Living a Purpose Driven Life

We all want to know what we are here for, why we exist, what our purpose is in this life. We spend our lifetime learning and growing eagerly searching for the magical answer that will unleash our unlimited potential. We feel in our hearts that there is one thing out there that will fulfill us and make us whole and give purpose to this life. 

For years I have searched for my purpose. I just recently spent the a week praying about it. Am I a personal trainer? Am I not? What did God create me for? What is His purpose for my life? I also started reading We all want to know what we are here for, why we exist, what our purpose is in this life. We spend our lifetime learning and growing eagerly searching for the magical answer that will unleash our unlimited potential. We feel in our hearts that there is one thing out there that will fulfill us and make us whole and give purpose to this life.

 For years I have searched for my purpose. I just recently spent the a week praying about it. Am I a personal trainer? Am I not? What did God create me for? I even started to read The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? 40 Days of Purpose Campaign Edition (GREAT book I highly recommend it!)

 God revealed to me it really didn't matter if I chose to be a trainer or not, as long as whatever I chose I chose to do it in the name of God. 

 God has many purposes for our lives. Some of them are unique to us and others are purposes we are all called for. One of God's greatest desires for us all is for all of his children to become more Christ like. Which this leads us to the fact that God cares more about our character and less about our comfort. "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Ephesians 5:1 

"Christlikeness is all about transforming your character, not your personality." I read that today while on Day 22 of The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? 40 Days of Purpose Campaign Edition and I loved it. One because most people don't understand you don't have to lose who you are (your personality) to follow Christ. God made us each unique for a reason, giving us individual talents and gifts. However God does expect His children to behave a certain way. He desires that we are loving, kind, patient, forgiving, and have self control. He cares about our character. The way you choose to handle situations and people can either create for you a productive life or an unproductive life.


Rick Warren says, "Every time you forget that character is one of God's purposes for your life, you will become frustrated by your circumstances." When we become self absorbed and focused on ourselves we become frustrated and unfulfilled. God created us to have a relationship with Him and to become mo are Christ like. Becoming more like Christ requires us to focus our attention on Him and take the first step of faith. This is our purpose...and I know that I can say when I do what I was designed to do I find my purpose, my joy and my strength! "Then make my joy complete by being like minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of 
one mind."Philippians 2:2 


                                                           

The Authentic Self

“A lot of the conflict we have in our lives exists simply because we’re not living in alignment with what we feel, say & think”- Steve Maraboli

For the last few weeks it has felt like the enemy was out to get me. I was questioning the choices I had made in my life. I was questioning why I was doing what I was doing. I was questioning my happiness and my authenticity. What I discovered though was not necissarily an attack of the enemy. But instead it was God trying to get my attention. 

*SIDE NOTE* - After this past experience Doubt and fear come from the enemy which will express itself in bouts of depression or sadness, but questions come from God, firing from your brain at a rapid rate and all you can do is pray for the answer to them. You actually feel uneasy and alive at the same time.  

All these questions had arose not because I had been making mistakes, but because what I realized is I felt an inner conflict. God wanted to reveal to me this inner conflict and help me resolve it - hence all the questions. Like: Why did I become a trainer? Is it my calling or my ego? Am I able to pour into people the way I want? Is my focus right now helping others or trying to make money? Where is my heart?

I was living in turmoil simply because the truth is I was not living in alignment with what I truly believed. I was NOT being 100% authentic. I was maybe being about 75%....

Here is Part 1 of my revelation:

God is my center in EVERY area of my life. Especially in the area of health and fitness. It has always been my dream to connect the two, because God is always my teacher and guide and the truth is for me to give advice or counsel without Him at the center isn't being true to who I am. God showed me it was NOT my ego that got me into training or what actually kept me going....but lately it has been my Ego that has been driving my efforts in a certain direction. Instead of focusing on who I can help, I have been caught up with trying to make money and the truth is I have started loosing heart. I am not a numbers girl and actually not motivated by money or earning the most. So I was in a contradiction with my self worrying and focusing on money.  The Bible says "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." Matthew 6:24 

This leads me to Part 2 of my revelation:

I LOVE working people out. I LOVE writing workouts and I LOVE writing and pushing myself through my own workouts. 

I also really enjoy Beachbody workouts. But there is where I realized I am not being authentic as a health and fitness professional. I need to be able to write and provide workouts for my clients. This is why I studied to become a trainer because I loved it and wanted to understand it better. 

It is really hard for me to help others reach their goals without being the one who is working them out or creating their workouts. I feel disconnected. Where I have been able to connect and help my clients in the past is by being the one to help them learn how to workout, how to enjoy working out and how to incorporate it on a daily basis.

My real goal and joy is not helping people lose a ton a weight, but instead educating people on how to live a healthy life in hopes that being healthy will become natural to them. Yes results are good. But the truth is this is real life and our problems are deeper than our looks. 

And this is where God comes back in. I am where I am today, not because I am in good shape, but because I have relied on God to transform me from the inside out. Without his strength and determination I may have thrown my own health out the window years ago. But he has filled me a passion for it, as long as he remains the center. And this is where I really want to help people. I want to help people see how much God loves them and why it is important to take care of our bodies. I want to help people transform their thinking and become renewed. I want to empower others to see their potential and chase their dreams. And the only way I can truly help anyone is if I help people change from the inside out which can only truly be done with a relationship with Jesus Christ. Because only God has the power to truly transform us. When I leave that out of the equation, I am not able to truly be authentic. 

I finally have an answer to my prayer. I can now see where I can incorporate God, my workouts and healthy eating all into one program. I can finally help people and be 100% authentic to myself! I am really excited, as this has been my dream for years and I never understood how it could all come together. But now it is as clear as day!

M.I.A.

It has been a while since I have written a blog. Life is that way isn't it? It comes by storm and swirls you around until you are upside down and inside out! It is easy to fall off track and get distracted. Nothing ever stays the same forever.

That is what happened to me. Everything in my life changed so quickly. One minute I am at home living with my parents, the next thing you know Nick and I and the kids are moving out and into our own home. The packing, the sorting, the moving, the unpacking, the organizing, the yard sale and the cleaning. It took up all of my time!

I stopped working on my business consistently. I stopped working out consistently and I was eating healthy only 50% of the time. Moving into my new home has been an adjustment, and if you are someone who has a close relationship with God, you know that when He moves He really stirs things up. So it has been a change living with Nick and getting into our new routine.

Then I discover that my job that is helping me pay my bills and helping me run my business is ending in less than two weeks.

Wow

That changes everything.

So for the last few days I have been keeping quiet and only really talking to my closest friends and family. I have been praying to God to help me figure out what my next step should be. Do I stay with health and fitness? I love it, but as far as paying my bills my business isn't at a point where it can supplement my bills that way...and without the funds to run it, what do I do?

Do I start a whole new career? Do I find a new way to use my health and fitness knowledge?

I am praying for an answer.