Day 2--This New Journey

Okay it's day 2 of my new journey to take better care of my body, mind and spirit.  I awakened to my alarm clock at 5:00 am and immediately begin doing soft stretch exercises lying in my bed to help awaken the muscles and nerves in my body.  Since Sunday night I've been battling a re-laspe of back problems.  Instead of caving into negative thoughts that  old health issues might flare up again, I decided instead to begin sending my body positive thoughts.

After stretching, I fired up my electric juicer and made an energy drink consisting of:  grapefruits, oranges, lemons and ginger.  I am determined to improve my health by feeding my body raw, healthy foods.

I then spent 20 minutes meditating in order to connect with Spirit and put a positive spin on my day before I face the world.

During my lunch hour I went to view the new apartment I'll be moving into on Friday.  So after viewing it and being happy with what I saw, I signed the lease documents.  I honestly can't believe that for the first time in 53 years I'll be living on my own.  The apartment is really nice and I'm looking forward to decorating it with my own style.  One of my co-workers has offered to come over and help me deep clean the apartment.

Today is a good day and good things are happening to me!

Day 1--My New Beginning Has a Purpose

Well today marks the beginning of a new life journey for me.  I've made the choice to focus on myself from this day forward and work diligently to make life what I desire it to be.

I started a meditation class today.  I figured it would benefit me greatly to connect with Source through my spirit.  If I can learn how to truly meditate I believe it will help me overcome many of the obstacles I've faced throughout my entire life.  I'm going to monitor the effect of the meditation in my life for the next 30 days.

Also, I have made a concerted effort to begin eating healthy in conjunction with the meditation and other positive changes I'm making in my life.  I will be moving into my new apartment this week and I want to make sure I start off on the right foot.  In my mind's eye, I can see it all coming together successfully.

Thank you God for your grace, love and mercy.

40 Days Towards Discovering My Purpose--Day 5

I am thankful this morning for God’s gift of life and his continual care for me. I thank him for all the marvelous blessings in my life. Although not everything in my life may be where I believe it should be at this moment, I know God does have a plan for me and he wants to give me his very best because his plans for me are plans for good, to give me his very best.

Chapter 5 begins by saying that “the way you see your life shapes your life….and determines your destiny.” If this is really truth, then Lord please help me to change my thinking and begin to see my life the way you see it. It is funny how our thinking can determine the outcome of so many things in life. Truly, Jesus meant what he spoke when he said, “as a man thinks, so is he”

Point to Ponder: “Life is a test and a trust”—Yes, Lord truly all of life is a test. Help me to please pay attention and pass what you present to me.

Verse to Remember: “Unless you are faithful in small matters, you won’t be faithful in large ones.”….Luke 16:10—Seeking your face daily, help me oh Lord to faithful in even this matter.

Question to Consider: “What has happened to me recently that I now realize was a test from God? What are the greatest matters God has entrusted to me?—The life change of no longer having a place of my own to live and worried about where I would lay my head, when God had a plan all along.

God I thank you for entrusting me to be a mother and grandmother, because my life has such an awesome influence on these individuals. Help me to always display, love and humility so that they may know that God is love unconditional.

40 Days Towards Discovering My Purpose--Day 4

While reading a chapter this morning from "The Purpose Driven Life" a song was playing on the radio that contained the lyrics "just accept what God allows, and don't question the rest". How many times have I questioned God daily about things in my life because I just cannot understand nor see what He has in store for me. I can hear God's voice speaking to me that if I flow with his plan for my life he will lead me to good things in a peaceful way.

The chapter goes on to say, "The closer you live to God, the smaller everything else appears" .... Mark Warren (The Purpose Driven Life) .... What an awesome statement! How true it is that an intimate relationship with God fulfills all the emptiness within one's soul. However, grasping such truth and actually living it seems to be my challenge. I read the words, and I hear the meaning in my mind but digesting and actively living this truth seems to escape me.

Point to Ponder: "There is more to life than just here and now."-God open my eyes that I may see the truth about my life and accept your plan for it.

Verse to Remember: "This world is fading away, along with everything it craves. But if you do the will of God, you will live forever." ... .1 John 2:17-Lord help me to live doing your will.

Question to Consider: "Since I was made to last forever, what is the one thing I should stop doing and the one thing I should start doing today?-Lord help me to STOP asking WHY and get busy living my life more in accordance with your word. Help me to make my focus to live everyday as though it were my last before meeting you, oh King of Glory.

40 Days Towards Discovering My Purpose--Day 3

I must admit making a blog entry daily is a bit challenging for me at times. Especially since I can be moody at times, not always wanting to do what I promise myself I‘ll do. Nonetheless, I awakened this morning with a desire to write and I pray for strength to stay focused on what my inner spirit is telling me I need.

In my reading of the book “The Purpose Driven Life” this morning a paragraph from the book resonated within my soul…”Without a clear purpose, you will keep changing directions, jobs, relationships, churches, or other externals—hoping each change will settle the confusion or fill the emptiness in your heart. You think, Maybe this time it will be different, but it doesn’t solve your real problem—a lack of focus and purpose.” Oh my God, how true this statement is for me. This is exactly where I am right now in my life…without a lack of focus and purpose. How my soul longs to discover my purpose so that I might finally fill the emptiness within my soul. According to the author, Mark Warren, my purpose is …”You were put here to prepare for eternity”. God show me how to prepare for that which you created me.

Point to Ponder: “Living on purpose is the path to peace”—Lord help me to listen diligently to your voice so that I may understand my purpose and live each day in peace.

Verse to Remember: “You, LORD, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you.”….Isaiah 26:3—A seeking of God’s face daily gives me peace as He reveals his plan for my purpose.

Question to Consider: “What would my family and friends say is the driving force of my life? What do I want it to be?—my children and my fiancé are the driving force of my life. I seem to be happiest when I know that they are well and that I have the strength to help sustain them throughout their life journey. However, this is not what I want to be the driving force of my life. I desire instead to have a driving force appointed by God. A driving force from God would be more stable and without disappointments based on my expectations. God let your will be my will.

40 Days Towards Discovering My Purpose--Day 2

Today is Monday, March 08, 2010 and I am writing this entry from an area we call “Jack’s Place” here on base at Al Udeid. I like the environment here at Jack’s. It is always quiet, allowing me to think my thoughts no matter what they might be. Today is the second day of my focus on my 40-day journey of discovering my life's purpose.

Chapter 2 of “The Purpose Driven Life” focuses on the fact that “I am not an accident” but that I was created specifically for God’s purpose. I like this, knowing that I was not an accident but that God has a purpose and plan for my life. Especially since most of my life I have struggled to accept my physical appearance with how I look. Most of my life I never really believed I was beautiful. Perhaps it was because of my wide nose and the gap in between my teeth, and most noticeably because during my school years, I was never considered pretty. I thank God for the life journey He has brought me through because in travelling it, I have come to realize that I am beautiful.

It has taken half of my life for me to finally realize that I am exquisitely and uniquely made according to God’s blueprint, and the most important thing is that He loves me unconditionally. What an awesome feeling to know that your creator loves you without any strings attached. To know that He really wants the very best plan for your life and that his intent is to show you how much he loves you. I am so glad God does not make mistakes and that he does not do anything accidently.

Lord I cannot wait to for you to show me the profound meaning of my life! I love you…Kemi

40 Days Towards Discovering My Purpose--Day 1

Truly, it has been much too long since I posted an entry in this blog. So much has happened in my life during the absence of my entries. So much in fact, that I am not sure where to begin my writing. They say it is always best to begin right where you are, so I will start right here and right now.

Today is Sunday, March 07, 2010 and I am writing this entry from my bedroom here in Doha, Qatar. Yes, you heard me right, Doha, Qatar. I am currently living and working abroad as a civilian contractor with the US Military. In fact, life took a drastic change for me in October 2008 when I landed my first contracting gig with the contracting giant KBR. I spent eight months working in Iraq on the Tallil airbase as an Administrative Specialist and enjoyed every bit of the assignment. It was the most enlightening, educational and inspiring time of my life ever.

A lot has happened since my first tour abroad and I have many stories to tell about my adventures but for now, I wish to focus on my 40-day journey of discovering my life's purpose. I have been stationed here on the Al Udeid Air Base since January 28, 2010 and I have yet to get myself into the groove of enjoying this assignment. A lot of my present discontentment is with my employer and the negatives experienced thus far. However, life is what you make of it, so I am pushing myself to look past all the negatives around me, find my purpose and enjoy my life abroad in spite of the roadblocks encountered along the journey.

As I awakened this morning, I smiled softly at God's awesome love and care for me as His child. I lay in my bed, silently thanking Him for the blessing of another day, and being enclosed in my right mind with my health and strength. I arose, put on my gospel music to help set the mood for the day and began my daily bible reading / devotional study. As my spirit cried out to God in prayer for the protection, safety and continued blessings for family, friends, and myself, I felt an urging deep within myself to get up and begin to make small changes in my life that would benefit me.

The first urging for change that I felt within my spirit this morning was to begin an exercise plan and concentrate on improving my health by walking 30 minutes per day. So before I could give myself time to talk myself out of why I didn't want to begin this task, I set about getting dressed in my workout gear and I headed to the gym for a 30 minute cardio workout. Within my spirit, I know that it's God calling me to a higher purpose for even the smallest of things in my life. I completed the workout and felt encouraged at the fact that I managed to complete the 1.5-mile walk to improve my health.

After completing my daily exercise, I next felt the prompting of spirit leading me to the local library to find a good encouraging book that would help me focus on setting some goals for myself. To my surprise, my eyes landed on Rick Warren's "The Purpose Driven Life". I'd read this particular book once before at the urging of a friend and found it to be spiritually uplifting, and I felt the spirit prompting me to re-read it again. So thus begins my blog topics for the next 40 days, "40 Days Towards Discovering My Purpose". I feel within my spirit God urging me to begin a re-definition of who I am by drawing closer to Him and understanding His reasoning for my life's journey.

I opened the book to Chapter 1 - "What on Earth Am I Here For?", and read with a sense of hunger and desire wanting to know God's purpose for my life at 48 years old. I am here in Doha, Qatar for a reason and I know that by approaching God with a humble heart and a sincere desire to hear His word for my life, He will reveal to me His plan for me and show me where I must be on this journey of life. My soul seemed to absorb like a sponge in water the scripture presented in this chapter-"A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump; a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree ... Proverbs 11:28 (Msg) ". How timely this word, because my soul has been craving and seeking to flourish like a tree in God's presence. Thank you God for directing my footsteps, even in the smallest of things, I am so very grateful to you Lord.

The reason I like this book is that it challenges me in my journey towards discovering my purpose by asking me to think about my purpose on a daily basis. Therefore, with that in mind, here is my response to thinking about my purpose for day one.

Point to Ponder: "It's not about me."-Lord help me to remember this in my daily interactions with others.

Verse to Remember: "Everything got started in God and finds its purpose inGod" .... Colossians 1:16-This includes my very life and He will reveal my purpose if I seek Him with all my heart

Question to Consider: "In spite of all the advertising around me, how can I remind myself that life is really about living for God, not myself?"-No matter what material things life has to offer you, you cannot take it with you when it is time to meet God and no matter how much stuff you accumulate in life, it cannot console you when your soul cries out with a longing to be filled and comforted ... only God can meet the need.