Week 9

Chapter 9: Expect the desires of your heart

When you read Psalm 37:4, make sure to take into consideration verse five. “Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.”

When we seek our purpose while staying in God’s will, our path is clearer. It’s when we seek a purpose that is outside of God’s will for our own popularity, ego or money that we stray off course. Our compass is faulty and we find ourselves in a place we never intended to be.

Psalm 37 is a good illustration of this.

Katie makes a good point that maybe some of our desires has to do with our own happiness and security rather than God’s purpose or our holiness. It could also be as simple as thinking we don’t deserve such a thing.

The desire we are focusing on is not the type in James 1:14—the sinful desire that births death.

Understanding our passions will help us uncover our desires. What are you passionate about? What do you like to do without being paid?

• Hobbies
• Career
• Instruction to others
• Community contribution
• Lifestyle

You are a steward of your passions. Remember the story of the talents? Matt 25:14-29 Are you burying your passion for something, putting it on a back burner and thereby snuffing out your desires? What is standing in your way, time, money? Why not take it to God in prayer? It’s amazing how He reignites your heart for things that have been long dormant. He will also take care of any stumbling blocks in the way. I’m not saying to abandon your children or shirk your responsibilities…I’m asking you to take a moment and think about your passions and talk to God about them.

Think about some of the women of the bible that had passions: Singing, sewing, praying and fasting, family…

Don’t forget you will have seasons. There will be times you need to set aside one passion for another. There will be times when obligations need to be taken care of. But He also knows about fear, guilt and broken dreams that could be hiding your desires.

If a passion fizzles, check the fuse. God will squelch a passion that you have not given to Him. Are you doing it for personal reward?

Have you tried to fill that desire for passion with a counterfeit passion? Do a reality check…what’s really going on? Do you find yourself saying, “I earned it, I deserve it!” Keep your focus where it should be. Get that accountability partner on board and have them ask you the hard questions.

Abraham’s passion was having a son. And when God asked for his son, he literally laid his child on an altar. Will you surrender your passion to the Lord to do with as He chooses? Will you take your passion for finance, organizing, art, nutrition, writing, singing, and lay it on the altar before God?

This week:

• Read chapter 10
• Read Psalm 37

Week 2

6-6-07

It was a dark and stormy night...but we made it to Bible study anyway!

Acts 2:28
'You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of gladness with your presence.'

Tonight we’re going to step toward the pathway for our purpose. It’s time to start unloading that stuff you’re carrying.

Chapter 1 Is Your Life Out of Sync?

We have some ladies who have no idea what their purpose is. We have some who have an idea, but need help in finding the path. We have others who are in transition from one purpose, into another. We’re in this study because we feel a little out of sync. (sync means harmonious relationship)

How can we get into sync or back into harmony?

In the book, the writer tells of her different ways she took for her path. One is a trip to India to visit Mother Theresa. Although many of us do not have the time or money to make this trip, we can glean some advice from the writer’s experience. (We're going to look for the movie to share on another night. The name of it is listed at the end of the chapter.)

Mother Theresa is undeniably one of the most selfless women of purpose I’ve ever heard about. As a young girl, she had a normal family life but her heart was burdened for mission work. She became a nun and traveled to India to work with children. After teaching orphans, she decided to work with all orphaned and unwanted people, the sick, the leprous…Why do you think God’s love for people spilled out into this woman’s life? She was in sync with God.

What other women can you think of that have found their purpose in life?

Our GPS alarm is going off…we’ve taken a wrong turn somewhere and we need to get back on track. If our car is not running properly, do we take it to a plumber? Who put that longing for purpose in our hearts? We need to go to the Creator of this longing for answers, not run to Oprah or Dr. Phil.

Let’s look at what some consider a Biblical Martha Stewart: Proverbs 31:10-31

Some women think this example is a huge burden to hold over women—a super mom/super wife that can do it all. I would propose to you that this is a woman and the different seasons in her life. And those that are single, you think this does not pertain to you—I disagree. Aren’t we all considered “Brides of Christ”? If we consider Jesus our husband…look at the passage again. It is rich with meaning and purpose for every woman.

Let’s get out a piece of paper and write down some things we know about ourselves. No put downs allowed!

Let’s start out with the different hats we wear, start out saying, “I am…” If you get stuck, think about your day and list the person you are to each person you meet. Ex: I am a mom. I am a daughter.

Now lets get a list of skills. What were you good at in school? What was your favorite class? What skills have you learned since then? Make a list by saying “I can…” Ex: I can cook. I can drive.

Finally, what do you have a passion about; what would you do without being paid? Make a list by saying “I enjoy…” Ex: I enjoy cooking new recipes. I enjoy writing.

Brazelton says, “Do today what God is asking me to do today in my family, church and community. Be more like Christ. And then, do the distinct and bold work God has specifically designed for me to do before I die!” (This is the Do-Be-Do concept)

We start getting into sync or harmony by doing our daily tasks and by doing what we love, or being who we are, for those we love. We are showing them the love of God in a practical way. By interacting with people who cross our path and doing the things we have the skills and passion for, we find ourselves in training for our purpose like a marathon. We will be going farther and getting stronger than we ever thought we could. We will be breaking thru walls that once seemed too high for us to climb over.

I’ll give you an example. A woman who enjoys painting might offer to paint her elderly neighbor’s kitchen a bright happy color. A step further would be for her to organize community service team for the elderly. Reaching out in Jesus’ name to others with a paintbrush may be that woman’s purpose!

Ask God every morning before your feet hit the floor, “What do you want me to do today?” Philippians 1:6

Chapter 2 Leave Your Past Behind

Have you ever been camping? What do you take along with you? What do we leave behind? Why can’t we take all our belongings?

Brazelton says, “We really can’t forget something until we have experienced some type of healing.”

What is it in your past that seems to be holding you back? What do you need to do about it? Would you consider prayer or counseling? What can you do today to deal with this? I agree with the writer. No one should rush through healing. We only end up stuffing it and have it pop out somewhere else in our life.

If someone did something to you, forgive him or her. If they’ve died, write a letter to them anyway. If they’re still alive, try to reconcile. You are called to reach out. If they do not want to reciprocate, that’s not your problem. You have been obedient. (Ephesians 4:26)

If you have hurt someone else, you need to ask for forgiveness at the next possible opportunity. (Matthew 6:12) If they’re still alive, reach out. Again if they refuse to forgive you, you have done what you are supposed to. Then ask God for forgiveness.

I agree with Brazelton. Skipping this step will only cast you into a cycle of the same lesson over and over. How can God fix something that you won’t admit is broken?

What’s eating you? (p35-36) Annoyances, Chronic problems, The unexpected, Sin, The Unspeakable.

Psalm 56

God knows what you've been thru. He keeps your tears in His bottle. I think the ocean is His tear bottle...how else can he contain the tears of all his children?

God will also use your positive experiences in your life. What amazingly good things have happened to you?

Remember a time that you survived a bad experience? You came out the other side. Remembering that God brought you thru something will help you survive another crisis. Remembering how He brought you through it shows you how to make it through another trying time.

What good or bad experiences have you drawn from to help others?

What do you think about Mary Magdalene’s story? Luke 8:2, John 20:1-18

How far will you go to try and discover your purpose? Would you go to India? Would you revisit your past to find healing?

This week:

• Pick one or more suggestions on pages 37-39 and follow the steps.
• Read Chapter 3
• Read about Mary Magdalene Luke 8:2, John 20:1-18

Week 1

Welcome to the Pathway to Purpose for Women study! What an exciting book to read over the summer. Let me know if you need a book, or order one from christianbook.com. Once you get your book, make sure to read pg. 249 and make sure where you stand with Christ, beause He will be leading our journey.

Acts 2:28
'You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of gladness with your presence.'

We’re going on a journey together to find our purpose. Don’t be surprised at what it will be. It may be something so simple, you wonder why you didn’t see it before. It may be something so astounding, that you never would have thought of it. (And you wouldn’t have without the Holy Spirit!)

Know one thing: your purpose is uniquely tailored to all you have been through in life up until now. All your life up until today has been a holy boot camp. I don’t know about you, but some days it feels like a full-pack, 50 mile run at Camp Pendleton.

That full pack you’ve been lugging around—it’s emotional baggage. It’s something that will weigh you down as you try to make your way across the river of life. Why not unload that pack and use the rocks as stepping-stones to get across, instead of carrying them around and having them hold you back?

Where do you stand?

• I’m confused about what God wants me to do with the rest of my life. I just don’t get it.
• I’m ready to get to work; I just don’t know where to start.
• There is no doubt in my mind as to my assignment, but I am having a great deal of difficulty focusing on it, getting organized around it, and not being afraid of it.
• I am already doing what I was called to do; however, the rest of my world is somewhat out of balance or alignment. I have little time to breathe; this is no way to live.
• I am doing what I am called to do. There is a balance to my life. I still need help to face tomorrow’s headaches or crises.

We're all going to be in different stages, and that's OK! Let’s check over the table of contents together. Depending on how the chapters read and our discussions go, I am figuring on one chapter a week after this week. So count on about 12 weeks for this study.

We need to stick together and move forward. We will get through this. Anything shared in this group will go no farther than this group. We need to know it is a safe place to be.

Let’s read a little bit about a journey by a group of people in Moses’ time.

Numbers 13:25-33 Spying out the land of milk and honey-reporting back.
Numbers 14: 1-4, 20-24 Pardon and rebuke from the Lord. Why Caleb was spared from the rebuke.

God is telling us to scout out the land—our life. When we find our purpose, we will arrive at our Canaan. But we will have doubts and we will have people telling us we’re going the wrong way. If we believe the lies, we will grumble like the Israelites and find ourselves back to wandering in the wilderness…searching for purpose. (Could this be why many people have mid-life crises around 40? They haven’t found their purpose so they grumble and God keeps them wandering!)

God puts a longing for purpose in our hearts for a reason. It’s a homing device of sorts—our GPS. We can plug it in and listen to the directions, but unless we go forward, we’ll never make it to our destination: our purpose. Finding our purpose will bring us closer to God, we’ll be working with God to bring about his will, and others will see it and be drawn closer to God. Everything will point to God--not to us.

There will be traps along the way. Matthew 6:1-5 We will hold each other accountable to staying away from the “all about me” trap.

James 1:22-25 We learned about this verse in our last study. We need to take daily doses of scripture. I challenge you to try memorizing scripture. I don’t mean several verses or chapters…I mean one line at a time. This will be our mirror that we look into for our purpose. As we read, God’s word will scrub away the “me-ness” and renew our minds to align with God’s way of thinking. (No more stinkin’ thinkin’!) Try memorizing the main scripture for the book: Acts 2:28.

Psalm 92:12-15 Finding our purpose will be a sort of Fountain of Youth.

Colossians 1:9-10 Finding our purpose will please God and increase our wisdom.

Galatians 6:9-10 Finding our purpose will not wear us down.

Ephesians 2:8-10 Finding our purpose will be stepping into God’s plan for us that He created when He created the world.

Are we ready? We don’t have a GPS to plug in for this journey. We have someone who already knows the way: Christ. May the Holy Spirit be our guide as we unpack our stepping-stones and start using them to get across to our Promised Land!

Homework:

1. Read chapter 1 & 2
2. Something to think about: What would you do with your life if you had unlimited wealth?
3. Try memorizing Acts 2:28 'You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of gladness with your presence.'
4. These spiritual gifts questionnaires may give you an idea of your strengths and weaknesses:
   http://www.buildingchurch.net/g2s-i.htm
   http://www.elmertowns.com/spiritual_gifts_test/