Be Defined By Your Purpose

Be Defined By Your Purpose

While growing up, I didn't necessarily know my worth; as a matter of fact, I thought I was dumb and not good enough in many areas of my life. Insecurities surfaced from all corners and the lack of confidence definitely overpowered it all. Then, one day, I opened my eyes and took a look around. I realized that I was worthy of it all, because my Lord and Savior tells me so in His Word.

“For we are

 His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Eph. 2:10

Loving myself and dying to my fleshly being has brought me to a place of intention in my faith. It allows me to open myself up and truly live for Him. In addition, I have the opportunity to encourage other women to do the same. My purpose is to solely live for my Father---to not hold back---to walk in His complete grace and bring everyone around me along for the ride. "We are not defined by our status, we are defined by our purpose.

To wake up each morning to 

breathe in all that God has for 

you, and knowing you have a purpose, and knowing that purpose isn't just about you, is so rewarding.  When you come to truly accept who you are, and know that you are on mission in life to link arms with others and help them seek Jesus, that brings overwhelming

 joy. 

So rise up and be who you are and know that your purpose is so much more than just you! 

Spirit of Fear by Joy Leschber


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Perceive It Pretty


Fears.  We all have them.  All different, some the same.  What are yours?  It seems like this is a subject no one wants to talk about.  I know I don’t!  Most of the times facing your fears is not pretty. It can get messy and ugly.
Do you ever feel guilty about your fears?  I do.  If I can be honest, if I think too much about a certain fear, I get that feeling in the pit of my stomach that something is not right.  All I want to do is crawl in bed, watch TV and not think about it.  But that doesn’t diminish any fears, it just pushes it to the back of my mind.
We are not called to be timid and not face our fears.  We are called to step up, face our fears and grow.  So today I tell you my biggest fear I have going on right now.  Death.  That is my fear.  Fear that someone close to me will die.  Fear that I will die.  I can tell you exactly when this fear started (when I received a cancer diagnosis) and why it started (I realized that at the age of 35 I was not immune to an early death).  But as quickly as I received that diagnosis, I was in remission.  The cancer was gone but that fear stuck around.  What if the doctor missed something during surgery?  What if the cancer is still there?  What if it spread and no one noticed?  What if it comes back?  Is my daughter susceptible to the same type?  My sisters?  My mom?  Will I die from this???
So I go through those questions in my head.  Sometimes out loud to my sisters and my mom aka my BFF's.  And I answer the questions rationally.  The cancer is gone.  I know this.  My quarterly check ups confirm this.  The labs confirm this.  The scans confirm this.  There is no confirmation that the cancer won’t come back.  There is no confirmation for anyone  that they won’t get cancer.  But I do know that God does not want us to live in fear.  Fear immobilizes us.  It’s hard to move forward.  It’s hard to breathe.  It’s hard to function.  Some days that fear swallows me up and it’s hard to do anything.  More often than not, I can get out of that fearful pit by going to God’s faithful reminders.
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.  Isaiah 41:10
So instead of feeling guilty about my fears, today I choose to use my fears as reminders of how much I need God.  I will use my fears as a chance to have a conversation with God, to lean into Him and His word.  Today I choose to use my fears as a way to show others that they are not alone.  You are not alone.  I am not alone.  We have the King of Kings on our side.  We have to trust that God’s plan is THE plan.  He, and only He, knows what is best for us and when it is our time to leave the earth.
Our God is so, so good and faithful.  His word doesn’t change.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7

---JOY

You can visit Joy's new blog HERE