Category: My Walk with Jesus (Page 4 of 6)

Purpose

October 28, 2017 / juliesc@pacbell.net / 0 Comments

We all have exactly the same amount of time in each day, 24 hours or 1,440 minutes. We also have a limited amount of time on this earth. Each day, I’m getting a little closer to leaving this earth for heaven. I have no idea whether today will be my last day here or I’ll live another 50+ years. With that in mind, I am stating my intent to spend the rest of my days living life on purpose.

Determining the purpose of our life here on earth can be difficult when we are young. As we get to know ourselves better, we see our strengths and weakness, figure out what we are drawn to and passionate about, and feel a greater sense of urgency to accomplish what we are set on this earth to do and to leave a legacy that will live beyond us. We also learn to silence the critics easier, whether the criticism comes from those around us or our misconceptions about ourselves.

Summarizing my purpose into a succinct mission statement is tricky for me. I have a blurry exposure what my purpose is to be but am slowly bringing that into focus through applying my circumstances and gaining wisdom. The two biggest words that come into my mind when I consider my purpose are encouraging and teaching. Sometimes these two purposes can overlap since so much of teaching is catching our students, children, spouses, and friends doing the right thing then urging them to continue in that direction. I can encourage and teach almost anyone I come into contact with, whether they realize I am doing that or not.

What do you think your purpose is in life?

This post is part of a 31 Day Blogging Challenge entitled Embracing Fifty. Please click here to find all the posts in this series. You can find the work of more bloggers participating in this series here. You’ll be glad you did!

Hope for the Future

October 27, 2017 / juliesc@pacbell.net / 0 Comments

One of my favorite Christmas traditions as a child was sitting next to our stereo cabinet listening to Lionel Barrymore’s portrayal of Ebenezer Scrooge on an album of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. I loved the sound effects, the background music, the lively reading of the well-loved book, and especially Barrymore’s characterization of Scrooge. I was a naturally fearful child, and the visits by each of the ghosts caused me to hide under a blanket for protection. The most terrifying ghost to me was the Ghost of Christmas Future. In fact, I can still remember the terror in Barrymore’s voice as he pronounced, “I fear you more than any specter I have seen.” This was my first exposure to the word, future, so I always associated the future with anxiety and panic.

I’m learning that we can anticipate the future with great hope and excitement or we can dread it. The choice is ours. The future will inevitably contain both positive and negative elements. I am assured that I will die in the future, unless Jesus returns before then. I could choose to focus my life on that so much that it prevents me from living today to the fullest. I can look forward to upcoming great times with loved ones, the addition of a new generation to our family tree, and the chance to grow and learn into my fifties, sixties, and seventies. I can’t wait to see just how valuable my golden years will be!

Nurturing Myself

October 25, 2017 / juliesc@pacbell.net / 0 Comments

Nurturing myself seemed like a selfish use of my time when I was raising my children. My days were already so busy that taking time for myself appeared to be an impossibility. I felt like nurturing myself would be the opposite of generosity.

Now I’m convinced that the beliefs I had were lies from the enemy to keep me in a depleted, ineffective state. When I don’t allow time to refresh and recharge myself, my emotional, physical, spiritual, and social “battery” runs out and shuts off, causing me to be useless to myself and others except as an example of what not to do!

However, I don’t think we should go to the other extreme and live in constant indulgence to ourselves and call it nurture. I used to think a good way to nurture myself was to eat a pound of chocolate and watch hours of television on end to the exclusion of the needs of my family. We need God’swisdom to determine the balance.

Nurturing ourselves looks different to each person. The music and activities that soothe me may agitate someone else. I was so out of touch with who I was as a person that I didn’t know what to do with myself when I did get the opportunity to nurture myself.

Some of favorite ways to nurture myself now are listening to worship music (Sherri Youngward’s Pandora station is my favorite), reading (I’m currently over halfway through Jan Karon’s newest Mitford book), running, writing my thoughts down, petting my three cats, hanging with my husband, and going to bed early enough to allow myself eight hours of sleep.

What are your favorite ways to nurture yourself?

Laughter

October 23, 2017 / juliesc@pacbell.net / 2 Comments

Laughter has been one of my favorite parts of life since I was a baby. There can never be too much laughter in a day. Laughter can diffuse a tense situation, break down language barriers, lighten our load, relax us, and create joyful memories. Laughter is a great gift to give to give one another. One of my daily goals is to make my husband laugh really hard. We tend to take ourselves and our lives so seriously that it feels good to step away from that just to giggle. Nothing brings a smile to my face more than the laughter of children.

As I move into this next decade I want the following words from Proverbs 31:25 said about me, “Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.” Laughter is the perfect accessory for any time in my life, especially the time to come!

Encouragement

October 22, 2017 / juliesc@pacbell.net / 0 Comments

All Christians have spiritual gifts, those special attributes that God has given them to help others. I used to wish that I could be a great worship leader or a gifted evangelist or be able to prophesy or be a natural helper or be rich in mercy, but I haven’t been given any of these gifts. My gift is encouragement. It doesn’t look fancy and may not get noticed much in today’s world, but I like it. I can use it in both the written word and the spoken word. I love that the centerpiece of the word encouragement is courage. I believe that encouraging words have the power to equip others courage to tackle the next task, to face their fears, and to continue when they feel like quitting.

I also need to encourage myself in the same manner and let the wise and affirming words of others spur me on to grow as a person even when I don’t feel like it. I can’t think of a single situation that isn’t improved by encouragement, so I will increase doing so as I enter into this next decade!

Becoming an Overcomer Instead of a Victim

October 21, 2017 / juliesc@pacbell.net / 2 Comments

I am an avid reader, and I love a good story. I especially enjoy great character development, watching the protagonist in the story grow throughout all the activity of the story and triumph over the antagonist at the climax of the story. I get way too involved in the characters’ lives, rooting for them, shedding actual tears due to their emotional pain, empathizing with their highs and lows, and rejoicing at the end of the book even though the hero is a fictitious, created in the mind of the author.

I need to apply these feelings to my own life. It’s so easy for me to make excuses or blame my lack of initiative on past circumstances or on the hurt that others have caused me to feel. My natural tendency is to see myself as the victim but it’s time to become the hero in my story. I need to look at opposition as means for growth and change and see that I have the Creator of the universe always on my side. I need to see the pain of my past propelling me to face the future. I need to focus on the triumph instead of the turmoil.

I will still be the same person I was in my forties as I enter this new decade of life in just fifty days, but the fifties will be my decade of being the one who overcomes!

Aches and Pains

October 20, 2017 / juliesc@pacbell.net / 0 Comments

I will admit that aches and pains are not my favorite thing in life. There’s not an hour that I don’t feel a twinge of discomfort in some part of my body. However, I have learned some advantages to pain.

It reminds me that I am still alive.
It makes me rely on God more.
It causes me to look forward to the day that I will leave this imperfect body on earth.
It often signifies that I had worked a muscle hard enough to fatigue it.
It allows me more empathetic with others who are experiencing physical pain.
It forces me to slow down and rest.
It humbles me and shows me that I am not invincible.
It helps me to be thankful for the moments that I experience less pain.

As we age, aches and pains are inevitable, but moaning and complaining about them is optional. I am making the choice to rejoice!

Peace

October 19, 2017 / juliesc@pacbell.net / 0 Comments

One of my favorite influences over my life is peace yet I often take it for granted until I feel the turbulence within my spirit that shows me that peace is not reigning in my life. Peace is defined as freedom from strife or dissension; the freedom of the mind from annoyance, distraction, and anxiety; stillness; tranquility; or a state of untroubledness. It cannot be achieved by rushing or striving, only by trust in my God who longs to guard my heart and my mind with His peace.

I’ve always believed that achievement was marked by activity and busyness, but I am learning that the achievement of peace is one of the greatest achievements of all. I need to train my mind to relax and move towards God’s peace instead of the clutteredness of the world. Peace will be a vital component of my fifties and beyond!

Humility

October 17, 2017 / juliesc@pacbell.net / 0 Comments

The word humility used to scare me because I mistakenly thought it was a synonym of humiliation. I had become well-acquainted with humiliation in my childhood years, and I wanted no part of it in my adult years. This summer after reading a book I highly recommend called The Calvary Road, I decided I wanted to study the word humility so I began writing down pages of Bible verse that contained the word or the concept of humility and my observations from these verses, and I found that it was worlds apart from humiliation. Here are the two definitions, and then I will list more thoughts on humility based on the Bible verses.

Humiliation is a painful loss of pride, self-respect, or dignity or mortification.

Humility is freedom from pride and arrogance.

I learned that humility is considering others more significant than yourself. I like how C.S. Lewis phrased it, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.” Humility is associated with gentleness and patience, and it even takes precedence over honor. Humility is rewarded by riches, honor, and life. It is a vital characteristic when serving the Lord, and we need to actively seek it. I can tell you from experience that it does NOT come naturally. We should put it on every day, just as we put on our clothing, and God will give grace, save, and exalt the humble. Humility is seeking God and trusting Him to lead us in what is right.

I’m thankful for the concept of humility and desire to live it out every day in my fifties.

Acceptance of Current Circumstances

October 16, 2017 / juliesc@pacbell.net / 0 Comments

We have a limited amount of time each day and free will on how to spend that time. We can waste it by pining away for the past, fretting about the future, or wishing away the life we have today.

Maybe our current life is not what we thought it would be. I never thought both my parents would die of cancer before I reached my 50th birthday, I would deal with so many health issues, or that my husband would lose his job, yet all those circumstances are a part of my everyday life. I can choose to allow the sadness and stress that these circumstances cause to keep me in denial and from moving forward in life, or I can accept those circumstances and trust that God will work them together for good.

I am confident that I will look back on this time in my life twenty years from now and see exactly how God used these parts of my life to grow me. When I do catch myself slipping into a funk, I try to apply the Serenity Prayer each day, “God, please grant me the serenity to accept the things I can’t change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen.”