Purpose To Life Ministries

Behind The Scenes

2010-05-01T00:37:00.000-07:00

The camera was on, meanwhile the computer was trippin', the phone was ringing, a relative came by for counseling, unannounced of course, the instant messenger was pinging. Oh and by the way, this was all during the time that I was doing a livestream recording. Anxiety was on the rise, bigtime.

Have you ever had seasons in your life when it seemed that nothing was going right? A time when you took one step forward and it felt as though life itself pushed two steps backwards? Were there circumsances, distractions, temptations and everything beyond your control that could have happened appearing to have been happening? I call these the 46:10 experiences.

Encounters like these are examples of the perfect times and opportunities to be still and know that God is God. (Psalms 46:10). Your thoughts are racing, your palms are sweaty, your heart is panting, your feet pacing the floor. STOP! TAKE CONTROL! RELAX! GOD IS AT WORK! Though you may not see him, though you may not feel him, though it may seem that he is not visible in your personal situation, just know that God is working things out behind the scenes. The eye may not yet see it nor the mind comprehend it but know he is working. Websters defines know as: to have a clear perception or understanding of; to be sure of or well informed about to know the facts.

You may wonder how can you know something that you can't see or comprehend, well it's very simple. We don't see gravity or electricity but we well know it is there working on our behalf. We know gravity and/or electricity by its nature and by the demonstration of its repetitive characteristics. Thru the test of time, we watch its patterns of behavior in order to understand the historical nature of these forces.

We've all experienced gravity within its natural force attracting or pulling one particle towards another. We've experienced electricity occuring when there is friction between two opposing forces (protons and electrons) with its transferring of charge taking place. Over and over it's true natural pattern has not changed nor deviated from what it is or what it was created to do.

As we be still and know God, we will witness him repeatedly in the same manner work out all the things we do not understand nor have the power to control. We will notice his repetitious ability to come thru in ways far beyond what we can imagine. He has not changed nor has his true nature changed. In the same manner, opposing forces may be at work in our personal, spiritual, business lives, but the transfer of charge is taking place and in the end God always win.

He will always pull what is rightfully ours toward us. It's his nature to want and do what's best for us according to his divine will and plan for our lives. The more we experience God, the more we will began to trust him to handle what we cannot see. Our focus will shift from worrying to knowing. It will become clear to us how we tend to look for him from the outside to the inside while he is at work from the inside to the outside.

Relax, breathe and allow God to handle all the technicalities behind the scenes in your life. In the longrun you will see and enjoy the big picture when the work is completed and find that it was well worth the wait.

Can We Go Somewhere?

2010-04-12T20:59:00.000-07:00

My nine-year old grandaughter and I are what I refer to as "road dawgs". Shalajah loves to follow her Nanny (me) during any given time or day. When she hears the jingle of my keys, it's as if a silent alarm is triggered in her head. "Nanny, I want to come over and hang out with you, Can we just get in your car and go somewhere?." she will say.

As I listen to those few words coming from her lips, and gaze into her long eyelashes, big brown eyes, I know exactly what she really wants. The majority of the time all Shalajah wants is a solitude moment away from the boys and escape to her favorite snacks that I keep just for her, her three brothers and other kids who come by. She loves for me to spoil her with girly girl, good-smelling things that we commonly love as well as visiting the dollar stores, thrift stores and her favorite eating places.

Shalady ( a name I call her) is never short of having a plan at any given moment and time.

This reminds me of another story that I liked to read when I was her age about the adventures of another little girl called Alice in Wonderland. Alice would venture off and have encounters with several other characters. One encounter in particular was her encounter with the Cat and a conversation she had with him.
Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"
That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat
Alice:I don't much care where--" said Alice
"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat
Alice: --"so long as I get SOMEWHERE," Alice added as an explanation.
Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."

There's an old adage that goes like this " If you make one step, God will make two". Taking that first step is usally the most challenging part of any task. Many have never been able to surpass the fear of taking a step forward.

God has and places he wants you to take you and things that he wants you to accomplish. It is up to you to supply the faith to get you there. You may not fully understand just what it is you are doing or where it will lead you at first, but rest assured it will be for the good of yourself and everyone who is involved. One major clue to knowing where you are going lies in understanding where you came from. There will be visible signs along the way if you focus and pay attention to them. Move forward at all cost. You will gain much more insight from looking back and remembering than you will from walking back and reliving. Launch forward in faith fearing no one or nothing.

Occasionally, like Alice in Wonderland, you will have different experiences and encounters with people and need to stop and ask questions to get a sense of clarity. Sitting idle and trying to decide what to do will only open the door for frustration and depression often causing one to lose their focus. The simplest and practical solution, of course is to just occupy yourself by going somewhere and doing something. It is often true, that an idle mind is the Devil's workshop. Here are 5 tips that when applied will help in keeping your focus on your goals:

1. First things first

2. Other things second

3. Cut out the unimportant

4. Unify the vision

5. Stick with it

Decide to take action today by writing an action plan for your goals. Remember, if you fail to plan, plan to fail. Keep your eyes on completion of your goals until you are successful. Let nothing distract you, let nothing stop you.

Whatever you decide to do may not attract the multitude and perhaps maybe only a few may benefit from it. You may not even become famous by doing it, but at least you'll be accomplishing something with the precious life God has given you. You were designed uniquely from anyone else with a plan and a purpose for his service. Don't allow valuable time to waste by trying to please everyone. Focus on pleasing God, the designer of your life and doing what he purposed you for and one day you will not look back and greatly regret having wasted many years of your life doing nothing and going nowhere. His desires for us is to lead us along a path of his choosing. Our challenge is to watch,to listen... and be ready to follow.

You Know You've Got The Goods

2010-04-08T23:13:00.000-07:00

Back in the late 60's as many of you will recall, we had the greatest fighter of all times. Cassius Clay (Later know as Muhammad Ali,) did not hesitate to proclaim himself as the greatest. Often he would brag about his beauty and note that no one would be able to mess up his pretty face.

Commentators all over began to announce the skills of his upcoming opponent, Sonny Liston, who they collectively believed would take him out. Liston, with his mean, intimidating demeanor had a way of scaring the fear right into you, but Cassius Clay would not back down, nor did he fear. When the opportunity arose to prove his greatness, just as he previously said, he entered the ring and began to "float like a butterfly, and sting like a bee" He proved that Liston, along with others were no match for him. When given the opportunity to comment later, he proclaimed, "It's not bragging when you know you've got the goods."

As we discover our purpose, we unlock our goods for the benefit of ourselves and others. In fact, most of us never realize that we are carrying "the goods". We spend so much of our time focusing on the affairs of life to the point where we miss opportunities to share who we are and what we can get accomplished as these offers repeatedly present themselves to us.

Have we failed to realize that we are the solution to someone else's problem? The cheese for their macaroni, or the jelly for their peanut butter sandwich (putting it in a humorous way)? Every opportunity that is presented for us to connect with others in one small way or another is an opportunity for purpose to be manifested.

It's the core reason why you are here. When you find your talents and abliities and figure out a way to share them you've found a great clue to your "goods." Each one of us carry our own personal experiences, setbacks, pitfalls, accomplishments, etc. Most of the time it may seem insignificant to you but may be priceless to someone else. Everyone, knowingly or unknowingly has something to give. God did not fail to give you talent.

If you have not pinpointed a specific purpose in life, get busy doing something that you are capable of doing and chances are that you will find hidden talent you were never aware of.

During our encounter with this journey known as life we will perpetually remain in the process of becoming. Never fear the changes that has to take place revamping some or all of your plans, goals and intentions in one way or another. Circumstances beyond our control will happen. It is God's way of giving you the opportunity to have different purposes at different times and stages in life.

The best part of finding yourself temporarily without a purpose is that you get to create a new one.

Perhaps, you have had an encounter with sickness and it equips you to be a comfort for someone who is in pain. Or, you are very outgoing, articulate and outspoken and someone in your pathway needs an advocate. Seize that opportunity! Understand that it is a blessing in disguise and a chance to grow and develop new talents, abilities and relationships. You are richly blessed in life. You are you for a reason, time and a purpose.

Now that you know you've got the goods, unleash them and they will benefit others as well as yourself.

.

Don't Forget To Remember

2009-07-09T00:19:00.000-07:00

During the past few weeks as I was checking my facebook status and following-up on some notifications, one particular update caught my attention. It went on to say that "You just got hit by a memory pillow and you have 2 days to respond or you lose." As funny as it seemed at the moment, it demanded a response on my part. For starters, I really don't like losing, but worse than that I hate leaving things undone and up in the air. Not to say that I always respond to everything on every occasion, but truthfully I am a perfectionist and the smallest detail will sometimes linger in my head. The memory pillow fight began and we each set out to win.

So the game was on, my friends I and began to correspond back and forth thru emails, phone calls, etc. and share memories and whereabouts of individuals from our past. Each name had it's own memory attached to it. Some names and faces we did not recall right away, but with just a few slight memory prompts it all came back to us very quickly. It amazed us how much we collectively challenged each others memories and the amount of data we collected on old friends as a result. There were a few funny as well as embarrassing memories went back as early as age 5 and reminded us how we went thru the Tarzan phase and swung from the vines of trees, or robbing the neighbor's pear tree, sneaking to the blackberry patch to pick berries, you name it.

We were stunned as to how much the times of our society have changed and how we really valued the friendship and the families of each other as our own family even though we were neighbors. Their uncles and aunts were considered our uncles and aunts, or the neighbor's grandmother we called grandmother too. Just a few simple questions sent us on a treasure hunt down memory lane to seek indivuduals that made us smile,laugh,those we teased, or fought with, who did memorable things in school etc. or whatever they had done to make us remember them in one way or the other.

Whatever happened to_________? My response was "he died of an overdose, ___________ was shot to death, ____________ had a massive heart attack, ______________ was killed by a hit and run driver, suicide, etc. The list went on and on. To our surprise, the one's that we were certain would be around for a long time were the ones who were gone. In most cases it had happened in an instant.

Each one of us has been given the gift of life with no strings attached. It is up to us to decide how it will be lived. To live means to have a mission to fulfill. It is a sad thing to come to the end of your life only to find that you have not lived. Many will come to the point of leaving the space of the earth, and when they gaze back, they see the joy and the beauty that could not be theirs because of the fears they lived. We must make a decision to extract every moment of goodness and beauty and insight or-by default-you will simply use up your days going through the motions.

Let us remember to not just live our life, or just spend our life but to invest our life. To celebrate the fullest life possible, give yourself completely to the master of life. Trust your whole life, your whole being to him. Read his words in the Bible, follow his ways, talk to him daily in prayer. As you do, you will fill our life with "joy unspeakable and full of glory" 1Pet. 1:8.

Remember that...your presence is a present to the world.
Remember that...you're unique and one of a kind.
Remember that...your life can be whatever you want it to be.
Remember that...it's best to take each day as it comes.
Remember that...you should count your blessings and not your troubles.
Remember that...God will help you through whatever comes
Remember that...God has the answer to any question that you may have.
Remember that...you should never put limits on yourself.
Remember that...you must have courage to be strong.
Remember that...you have many dreams waiting to be realized.
Remember that...only you can fulfill your dreams.
Remember that...decisions are too important to leave to chance.
Remember that...it's up to you to reach for your peak, your goal, and your prize.
Remember that...nothing wastes more time than worrying.
Remember that...the longer you carry a problem, the heavier it gets.
Remember that...you should never take things too seriously.
Remember that...you should live in a way that leaves you with no regrets.
Remember that...a little love goes a long way.
Remember that...you should never ever give up.
Remember that...friendship is one of life's wisest investments.
Remember that...life's treasures are people.
Remember that...it's never too late.
Remember that...ordinary things can be done in extraordinary ways.
Remember that...health, hope, and happiness are worth striving for.

And never forget..how very special you are. You are the feathers in someone else's memory pillow. Walk with the Lord of joy and live in His spirit. Live life to the fullest. Life is filled with meaning as soon as Jesus Christ enters into it.

How to Find the Passion to Begin Again

2009-07-01T12:10:00.000-07:00

Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.

During the past week our nation was given some tragic news that shocked a large number of people. We mourned the deaths of three well known celebrities that have entertained our lives through music, laughter, action/drama, etc. As we sort through all the media and hype we were still left with an amount of uncertainty regarding the future of our entertainment industry and what is to come ahead. Who will be the next Michael Jackson? Ed McMahon? Farrah Fawcett?, etc.

At some point, each one of us will encounter tragic circumstances and mishaps that will challenge us to re-evaluate our current situation and start over in areas we may not want to face or areas that we may not be used to. Tragedies may come to us in the form of death, divorce, sickness, loss of home, job...and the list goes on.

Each time we are faced with two major decisions, one is to persevere and move forward and one is to just throw in the tile and give up. The deciding factor in each occasion is influenced by our attitude and perspective of the matter at hand. The world is a wonderful place and it is your time to step into it boldly. Don't ge stuck on idle- move out, make choices based on the best possible information you have. Often, we will never discover what we are passionate about until we are presented with a situation that has to be handled immediately. How we handle it is what makes us or breaks us. Listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit, embrace the principles for right living contained in God's word. It is during the most adverse and inadequate times when Jesus shows us that his strength is made perfect in our weakness. Seek godly counsel and learn the principles of righteousness. Our ability to surrender allows him to manifest his greatness and expose our true passsions. When you choose in favor of godliness, you will never have a misstep.

Just what is my passion and how can I use it to begin again you may ask? Passion is defined as a powerful emotion, such as love, joy, hatred, or anger or a boundless enthusiasm.

Simply put, passion is the energy that comes from bringing more of you into what you love. It's being who you are and doing what comes naturally. Look for it, allow it to grow and thank God for it. You may find that you have the ability to be passionate in more than one area. The real tragedy of life is not being limited to having one passion, but the failure to use the one passion you have. The best preparation for a better life next year, is a full, complete, harmonious, joyous life this year. Consider applying these 15 tips to your daily routine as you find your passion to begin again:

1. Stretch yourself. You don't fully know your own capabilities
2. Make necessary adjustments, beneficial to your growth, stability and future.
3. Don't fear vulnerability, communicate with others about your shortcomings.
4. Ask questions, what you don't know can hurt you
5. Surround yourself with the support of friends,family,groups, etc.
6. Open your mind to new people and new ways of doing things.
7. Pray, meditate, rediscover yourself and your relationship with God.
8. Take one day at a time.
9. Put God first
10.Give and Serve, Serve and Give.
11.Focus more on what you have than what you lost.
12.Laugh as often as possible, cry when necessary.
13.Choose to be happy
14.Don't take life so serious. Enjoy it!
15.Share your talents, information, mind,expertise with others.

Picked Out To Be Picked Up

2009-06-12T00:59:00.000-07:00

As anyone who is busy and caught up in the things-to-do list of life can tell you, sometimes the most profound lessons that we may learn can come from the smallest objects.

Afterall, it was a busy day. My hands were full trying to juggle three bags of groceries in each hand while twirling my fingers to maneuver my door keys to open it upon arrival. Did I forget to mention the full bladder that was on the countdown awaiting my entry into the house? My mission was to calculatingly swing the groceries aside and race upstairs to the bathroom to give my bladder the relief it was crying for. During my "Thank you God for relief" moment, as I patiently sat and reflected, my mind flashed back to a penny that I intentionally passed up. Curiously I introspectively focused on why this penny had such a visual impact on me at this particular moment.

Suddenly the light went off in my head and it was apparent that "Everything that I needed to know about life coaching others could be learned from the penny". Now I admit this was not the ideal time for a life-changing revelation, but God has been known to humor me in the most serious times and situations.

Let's pause a moment, and allow me to personify the penny for a brief moment. I'll bring it to life in order to make a comparative analysis of our attitude towards the people we sometimes encounter. Here are four everyday examples of people and situations we encounter that can be used as practical coaching tools to anyone who wants to radically impact others in making personal life changes :

1. Penny, I see you but I am going to overlook the need to pick you up.

2. If you'll excuse me, I'm very busy with things of more importance. Right now I just can't allow you the benefit of occupying my time so please excuse me as I politely step over you.

3. You're a cast away, unvaluable and really unworthy of the pain that I'll encounter while I stoop down to pick you up.

4. To me you are small, insignificant, practically worthless, besides I
have bigger and better things of far more importance than to deal with you.

Get the picture? The penny then became my priceless teacher.

Everyday, we encounter people of all walks of life who cross our paths for different reasons. Each one has their own story and experiences that have landed them where they are. Are we overlooking them because of the situation that they are currently in or the appearance of their mental state or perhaps even the social class that we visibly associate them with? Is it possible that we step over them because of our own false sense of superiority?

If we truly want to exercise the benefit of coaching others towards purposeful living, we must realistically consider that there are those whom life has thrown away, devalued, labeling them too small, too insignificant, poor, worthless, etc. and be the outstretched hand that extends itself to reach into unfamiliar places to help them up. We must help them see themselves in a light contrary to their current circumstances.

Nevertheless, as we were picked out to be picked up like the rejected and countless penny, we too were alone, needed to be saved before we amounted to anything and could of ourselves do nothing. Our everlasting God, through his infinite compassion, raised us up, brushed off the debris of life and assigned us a new and valuable identity. Where we were once walked over we are now chosen. He transformed our worthlessness into a life of increase. What others previously saw as our valuelessness is now a visual example of small beginning to a fresh start.

I thank God for calling us to be a "Pennypicker" to the lives of those whom we encounter.

How to Live a Life of Purpose

2009-05-29T15:22:00.001-07:00

What do you want the epitaph on your tombstone to say when you die? Many would be satisfied, if not relieved, if their epitaph proclaimed, “I Survived.”

Others, perhaps you, want more out of life than just going through the motions, day after day, and simply surviving.

To live a life of purpose, and on purpose, empowers you to be whatever you want to be and to do whatever you want to do. When your life’s purpose is powered by passion, you are able to stay on course even when you experience obstacles and setbacks. Purpose is the engine that moves you forward in life; passion is the fuel for the engine.

There are five important fundamentals for living a life of purpose:

1. Purpose is a choice. In Rick Warren’s book The Purpose Driven Life , he states many people are often driven by resentment and anger, driven by fear, driven by materialism, and driven by the need for approval. These drivers are not nourishing, nor can they sustain a truly purpose driven life.

Instead, to live with purpose and passion is indeed a choice. You can choose if you want to succumb to the wants, needs and wishes of others, or choose, for yourself, what you want out of your life.

You get the choose what to do, who to do it with, and legacy you will leave when your time on this earth is over. In your quiet moments when you are alone with your thoughts and listen to what your inner wisdom is telling you, you will clearly hear your passion calling you to action. It’s your choice to respond.

2. Show your passion about your purpose. Enthusiasm and positive energy are contagious. Share your purpose and passion with others. Don’t be afraid you will be criticized for letting others know your hopes and dreams.

You never know when your optimism is just want someone else’s need to find hope for their life. Set the example; be the example – this is part of the responsibility of accepting a life of purpose and passion.

3. Be flexible. Keep an open mind as you live a life of passion. Life is not static; it changes every day as people and circumstances change around you. Learn to adapt and to adjust to the ebb and flow of life.

Don’t allow your commitment to purpose to be a set of blinders that keeps you from seeing what’s changing around you. It’s normal and reasonable to expect to make adjustments on your journey. These adjustments are not failures, but rather a tweaking to ensure you continue to grow and mature into your purpose.

4. Help others find their passion, too. The expression “the more we give, the more we get” is the guiding principle here. Put your needs aside and don’t be concerned with what others can do for you. If your focus is to help them discover their life’s purpose, your life will automatically be enriched. This is just how it works.

When you focus on what you can do for someone else, without considering what you will get out of it, you will be rewarded in ways you never expected. Be there for others; find ways to fill others up with encouragement.

5. Choose to live with purpose, powered by passion, each day. Just as resolving to have a specific purpose for your life is a choice, so is choosing to life with purpose each day. By doing so, you are better able to navigate through the potholes life sometimes puts in front of us.

In conclusion, allow your purpose to be your compass to help you navigate around these potholes. Be a person of choice and do not allow others to dictate conditions or limitations for you.

8 Toxic Personalities To Avoid

2009-05-27T20:52:00.000-07:00

Although we like to think that the people in our lives are well-adjusted, happy, healthy minded individuals, we sometimes realize that it just isn't so. Personally, I've had moments where I'll be skipping through my day, happy as can be, thinking life is grand and BAM, I'll be blindsided by someone who manages to knock the happy wind out of my sails. Sometimes it is easy to write it off and other times, not so much.

Maybe you are a positive person, but when you are around a certain individual, you feel negative. Or, maybe you have an idealistic view of the world and when you are with certain people, you are made to feel silly, unrealistic or delusional. Or, maybe you pride yourself in being completely independent and in control of your life, but when you are around a certain family member, you regress into a state of childhood.

Some of these situations, and yes, these people, can have a tremendously negative impact on our lives. And, although we are all human and have our 'issues,' some 'issues' are quite frankly, toxic. They are toxic to our happiness. They are toxic to our mental outlook. They are toxic to our self-esteem. And they are toxic to our lives. They can suck the life out of us and even shorten our lifespan.

Here are the worst of the toxic personalities out there and how to spot them:

1. Manipulative Mary: These individuals are experts at manipulation tactics. Is a matter of fact, you may not even realize you have been manipulated until it is too late. These individuals figure out what your 'buttons' are, and push them to get what they want.

Why they are toxic: These people have a way of eating away at your belief system and self-esteem. They find ways to make you do things that you don't necessarily want to do and before you know it, you lose your sense of identity, your personal priorities and your ability to see the reality of the situation. The world all of a sudden becomes centered around their needs and their priorities.
2. Narcissistic Nancy: These people have an extreme sense of self-importance and believe that the world revolves around them. They are often not as sly as the Manipulative Marys of the world, but instead, tend to be a bit overt about getting their needs met. You often want to say to them "It isn't always about you."

Why they are toxic: They are solely focused on their needs, leaving your needs in the dust. You are left disappointed and unfulfilled. Further, they zap your energy by getting you to focus so much on them, that you have nothing left for yourself.
3. Debbie Downers: These people can't appreciate the positive in life. If you tell them that it is a beautiful day, they will tell you about the impending dreary forecast. If you tell them you aced a mid-term, they'll tell you about how difficult the final is going to be.

Why they are toxic: They take the joy out of everything. Your rosy outlook on life continues to get squashed with negativity. Before you know it, their negativity consumes you and you start looking at things with gray colored glasses yourself.
4. Judgmental Jims: When you see things as cute and quirky, they see things as strange and unattractive. If you find people's unique perspectives refreshing, they find them 'wrong'. If you like someone's eclectic taste, they find it 'disturbing' or 'bad'.

Why they are toxic: Judgmental people are much like Debbie Downers. In a world where freedom rings, judgment is sooo over. If the world was a homogeneous place, life would be pretty boring. Spending a lot of time with these types can inadvertently convert you into a judgmental person as well.

5. Dream Killing Keiths: Every time you have an idea, these people tell you why you can't do it. As you achieve, they try to pull you down. As you dream, they are the first to tell you it is impossible.

Why they are toxic: These people are stuck in what is instead of what could be. Further, these individuals eat away at your self-esteem and your belief in yourself. Progress and change can only occur from doing new things and innovating, dreaming the impossible and reaching for the stars.
6. Insincere Illissas: You never quite feel that these people are being sincere. You tell a funny story, they give you a polite laugh. You feel depressed and sad and they give you a 'there, there' type response. You tell them you are excited about something and you get a very ho-hum response.

Why they are toxic: People who aren't sincere or genuine build relationships on superficial criteria. This breeds shallow, meaningless relationships. When you are really in need of a friend, they won't be there. When you really need constructive criticism, they would rather tell you that you are great the way you are. When you need support, they would rather see you fail or make a fool of yourself.
7. Disrespectful Dannys: These people will say or do things at the most inappropriate times and in the most inappropriate ways. In essence, they are more subtle, grown up bullies. Maybe this person is a friend who you confided in and uses your secret against you. Maybe it is a family member who puts their busy-body nose into your affairs when it is none of their business. Or maybe, it is a colleague who says demeaning things to you.

Why they are toxic: These people have no sense of boundaries and don't respect your feelings or, for that matter, your privacy. These people will cause you to feel frustrated and disrespected.
8. Never Enough Nellies: You can never give enough to these people to make them happy. They take you for granted and have unrealistic expectations of you. They find ways to continually fault you and never take responsibility for anything themselves.

Why they are toxic: You will spend so much time trying to please them, that you will end up losing yourself in the process. They will require all of your time and energy, leaving you worn out and your own needs sacrificed.
All of these personalities have several things in common. 1) the more these people get away with their behavior, the more they will continue. 2) Unfortunately, most of these people don't see that what they do is wrong and as a result, talking to them about it will fall on deaf ears, leaving you wondering if you are the crazy one. 3) Most of these people get worse with age, making their impact on you stronger with time.

Frankly, life is too short to spend your time dealing with toxicity. If you can, avoid spending mucho time with people who are indicative of these behaviors and you'll feel a lot happier. Have you encountered these personalities? What have you done? Any personalities you would add?

I Will Survive

2009-05-23T15:21:00.000-07:00

Greatness is not measured by what a man or woman accomplishes, but by the opposition he or she has overcome to reach his goals.

When I was a teenager, the height of my day was to come home from school and watch one of my favorite shows which was Gilligan's Island. Each day I would hope that there would be some resolution for my favorite castaways. To bring you up to speed , Gilligan's Island shows us seven men and women are stranded on an uncharted island following a torrential storm. What was supposed to be a three-hour tour was the beginning of mishaps and circumstances. Here we can picture A group of castaways who once lived in a paradise of consumer abundance known as America are now faced with day-to-day survival. Each came from their own background and lifestyle. No amount of prior fame, fortune, education, etc. mattered at that point. Each needed what the other had to contribute to help them survive the crisis they faced.

There will come a time in the life of each of us when we will face our own personal crisis. That's the moment when we choose whether to fold under pressure or reach within ourselves and tap into our determination to survive the most devastating storms in our own lives. Though many times we may also feel like a castaway, God has placed specific people in our lives to help us through our toughest storms. As we have the courage to hang in there, we allow God to be an ever-present Saviour amidst our survival crisis. The greatness that lies within us becomes manifested during our most oppositional circumstances. At this moment God shows himself strong in us. Let us embrace this week's challenges with an assurance of knowing that we are more than conquerors and that God will bring us through all adversity if we don't quit.

The Stretch of Faith

2009-05-16T10:37:00.000-07:00

When God gets ready to stretch you to the next level, Often he allows people to come into our lives and challenge us to do things we feel incapable of doing.
We are to have an " I can do" attitude regarding new tasks even when they are outside of our comfort zone.

How Do You Feel Today? Send A Voice Blog To Others About It

Welcome & Thanks For Stopping By

2009-05-08T14:01:00.000-07:00

Know Your Purpose

2008-08-23T13:18:00.001-07:00

Webster’s defines purpose as "an intention; something set up as
an object or end to be attained." It is easy to confuse a purpose with a goal. A goal is an objective; it answers the question "what", as in, "What do you want to achieve?" Most people have goals. Common goals are to get a promotion, to own a home, to have a successful marriage, or to make a certain amount of money. Goals can help create results, but often they don't bring fulfillment. You have probably noticed that the excitement of achieving a goal is usually short-lived.

I am speaking of something much larger than goals. The way I use the word "purpose", it helps address the big questions, such as, "What am I meant to do?" Or, "Why am I here?" It adds a "why" component to the "what" of an objective. I am talking here about nothing less than your purpose in life. This kind of big picture thinking is seen by some as purely philosophical or frivolous, but it is anything but. Answering these questions is the surest key to long-term success.

The good news about purpose is that every one of us has one. The bad news is that it is usually buried deep within you, so it is difficult for most people to do anything but speculate about it. Fortunately, there are a variety of methods for uncovering and clarifying your purpose. My e-book "Purpose Hunting" describes the method that works for the most people.

The next few issues will go into more detail about where our purpose is "stored" in us, and what prevents us from knowing it directly. Stay tuned!

Copyright © 2003-2008 Timothy A. Kelley. All rights reserved. “Know Your Purpose” and “Purpose Hunting” are trademarks of Timothy A. Kelley

2008-08-05T17:09:00.000-07:00