more on personal development with very practical strategies on how to improve your life. Till next time, Jim

Grief and Grandparenting

Posted on December 31, 2008
Filed Under Life in General, Spirituality | Leave a Comment

 Grief and Grandparenting Compliments Make Me Squirm
By Harriet Hodgson

The news of four family deaths within nine months spread quickly. So did the news of my husband and I becoming GRGs, grandparents raising our twin grandchildren. I’m often complimented on how I’m coping with multiple losses and my grandparenting approach. These compliments are supposed to be comforting, but they make me squirm. Some of the compliments I’ve received:

* “You’re doing a wonderful thing.”

* “I admire you; you’re so strong.”

* “You’re an angel.”

* “I think you’re a saint.”

* “Your grandchildren are lucky to have you.”

* “Your grandchildren are keeping you young.”

The compliments make squirm because they are not true. Though my grandchildren have adjusted to living with my husband and me, they wish their parents hadn’t died in separate car crashes. When I think about my grandchildren’s losses I could sob for a week. They have lost their mother, their father, their dog, their house, their neighborhood, and to some extent, their way of life.

C. Sue Miles, PhD Program Leader of the Family Development Program at the West Virginia University Extension Service, writes about the challenges GRGs face in “Grandparents Raising Grandchildren.”

“In the best of circumstances,” Miles says, “children who are being raised by their grandparents are going to experience loss and abandonment as well as other issues relating to their place in the family.”

Miles thinks grandparents can provide a calming influence, dependability, unconditional love, and the stability needed for personal growth. Despite all of the responsibilities that come with being a GRG, Miles says “raising a second generation has many joys and satisfactions.” Raising my grandchildren brings me constant joy and satisfaction.

Why does the compliment about being strong bother me? I’m a strong person, but strong people cry and regress like weak people. No one, not even my sweet and loving husband, can bear the grief burden for me. I work at staying strong for my grandchildren and myself. “Why do people say I’m strong?” I asked a friend. Her answer: “Everyone expected tragedy to crush you. It didn’t.”

As for being a saint and an angel, I am neither one. I’m a grandmother and any grandmother faced with a similar situation would raise their grandchildren. That’s what grandmothers do. We care for our grandchildren, protect them, teach them, cherish them and love them more each day. It is nice to know that grandmothers are still needed in a fast-paced world.

Friends are being kind when they tell me my grandchildren are keeping me young. I am not young and am aging at an accelerating rate. My grandchildren are not keeping me young, they are keeping me young in spirit. I live an active life for myself and them.

Anthropologist Margaret mead once said, “The closest friends I have made all through life have been people who also grew up close to a loved and loving grandmother or grandfather.”

We are our grandchildren’s only grandparents. Years from now, when my grandchildren think about this painful time in their lives, I hope they remember us as loving grandparents. I hope they tell funny stories about us and realize how hard we tried. My husband and I aren’t perfect grandparents, we are plain, ordinary, old-fashioned grandparents.

Some day our grandchildren will understand this and find comfort in it.

Copyright 2008 by Harriet Hodgson

http://www.harriethodgson.com

Harriet Hodgson has been an independent journalist for 30 years. She is a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists and the Association for Death Education and Counseling. Her 24th book, “Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating Grief,” written with Lois Krahn, MD, is available from amazon

Centering Corporation in Omaha, NE — North America’s oldest and largest grief resource center — is publishing her 26th book, “Writing to Recover: The Journey from Loss and Grief to a New Life.” The company is also publishing the “Writing to Recover Journal” and the “Writing to Recover Affirmations Calendar.”

Please visit Harriet’s website and learn more about this busy author and grandmother.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Harriet_Hodgson
http://EzineArticles.com/?Grief-and-Grandparenting-Compliments-Make-Me-Squirm&id=1682890

Problem With Comment System

Posted on December 24, 2008
Filed Under Uncategorized, Website News | Leave a Comment

Hello Everybody, We discovered a glitch with our comment system and fixed it. If you tried to make comments and they didn’t go through please accept our apology.

You can make comments now so get busy. We look forward to hearing from you. Have a Merry Christmas.

Till next time,   Jim

keep looking »

Site Build It!