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Friday, February 24, 2012

Using the Past to create a Positive and Purpose Filled Future

We all struggle. Believe me. Our struggles may be different, but we must have faith in God that He will pull us through. We can't let Satan creep into our hearts. We cannot focus on the past, and what we could have done differently - all we can really do is truly be in the here and now. That's all any of us can do. God dropped a few quotes in front of me this week that have spoken to me. Perhaps they will speak to you too.

"God doesn't always give us the blueprint for our lives, but he always gives us the next step."

"Whether it's the best of times, or the worst of times, it's the only time we've got."

"Learn from the past, set vivid, detailed goals for the future, and live in the only moment of time over which you have any control: NOW."

This last one I really needed to hear. I have a tendency to focus entirely too much on the past. On things I can't change. I have a feeling you might too. We can't. All we can do is keep moving forward. Yesterday is over. Today is a gift - appreciate it. We can choose to accept our fate and make it a positive experience. Are you with me?

I wrote my purpose statement 5 years ago, and now I am finally learning how God wants me to put it into effect. "I exist to serve by inspiring others." What will yours be?

I want to help everyone I can. But more than ever I am feeling moved to help prison inmates. I want to help them see that life isn't over. Life doesn't stop because you are on the "inside." God is using them to do something - I want to help them learn how to allow God to fill them with His spirit, and let the change take place. God wants all of us, including inmates, to use our experiences and make an impact and difference in the lives of others - it would be selfish of all of us not to use that gift. I want to help them to make that shift in thinking - take what's happened to us - and affect others. Make the shift from being externally directed and internally focused, to being internally directed and externally focused.

God recently placed an old friend in front of me. He's a part of my story in this life, as I am in his. He shared with me the impact I had on his life many years ago. Without my knowledge over the course of the past 12 years, our chance meeting, changed the way he lived his life. In his words, "Because of you I began to look at things around me a little bit differently....changing the way I look at the world. I began to believe in things like perseverance and what just a simple smile can do to someones day, just to name a few. Years and years ago I would have never known that for a brief moment in time a person could dramatically enhance an others life so profoundly!"

God truly is amazing. Miraculous, really. What this recent encounter with my old friend has taught me is that when I am lost, God will lead me back. If I continue to live my life on purpose, I will continue to make a difference, just as I did with him. And just as he had done - and continues to do to me.

May the Holy Spirit move you to inspire, may he move you to find peace. I'll keep on writing because it completes my story - you all keep on living a purpose filled life...