What's your purpose?

While I am not an avid American Idol fan, over the last couple of seasons I have given in and watched it. This year I was excited about it because Steven Tyler is judging and has such raw honesty and is a musical icon. Every year however,  I find myself questioning the people on the show. It always seems discouraging sometimes to see thousands of people trying out for a show hoping that they can be the next American Idol and then watching what seems like failure when they are rejected and don't make it to Hollywood. This past week, I was particularly discouraged while fast forwarding to the next part of the episode. It stopped on this girl who didn't make it to Hollywood, and she was crying. She said, "I feel like I have no purpose now." That really touched something in my heart, and later brought tears to my eyes to think that we are able to get to a point where we think we have no purpose. There is nothing left for us, and we are of no use to anyone. I have to say that from the times when I felt there has been no purpose in my life, that has been when God has stepped in and showed me something. For years, I have had the opportunity to work at a homeless shelter for women and children, and seen exactly what it means to be stripped of everything you once knew, even sometimes your addictions. While working with these women and children, I have felt an overwhelming desire and passion to open something for low income families and give them every opportunity to be great. Everyone has something that they are good at, and it broke me heart to hear that girl say that her purpose was gone because she didn't make it on TV. Something I feel that God is calling me to do, is allow everyone to see their potential and realize that they have purpose. I have a passion for God's people and ministering in His kingdom. I struggle with feeling like I have no purpose, and it makes me begin to question my own self worth sometimes, but I have started to realize that sometimes our purpose is smacking us in the face when we least expect it. That even in the place, God is using us, using me in some unique way. My hope is that all of God's people will realize who they were created to be, and what they can do to influence God's kingdom. Its TV and tears are big for ratings, but I hope that  that girl understands that there is more to life. I have met people who have been at the bottom of everything and then have heard their story of how they were given back so much more because they found God and trusted in his purpose for their life. My challenge for you, find something that makes you you and don't let Steven Tyler, Randy Jackson, or Jennifer Lopez take that away from you. If this is something that God really wants you to do, and where you fit, then the tools will be provided for you to do it. Sometimes, discouragement happens and its really hard to take your own advice sometimes, but GOD.

unfair in the fairness of God

While reading through a passage in Ezekiel, I came across a few verses that were talking about the fairness and just of God. It made me ask the question, why do we think that God is unfair? While sitting there thinking over the answer to this question, I begin to ponder what the message of our video (which I spent months showing to other people) really meant. Balance of Power, (our video) talked about fairness and how we are all faced with different challenges in our lives. "It's how we handle the adversity we encounter, and how we view the balance of power." While reading through these few verses in Ezekiel, I began to wonder where we get to call God unfair. See what I was gathering from this passage was that God opened Ezekiel's mouth only when there was a message that was from God for him to share with people. This passage talked about him being the watchman and his job was to sit and warn people of the things that were going to happen to their city. From that point it was kinda put into the peoples' hands, because they had two choices, obey or disobey. If we obey then we accept the message that is being said, if we disobey, then we accept the consequences. That is our choice, therefore, where is God unfair? This is clearly laid out in his teaching that we either accept or deny his message. Well, this made me start to realize how I once viewed unfairness in my own life. I used to say that life was unfair because I would see things happening in others lifes, that wasn't happening in mine. I would get so irritated at the things that were happening for other people, that it would make me start thinking that maybe if I did what they were doing, then things would work out for me. It works for them, so it must work for me. Then when things wouldn't happen, I would start questioning why me? Nothing good ever happens in my life, why is God using them and not using me? Tonight as I was thinking over how we could say that God was unfair, it made me realize that line from our video. "It's how we view the adversity we encounter." What I began to realize was, how when we compare ourselves to other people, we are taking away our role in the kingdom. The plan that God has for my life, yet I am to busy trying to live someone else's life. If I am faced with a situation in my life, then I have two choices. I can either live in pity and thank oh why me, why does this happen to me, or why isn't this happening for me, or I can ask how I can use this situation to move forward in life. You start to notice the positive and not the negative. Realizing that God is using you, even if you think that he isn't. Those in Ezekiel's day, heard the message but they weren't obeying. Therefore they thought  God was unfair because he was punishing them for what they clearly chose. If I am choosing to pity myself because of something that is happening for someone else and not me, then I am the one that is missing out on things in my own life. That is my decision. I have spent my life with feeling that I have lived in someone's shadow, and sometimes still find it very hard to be happy for people, but understand that that isn't the right time for me yet. Life is unfair, but if I constantly spend the days wanting to be someone else, then I have to accept when God is pulling the reins and making me wait. Or, I can move forward and think positively about what God could be doing in my life that I am putting the reins on and hand them back over to God. "Handle the adversity we encounter, and how we view the balance of power." I don't think that God is unfair, I think he states clearly the actions for our obedience and disobedience. Therefore, if I am not listening to the warnings of the watchman, I shouldn't come to God saying he is unfair. There is repentance and I begin to realize the acts of my disobedience. I begin to live my life as me, taking what is giving to me. This is, "how you view the balance of power."