Finding Purpose in Singleness

I read a blog today titled, Singled Out.  The author wrote something that made me smile with a new realization.

 “When I meet another single Christian woman in her 30s, I automatically envision how God has used her singleness to teach her wisdom, selflessness, self-control, joy, patience, and faith because that’s what God has done in my own life.”

I love this! I don’t think many people automatically envision these qualities. And, I sometimes forget, that is exactly what being single has taught me.

While singleness has of course at times brought about feelings of loneliness, what I have learned and how I have grown during this season has been invaluable.

Our society often views singleness as a curse.  I can sometimes sense the pity from others when they find out I am single, but I can honestly say that I am content. I know that God has used this time in my life to shape me into a stronger and better woman. During this season of my life my relationship with my Savior has grown and He has been preparing me to be a better wife for the man I will one day marry.

Thank you Jesus for being with me every step of the way. For comforting me in my pain, reassuring me in my doubt, and using this time in my life to make me a better woman. Thank you for helping me become a woman with:

Wisdom. Selflessness. Self-Control. Joy. Patience. Faith.

Be Fruitful

I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that will last…

John 15:16

After God created the first man and woman, the first command He gave to mankind was to be fruitful. God created us to bring value to the world.

This weekend at our High School Graduation the commencement message was on the importance of living a fruitful life. I love what the speaker said. “In order to have a fruitful life, put yourself in a situation where you have to trust in Him.”

Although this sounds simple, in reality it is often a difficult thing to do. We like to be comfortable. We like safety-nets. We like to know that we have things in order and taken care of. But what happens when God calls us beyond our comfort zone? When He calls us to trust fully in Him and not in ourselves?

I love the story of Abraham. It inspires me and reminds me that when God calls us to step out in faith He often does not show us the whole picture, but if we trust in Him – He will prove himself faithful.

Hebrews 11:8­9 (NIV) By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

Sometimes God calls us to obey Him in areas where He doesn’t give all of the details but he expects us to trust him. God stripped Abraham of his security. He said leave your country, your people, and your father’s household. Not only did God ask Abraham to leave what was familiar, He also did not give him the details of where he was going or how he would get there. God was putting Abraham in a position of complete reliance on Him.

When we choose to trust in God and step out in faith that does not mean life will be a bed of roses. Abraham made mistakes and faced trials along the way, but just because we face trials it does not mean that we are not in God’s will for lives.

In scripture James reminds us, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Abraham chose to obey God and he persevered through the trials; as a result, God delivered His promise and Abraham’s descendants became as many as the sands on the beach. Not only did God bless Abraham by giving him many offspring, He also blessed Abraham by pronouncing him righteous and giving him salvation.

God sometimes requires that we obey Him regardless of how illogical it seems. That way, we can show that we really trust Him. When we are called into a situation where we must rely on God – He will bless us to make HIS name known.

– Know your strengths: God created each of us with something to offer this world so that we can live a fruitful life

– Know the needs: There are many hurts and needs in this world. How can you use your strengths to meet those needs?

– Make a plan: That doesn’t mean you will have all the details, “But don’t begin until you count the cost” – Luke 14:28

– Step out in Faith: “Nothing is impossible with God” – Luke 1:37

Invested

I am not very knowledgeable about the different forms of financing and investments, but what I do know is that an investment is putting money into something with the expectation of gain. Therefore, I think it would be appropriate to say that a wise investor would exercise much thought and consideration before making an investment in something. I know I would want to invest my resources in such a way that I would have the greatest chance for return.

 

Today, during church, this thought came to me:

Is God reaping a return for what He has invested in me? 

 

Within me God has invested specific passions, gifts, talents, and values that I need in order to fulfill the good works that He has prepared for me to do. He invested in me so that I can live a life that makes His name known. Ephesians 2:10 reminds us that: We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

My pastor reminded me today that God wants to change the world though me. It was a wake-up call. Our world desperately needs to find Christ. I am not guaranteed a tomorrow. I don’t know when Christ will return or  how much time I have to complete the tasks God needs me to complete. I want to live in such a way that others are coming to know Christ.  I want to make sure that I am using what God so carefully invested within me to accomplish His will for my life. 

Romans 6:16 says that whatever you pursue – that is what you belong to. Reading that stings a bit. I admit I have often pursued things of convenience and fulfilling my fleshly desires rather than being obedient to His call. I don’t want to belong to anything other than God; therefore, I must pursue Him. As I seek Him – He has never failed to respond. I seek Him because, it is in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. The proof that we love God comes when we keep His commandments and are obedient to what He asks us to do – and the things He asks of us are not at all troublesome.

 God has invested supernatural power inside of me, and more than anything I want Him to  gain from what He has invested into my life.

My prayer is the same prayer Paul prayed to the faithful believers in Ephesus:

 I ask God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory – to make me intelligent and discerning in knowing Him personally, my eyes focused and clear, so that I can see exactly what it is He is calling me to do, to grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life He has for His followers, oh the utter extravagance of His work in us who trust Him – endless energy, boundless strength!

Delayed Gratification

 

Hebrews 6:11-12

We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

A couple of weekends ago my sister came to visit me and we were making a Father’s Day dinner for my dad. We decided on the menu and were in the process of making a pineapple bunt cake for him. But, for some reason, the cake was just not baking the way it should have been. The oven was not heating properly. Every few moments my sister would get impatient and check the oven to see if anything had happened. Finally, I said (not in the sweetest voice I have ever used), “If you don’t stop opening the oven every second it is never going to finish!”

I told her I was surprised, because it was usually me who was the impatient one. She replied with, “But I need to see right away that the cake is going to turn out right.”

Just as my sister wanted the instant satisfaction of knowing that our cake was going to be perfect, I often find myself looking for that instant gratification. Waiting is hard. Having patience is sometimes tough.   

We hear all the time that we live in a “microwave society” where we expect everything to happen with the snap of a finger. We don’t have to plant the garden, wait for the veggies to grow, and then harvest them.  We can just run to the store and get what we need. Delayed gratification is a concept hard for many to grasp.

I have heard stories all my life of how my great-grandpa cut down every single tree, transported it to the saw mill, cut it, and transported it back to his land to build a house for his family. It took persistence and patience for my grandfather to build his home. He had a dream to build his wife and 7 children a home, but in order for his dream to translate into reality his dream had to translate into work.

We want to bask in the pleasure of the final result without the painstaking efforts it takes to get there.

If I am going REALLY reach my goals I am going to sometimes have to delay gratification. I am going to have to do the tough thing instead of the fun thing. There will be obstacles that arise, but any goal worth achieving will have obstacles to overcome. If we are going to fulfill the purpose that God has ordained for us we have to have a long-term view so that when difficulties arise, we can preserve though it knowing that what is on the other side is worth all of the effort and hard work.

Sometimes we will find ourselves in God’s waiting room. Waiting for Him to show us our next step or the path we should take.

God’s timing is perfect and mine ours is not.

I am learning every day that I have to be patient and persistent. And when I find myself slacking in either area, I have to remind myself of this: A GOD GIVEN VISION WILL ALWAYS BE FULFILLED and I know that God is the author of my vision.

~

“Cast not away your confidence because God defers his performances. That which does not come in your time, will be hastened in his time, which is always the more convenient season. God will work when he pleases, how he pleases, and by what means he pleases. He is not bound to keep our time, but he will perform his word, honour our faith, and reward them that diligently seek him.”  ~ Matthew Henry

Time for some FUN!

Once again it is almost the weekend and I am not complaining, but at the same time I cannot believe how fast time flies by. My jaw literally dropped today when I realized that what I thought I did yesterday, I actually did an entire week ago. It just cannot be possible! The 4th chapter of John reminds us that we are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. I am confident that unless we intentionally live life on purpose, we will look back someday and ask: Where did the time go? What did I do?

Just the other day a friend of mine suggested that we tell each other one thing that we think the other should work on or improve during the upcoming year. Her suggestion to me was that I take more advantage of the moment I am in and not always say “One Day.” I have a lot of “professional” goals and aspirations that I hope to accomplish. However, it has often led me to tunnel vision with a one-track mind. I know God created me for a specific work and that He has called me to an important mission, but that doesn’t mean He does not want me to take time and enjoy all the amazing things the world He created has to offer.

In an article, written by Rick Warren, about the purpose driven life he wrote: Jesus doesn’t want you to live without fun. Jesus spoke more about being happy than He did about heaven. The apostle Matthew spent three years with Jesus and he wrote, “[Jesus] came, enjoying life” (Matthew 11:19 PH).

Even Jesus, who came to the earth for a specific purpose, took time to enjoy life. I believe the life Jesus lived on earth was the perfect example of how we should live. Jesus lived life on purpose, but He also enjoyed it. So, as a fun way to motivate myself to try to things and to enjoy life I am creating a new bucket list. I say “new” because I have created them before, but never kept up with them. I just turned 28 and I am going to write a list of 30 things I want to do before I turn 30. If I don’t accomplish them all, oh well. My 30-by-30 list won’t be just another “to-do” list where I feel the pressure to mark another thing off. My hope is just to remind myself to have a little fun and enjoy this earth God created.

So I would like to propose a toast to a lot more “Todays” in my future and a little less “One Days”!!!

I am off to start dreaming of all the possibilities and as soon as my list is created I will post it!

A Night to Remember

Day: Monday, October 10th
Time: 9:45pm
Place: My bedroom 
Mood: loved and fully loaded
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I have a million things to do to prepare for my job tomorrow and I don’t want to do it . Don’t get me wrong I love my new job, BUT, I wish I could just soak up the love of my Father tonight. There is not a lot I am going to write but I have to take a moment to record what happened at church tonight.

I am so overcome with emotion… and with pure PEACE.

I just have to breathe it in. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale.

ahhhhhh….. God is good, folks, God is good.
Okay, so on with the story….

Matt Shull spoke at church on Sunday about destiny and that is when I realized I was finally “Planted”. Well, he spoke again tonight continuing preaching about destiny and how God needs us full and fully loaded to accomplish His destiny for our life.

Tonight…
I was filled.
I was re-loaded.
I was restored.

“God’s annointing is on you.All that you have lost will be given back to you and your life will have a 180 turn around this year. it is all coming together.”

Big things are coming. Watch out world!

Tonight I am filled with peace and joy. I want to bottle this feeling up so I never forget how I felt on this day.

THANK YOU JESUS!

I’m Letting Go!

Day: Friday, September 30th
Time: 1:00pm
Place: In Beautiful Green Country  
Mood: excited, scared, free falling…
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Learning How to Live According to God’s Beautiful Timing
(The original title)

God’s timing is perfect. End of story.

But, this is one lesson that I seem to find myself struggling with on almost a daily basis. I am having a hard time of letting go of control. UGH! Why does that control keep sneaking in? I think I feel like if I control the timing then I control people’’s reactions and opinions of me. I have to daily remind myself that God is the One who I seek to please and follow. Sometimes I feel God telling me “”Let’s Get This Party Started!!!”” but out of fear (UGH! another ugly word) I am holding back. When will I figure out that if I want the best life, the one God has planned for me, I have to stop trying to hang on?

When I let go of control, the big picture comes into focus, and then I get scared that PEOPLE will question me. So like always I grab the handle bars in order to have control of the speed and the direction in which I am traveling.

Right now I am praying that I will surrender wholly and completely to Jesus. That I will not fear what is around the corner or people’s reactions. I know He will work out the details and that it is not up to me to figure everything out and make everyone happy and… and… and…

————-

As I was writing this blog I stopped to pray and in the back of my mind  I could hear the words “I’’m letting go”. I could not put a finger on the song that I was hearing so I did an internet search and realized it was the song I’’m Letting Go, by Francesca Battistelli.

Well, I listened to it and my heart is now pounding. I am having a struggle between taking the leap of faith and declaring God’s plans for my life, which was not the intended purpose of this blog, or continuing to hold it inside of me, waiting for what I believe is the perfect timing.

I watched Francesca explain the story behind I’m Letting Go and this is what she said:

“I’’m letting go is a song I wrote pretty soon after moving to Nashville a couple of years ago. I was sort of in this place where I had just graduated college and I was learning a new industry. And in this new life I was undertaking I did not know how things were going to turn out. I left a lot behind – my family, friends, home, church, everything I had known; everything that was comfortable.… I started telling my producers how I was feeling about needing to let go… and that is where this song I’’m Letting Go came from.
“
Wow. Her story reminded me very much of the point I am at in my life right now. The first line of her song is: My heart beats standing on the edge.
That is EXACTLY where I am right now, and I have to make that decision to take a leap of faith off the edge. I have to make the decision to trust what I believe God is telling me to do. At this moment I am having an internal battle…I keep telling myself I will come back and tell God’s plan for my life in a minute. I am thinking I will do it soon, maybe later today or tonight…. or tomorrow. But I feel the Holy Spirit saying why not NOW?

I may not do everything right…, but God sees my heart

So…….

I’’m Letting Go!

I am going to attend Graduate school to earn a Master’s Degree in Human Relations at OU-Tulsa. My prayer is to not accrue any additional school debt so to benefit my capability to be awarded scholarships I am moving to Tahlequah to get a job through Cherokee Nation.

Ahhhhh…!!!!!!

I said it…. And it feels like I’’m falling, but that’’s what it’s like to believe.
I have to remember that God makes ALL things beautiful in HIS time and…
 …
– Even though leaving my comfort zone is hard.
– Even though my friends, family, and church mean everything to me.
– Even though there is fear in the unknown.
– Even though I am letting go of the life I planned for me.

I know His plan is better than my plan
and that He will work everything together for good.
He is holding me in His hands and I won’t be afraid.
~
I’m Letting Go
by Francesca Battistelli

Sweet Spot

Day: Tuesday, September 20th
Time: 2:00 pm
Place: Mom’s house
Mood: oh so happy 😀

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Imagine a Circle with 3 rings. The innermost circle is your comfort zone. The center ring is your sweet spot. The outer ring is “La-La-Land”
Comfort Zone = the area where you can operate on your own. It does not take faith to operate in this zone. You rely on your own abilities and strengths.

The Sweet Spot = the spot where you utilize the gifts you have been given, but you are operating outside your own power – you are doing something bigger than yourself!

La-La Land = the Land where you grasp to do things that are outside your area of excellence. “I love coffee, so I think I will open a coffee shop.” But business is not something you are good at or enjoy. You are often miserable living in this land because you have not been equipped with the skills to be successful in that particular arena.

I spent all last night and this morning listening to Pastor Steven Furtick’s series “The Prodigy in Me”.  It was simply amazing and I recommend that EVERYONE watch it! Click HERE to check it out! 😀

Are you living in your sweet spot?

We live in a society that relishes comfort. We are willing to give, but not untill we feel it. We are willing to help as long as it does not interfere with what we want. We don’t like to sacrifice comfort. We love to operate within our power. We like to feel confident, in control,  and sure of ourselves. We like to know we can handle “it”. But, we were NOT put on this earth to be comfortable.

These are some notes that I took from Pastor Steven Furtick’s messages:

God will keep you in your sweet spot, but he will never leave you in your comfort zone.

God is going to use you according to the gifts He gave you.

God knows what He put in us. He will only require something from us that He already gave to us. (You know how you can BUMP your cell phone to another cell phone? You decide what you want to move from one phone to the other and then you BUMP them to transfer the data. We have all been BUMPED by God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. We did not get everything they have, but they decided what we would need and then they transferred those gifts to us.  – Pastor Furtick explains it much better…)

God will always call us out of our comfort zone.

Every time God uses us it is outside of our comfort zone, but it is always in our sweet spot.

In the comfort zone you know you can do it. In the sweet spot we don’t think we can do it, but God knows we can do it. STAY IN YOUR SWEET SPOT.

The sweet spot is the intersection where God’s strength is made perfect in my weakness… BUT His purpose is fulfilled in my strength.
I LOVE THIS!
God put gifts in me because there is something He wants to do through me.
If you are going to be greatly used by God then… you must do 4 things:

1. Will you embrace your misery (burden and brokenness)   and make it your ministry? Your misery is a clue to your ministry…
     
2. Will you exchange your comfort for your calling?

3. Will you put the wrong ones out and put the right ones in? You have to have the right voices to make the right choices. Who are the top people who I am going to let speak into your life? The 5 people who have the most access to your life greatly depicts where your life is headed. Are you surrounded by the right people?

4. Will you take your stand against the enemies of your God? When you are part of the family there are things you must always stand against. We as Christians stand against injustice, sin, compromise, the devil… The devil puts opposition in your life because you are close to what you are about to achieve… the purpose that God put you here to accomplish. If you are going through hell KEEP GOING! You must be getting close to fulfilling your purpose.

Choose to stay out of your comfort zone and take risks for God.

Life is sweeter when you are living in your Sweet Spot 🙂

 

One of my all time FAVORITE songs…

The Voice of Truth
 By: Casting Crowns
check it out 🙂

The Kid in Me

Day: Tuesday, September 20th
Time: 2:30 am
Place: Mom’s house
Mood: I LOVE JESUS!

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Uncovering the Kid in Me

 

Sometimes I see myself as shy or reserved. I tend to hold back and not say what I really feel I should say. I have a hard time standing in front of a crowd because I am self-conscious, and I have a fear of public speaking. I have been thinking a lot about who I have become and I realize I was not created to live this way.

When I was a kid I was fearless, and I have had stitches sewn into my head on 5 separate occasions with the scars to prove it! I was a girl on a mission and nothing or nobody got in my way.  On top of being fearless I was strong as an ox. I have always wanted to be one of those graceful girls who are sweet and angelic, but I just never seem to be that girl. My mom likes to tell a story about how when I was about 3 years old we were moving a dresser from upstairs to down stairs. Of course I wanted to help and my mom pointed to a drawer and told me I could take some stuff down. She thought I would take something out of the drawer, but she says I walked over to the drawer full of stuff, picked the whole thing up, and carried it down stairs. She said she couldn’t believe it, but she just watched me go in awe.

My mom also likes to tell the story about how I was always a dictator in the nursery at church.  Apparently if a kid stole a toy from another I felt the need to take it and give it back. And if I thought someone was not sharing I made sure that they shared. I wanted everyone to do the right thing, and I felt like it was my responsibility to make sure it happened.

When I was elementary school I would wait until there was a long paragraph in the textbook before I would volunteer to read. I wanted to the longest part. In middle school I volunteered to speak publicly because I loved it. I loved being in front of people and I was not afraid to stand up for what I believed in. When asked what I wanted to be when I grew up I answered with “a missionary and a writer.” It was met with criticism and I was given advice to point me in the direction of more “realistic” dreams. 

I played basketball in Jr. High and my dad likes to remind me all the time that my nickname among the coaches who saw me play was “”Boss Hog”.” I’m not sure I even know what that is supposed to mean, but I was ruthless; I was a protector. I would guard and set screens for my teammates so they would have a clear shot at the basket. There wasn’’t ANYONE getting around me.

How did I go from being that fearless, strong, and courageous little girl who knew exactly who she was, to a woman who needs affirmation to move forward without fear, strives to please people and keep the peace, is afraid to speak in front of a crowd, and who tries at all costs to avoid confrontation?

Through this journey God has been peeling back the layers that have covered my life in order to remind me who He created me to be.  Changing my mindset has not been easy though.  It has been like ugly wallpaper that is a pain in the-you-know-what to remove. And as each layer came off another layer would emerge that was just as difficult to scrape clean.

The layers symbolize opinions of others, the hateful things people said to me, situations I went through, mistakes I made, lies I believed, and hardships I endured. I let those layers change the way I viewed myself. I realize that I allowed the world label and define me. I have been seeing myself through eyes of the world and not through the eyes of God. And even worse than that, I let the layers change who I am. The person who God originally created me to be had disappeared.

Slowly I veered from the innate characteristics and traits that God placed in me and started become what the world said I should be. I sacrificed God’s best because I wanted to fit in. I wanted to be accepted. I wanted to fit into the world’s “success” mold and the world’s “beautiful” mold.

Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
~Romans 12:2~

WE ARE ALL MADE DIFFERENT.
WE ALL HAVE DIFFERENT STRENGTHS.
WE ALL BRING SOMETHING VALUABLE TO THE TABLE.
WE ALL ARE  ON THIS EARTH TO FULFILL A UNIQUE MISSION.
WITH EVERY PERSON GOD CREATES HE BREAKS THE MOLD!

AND…

If we conform to the world we will not be able to accomplish our God-given mission.

I, Erin Webb, am a masterpiece created by my Father, Christ Jesus.  I was equipped with unique gifts and designed specially and specifically to complete a purpose that was prepared just for me. I will embrace who I am, not run from it.

I will no longer live in fear that I am not what the world says I should be. I have uncovered the kid inside of me and I am not letting go of God’s best me so that I can be a second-rate, world-approved, version of myself.

Is it time for you to start scraping away the tacky and ugly layers of wall paper that have adhered to your life? I can promise they don’t  flatter and showcase the best you. Maybe a trip down memory lane is in order so that you can discover the kid in YOU.

Who Me?

Day: Friday, September 16th
Time: 9:20am
Place: Mom’s house
Mood: refreshed and ready

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Yesterday I had a very candid conversation with my sister while driving home from time spent praying and sorting through my life at the park. I was sharing with her what I yearn to do more than anything.  I told her what fulfills me the most and what I long to do every day. Knowing me I was probably rambling on and talking through the multitude of thoughts that have been on my mind and she just looked at me and matter-of-factly said, “”Erin, you should be a life-coach.””
 
I have thought about it before. I mean I have SEEEERIOUSLY thought about it before, and even had affirmation and confirmation from those who know me best, but I have felt unqualified.  I have had a “”Who ME?”” attitude. But this morning as I research life coaching and as I am praying for direction it brings me back to my purpose in life.

My Mission
God gave me to the world to:
Globally equip and inspire women of all ages and from all walks of life
by teaching them who they are*
and by exhorting them to fulfill the purpose for which they were created,
so that they may experience a fulfilled life.
 
An Uncovered Purpose =A Fulfilled Life = A Beautiful Life

* You have to know who you are {in Christ}, before you know what to do {your purpose}

Although the term “”life coach”” has sounded intimidating to me, if I were honest with myself I would have to admit that I have already been a life coach to many of my friends and family. There are ladies who come to me for advice, that trust my opinions and who feel comfortable opening up and sharing their fears, dreams, past, and desires with me. When I do not have the time to invest into these relationships, as I feel called to do…… my heart breaks.  My life feels unbalanced. I feel unfulfilled.

Is life-coaching intimidating to me? YES! And I know that is a GOOD thing.

Because…

If the size of your dream isn’t intimidating to YOU, it is probably intimidating to God.
-Pastor Steven Furtick

(yes, I like that quote – in case you were wondering.)
It is time to stop letting fears and doubts hold me back.

From now on, instead of saying “”Who Me?””
I am going to say “”Yes Me!””

I am going to start taking steps to reach this goal and I know that God will open the right doors at the right time and it will come to fruition.

If doubts start to creep in I am going to remember that God is sufficient and that His truths will carry me through!!

I say : “It’s impossible.”
God says : “All things are possible.” (Luke 18:27) 

I say : “I can’t do it.”
God says : “You can do all things.” (Philippians 4:13) 

I say : “I’m not able.”
God says : “I am able.” (2 Corinthians 9:8)

I say:  “It’s not worth it.”
God says : “It will be worth it” (Roman 8:28) 

I say : “I can’t manage.”
God says : “I will supply all your needs.” (Philippians 4:19)

I say : “I’m afraid.”
God says : “I have not given you a spirit of fear.” (2 Timothy 1:7) 
 
I say:  “I’m not smart enough.”
GOD SAYS: I give you wisdom. (1 Corinthians 1:30)