Wow, its day five already and I am feeling so inspired by the beautiful stories so far this week. Have you relished getting to know these wonderful girls as much as I have? I hope that you have been inspired by their stories. If you have only just joined us then check out this weeks posts. You will be surprised by the depth of honesty, vulnerability and the real heart behind each woman and her story.... and we still have a couple of stories yet to unfold.
Jen from 'Finding Heaven' is inspiring us today with heartfelt thoughts. She is living a significantly destined life as a wife, mother and delightful artist. (Don't you just love her artwork above?) She has recently devoted herself to a 31 day sojourn and is on a heart and soul journey. Her blog was birthed out of the desire to experience a little slice of heaven on earth. I hope you enjoy her article.
Have you ever asked a question, but when the answer came, you kinda wish you hadn't asked in the first place?
I've been asking God if it was okay to dream, to imagine what the future might hold for me as far as ministry outside my family. The reason I felt like I needed to ask permission is mainly because I've struggled with pride, obsessive planning, and not living in the present. I was fearful that if I looked beyond the five feet in front of me, I would start to fall back into those pits.
Just between you and me, I think I've always known what God wanted me to do, but He has had to do a lot of housecleaning to get me ready for it. I had aspirations, you see, and those aspirations focused on what I could get out of this calling. I could see the side benefits for God, you know, and for His people, but really, to be truly honest, living out said calling was just for my own glorification. It was about how I could be worthy. How I could be the best. How I could be known.
How did I know, deep down, what He was calling me to do? Because I have had moments, instances few and far between, when God whooshed through me, worked through me, and brought in His glory for His people. In those happenings, I knew that I had become simply a vessel, that in His power He could knock my SELF aside, and show me what He could do through me.
Driving home after taking Hannah to preschool on Thursday, God gave me His vision for my life, or at least the part that I am to know now. And even though I think I suspected it all the while, it still came as a shock. The thought of it scares me to death. Even as I type these words, my knees get weak. It is a calling that is totally outside of my comfort zone. It is a calling that is 100% reliant upon Jesus. It is a calling that requires a daily prayer of “Less of me, more of You, Lord.”
He is calling me to speak. Like, in front of people. About Him. About the journey that He has taken me on. About overcoming and submitting. About laying down and picking up. About hard, personal issues and ways to find freedom. And though I have had a couple of months to get used to this idea, I still pull a Moses every now and then. My conversations with God are like re-reading Exodus:
Who am I to speak before these people? How do you know they will listen to me? What should I tell them? Do you know how scared of this I am?
But in His perfect way, He just reminds me that He has never failed to show up so far, that my job is not to strive to fulfill a greater purpose, but rather to sit at His feet and let His love overflow into the hearts of others. I can think of no greater destiny than to follow in the footsteps of my Maker.
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Check out Shanda's blog - 'A pause on the pathway'
Shanda has discovered that blogging offers her the opportunity to pause on the pathway through life, affording her a chance to reflect on the simple pleasures along the way. I was particularly moved by the poignancy in one of her posts. Here is that story.
Read my story at Indulge eMagazine (click the link)
