ContemplativeJourney

“Without God, life has no purpose, and without purpose, life has no meaning. Without meaning, life has no significance or hope.” ― Rick Warren , The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here for   Interesting isn't it? This internal battle to convince ourselves of our own significance...   You were created by God for a specific purpose, so don't dismiss your significance. As much as you may doubt it, there is no one else alive today who can fulfill your  purpose.  And you will remain here on this earth until the very moment God has ordained to bring you home to Himself.  And what exactly does that mean?   It means, whether you're 5 years old, or 105 years old...if you are still here, there is still a unique purpose for your life.  In the story of mankind and God's involvement with us, we learn a few things of vital importance: We are broken, imperfect people.  At our core, each one of us craves to be known and v...

School is back in session, all around us.  On Monday, school begins in the districts surrounding my neighborhood. It's been my habit to blog periodically on the topic of each Sunday's sermon. I sometimes get out of the habit, as was the case between May and this month, but our sermons at Elevate Church myelevatechurch.com have been so good, I can't help but share.  Something I was taught long ago, and still practice today: taking notes.  You will always absorb and remember more of what you hear, when you take notes. It's also true that sharing information with others helps us to learn the material ourselves, and part of my reason for sharing is my own desire to internalize these messages. We are excited to welcome new children's ministers to our leadership team this month, and today's sermon was shared by Phillip Heider, our new Children's and Family Life pastor.  He began by sharing about God's calling on his life - a passion for discipling the...

Who could have imagined the tremendous response that would be generated by such a simple statement?  In one of those moments of sheer joy in life, I posted to Facebook that today might just be the greatest day in the history of ever! I was surprised by the number of people who responded to the post.  So...what exactly would such a wonderful day be like? Let's dissect it, in hopes it's something that we can repeat day after day! I woke up...all is well.  Health, life, all of my needs met, and a meeting at 8am with a fine young man who works for Chase Bank as a Small Business Banker.  There is nothing quite like having an unpleasant experience with a banker to make you truly appreciate having a great banker!  This has been my experience for the past year, as our growing company began doing business last February with a small boutique bank that offers a 'banking concierge' service.  Sounds wonderful, right?  It wasn't wonderful. Ha!  My Mr. Won...

How do you "rest"?  Is it difficult for you to unwind and disconnect from the busy-ness of your daily life? What is the definition of rest? I looked it up in  Merriam-Webster's dictionary and found these 2 definitions that resonate for me: 1. freedom from activity or labor 2. peace of mind or spirit I believe it's important for each of us to regularly experience both definitions - to slow down and disconnect from the frantic pace that typically characterizes our lives.  Physical rest is crucial.  Even in the creation story told in the Bible's book of Genesis, we are told that God rested on the 7th day.  If God chooses rest for Himself, who are we to say we don't need a break? We all need a break.  In agriculture, farmers routinely rest their fields from planting on a rotating basis. Why?  Because even the ground needs a rest from its work to support the creation and growth of plants and food. Secondly, we all need a break from the mental pr...