I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast!  And when I run I feel his pleasure. Eric Liddell What do you do that causes God pleasure?  What do you do with what he has gifted you with that brings delight to his heart?  He's given each of us something that, when used for him, gives him delight.  My redheads are insanely talented.  One is a legit artist and the other is vocally gifted.  I firmly believe that when they are in the midst of exercising their talents that God is delighted.  I believe that he is thrilled to see what he gifted them with come to life under their commitment to it and bring smiles to the faces of others in the process.  Sometimes when my redheaded artist finishes a piece of work I feel breathless with awe and delight.  Yeah, she's THAT good.  The other night I took the redheaded songbird to a performance of Les Mis and on the way home she was singing one of the pieces.  I was in tears fro...

Life-giving people make an enormous impact in subtle ways.   Chris Hodges Are you a life-giver?  If you are you probably don't know it.  Most life-giving people are totally unaware that they are making a difference in the lives of others.  And if they are told they are they wonder about it, seem confused by it, etc. See life-giving people are just doing what comes "naturally" to them.  Did you know we are all created to be life-givers?  And yet some of us, too many of us really, are actually sucking the life out of people.  I call them "hoovers".  :)  We give life in a million different but usually very small and subtle ways. We can also suck the life out of people in very small and subtle ways.  We all have within us the potential to make an enormous impact, it is up to us what kind of impact to make. I don't know about you but I would prefer to be known as a life-giver rather than a hoover.  I mean right?  Who wants to b...

The great and glorious masterpiece of man is how to live with a purpose. Montaigne Got purpose?  And no, I'm not referring to the over-read, over- publicized  " The  Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren.         (Tell us, Beth, how do you really feel about that book?  *grin*)   Do you have purpose?  There doesn't need to be a whole book about this topic - it's pretty straightforward.  If you don't have purpose you will "waste" away.  And get this - you do have purpose.  You do!  The question is are you living up to it?  Or are you choosing to hunker down in a pit of self-pity, dysfunction, despair, etc?  The choice is yours.   You  can either live your life as a piece of scrap metal or as a glorious masterpiece of art.  The choice is yours because you were created with purpose.   But  you have to put some sweat equity into it.  Your purpose isn't going to just live out itself...

Lean forward into your life.  Begin each day as if it were on purpose.   Mary Anne Radmacher Is this day on purpose for you?  Are you looking at this day with anticipation of what can and will be?  If not then you've got a long day ahead of you.  Here's the deal.  It's all about our attitudes and perspectives.  Leaning forward into our days and lives gets our heads and hearts in the game (so to speak).  Dragging ourselves into our days and lives keeps us sour and whiny.  Lately I've been wishing people a happy birthday with the expressed hope that they can spend the day celebrating the life God has gifted them with.  That's an attitude of leaning forward into your life.  And while we all have an "off" and bad day now and then, overall our lives have purpose and we should eagerly lean into that purpose.   (Yes even the mundane has purpose.)   So lean forward into your life and see what purpose arises. ...