Dreams and Destinies {Living a Passionate, Purposeful Life}

Recently, on a Women's Retreat I heard Christine Caine speak for the first time.  Before that Saturday morning, I had never heard of this woman from down under.  But once I listened to her, I haven't been able to get her or her passion out of my head.  You see, the way she spoke (and the words she said) struck a cord in my heart.  Her enthusiasm and excitement and zeal were undeniable.  This woman radically loved Jesus and was seeking Him with ALL her heart, soul, mind, and strength.  She was pursuing Him with every fiber of her being.  And she wasn't shy about it at all.

As I watched and listened to Christine Caine, something was stirred up within me.
The Holy Spirit.

Yes, Christine Caine is an author, a pastor, well-known, respected, famous.
But, she is no different than me.
Not really.
We were both created by God.
We have both been given unique talents and abilities.
We are both called to use those gifts for God's glory.
We are both here on this earth for a specific reason.
We both have purpose.
We both have a God-appointed destiny.

And just like Christine Caine, I can CHOOSE to live my life with a deep-rooted passion.
I can DECIDE to fix my eyes on Jesus, to run the race He has set before me.
I can wake up every morning and DETERMINE to make that day count, to live life to the fullest.
I can COMMIT to giving God my all, laying it all on the line (just as He did for me on the cross) and forsaking all else so that I might first and foremost know Him and in the process make Him known.

Just like Christine Caine, I am CALLED.
I am CHOSEN.
I have been adopted into God's family.
I am His child.
Dearly loved.

Just like Christine Caine, I can live the abundant life for which I was created.
Jesus was very explicit in John 10:10, "I have come that you may have life abundant."
He did not exclude anyone from this.
He did not require fame or fortune for this abundant life.
It's available for anyone, everyone.
It does not depend on your gender, culture, social status, bank account, or anything else.
The offer stands for anyone, everyone.
Anyone who will accept Him that is.
For this abundant life is found in Jesus and Jesus alone.
But the offer is good for anyone, everyone.

Including Christine Caine.
Including me.
Including YOU.

And so, if Christine Caine can live with such passion and purpose, so can I.
So can YOU.

Since that weekend, I have been daring to dream again.
Big dreams.
Humanly impossible dreams.
Dreams that may seem silly or selfish to some.
Dreams that may seem pointless to others.
But they are my dreams, nonetheless.
I believe they are more than that, though.
I am 100% confident they are GOD'S dreams.
He has laid them on my heart, put them on my mind.
And He won't let me shake them.
I wake up and they are still there, bigger and stronger and more intense than the day before.

Thus, I feel compelled to do everything I can to pursue them.
In so doing, I may be selling health products or helping people have babies or changing diapers or reading stories or playing dress up or folding laundry or preparing meals or chatting over coffee with friends, but in the end, the ultimate goal and purpose in all those things is rooted in the overwhelming passion and desire to KNOW Jesus and make Him known.

In this blog series, I want to share my heart, and my dreams.
I want to explain what I am learning about living a passionate, purposeful life.
I hope to inspire and encourage you to look deep within your heart, to awaken the dreams God has put within you.
I pray you will be strengthened and empowered to pursue Christ with every fiber of your being.
I long for you to join me on this quest to KNOW Jesus and make Him known.

For only as we hunger and thirst for Jesus, will we be filled.
Only as we lose everything for His sake, will we find our true purpose in living.
Only as we put aside fear and doubt and courageously live by faith, will we experience the abundant life to which God has called us.
Only as we trust our Creator and Savior with every aspect of our lives, will we become the men and women He has created us to be.

Only then can we truly see our dreams come true.
Only then can we fulfill our divinely appointed destinies.
Only then can we life a passionate, purposeful, MEANINGFUL life.

I am so excited to have you on this journey with me.
Like Paul, I am not saying I have already achieved these things or reached perfection, but rather I am inviting you to join me as "I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling me."

If you could see me right now, you would know that I am jumping up and down.
I can't help but smile.
A fire is burning in my belly.
I KNOW this is the purpose for which I was created.
I KNOW this is of God.

And yet, I am scared out of my mind.
I am worried about what people will think.
Will they think I am weird?  crazy?  that I have lost my mind?  gone over the top?  taken it too far?

Maybe.
Probably.

But you know what?
That's a GOOD thing!!!

So, I am taking a deep breath.
I am nodding my head, saying, "Okay.  It's GO time.  Let's do this."
I exhale, offer a silent prayer that God would bless this, be honored by it, and accomplish far more through it than I could ever even begin to imagine, and push PUBLISH...