Purpose Statement Revised Again... :)

“My purpose is to use my effervescence and people skills through writing, music, and personal relationships to guide, to inspire, and to lead others to realize their identity in Christ, to find their purpose, and to enter into the freedom of worshiping God in utter abandon.”

Always a work in progress!

My dream

My dream... does it have to be singular? I have so many... .... All my songs recorded, by me, hearing myself on the radio, singing to thousands of people...
My books, written, published, taking pictures of them on random library shelves, sig...ning them alongside of those CD's I'm selling!
Getting my doctorate... yeah, I still dream about that... in developmental and positive psychology
Doing motivational/identity talks to thousands of people. People discovering who they are in Christ and finding freedom and realing the dream that God has placed inside them... becoming who God has made them to be.
Touring all over the place, traveling the world.
Coaching individuals to overcome obstacles and realize their big dreams!
the purpose (LEADING PEOPLE into a deep and real relational worship of God, Jesus, and the Spirit.. a place of utter abandon to the Saviour!

My motivation for becoming a Christian Counselor:

As I said in my introduction, my purpose statement is to use my effervescence and people skills through writing, music, and personal relationships to counsel those who are in bondage and to lead them into the freedom of worshiping God in utter abandon. My motivation, simply stated, is the glory of God! God gets the glory for each and every transformed life. He is the only one who turns mourning into dancing (Psalms 30:11) and when an individual experiences his miraculous healing power they will cry out, like David, “To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever” (Psalm 30:12). Not only will God get the glory from the people whose lives are affected by my ministry, but he will get the glory from me, too! He receives the most glory from my life when I am fully surrendered to Him, doing exactly what he designed me to do. I know that counseling is a part of his purpose for me--and that in itself would be enough for me to embark on this educational journey—but knowing that Jesus is more fully reflected through my life when I do the things he created me to do incites me to continue on! And, having been freed from the bondage of this world myself, how can I not offer my life back to him? I am also one of the ones who sings praise and cannot be silent!

Purpose Statement

By the way, this is my purpose in a nutshell... I may tweak it a bit... it's almost midnight, and this is the first time I've put it in writing. LOL I've had it in my head for months now.

My purpose is to use my effervescence and people skills through writing, music, and personal relationships to counsel those who are in bondage and to lead them into the freedom of worshiping God in utter abandon.

Passion

Passion is the heart set free to pursue that which is truly worthy. Those who set their hearts on what is most worthy - the glory of God - live with joy-filled abandon. Their hearts are both seized and satisfied with the ambition for Jesus to be ardently worshiped. That love comes to dominate and integrate all other desires so that they live in the freedom of single-minded pupose. -Taken from Perspectives Study Guide

Love this!! It so embodies my personal pupose statement (which I haven't posted on here... will get to that evenutally)

Worship

April 13, 2007
Worship... The central focus of the Christian life... (Not to be confused with love being the central docrine although the two flow hand in hand in unity.) But do we truly worship? I remember the days of standing in church singing the words to all the hymns by heart, but was my heart involved? Who was I really singing for? Why was I singing? Where were my thoughts? I can honestly say that I know none of those answers had anything to do with our Saviour. And what about the remainder of the week? I read my Bible, I prayed... because it was required of me. Was there any thought to the maker of the universe... the Redeemer of my soul? No. This was not worship, this was going through the motions of Christianity. Worship Him in spirit and in truth. I did neither. How many of us live our lives this way? And then one day I realized just how much Christ really had done for me. I realized that he offered more for me than the bondage of routine and requirements. He wanted to give me freedom and liberty and joy in Him! No, He already had given those things to me, I was just living as if He hadn't. I realized that all He wanted was for me to surrender my life to His control so that I could enjoy my life to it's fullest! Abundant life! He really did have my best interests in mind. THEN I began to understand worship, for I was beginning to KNOW the One I was to be worshiping. He is everything to me... my very existence. He deserves all the praise, all the glory and all the honour. He alone is worthy of the all the passion our hearts can pour out in our most exuberant moments. It belongs to Him. Not just on Sunday... but on everyday of the week! I can't stop myself anymore... nope... just can't. I love to praise my Saviour Jesus Christ! It takes a darkest day and turns it to brightest joy. It takes the worst of circumstances and gives the peace to get through them... for worship is communion with Christ Himself... He actually talks back! And through that our soul is restored to fullness of joy and peace and love so that we are walking in Christ, abiding in Christ as the New Testament shows. The most blessed of moments are in your alone times with Christ when you are worshipping Him freely and He communes with you so that He just reaches out and touches you... When His presence in the room is so strong that you can't deny His reality, His almost tangibility. That is worship. That is communion. I pray that you all grow to a point in your lives where you can say that you have experienced such a time and that you experience it regularly.

Not I But Christ

Here I am wide awake while all the rest of the house sleeps. I've been up for a couple hours now. I've played games, checked my facebook, and even taken a shower, and still my mind will not quiet down! So I began to pray. Okay God... I'm awake. What's up? My mind quickly wandered to different things, and I found that what I was most focused on was my upcoming audition for the worship team at church. I'm really kinda nervous about it! What to play, what to sing... should I sing? Maybe I should just do the keys. Will I be able to perform the song they give me? Am I going to practice the song they already sent me enough. Will I choose the right hymn to sing acapella? Should I do a song that I've written, and if so which one is the best? Will I pass the audition? Am I good enough.... blah, blah, blah, blah, blah! My mind wouldn't shut up! And then it hit me! I should not be auditioning! I am not good enough to do it! My talents are nothing! I have every reason in the world to worry, stress and freak out! Unless...... I remember WHO gave me the talent. Jesus is the giver of my gifts and talents! And would he give me something and then leave me to handle it all by myself? No way! He is working through me to use those things he has bestowed. Jesus will be auditioning next week, Jesus will choose the songs, Jesus will decide if I sing and play or just play. Jesus will cause my talent to shine or not. It's all up to him. I am just the vessel ready and waiting to be used. I desire to worship him in music more than anything in the world... He knows that, and is waiting for me to ask him to take over! So, Jesus, will you take care of things for me? I'm afraid and feel less than confidant in myself, but I can trust in you! You who gave the psalmist the words to write, you who gave the angels voices to sing, you who delight over us with singing, you the creator of all music, you who placed in me a new song and a desire to sing and write for you... You can do this! So, here and now I put my voice, fingers and mind into your capable hands. I will now rest in peace knowing it's all under control! You led me to sign up for the audition, you will perform the audition, and you will hand me the results! (So, could you please do an awesome job and give me the thumbs up?)

I was born for this

Chapter 8 of the Dream Giver by Bruce Wilkinson is titled You Were Born for This. It has a few questions to go through to help to determine what your God-given dream/purpose is. So. What was I born for? After working through the questions, I'm still not certain, but in the spirit of keeping everything written down in one place for review at my leisure (you never know when something will just pop out at me one day and scream "DUH! How didn't you get this when you wrote it down!!!"), I will put all of the answers here in my blog.

1. "Think back to what you wanted to to while you were growing up. Don't settle for just the job description - a fireman, or movie star, or president. Think about what those roles meant to you then, and what they can reveal about your real interests and motivations now."

Hmm... I've already begun down this road a bit, but never with the question 'why did I want this career?' I would say curiosity, adventure, discovering something new, being the first to do something, and travel. As a marine biologist it was to discover new species of fish, and as an archaeologist it was to uncover lost civilizations. As a doctor it was to find the cure for cancer, or lupus, or some other disease. As a missionary or MAF pilot it was to discover lost tribes and learn unknown languages - to be the first to write their languages down, the first to give them a written passage of Scripture in their tongue. As a journalist it was to be a world traveler, to investigate everything, or as a novelist to learn about each subject everything that I could know even to the point of traveling there to see it myself. As a musician to travel and sing to crowds I didn't know, and as an actor to travel, and learn about time periods, people and places. There were also specific places that I just wanted to go to, and whole careers centered around that place. (such as Australian outback tour guide)

2. "Interview three people you respect, who you think are living their Dream. Ask them to share with you why they think you were put on this earth."

I really don't know many people who are living their dreams. I still have to properly respond to this question. I'll get back to you! I've asked a few people who aren't, and their responses range as follows: You are supposed to be a mother, you are supposed to be a missionary, you are supposed to be in sales somehow because you are good at convincing people, and you should be a writer.

3. "If Someone came along and gave you all the money you ever wanted, what would you do with it?"

I'd pay off our debts, buy a car, go to college for something (??? I'd start with general studies, and at least take physics and calculus, cuz I beat myself over the head all the time for not taking them my senior year) at which point I'd hopefully find direction for a major. I'd take voice lessons, keyboard/piano lessons, and guitar lessons, and probably classes in writing music (I'm very shy about the music I've written... I think a writing class would make me more confidant in sharing it with others). Perhaps I would record a CD at this point? I've thought about doing so. I would definitely travel (that Mediterranean cruise would be great!) to all the places that I've always wanted to go, all the places I've read about in books that I've never seen in person. (Don't worry, I'd write and tell you all about it!)

Bruce says that this is probably my dream. (minus the debt paying off, as this is just relieving the stress of life) I'm not convinced though.

4. What have I always been good at?

Reading, Communicating (talking, writing, etc), Music (singing, learning instruments), Cooking, learning (straight A student, and I LOVED school, and reading dictionaries, encyclopedias, medical journals, anything factual, as well as novels based in real life such as historical fiction), acting, story telling, people skills, sales/convincing others

5. What needs do I care about most?

Mine! ;0) Umm... I'd have to say the people at church growing closer in the Lord in worship. I have loved watching the church change from a church that sings songs in a "BLAH BLAH BLAH" fashion, to a church who praises God with passion. It makes me utterly happy!

6. Who do I admire most?

Uncle Tim because he conveys truth in a way that people can apply easily to their life.
Chris because his passion for Jesus is 'catchy!' I caught it from him
Aunt Sandy because she is a doer. She also has the gift of hospitality, and she knows how to use it. There's not a lazy bone in her body. I love her energy.

I used to have a ton of larger than life heroes, and I suppose, if I dig down deep I still admire them... I loved guys like David Livingston (My whole reason for wanting to go to Zambia!), C.T.Studd (one of my favorite quotes!), David Brainerd, George Mueller, and women like Amy Carmichael and Gladys Aylward. (the last three all because or the works they did with orphans.)
All of these were missionaries. All were great men. I wanted to be just like them. I actually did want to have an orphanage some day. I'd forgotten all about that!

7. What makes me feel most fulfilled?

Doing anything at the church. Currently it's worship team/band, but being in Sunday School is fulfilling to me, painting the church, church activities, talking to church people. It's all good!

8. What do I love to do the most?

Sing, play keyboard, and write blogs

9. What have I felt called to do?

I once felt called to be a worship leader, but I don't know if that was Jesus, or me just loving music so much.

10. Ask yourself what legacy you would like to leave for your children and grandchildren?

I don't really know. I've never thought about this before. I guess it's time to do some thinking.