Ephesians 1:3-5

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

Our true identity is not based on what we do but on whose we are. I love how this verse points out that God chose us to be a part of His family BEFORE He made the world!!! More than 6,000 years ago you were put on the list. So you really didn’t have anything to do with making the team! It is just up to us to accept the invitation. Continue Reading…

Our first I AM statement that we are going to explore is I AM created for relationship.

We can trace it all back to the garden, when God created us.  The very first thing that God said was ‘not good’ can be found in Genesis 2:18. “Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good for man to be alone.’” From the very beginning of time God created a need in man and woman to be in relationship with someone. But God didn’t leave them alone – He walked with them in the garden.  Picture yourself in that setting:  You, your spouse or friend, and God.  Together.  In relationship.  

Our husband, family, friends and kids will fill a valuable part of this inner need, but in the end they will fail to completely fulfill it. This deep longing inside us can only be fully met in a relationship with our heavenly Father.

“But seek first his kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well..” Matthew 6:33

This one verse gives us insight on the secret to being fully satisfied in your relationships. We are to seek God first! Then and only then can we be healthy enough to offer ourselves to others and be full enough to not deplete those who are around us.

Continue Reading…

Permission is NOT granted!

“JACOB!!!!” said one of the other preschoolers as he gave our son a huge hug when we walked into his classroom. As my son was recovering from the welcoming hug, I heard his teacher remind the overly excited friend that he had to ask permission to hug Jacob and shouldn’t just give it to him without being granted permission.

This instruction stayed in my head as I was driving home from dropping Jacob off at school. The teacher was pointing out that we need permission to invade someone else’s space. An interesting yet profound thought. I do not remember the last time someone asked me permission to hug me before initiating that kind of touch. (Not that I mind getting unexpected hugs.) As an adult this idea doesn’t normally cross my mind, but it does when I am observing my children playing with other child. “Honey give your friend a little space. Move over a little.” “Stop wrestling, someone is going to get hurt.” “Do not touch your sister, she does not like that.” These have all been said multiple times in our home. How about yours? Continue Reading…

Live Loved!

These two words have been rolling around in my mind for the last month since I started reading Uninvited by Lysa Terkeurst. Live Loved. Sounds great, but how in the world to I practically live that command out. There are many times when I don’t feel loved. There are times when interactions with friends or family speak to me that I am not loved. So how do I “Live Loved” when I don’t feel it or experience it?

On the other hand, what would my life look like if I did choose to “live loved?” What if I lived loved, full of God’s unconditional love for me? Knowing I am accepted and deeply loved by my Father God today. How would my life be different? Continue Reading…

A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to teach about Abraham at chapel for our church’s school.  Abraham had a dream. He wanted to be a father. In Abraham’s mind this was a BIG dream. You see Abraham was old and in the natural eye, way beyond the ideal age for beginning fatherhood. It was an important dream to Abraham, one that he had had for many years. But to God it was a small and limited dream.  God had plans for something much bigger!

One day Abraham talked to God pretty plainly about his unfulfilled dream. In Genesis 15:2-3 it says, “But Abram replied, ‘O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.” Continue Reading…

Have you ever done something that earned you a nickname? Maybe something you did that wasn’t so smart?  Or maybe there is a nickname from your High School years that has stuck with you? For Halloween one year my daughters dressed up in their Little House on the Prairie costumes. When a friend saw them at our church’s Trunks of Treat they decided to call Rebekah “Half Pint,” which was the nickname that Laura in the book was called. Now every time he sees her he greets her with, “Hello Half Pint!” Because of that one Halloween, she now has a label.

Do you feel like you have been labeled by one single act? Or maybe it was by two or three incidences but that is not how you want to be remembered. But it seems like the harder you try to shake that label the stickier it gets.  Oftentimes we find ourselves labeled, and whether we earned it or not, we want to shake that label off so that we can wear a new name. Have you been there? I know I have. I want my actions and words to truly display what is in my heart, but sometimes it is so hard to overcome others thoughts and opinions towards you. Continue Reading…

For today’s post we recorded a video on Periscope describing Peter’s faith for the storms of life.  This is a powerful example from Scripture.   Enjoy!

For those of you who would prefer to read instead of watch, the post is written also.

Tell us what you think!  Do you prefer a regular blog post, or do you like this format better?  Are you more of a reader or more of a video person?

Search for OurPurposeful on Periscope so you can follow us!  It is a fun way to interact with each other.

Peter’s Faith For Life’s Storm

This week I was teaching the kiddos at my church about the disciple Peter. He was such a passionate and devoted follower of Jesus, and there is so much that we can learn from Him.

Peter’s name was Simon, but Jesus choose to change his name to Peter which means “rock.” Peter was a mighty man of God and did amazing things for the kingdom. God choose a name for Him, He spoke the name over him to help him become who God created Him to be.

Peter didn’t start off rock solid. But because of his passionate spirit he always tried. God met him where he was, and Peter took the truths that he learned to become the man God created Him to be. Continue Reading…

“Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?

These famous words are taken from Esther 4:13-14, the familiar passage when Mordecai challenges Esther to go and do something to save their people. Was it a coincidence that a Jewess was queen when Haman made his plot against the Jews? Mordecai thinks not. He always did an amazing job of looking at the big picture. I love his confidence in God. He informs Esther that deliverance for the Jews will come – there is no doubt. It is a fact. The item that is up for debate however is whether Esther will choose to be a part of the deliverance or not.  Esther’s fate hung in the balance.

And the choice was hers.

Isn’t this how our life is today? God is still faithful to deliver. God’s plan is still going to be accomplished. We have the choice whether we are going to actively participate or just be a bystander and hope for the best. Now the choice is ours!

It was interesting, last week I had many friends wish me a happy birthday. I was blessed by everyone’s kind words and wishes of a happy day. As I was reading through the different wishes, one struck a chord with me.

“Happy birthday Dana! Glad there is a day to celebrate a person that the Lord put in a time and place such as this!” Continue Reading…

The journey is not complete, but the ending is known.

As we wrap up our Hebrews study, I pray you were challenged and encouraged as you allowed God to stretch you and face the things in your life that seemed impossible to overcome at the beginning. There is so much more to learn in the twelfth chapter of Hebrews, but I am going to let you explore the rest with God.

There are three last points that I want to make before we move on. With each point I have included some scriptures to support the points. I have changed the words to make them a personal statement you can declare.

First, the victor has already been declared. There are many more battles and situations to be fought and won, but it is so important for us to remember the real enemy in our life is Satan and He has already been defeated. It is our job to remember that each and every time we have a new situation arise and then remind Satan of it, over and over again.

Satan has already lost! Continue Reading…

Closeness unlike what our ancestors experienced.

Next up in Hebrews is a history lesson. Hebrews 12:18-27 reminds us of how God used to talk to His people before Jesus came on the scene. This part of the passage I skimmed over the last time I went through this chapter because it seemed random to me and not related to the rest. This time however, I am drawn into the contrast between the Israelites living in Old Testament times and today living in a world that has been visited by Jesus. Continue Reading…