Day Sixteen...The Purpose-Driven Life

So, I started this book, The Purpose-Drive Life by Rick Warren, about 5 years ago when it first came out and was BIG in all the churches. And, like so many things, I never finished it. I got all the way through chapter 2 and decided I had something else to do instead. Well, last night while I was lying in bed, I decided I was going to read it and see what it had to say about my current state. Section 1? What on Earth am I Here For? Day 1? It All Starts with God. End of story? No...because each chapter is a different day. There are 40 chapters for a 40-day journey into discovering God's will for my life. And, I think that's what I need right about now. You know that feeling of being in a huge crowd but feeling all alone? That's what I'm feeling right now. I think I'm at a crossroads...a turning point in my life. I have decisions I need to make that will either make or break me and my future. I know I need to get out of my current job. It's literally killing me...I've had to give up all my after work functions: church, bible study, women's fellowship, Deaf Coffee House, Boutique Board, hanging with my family, card-making with my mom, teaching Girls Alive, eating a real sit-down meal. It really sucks...I'm up when everyone else is asleep. I'm asleep when everyone else is up. It bites! And, I'm need to change it. I talked with Sulla tonight...he told me that I need to make my choice and stick to it, but do whatever I need to do to succeed. I can give up cable...I can live without it. It's a luxury. Rent, food and utilities are not luxuries...they're necessities. When I get my truck fixed, I'll have more gas money because it gets better mileage than the car I'm driving now. I'll also be healthier because my body clock will be back on schedule.

So, anyway, I thought I'd give this blog some direction.

Day 1 starts with What on Earth am I Here for? It tries to begin answering the question about purpose. We were created BY God and FOR God...for HIS purposes...for HIS glory...for HIS work. And, learning that and applying it to our lives changes everything. The author says something key that really hit home (I even underlined it!). He says, "...being successful and fulling your life's purose are not at all the same issue! You could reach all your personal goals, become a raving success by the world's standard, and still miss the purpose for which God created you." So, that's where this journey is taking me. I'm trying to figure out God's purpose for me...not how to fulfil my own goals.

There are Points to Ponder (P2P), Verses to Remember (V2R), and Questions to Consider (Q2C) at the end of each day. Day ones' are:

P2P: It's not about me!

V2R: "Everything got started in Him and finds its purpose in Him." Colossians 1:16b (MSG)

Q2C: In spite of all the advertising around me, how can I remind myself that life is really about living for God, not myself?

That's a hard question to answer. I don't tend to pay much attention to advertising because I've never been one for "trendiness", if you will. So, the best way for me to remember that life is really about living for God is by putting God first in my life. How? Reading His Word daily, going to church, fellowshipping with believers, praying, giving, serving. With God on top, everything else will fall into place.

There are also discussion questions that relate to the previous 7 days in the back of the book that I'll be talking about, but those will come at the end.

So, on to day 2.