What happened to my passion for life?

Have you ever met someone who exudes a joy and passion for life that you wished you felt? Do you remember a time when you were excited about living and your future? What happened to that?

Life has a way of beating us down, making us weary, stealing our joy and passion. With everything that life throws at us - with all the bad news we hear every day - with all the struggle to deal with in our quickly changing culture - joy and passion for life drain out of us without our even realizing it until one day we wake up and wonder if it's even worth the trouble to get out of bed.

We can look at all the chaos and trouble around us and feel overwhelmed and defeated. Maybe that's the problem...we've been focused on the chaos and trouble instead of staying focused one the One who gave His life for us. Jesus had a passion for life. He had a passion for those around Him. He had a passion for the Father.

We need that passion. Fortunately, it's His to give and He already gave it when we surrendered our lives to Him. He forgave, saved and filled us with His Holy Spirit - wherein lies all we will ever need to live a joyful, passionate life.

Let's pray that God will restore our passion, fill us with His joy so that we not only find excitement and purpose in life, but so that we can pass that along to others. Our world needs to see that the Christian life is different. They need to see us rejoice and worship God in the middle of trials, in the face of a life-altering diagnoses, in loss, and in the unsettling times we are living in.

Father, we ask you to bring us back to a place of joy and passion for living. Fill us anew with your Spirit and let your passion bubble up inside of us until we are so full that it spills over onto those around us. Amen 

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Code Blue X 2

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength 

of my heart and my portion forever.

Psalm 73:26

Tuesday, two years ago today, started like any other day, but before the day was over, I found myself rushed to the hospital for an emergency heart catheterization and pacemaker implant. Before they could get me prepped, I coded. My heart just stopped beating. They performed CPR and shocked my heart and I came back.  A couple of days later, I coded again and again they brought me back. It was a long recovery, but I'm alive! 

Today is my 

Re-Birthday!

God has walked me through recovery and has really clarified what's important in life. We have grown so much closer and though I am happy to be alive, I look forward to being with Him someday...and honestly, that day seems closer than ever.

He has kept me here for a purpose - maybe many purposes. I've given it a lot of thought and prayer and I've have a new bucket list. There's only 3 items on the list, but they encompass so much.

My Bucket List

• Love God with all my heart, my soul, my mind and my strength.
• Love, encourage and help others as God has done for me.
• Always, always point the way to Him.

In these three lie every purpose for which I am still alive. I don't know how much time I have before I am called home (none of us do). So, I will spend that time focused on those three items, trusting the Holy Spirit to lead me where I am needed. Nothing could be more important than these.

It's wonderful to be alive!

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Answering the Call

What has the Lord called you to do? Some are called to be teachers, some musicians, some artists, some preachers, some homemakers. What is He calling you to do?

For a long time I wondered about this. I didn't feel particularly called to something "special." Then I realize that as a child of God, everything I do is special if I do it as unto the Lord and do it in love.

• Praying for others is a calling.
• Sharing God's word is a calling
• Helping those in need is a calling
• Loving others is a calling
• Feeding the hungry is a calling
• etc....

Nothing is too small to be a calling if God is prompting you to do it. You may read a scripture that you want to share with others and post it on Facebook. You may cook a meal or bake some cookies for a neighbor. You may pick up the trash you find at a park so that others can enjoy a clean space.

Whatever you do, know that God will bless you for it and bless others through you. You are his hand extended, his voice of encouragement, his shoulder to cry on. No matter how small the effort may be, it's huge if you are following God's prompting.

So - are you answering the call?

Make a difference in someone's life today by allowing God to use you for His purposes.

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