Why Create a Life Of Your Own?

Why create a life for yourself? 

We become too clingy, too needy or even morose without one. Ever seen a woman who’s always calling her husband and kids to check up on them? One who’s overly-involved in her children’s activities? Or one who crumbled, zombie-like when her grown kids left home?

Who wants to be anchorless like that? Life will not always be as it is today, so it behooves us to prepare for any future by creating a life within us which cannot be taken away.

Besides, God gave us all a purpose before we arrived on this planet, something He wanted accomplished through us, uniquely, and we’re now responsible for carrying-out His plan. We’re necessary to making this world go ‘round.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
    before you were born I set you apart..."   ... Jeremiah 1:5

How do you create your own life apart?

You begin by listening closely to Jesus, our original designer who knows exactly what we should be doing. And then you answer questions: What am I good at? What do other people say I do well? What comes a bit easier to me than others? What do I lose track of time, doing? What do I enjoy and has the potential to bless and help other people?

Always, the goal of our calling is to help others--and in doing so--we come away with such joy, ourselves. You don't see how what you're good at will help anybody? Don't worry--God doesn't want us trying to reason-out the future. Just begin studying, practicing, becoming proficient at whatever you're meant to do.

Finding our purpose was never meant to be confusing or anything near rocket science. God’s got a specific plan, a certain life for each of us and He wants to get on with it today. Waiting until nearing our death bed only leads to a half-lived, could-have-been-more life.

Why do we sometimes miss this whole exciting, custom-designed plan? We don't believe we have one. Or we're fragmented, flittering around like hummingbirds, spending time here, there, trying this activity, that one , then moving on. Or we say yes to other folks and help them advance their purpose (which is fine if that’s our calling) while our own purpose remains in some dark corner. Or we spent years focusing on our own plan, not God's.

There’s a type of happiness which comes only by doing exactly what God always meant us to do. If, since young womanhood, we dreamed of becoming a circus clown yet God created us to be a dog walker—even if we become that clown—the joy and grace will be fleeting. Walking dogs will bring an underlying joy which remains, which becomes our strength, even if no one applauds.

God’s plan for us is never about applause anyway. Instead, it’s about changing this world into something closer to what He had in mind when He first created it--by bringing back men’s hearts to Him. And He’s found specific ways to do that through each of us.

All that remains is for us to get on board with His ideas, His ways, His custom-made plan... and then let the joy of obedience begin!

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"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."   ... Luke 6:38

"The greatest of these is Love."   ... from 1 Corinthians 13

The Dog Whisperer and Me

So what did I do over my weekend?

I went to see a movie with Tom (Oblivion. Strange flick.), I worked in our yard and during my breaks, Tom and I watched lots of Fringe. I cleaned bits of the house, shopped for groceries, lugged more bricks and bags of soil home from Home Depot, fed the birds and oh yeah, absorbed wisdom lessons from the Dog Whisperer.

Cesar Millan has become my new Joyce Meyer. :) 

No really! And hey, I'm not even a dog person (sorry, but it's true) and will probably never own one this side of Heaven, although I'll not say never. And yet? Cesar, the best dog whisperer, ever, has re-confirmed for me lessons about the power of calmness in humans.

Ah, calmness! It's a sign that, over the years, we've come to a deeper level of trusting God (not just saying we do, then at home, worrying the hair off our heads, literally.). No, actually trusting that our lives are in God's hands and relaxing inside His palms, in total calm.

A calm spirit shows that we desire peace rather than worry--for we've realized we can't have both. 

Calmness is a sign to others that God is our 'pack leader' for real--fear and dread no longer control us, causing us to make foolish, panicky choices. God's ways control us, instead, and oh, the good we reap from them!

To be calm is to be strong.

Well, I could go on and on, but there's housework to do and more Cesar to watch. I long for wisdom, but seldom see it around me, so I've actually become thirsty for these shows which feel a bit like swimming around in a refreshing wisdom pool.

(Which sounds odd, but some of you will understand.)

Please do take a look at the photo, above. With all my heart, I believe those words and today I'll be putting them into practice. :)


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"For wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her."   ... Proverbs 8:11

 "But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy."   ... James 3:17

"A wise man can see more from the bottom of a well than a fool can from a mountain top ."   ... anonymous

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A very special thanks to Clarice for sharing that photo at Facebook.

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I've been using Cesar's dog advice on Daniel and Sammy the Cats. Wow! It works not only on dogs and humans but on cats, as well. Just call me the Cat Whisperer. 

You can watch The Dog Whisperer for free here. Be sure to wave if you see me there, cheering, splashing around in the wisdom pool.

"There is no common sense in fear."   ... Cesar Millan

Bringing Life to Life!

"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”     ... John 8:12

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In and around my home there's French music playing from my retro kitchen radio and breezes flowing through the windows and two cats racing up, then down, the stairs. Cesar Millan is teaching dogs and clueless people on my computer, the washing machine is churning, coupons sit nearby needing clipping and the ceramic animals up on hutch tops smile down at me while soup simmers upon the stove. 

Sometimes the phone rings and earlier today, two men rang the doorbell offering us free smoke and CO2 alarms, but I thanked them and told them we're all set. Sunlight shines through the south side of the house and earlier I ran the vacuum and then some soapy water into the shining kitchen sink.

Outside? Oh, there's the hum of traffic over the bridge and a quieter hum of plants and vegetables growing. Birds swing upon the feeders, squirrels and baby doves skitter below for falling seed and a rabbit hopped down our sidewalk earlier. My neighbor-gifted lilac bush is topped with tiny violet buds, our yellow siding glows in some places, dances with leaf shadows in others. Sunflowers hopefully poke their leaves above the ground and I'm already picturing their happy faces, though they're weeks away.

There's Life around here! And oh, I respect it, create more of it and bask in it, for all life is fleeting, much too short to spend it in sour, negative moods, gazing into the dark side. And I don't need a carload of people, a bag of money or cards of appreciation in order to feel alive, complete and happy. I just need Jesus and this life He breathes through us.

So give yourself permission to celebrate, ok? Each day create more life, for God loves a cheerful giver so give, give and then give some more until your corner absolutely pulsates with His life released from within you. This sad, stressed-out world is in dire need of it. Of you. Of Him.

Colossians 3:16
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.”

“One day at a time--this is enough. Do not look back and grieve over the past for it is gone; and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful it will be worth remembering.”  ... unknown

“Life is what we make it, always has been, always will be.”

Grandma Moses

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