Living a life purpose

As I am approaching the end of this year, Father, I want to thank you for all you have done for me in 2013. It has been a year of ups and downs but the only constant is You. I want to say thank you for the blessing of seeing the year through to the end. Thank you for keeping me safe and seeing the end of 2013 Thank you for your grace and mercies that never comes to an end Thank you for blessing me with family and friends Thank you for your provision when I was in need Thank you for your comforting words when I was hurting Thank you for your peace when I was worried Thank you for your joy when I was sad Thank you for your everlasting presence when I was feeling alone Thank you for shining your light in my dark days Thank you for your healing me when I was sick Thank you for your strength when I was weak Thank you for your forgiveness when I hurt you Father most of all I want to thank you for your everlasting lasting love. Love that You freely give to me, love that is co...

Your identity does not come from what you do or don’t do. Do not let the world define you. The world tends to give us labels– a single mother, a divorcee, a failure, a success, out of work, celebrity It is what Christ has done for you that define your identity. Know who you are, you are the daughter or son of the Most High

My worth is not based on who I am My worth is not based on who loves me My worth is not based on what I have achieved My worth is not based on what I own My worth is not based on the circumstances I find myself My worth is not based on the pain and hurt I have been through My worth is not based on the people who have betrayed me My worth is based on who I am in the Lord, I am the beloved daughter of the Most High My worth is based on how much He loves me, He loved me before he made me My worth is based on how much He treasures me, He sent His son Jesus to die for me so that I can have a relationship with him My worth is based on how much He cares for me, He is always with me through the good and bad times I am the daughter of the Most High, I am the apple of His eye and I am highly favoured.

Some days I have to put a smile on my face. No one actually sees the pain hidden away. No one actually sees the fear hidden away. No one sees the hurt hidden away. No one sees the insecurities hidden away. On those days I am assured that God sees me. He is with me in my darkest days. He can see all my pain, fear, hurts and insecurities. On those days I am assured that God does not love me less. He sees His precious child. On those days, His love, His presence, His words are available to me. On those days only God can help me deal with my pain, fear, hurts and insecurities.  With God's ever present help, He will help me pull through. His love, His presence, His promises will help me through my darkest days. © Temi Lafinhan-Etti

When God shows up, He turns our mourning into dancing When God shows up, He turns our pain into joy When God shows up, He calms the storms in our lives When God shows up, He turns our weaknesses into strength When God shows up, He turns our past mistakes into victories When God shows up, He makes us whole again When God shows up, He never leaves us the same

God understands us completely, He created us. He knows what makes us tick, He knows our faults, He knows our fears, He knows our failings, He knows our frustrations. He can see into the depths of our hearts and we can't hide anything from Him. God still loves us despite all our faults. We don't have to be perfect to receive God's love. We don't have to be perfect for God to love us because He first loved us. His love is unconditional, it is not earned by what we do, it is given freely. I pray we all understand how much God loves us.

He chose us before the foundation of the earth Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:4 The Message) We have to realise how precious each one of us is to the Lord. It is so important and it should be imprinted on our hearts. He had us in mind before he made the world He settled on us as the focus of his love He desires a relationship with us He always wants the best for us Then why should we worry when we know all these things. We should be rest assured that he is on our case, relax and bask in the Father’s love.

God understands me completely because He created me. He knows what makes me tick, He knows my faults, He knows my fears, He knows my failures and frustrations and yet He still loves me. God does not expect me to be perfect. I don't have to be perfect to receive God's love. I don't have to be perfect for God to love. Psalm 119:96 - Nothing is perfect except God's word. Thank you Lord for your unconditional love. There is nothing I can do to earn your love, there is nothing I can do to make you love me less. It blows my mind that a perfect God can love an imperfect me. I thank you for your love, which I will never take for granted. Amen

I have come to a realisation that this Christian life is a journey and you have to decide how you are going to travel through it. You can travel it either by focusing and depending on God or focusing on the problems and depending on yourself. I have found out that focusing on the problems and depending on myself to work it out never really is the answer. Recently I was told that my son was not coping in mainstream school and I was advised that the best thing for him is to attend a school for children with special needs. As a mum my whole world came crashing down. I was so upset that all I did that day was cry. As a mother you want the best for your child and I was so confused. I was focusing on the problem and I tried to work everything out myself. I had no peace and I was depending on my own wisdom and strength. The breakthrough for me came when I realised that I can’t do this on my own. I took my focus off the problem and turned to God. I remembered God's words and promis...

I start today praising you Lord I start today in your presence I start today with you by my side guiding me I start today with your strength because I know I can’t face today in my own strength I start today with the assurance that you are with me I start today with the assurance that you will provide all I need for this day I start today with the assurance that all is well I start today with an expectant heart because I know you have great things in store for me. Today is your best day because God is with you, God lives in you and God loves you.

Our regrets, our failings and imperfections seem set in stone and can often weigh on us in an attempt to make a fresh start. Revelations 21: 5  - And the one sitting on the throne said, "Look, I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this, because these words are true and can be trusted." (NCV) God will make everything new, He will bring good out of our past regrets and failings that we no longer have access to.  So why should I, a creature powerless to change my past hold on tightly to it. Why not give it to the one who can actually do something about it. Our past, our failings and imperfections do not faze a God whose goodness knows no bounds. He can make everything new and because God said it we can trust him to do as He says. Lord, I hand over my past to you the one who can make all things including my failings, my regrets and imperfections new. I surrender to you my past, present and future to you. Amen

But God's not finished. He's waiting around to be gracious to you. He's gathering strength to show mercy to you. God takes the time to do everything right-everything. Those who wait around for him are the lucky ones. (Isaiah 30:18) The Lord is waiting around to be gracious to us and show mercy to us. I know that whatever we are believing God for He will surely do it because He longs to be gracious to us and show mercy to us. The only thing is that it will always be in His own way and time, not in our own way and time. So whatever you are believing God, be rest assured He will do it. You just need to hold on to His promises. Sometimes it may seem that is it taking too long and doubts starts to creep in, we may be tempted to settle for second best. At such times we must remember Gods’ promises to banish those doubts. Stand on His promises and have faith in the God we believe in. I believe God does not condemn us for having doubts because we are human. We need to turn ...

Some days I wake up feeling unsettled, worried and it seems like the weight of the world is on my shoulders. But then I remember that God is with me – The One who holds the universe is holding my hands, the One who holds the universe delights in every detail of my life, the One who holds the universe will never let me fall. So why should  I worry, why should I fear what the day holds when the One who holds the universe is holding my hands. He will direct my steps, every where I go the Lord is leading me there, and where He leads, He will provide everything I need. Even if I make a mistake, I will never fall because the Lord is holding my hands and He will see me through. Be sure in the Lord, He holds you and loves you fiercely. God will hold your hand as you go through the day. Every step you take, He will be there with you. Psalm 37: 23 (NLT) - The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, ...

Some days I wake up feeling unsettled, worried and it seems like the weight of the world is on my shoulders. But then I remember that God is with me – The one who holds the universe is holding my hands, the one who holds the universe delights in every detail of my life, the One who holds the universe will never let me fall. Why should  I worry, why should I fear what the day holds. The One who holds the universe is holding my hands. He will direct my steps, every where I go the Lord is leading me there, and where He leads, He will provide everything I need. Even if I make a mistake, I will never fall because the Lord is holding my hands and He will see me through. Be sure in the Lord, He holds you and loves you fiercely. God will hold your hand as you go through the day. Every step you take, He will be there with you. Psalm 37: 23 (NLT) - The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for t...

When it seems that God is not coming through, When the situation looks hopeless When it seems like nothing is going right Don't give up, continue to hope, continue to hold on and pray expectantly. God is never late, He will come through at the right time.

God is a rock that cannot be moved by any who would harm us. God is a fortress or a place of safety where the enemies cannot follow. God is a shield that comes between us and harm. God is a place of safety high above our enemies. I love you, Lord. You are my strength. The Lord is my rock, my protection, my Savior. My God is my rock. I can run to him for safety. He is my shield and my saving strength, my defender. I will call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I will be saved from my enemies. (Psalm 18: 1 - 3)

I cannot be certain about what lays ahead of me in 2013. What I do need to know about the future is not what is ahead of me, but who is ahead of me. It is the Lord who goes before me; He is ahead of me; He is preparing the way. My future is in His sure, strong and caring hands. I will be with you and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back safely to this land. I will be with you constantly until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you. (Genesis 28:15) I cannot be certain what the future holds but what I need to know about the future is that I know who is holding me. It is the Lord holding me, He has great plans for me and my future is in His sure, strong and caring hands. For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)