Purpose and Influence and a Million Dreams

This guy right here continually reflects Jesus to me. Sometimes he doesn’t even have to say a word. It’s times like these when he is just messing around and “trying” out some old paints...I get to see how God created Craig​ers! He is very intriguing. I mean he delivers babies for a living y’all. But here he is painting and creating.

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“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” -Ephesians 2:10

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Workmanship- /poiema/ - fabric, thing that is made.

This is where we get our word “poem” /pōem/ - something that arouses strong emotions because of its beauty.

We are God’s art (poem). And we reflect back God’s glory by taking the raw material in our lives and bringing it in line with artistic vision (His vision, His dream for us). Beauty!

Do you see...we are God’s art and we get to create art for Him with our very lives!!!

This is where I get really cheesy. You know the song “A Million Dreams” in The Greatest Showman!!?

Every night I lie in bed

The brightest colors fill my head

A million dreams are keeping me awake

I think of what the world could be

A vision of the one I see

A million dreams is all it's gonna take

A million dreams for the world we're gonna make

However big, however small

Let me be part of it all

Share your dreams with me

We may be right, we may be wrong

But I want to bring you along

To the world I see

To the world I close my eyes to see

I close my eyes to see...

A Million Dreams creating something beautiful!!! This is the world we're gonna make. This is what we get the privilege of doing, continuing what God started. Work.

Work- /ergon/ - a work or worker who accomplishes something, a deed (action) that carries out (completes) an inner desire (intentions, purpose).

May we be able to say just as Jesus did, “I have glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work you gave me to do.” - John 17:4

Just as Jesus completed God's inner desire, intentions purpose...We too have work to complete!

Have you ever considered that you have a purpose? Have you ever considered that you have influence?!

Well, you have both! And it was given to you so that you would reflect back the glory of God in such a way that you would arouse strong emotion because of your beauty! A poem. Workmanship! We are all created with different gifts, talents, resources for contributing to making this world better than the way we found it. Imagine all hands clapping because of the magnificent performance. Bravo! Bravo!

Well done!

The Parable of the Talents tells this very story. (Matthew 25:14-30) The Master gave five talents to one servant, two talents to another, and one talent to the other.

The servants with the five and two talents invested their talents and doubled their profits while the servant with the one talent buried his talent making zero profit.

To the servants with the five and two talents the Master said, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" To the servant who buried his, the Master said, "You wicked and slothful servant!"

When we follow Christ and use all our abilities, gifts, talents, and resources to complete God's purpose (His intentions, His desire, His dream) for us, we not only get the pleasure of hearting "Bravo," but we get the privilege of being part of something bigger than ourselves. Which is what our hearts truly long for!

Why is it that at the end of the Movie, The Greatest Showman, our heart are racing and we want to stand up and applaud?!?

Because we all have dreams. We all have talents. We all want to know that what we are doing now matters for eternity!

AND IT DOES!

What if you took all that God gave you to be a powerful and irresistible influence in the lives of others? A direct impact on those God has placed in your path?!

What would that even look like?

Hang in there sister. This is my passion. To help guide women to freedom and purpose.

What is your dream? What is your passion? What talents, gifts and resources do you have to offer up to God to use in a powerful way in the lives of others?!

Resources for you:

The Purpose Planner

Gospel-Centered Purpose Podcast

#createdwithpurpose

#createwithpurpose #godsworkmanship

1 Thing Which Will Absolutely Sabotage Your Success

"Success."

That is such a weird word. It almost seems arrogant. In which it is if you are looking at it from a purely material view, “the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like.” But what I am talking about here is success as "an accomplishment of an aim or purpose." And in order to reach our aim in life we must set goals. It is a growth process. And a lot of times the road to success is through difficult circumstances.

This reminds me of a time I was teaching my son (who was then nine years old) how to snorkel. We were planning a trip to the Caribbean and I wanted to teach him how to snorkel so that he wouldn’t miss out on all the amazing things God has created in the sea. I explained to him how super clear the water is in the Caribbean and that he would be amazed at all that he would see. So we set a goal to learn how to snorkel. So I got into the pool with him, gave him a mask and a snorkel, and asked him to put the mask on.

Here lies problem #1. He didn't want to wear the mask because he said that he can’t breathe with it on.

“Um. Okay. But that is what the mask is for. You aren’t supposed to breathe under water.”

He tried it several times and came up from the water each time throwing the mask off saying, "I hate this." He was blaming the mask for not being able to breathe (which is it’s job, by the way).

After several more attempts to encourage him to “just try to get used to the mask in the water,” I realized that I was getting nowhere. Especially when I saw that he had decided to put the mask on the way he felt it should be worn...positioning the nose piece of the mask right on the bridge of his nose with his nose sticking out from underneath the mask.

Oh brother! Okay, let's move on, I thought. I asked him to get his snorkel. Maybe we can just practice breathing out of the snorkel.

Here lies problem #2. He didn't want to put the mouth piece in his mouth because it hurt. He had lost several teeth so it was difficult for him to adjust the mouthpiece comfortably and close his mouth. After trying to work with him for several minutes I finally threw my hands up and said what I have heard his older brother say to him several times while trying to help him with something... “I can’t work under these conditions.” He has a history of being hardheaded….like his mom I hate to say. So I moved on to helping his brother, Parker, who got it right away and was snorkeling like a champ around the pool. No fuss, no complaining. Just snorkeling!

Nine year old Tanner replies, “I am not good at ANYTHING, Parker is good at EVERYTHING.” “I can’t do anything right!”

On and on he berates himself and gets more and more frustrated…and is determined that he will NEVER learn to snorkel.

He got out of the pool and pouted for awhile and then asks this question….

“Mom, why am I so bad at everything?”

My response…. “You ARE NOT bad at EVERYTHING! What’s BAD is your ATTITUDE!”

BOOM!

This, my friends, is what will sabotage your success every time….A BAD ATTITUDE!

This is a choice we all have. We can choose what kind of attitude we will have. We can choose an inner dialogue of self-encouragement and self-motivation, or we can choose one of self-defeat and self-pity. Everyone encounters hard times, hurt feelings, heartache, and physical and emotional pain. The key is to realize it’s not what happens to you that matters; it’s how you choose to respond.

What Tanner did when he encountered hardship in snorkeling is immediately tell himself, “I can’t do it” and “I won’t ever be able to do it.”

Once I started identifying the problem with Tanner I began to have grace and mercy. He was just verbally expressing what we all feel inside when we rub up against obstacles in our lives. We are our own worst critic and we will bring up all the other million things we didn’t do right to make our case for an “I can’t” attitude. Add that on top of comparison and you have a defeated little heart who begins to think that something must be wrong with him because he “can’t” but everyone else “can.”

Have you ever felt that way?

I sure have. I have stood in the way of my success time after time after time with a bad attitude…with an “I can’t” mentality.

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“We can trace all our human problems to our view of God.”

- Bill Bright

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Can our bad attitude really be traced back to our view of God? What about snorkeling? Can Tanner’s bad attitude be a result of his view of God?

What would your life look like if you truly believed that God created you uniquely and for a purpose (for success)? What if you believed that God was big enough to do the impossible?...That He had the power to transform your life and do amazing things in and through you?...That He cares about the smallest details in your life and desires to reveal more about His character even in the rough places?

What if He placed difficult circumstances in your life so that you could enjoy the crystal clear water on the other side and enjoy all that He has created under the sea?...To behold His beauty in a way you never imagined was possible?

Bad attitudes don’t just change overnight. It is a process of getting to know God in such a way that everything about you will begin to change. You will begin to see God for Who He truly is and therefore see yourself for who you truly are…created for greatness reflecting back His glory! So when you find yourself in that uncomfortable place...push through it, put the mask on, breathe through the snorkel….you will be amazed at how a little discomfort in your life will create growth and courage in you. You will be transformed into the person God created you to be, enjoying beauty!

Listen to Gospel-Centered Purpose here.

Get the Purpose Planner to help you live intentionally.

What is Discipleship?

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"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. - Matthew 28:19-20

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The very first time I heard the word "disciple" was when I was in college. I was involved in a Christian organization on campus with some of my roommates. I had inquired about joining their small group Bible study which they were attending. But they said it wasn't just a Bible study. They said it was a discipleship group. I asked what the difference was and they proceeded to tell me that on top of studying the Word together they also met with their leader one-on-one for accountability and that they too were seeking out other women in their spheres of influence in which they could also start and lead a discipleship group.

I had just broken up with a boyfriend and was in need of a huge change in my life. I needed accountability. I wanted someone walking through life with me and teaching me how to apply the Word to my life. I was up for the challenge of leading a small group myself.

Sign me up!

I started the process of discipleship without truly knowing what it was I was doing. All I knew is that I was learning more and more about Jesus and I was teaching others what I was learning.

That was over 26 years ago! And today I am still discipling women but my understanding and process has evolved over the years.

So what is Discipleship?

Let's look at the word disciple first.

Merriam-Webster defines disciple as one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another: such as Christianity.

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The Greek definition of "disciple" - mathéteuó - to be a disciple, to make a disciple. Helping someone progressively learn the Word

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Still others define disciple as a "learner" or "follower." But I truly believe we miss the heart behind the process if we make this our definition.

I like Greg Ogden's definition. Greg has a passion for the discipleship and is part of the Global Discipleship Initiative (GDI). He says a disciple is "one who responds in faith and obedience to the gracious call to follow Jesus Christ. Being a disciple is a lifelong process of dying to self while allowing Jesus Christ to come alive in us."

If we look at the Great Commission closely in Matthew 28:19-20 we see that being a disciple commands discipleship. Discipleship is the process of "making disciples."

We, as believers and followers of Christ, are commanded to "go make disciples"...to reproduce the faith...reproduce the process of Gather, Grow, Go, and Give. It is the process Jesus used in His ministry.

Gather - He gathered a group of 12

Grow - He taught them insight into the Word by walking through life with them and applying Truth. Life on Life.

Go - He sent them out into their areas of influence to gather others.

Give - He asked them to give all their resources (their very lives) to further the Kingdom.

Too many people want to stay in the "growing" and learning phase. Which is great! We are always learning and growing in Christ. It is a lifelong process. But we are not called to just grow in knowledge of Him. We are called to "go."

Robby Gallaty, pastor of Long Hollow Baptist Church and author of "Making Disciples" podcast, said something very profound...

"The gospel came to you because it was heading to someone else."

We must not view Christianity or discipleship as learning and growing in faith. This is the greatest tragedy. The gospel can not advance unless we pass it on, "go."

"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."

-Mark 8:34

If we are to be a disciple, we must deny ourselves. This means taking ourselves off of the throne of our lives and putting God back in His rightful place as Lord of all. We must take up our cross by continually dying to our selfish ambitions and our desire to make a name for ourselves. We are to put to death the pleasures of this world and our self-centered ways and follow Him. By following Him we will become like Him and offer up all that we are and have to glorify God and make Him known.

We have work to do. May we be able to say just as Jesus did, "I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work you gave me to do." (John 17:4)

This is how we pass on the gospel, by accomplishing the work. We each have work to do. We were created in Christ Jesus for good works. We have purpose and meaning and work. And each part when working properly, makes the body grow.

Did you hear that? Your work was created in Christ Jesus to help others GROW.

This is discipleship my friends!

If you want a resource to help you process your purpose, download my FREE Purpose Planner NOW!

Listen to "What is Discipleship?" on the Gospel-Center Purpose Podcast.