Archive | June, 2012

Saying Yes Equals Success (Part II)/June’s Dreamer in the Spotlight

27 Jun

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” -Matthew 7:7

If you read my previous post, you may have been re-energized to look for ways God can use you or you may have thought, “I’m not Mother Theresa; I’m no saint.  I have a lot of work to do before I can do something great for God.”  We will never be perfect, but even in our brokenness and imperfection, God can use us to share His love and reach others.  There are so many opportunities each day that we may be missing to experience joy, peace, and true fulfillment.  I, personally, am really trying to focus on small impressions that God may be placing on my heart to act on for His good on a day-to-day basis.  I know that I have repeatedly overlooked or ignored them, not realizing that even a small action could be a significant moment for myself and/or another person.

Another thought that may have come up while reading my last post is, “How do I know what God wants me to do?”  As I mentioned earlier this month, I have been reading an inspiring and insightful book called, What Happens When Women Say Yes to God, by Lysa TerKeurst.  This particular woman has a lot of wisdom and trust and is not afraid to take risks.  Click here to read her five questions to discern God’s voice.

I had never read any of Lysa’s books until I was recently invited to be a part of a book club that focuses on developing a deeper faith and strengthening a personal relationship with Jesus.  The members of the group voted on What Happens When Women Say Yes to God to read first and it seems that each one of us is getting a lot out of it!

Lysa has written several best-selling books and is the president of Proverbs 31 Ministries.  In addition, she and her husband  adopted two boys from Liberia, which prompted many others to adopt children from that country, as well.  To read more about Lysa’s journey and what she does, check out her website bio.

Lysa, thanks for being such an inspiring woman and encouraging all of us to seek God’s will and lead an adventurous life!

Lysa TerKeurst

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Saying Yes Equals Success (Part I)

16 Jun

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him and he will direct your paths.”  -Proverbs 3:5-6

I’m in the middle of reading some life-altering books right now and, no, I’m not exaggerating.  There’s no way that I can continue to be the same person after reading what these amazing authors have to share.  I have gained some special nuggets of wisdom to write about, but I have to break it down into more than one post because it will be an extremely lengthy one that no one will probably be up for tackling!

Back in November, I featured Katie Davis as that month’s featured Dreamer in the Spotlight.  I finally got around to reading her book, Kisses from Katie, and it is blowing me away!  For those of you who read that post, you may remember that she is the 22-year-old who is the mother to 13 Ugandan children.  Before I write anything else, let me just share an excerpt from her book that I just read yesterday.  (The whole book is worth highlighting, but this particular part jumped out at me.)

“I was blessed.  It wasn’t because of anything I did; it was because I serve an unbelievably gracious God who will honor a willing and obedient heart.  My love for the people around me was not something I could muster up myself; it was God given, it came from the overflow of the love He had lavished on me.

I hadn’t come to Uganda with a degree in education; I wasn’t a nurse; and I certainly didn’t consider myself a missionary.  I had absolutely no idea what was involved in running a ministry and frankly did not possess the business knowledge or organizational skills required to do so.  I was in no way qualified, but I was available.

I have learned that something happens when one makes herself available to God:  He starts moving in ways no one could imagine.  God began doing things in me, around me, and through me as I offered myself to Him.  I began each day saying, “Okay, Lord, what would you have me do today?  Whom would you have me help today?”  And then I would allow Him to show me.  I would like to say that I had all kinds of great ideas about what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it.  I would like to say my ministry was born out of a carefully thought-out plan.  These things simply aren’t true, though.  I was walking through life one moment at a time, blown away by what God could do through me if I simply said yes.” -Kisses from Katie, page 43

Maybe after reading this, you are thinking, “I thought the title of this post is Saying Yes Equals Success and that doesn’t sound like the kind of success I want.”  It can definitely seem overwhelming and scary to think of what God may ask of us if we are open to it, but imagine all of the joy and love that would be missed out on if we continue to aim for the worldly view of success.  We have to keep in mind that God wants what is best for us.  He gave us our gifts and He wants us to use them to fit into His perfect plan.

I recently heard a great quote while watching a television show (Women of Grace) on EWTN the other day.  Two men were being interviewed about their book, Journeying on Holy Ground —Christian Strategies to Reach your Personal, Professional, and Spiritual Destiny, and one of the authors, Billy Arcement, quoted Fredrick Buechner’s book, Wishful Thinking: A Seeker’s ABC.  In it Buechner states, “…The place God calls you to is the place where deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”  How powerful is that statement?  Wow!  Basically, when we can use our God-given talents (passion) to help others, we have found our purpose!  Isn’t that what we all want to find in life?  Don’t we all want to believe that our lives have meaning?  What’s awesome is that each one of us has a special role to play in His masterfully-woven plan!

That’s probably enough to digest for now.  Thanks for hanging with me!  I’ll talk about the second book that I’m currently reading in Part II – What Happens When Women Say Yes to God by Lysa TerKeurst.  I’ll outline her five-step plan to discerning God’s voice.

above image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

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