Tag: creative
Finding your PURPOSE: 4 Surprising Ways
Today, I’m sharing with you my thoughts and draft notes as I prepare a talk.
If you’re getting stuck and feeling like you can’t find your purpose, or if you thought you knew your purpose and now you don’t really–don’t worry.
Although your basic human purpose changes very little, the details can change at different stages in life or in different circumstances. You are normal.
If you don’t know this bit about the shifts of purpose, you can go through dark periods needlessly and have longer slumps. Well, enough of that!
The WISP technique is something I came up with to keep me on track.
Not that there could be a “technique” per se.
Think of it as a rule of thumb or guide, if that helps.
Do you have a notebook?
Grab one.
Purpose – the finding and keeping of it – can be slippery. So, field notes help.
Keep track of your progress. It gives you a structure and a history to check on.
STEP 1
W
Worship
Does this sound a bit odd? Worship.
The more odd it sounds to you as a starting point, the more you need to do it to get properly orientated straight-away.
Worship is other focused, by nature. Yes?
That new perspective alone can help you make a break-through. But, really it’s much more than that at work.
“As we worship a fundamental shift happens because we remember who we really are.” -LD
At first blush it seems like worship is for God, because he is owed our worship. True?
That’s really only part of it. Let’s dig deeper:
1. God doesn’t need ANYTHING from us. He’s not insecure.
2. This means that Worship is to him (or toward him), but for OUR benefit.
To put it simply, God commands us to worship him because he wants it to be well with us.
[He knows we need it. Sure it’s his due, but he’s not an egomaniac. He’s always been taking care of us, even through the vehicle of worshipping him.]
When we fail to worship God, we start to worship lesser gods, like…ourselves, other mortals, our ambitions, the gods of the secular, dying world, and countless vanities.
Astray is where we go without properly directed worship.
Few things can create more clarity than a rightly worshipful heart.
• Clarity is a byproduct of worship and so are many other positive things I won’t get into this time.
Remember what Worshiping God helps us remember:
- Who we are
- Who we love (and who loves us)
- And to whom we belong
Don’t feel like worshiping?…well you have to start somewhere.
Loosen your grip on your desires and expectations until you finish this stage. Shift your posture and you will find a new take on your life and on your purpose.
Back to that Handy-dandy Notebook!
(Shout out to Dora the Explorer)
Note feelings, changes, attitudes in your field notes now and during worship.
So where or how should you start in worship?
You can start with something that tends to speak to you and get through to you. What worked before? Start there and keep pushing through. Maybe you’ll find something new or maybe something familiar will help.
OPTIONS:
For some this may mean getting a true break from others and a return and appreciation of the created world. (A walk, a camping trip, a hike, a solo picnic.)
For some it’s music and song. (Just listen, create some, or sing along.)
For some it’s just praying for a while. (It’s talking to God, so it’s a great place to start, if possible.)
For some it’s a with the help of a spiritual exercise like… “Praying the Names of God”
Here’s a quick “course” on how it works:
“Praying the names of God” is to first, come up with 10, 20, or 100 names of God. There are plenty: Savior, Redeemer, Creator, Father, Shepherd, Mother Hen, Majestic…you get the idea. As you say, write, and pray the names, roll them over in your mind. What do they mean? Let them affect you, be thankful and rejoice, and (of course) express your thanks and gratitude to God in prayer…which would be the actual worshiping part.
Example: “God you are my Provider. You have taken care of me and continue to. I thank you for providing for me, even in ways I don’t now about. God you are my Rock…”
Reading the Bible might help trigger true worship. Reading the psalms or the great Bible stories like the one of Joseph can inspire a true attitude of worship. You can read using the practice of Lectio Divina for some extra punch too. As you read thorough a portion, note the works or wonders of God, and pray about them, giving glory to God. Worship.
Maybe you have other ways to get the worship started. So, just get started!
HOMEWORK!
You thought this was just some quick reading or some mental exercise, huh?
Nope. I’m asking more of you.
Assignment:
Use a notebook to record your mode of worship and your attitude at the start, during the time of worship, and afterwards. Then, continue to enter into times of short (5-15 minutes) and uninterrupted worship experience for a few days, or until the next post (which ever is longer).
Next post we will continue and with I in WISP
Click Here
Protected: A 7 Step Discernment Process
Decoding (Canine) Body Language with Funny Dog Drawings
Don’t you just love that great illustration by Lili Chin to help decode your dog’s attempts to communicate?
(This is a creative commons work. Be sure to check out Lili’s site! She deserves the recognition.)
Did any of them surprise you?
One of them really did for me.
All this time I thought my chocolate lab, Luna was giving me the cold shoulder (by sitting with her back to me)… she was actually giving me respect and trust.
(I feel like such a jerk about it now because sometimes I would mention it to her (disparagingly) and tell her that I felt sort of offended. Sweetheart that she is, she never seemed to hold it against me.)
Here’s a never-before-made-public excerpt from the book Luna helped inspire!
People who love and prefer cats, “cat people”, will tell you that cats are superior to dogs because they can take care of themselves. Cat people may flaunt the fact that felines don’t have some inferior gene that forces them to depend on others. The sort of separation antics and hysterics don’t seem to happen to cats like they do with dogs. A cat may greet you, but it will hardly hang on your every word. Instead of nervously crying at the window like a dog does, a cat will get even. And it won’t get even because you left, but because you have overstepped your bounds. It will pee on your pillow, for instance. It’ll turn on you in an instant with claws and teeth as you pet it. It will serve revenge ice cold. “Dog people” prefer to be a dog’s reason for living rather than being a cat’s loyal subject. The biggest bruise to the human psyche comes from this situation: For the privilege of being a feline’s vassal it will tolerate you.
Have you read the short book I wrote with Doug Jackson called “Dog in the Gap”?
There are 11 stories, tons of great photos, and a bunch of funny extras!
It is available on Kindle only. Installing the Kindle Reader App for your computer or smartphone is free.
Getting the next post through Feedburner, is free and easy to do. Sign up your email address in the right sidebar.
“Survey says!” (7 second Survey results of 2014)
Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world’s leading questionnaire tool.
Did you take the survey? Thank you!
A few weeks ago I created this The 7 Second Survey to see who was reading this blog and what you like best.
FINDING #1
I was going to post much more heavily on the thing that brings in the $ in my “day job” this year. I was hoping to get more work and inspire other creators and writers like me.
That’s right, Marketing Communications tips and tactics. But, it appears my reader base is mostly the original one from my first blogging efforts in 2007. Overwhelmingly so.
That’s probably good news, and honestly, it surprised me.
So, I will not discard the topics and theme that started it all!
Once per week, at the very least, I will hit on a spiritual topic. It may be anything from a Christian spiritual practice, to theology, to Christian living, or personal and spiritual transformation and improvement. If that’s how you found me, and that’s why you visit, I’m glad I know better now!
Also, I will be a bit more aware of including my brand of humor, which as you may know, I have determined as “damp”. (i.e. Almost dry humor)
(Please note that unlike many “Christian author” websites, I will very rarely step into the fray of controversy so commonly seen on religious blogs. I just don’t have the stomach for it anymore…for a while now, really. I find it 95% shallow and disheartening. If you like that stuff, you have plenty of options, though, and I hope you find what you like for that.)
FINDING # 2
Another thing I learned is that I don’t have too many folks who come by to read more than once per week, even though I post 2-3 times per week. Now, I’m wondering if I’m writing too much. Maybe. Or maybe you should come back more often!
I’m guessing that there are two possible solutions, or three, to cope with that:
1. I can encourage you, my dear readers, to list the blogs you read through the super handy free reader service called Feedly which houses posts you haven’t read yet. It works like a catalogue of awesomeness. No more bookmarks and time-killing web surfing. You just paste in the websites you like, and boom, they’re all in one place. The best part, no more relying on your memory to visit a few times a week. What a relief! (Can you tell I use it?)
2. I can encourage you to get email delivery through free Feedburner service (top right sidebar)…for no more silly and random blog searches and relying on your memory.
3. Don’t sweat it.
(I’m doing all three.)
FINDING #3
The third question was open ended…”fill in the blank style”. About half of the respondents left something to answer the question:
“What would you improve at the website?”
The funniest one (or whatever) was…
“Use spellchecker.”
As if I don’t.
…Yes. This site is full of mistakes. Typos. Proofreading issues. Editing errors. Etc. I try to hunt them down. I find plenty too late and some not at all.
If you see a problem that bothers you or you’d like to help me out, please use the contact button and let me know. I do like the help. :)
Also, I’m flawed and weak human–awash in imperfections. I’m more creative than I am a good speller or editor of my own work. If I ever have the money, I may hire someone for that. But, I’m doing #3 on this. (The “Don’t sweat it” option.)
In truth, I use this site as a sandbox. I build stuff. I sculpt the messy sand of words. I don’t worry too much. I would be creating posts even if no one came to read them. I cannot help it. At all.
It’s like this:
Sometimes you’ll find a few lincoln logs from the cat of imperfection here in my sandbox, as it were,
but hopefully more often you’ll find that what you’re reading is still worth it despite the shortcomings.
Anyway–
Thank you for reading and journeying with me through these years. I appreciate it immensely.
More great things are brewing!
The next post is here. It’s about the day I turn 42. The photo will give you a chuckle!
xo
-Lisa