And though this post isn’t about finding your purpose , I will say this:

Start with where you’re at!

My English teacher would probably frown at me for that last sentence but, I mean well.

I particularly want to focus today’s post towards mums (moms) who have School aged children which means they have to make regular trips to their child’s School.  I want you to consider carefully the influence you could have in your child’s School … In my veiw, it’s all a part of your purpose.

Rather than thinking about the School just in terms of an educational institution where your child learns, plays and eventually leaves with some qualifications, I want you to …

Think of  it as being a part of “Your Assignment.”

As our Church mission states, we are called to “be a light to the city and a blessing to the nation.”

And, as Kingdom citizens we are supposed to demonstrate the Kingdom of God where ever we go and that includes our children’s School.  We are not there to catch up on the latest gossip, to tear down the other parents and teachers and to justify our own circumstances by trying to find others who may be in a worse situation than we find ourselves, just to make ourselves feel better, we are there to be beacons.  But as the song goes …

“You can’t be a beacon if your light don’t shine!”

So, how do you let your light shine?

You lift up and encourage rather than tear down.

It’s your responsibility to bring peace to situations and not add fuel to the fire.

I have to tell you, that as a parent, I find one of the most destructive places in the School is the School playground – and I don’t mean during the kids playtime.  I mean when the parents are in it!  Sometimes you can see fire coming out of the mouths of some of the parents (mainly the women) and it’s so very sad.

There are those who think they’re better than the other parents, or, they can do a better job than the teacher (why these people aren’t homeschooling, I’ll never know) and then there are those who should be an influence but no one knows it because they totally remove themselves from any dealings with the other parents.

But, I want to remind you that as Influential Women, we ought to be an influence where ever we go and that includes our children’s School.

This also has such a major impact on the lives of your children and believe me, even the other children will notice it too.

The Bible says:

Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour , wherewith shall it be salted ? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.  ~ Matthew 5:13 KJV

And I’m sure this isn’t what you want … to be considered ”good for nothing.”

But, even if you’re struggling with the question “what is my purpose and where do I find it,” I can assure you that when you bring peace to situations, when you bring light, when you bring purpose into someone elses life, this is the beginning of you discovering your own personal destiny.

Blessings – until next time,

Related posts:

1. Your Future is Already Written
2. Products
3. BLESS THE Lord, O my soul!

Ever justified your actions using this line … “it’s not my fault!”

I confess, I have … too many times in the past but I remember years ago, my manager used to say to me, “stop justifying Trish and take responsibility.”

And sometimes we need reminding that the decisions we made yesterday have brought us to where we are today so instead of crying “it’s not my fault,” we have to ask the question “if it’s not my fault, how did I get here?” Hard to acknowledge, but it’s true.

But what I want to focus on in this article is the energy that is drained from us when we adopt a culture of blame. Instead of taking on a new perspective into how things could be in the future, we respond with finger pointing, bitter arguements with others and rehearsing “he said, she said,” all of which is really designed only to do one thing …

Distract you from your purpose in life and lead you down the wrong path.

And I know we laugh about there being “no fury like a woman’s scorn,” but ultimately this fury will lead us to self-distruct. I mean, I can’t imagine for one minute what life would be like getting up day in and day out going to the office to the job I hate … again.

Ever been there? I have. And I became so resentful with many of those around me, that I lost all passion for my job and in doing so, lost my sense of direction.

But the truth is, the only person who was losing out because of all of this resentment was me! My colleagues around me just got on with life while for me, it felt like every waking moment of my day was to live to get out of that place.

But it dawned on me on day, that I was letting my feelings control me and therefore, unintentionally, my destiny, and I didn’t like the way my feelings were managing my life – literally.

So I decided to stop blaming and justifying and focus on what I really wanted. And one of the decisions I made, was to step back and look at “what was my fault.” By doing this, I could make a conscious decision not to go in that direction again and end up with the same old results.

In the words of W.L. Bateman:

If you keep on doing what you’ve always done,
you’ll keep on getting what you’ve always got.

So I hope I’ve encouraged you to take stock of the things you can start taking responsiblity for today and use that blame energy to make a 360 degree u-turn in the direction towards your dreams.

Make it your fault to live on purpose, today.

Blessings,

Related posts:

1. Straight Talk on Blessings and Curses 2
2. Straight Talk on Blessings and Curses 2
3. Before You Were Formed … I Knew You

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born
I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations”
Jeremiah 1:5

This was God’s message to the prophet Jeremiah. But as God’s chosen women, we shouldn’t make this a gender issue – it applies to you too!

But just in case you’re unfamiliar with the story of Jeremiah, Jeremiah was appointed by God to be a prophet both to Judah and to the nations. However, he objected to his appointment as a prophet on the grounds that he did not know how to speak because he was only a child. In other words, he felt he wasn’t eloquent or experienced enough to accept his appointment.

And God’s response to this…

“Say not, I am only a youth: for you shall go to all whom I shall send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.” (Jeremiah 1:7)

I mean, what a sophisticated reprimand and praise all rolled in to one! How on earth could Jeremiah not accept his appointment when it was put like this!

God was telling Jeremiah that his experience was irrelevant because a) his appointment was from God, b) God would be with him and c) He would tell Jeremiah what he should say.

So, the next time you find yourself:

• Second guessing your abilities
• Wondering whether you will ever find the direction and purpose for your life
• Questioning whether God’s calling on your life is His voice or your own
• Feeling that you’re too much
• Thinking that you’re not enough

… Remember God’s message to Jeremiah and remind yourself that you were chosen before the world began and whatever God’s plan for your life, He never expected you to go it alone!

You may have all of these questions, thoughts and feelings for a very good reason, but unless you listen to what the Holy Spirit is telling you – as Jeremiah did – when you’re in doubt, these thoughts, questions and feelings will be the very “things” that unintentionally get in the way of God establishing His purpose for your life and therefore hinder your destiny.

Can you imagine if Jeremiah had not been listening to the voice of God? He may have missed his opportunity because God’s message to Judah and the nations was immanent. God needed a messenger now!

And like most of us are “oh so” guilty of at times, Jeremiah could have spent time asking others what they thought about his ability and standing in the community, with a view only to decide it must have been God when those from whom he sought counsel approved of his appointment.

By then, God may have already appointed someone else and Jeremiah would have had to wait for another opportunity.

But notice I didn’t say God would have given up on Jeremiah because He never would! He’s the God of the second, third and fourth chance so if you’ve been feeling lately that your life seems to lack direction and you know you’ve missed opportunities for fear of taking action when you know you should have done, I have some great news for you…

God Hasn’t Changed His Mind About You!

And despite all of your doubts, fears and apprehensions, God want and needs you to know and understand that before you were born, He knew and approved of you [as His chosen instrument], and before you were born He separated and set you apart (Jeremiah 1:5Amp).

The enemy may have made many attempts to “disqualify” you from receiving all that God has planned for you, including lying to you about your worth. But God needs you to listen to Him, to stand on His Word and to claim victory over every negative situation in your life.

ACTION CHALLENGE:

By renewing your mind through God’s Word, you’ll begin to experience the life-changing potential that was deposited within you before the foundation of the world.

So this weeks Action Challenge will help you lay a solid foundation for the exciting journey that you have ahead of you. It may be second nature to some of you, and even tasteless to others, but this is something I had to learn the hard way; so really, I want to save you from the pain…

Pick up your Bible and start reading…

…even if it’s only a few verses per day and spend some time speaking to God.

If this might be a struggle, check out Word for Today and order yourself a copy of Prayers That Avail Much, by Germaine Copeland from Amazon. These are a couple of resources I’ve selected and personally use that will help you spend some quiet time with God.

Why am I so keen for you to do this?

I want you to build a relationship with God because it is the only way you will have a clear idea of what His purposes are for your life and the only way you’ll reach the level of experiencing real life abundance. You’ll also become more attuned to when God is speaking and learn to know when the enemy is playing mind games with you.

So I urge you to get to KNOW Him who KNEW you before you were even conceived.

Have a Question For Me?

If you have any questions about this article or questions in general, I’d love to hear from you. Email me at trish@womenofinfluence.com and I will make every endeavour to reply to your email within 48 hours.

Until next time,

Blessings,

Related posts:

1. Your Future is Already Written
2. Open Up Your Mouth and Speak!!
3. Make Your Way Prosperous

“The Future is Unwritten.”

And I admit, I’ve used language in the past such as “you can write your own story,” but the truth is that your future has already been written and it’s an amazing story of happiness in every dimension!

I have no idea what you’re going through right now, but I do know that if your situation isn’t giving you peace and happiness, you’re not living the story that God wrote for you.

This might be a surprising statement to some who may have been taught that we are tested by God and that without a test, there can be no testimony, which holds some truth, but if you read James 1, he makes it clear that God in incapable of being tempted by what is evil and therefore, He can tempt no one (James 1:13).

So why do we go through struggles?

To learn! But now you’re contradicting yourself Trish! But I’m not. Hear me out …

Verses 14 and 15 of James says “but every person is tempted when he is drawn away (*from the written path onto the unwritten path), enticed and baited by his own evil desire (lust, passions). [15] Then the evil desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.” *Emphasis mine.

Death does not mean literally lifeless although ultimately if we keep following that path of disobedience, this will be the end result. Death in this context means loss of joy, peace, life fulfillment and blessings.

But now I’ve made you thoroughly depressed,
I want to paint you a picture of hope for your future!

James 1:17 tells us:

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

The Amplified Version says “Every good gift and every perfect (free, large, full) gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of all [that gives] light, in [the shining of] Whom there can be no variation [rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [as in an eclipse].

This means that God can, and will, bring light to the darkest of situations if you let Him. He doesn’t have to rewrite your future because the purposes and plans for your life were written before the world began. When you walk out of God’s will, your trials are a means for you to start learning to trust Him again. (See James 1:1-12). You may grope around in the dark for a while because you’ve lost your way, but once you recognise and know that God is Lord of your life, He will begin to shed light on your situation so you can find that (written) path to life and peace again.

And I can assure you, the quicker you learn to trust Him, the sooner your struggles will be over so you can move from the unwritten to the written path.

Blessings until next time,

Related posts:

1. “Prove All Things; Hold Fast That Which Is Good”
2. Being A Light In Your City
3. Before You Were Formed … I Knew You

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting a little fed up with people telling me how to live my life – especially from the pulpit!  Sorry to be so candid, but it’s true!

Hear me out before you hit the back button!  I don’t believe I can live life as I please, because I am unique, chosen for a purpose and only my creator knows what my assigment is and like yours, sometimes people just can’t see beyond their own calling and can make you feel guilty about the way you go about fulfilling yours.

To illustrate my point, I’m going to share my insight about one of the lessons I learnt from the cross…

John, the youngest of the twelve, was that disciple “whom Jesus loved.” (John 13:23) and even though the other desciples who feared their lives may have been watching the crucifixion of Jesus from afar, John was the only one to stay with Jesus to the very end. In fact, one of the last words Jesus spoke as he hung on the cross was to John:

“Behold your mother!”

And in doing this, Jesus fulfilled a Jewish custom in that as the firstborn son, it was his responsibility to make sure his parents were cared for after His death and John was chosen by Jesus to fulfil this purpose.

Now, as far as Church history tells us, John remained faithful to his assignment and stayed with Mary until she died. He could have abandoned his calling and followed the other apostles who after the crucifixtion later spread afar to preach the gospel, but John didn’t.

And I’ve no doubt that John did preach while he took care of his “adopted” mother, but just because he didn’t go with the other apostles didn’t make him any less of an apostle than the others.

His role may not have seemed as glamorous but it was important enough for Jesus to make it one of His very last requests.  And had John given up on his assignment, he would have been acting outside the Will of God.

I mean let’s face it, which one of the apostles was given the “Revelation” vision of the end times?  Yes it was John the very apostle who had been faithful in what some would have considered a mediocre task in comparison to being an itinerant apostle, preaching the Gospel.

What’s my point?  Your job as a child of God is to follow the plan that God designed for you and quit listening to those who are trying to persuade you to follow what everyone else is doing.  You were created unique, so why would you want to die a carbon copy of someone else?

This is the reason developing an acute ear to the voice of the Holy Spirit is so important.  Then even if people recognise your calling before you do, you’ll always be assured of getting confirmation from the Holy Spirit.

John’s assignment was only for a season and Jesus knew this when He told John to take care of His mother.

So if for example, if you know you’ve been called of God to preach the Gospel but don’t feel compelled right now to travel the world lugging your children behind you, or leaving them behind, ask God to reveal to you “how” He wants you to fulfill your destiny.

There is more than one medium that can be used to spread the Good News, and I’m using just one of them right now!

What’s good for one person isn’t necessarily good for you and if what you’re doing is making you miserable, you definately need to seek God and ask Him to show you His will for your life.

And remember, your assignment may only be for a season, but it’s your faithfulness to God’s plan for YOUR life and fulfilling YOUR given assignment at the appointed time that will shape your character and ensure you receive all that God has for you, as well as ensure you maintain your uniqueness and not end up a carbon copy of ANYBODY else!

I’ve enjoyed receiving your feedback to my blog posts, so keep them coming!  I hope you continue to be inspired and encouraged and for those of you who don’t feel so encouraged, still write to me, I want to be able to bless you with words and in my prayers.

Until next time, God Bless,

Related posts:

1. Spirit, Soul and Body
2. Who Are You Trying To Reach With The Gospel?
3. Being a Virtuous Woman Part 3

“Can an acorn become a rose?  A butterfly a sparrow?  You cannot be anything you want to be, but you can be everything God wants you to be.”

Don’t let people try to take away your uniqueness by telling you that you can choose to be who or what you want to be!

You can choose if you like, but if you make a bad choice it will feel like wearing someone elses jacket – it just won’t fit!  And, even if it does, you’ll know it’s not yours – you’ll soon have to give it back!

God chose you for a purpose before the world ever began and I know from experience, it’s easier and more enjoyable to walk in the plan and path He has set for you.  It is only when you’re being YOU that you can release your full potential and enjoy the true prosperity in every area of your life that God designed for you to enjoy.

The Amplified Version of Romans 8:28 says…

“We are assured and know that [God being partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose.”

If you feel that you’re walking on the wrong path today, ask God for direction.  The direction He shows you might even feel uncomfortable but there are steps to every plan and the beginning is often filled with uncertainty, but when you’ve reached that place when you’re doing what you love, when your heart’s desires are being met, it is as the Bible says “like a tree of life.”

Until next time,

God Bless.

Related posts:

1. Get Intimate…Part 1 0f 2
2. It’s Not My Fault!
3. An Important Lesson From The Cross

If you do, then it stands to reason that when you focus on God, He becomes bigger than all of your problems, right?

Well I remember in 1994 when I was made redundant and initially I decided I was going to remain positive because I knew God had something better lined up for me so there was no need to worry, despite the fact that we had recently moved to a new home with a much bigger mortgage.

However, when the weeks rolled on, I slumped into near depression and I remember Chris coming home from work one day and shouting at me (something my husband rarely does)… “Pull yourself together!  You have your health and all of your limbs so what is your problem!”

I stormed out of the house and went for a walk - I would usually have gone for a drive, but guess what?  I’d had a company car and that went with the job!   As I walked, I told God I was justified in having a moan but then what Chris said started sinking in and I told God I was sorry, told Him that as much I just wanted this period to end, I would remember to thank Him for all of the good things I had right now, and so this is what I did… I started thanking Him.

When I returned home, I went straight up to what was the music room at the time and as I sat there in front of my keyboard, I felt a strong urge to turn my head to the right and look at the wall.  On the wall, there was a plaque that had been there for years – practically unnoticed and I was transfixed:

GOD SAID… Don’t look to the bigness of your need Look to the bigness of your God! Your circumstances are hindrances to seeing MY ABILITIES…

If you keep your eyes on your circumstances, the devil will use your circumstances to defeat you and accuse the Word of God…the written and Living Word. YOUR VICTORY is in keeping your eyes on the bigness of your God and His ability. HE HAS PROMISED to take you STEP by STEP… not all at once… But step… By step and… EACH STEP WILL BE A MIRACLE!

~Morris Cerullo

I had purchased this plaque at a Morris Cerullo crusade when I was 14 years old and up until that day (age 27), I never understood what it meant.  And do you know how many times I attempted to “chuck” that ugly, plastic brown plaque complete with tacky gold embossed writing?

But that day, those words became my greatest source of inspiration and totally changed my perspective in an instant that evening.  And God is so good that whenever I wasn’t near the plaque to remember what it said, the song by one of our “boy” bands at the time…”Things Can Only Get Better…” would just totally consume every other thought.  This wasn’t even my kind of music!

And things really did get better.  I began a relationship with God that allowed me to praise Him and recognise His goodness toward me even though the terrain seemed so rough at the time.  I was able to pray without waffling, I praised without straining and more importantly, I knew that everything I did, I didn’t do alone.  It literally felt as if I had moved from darkness into light.

I tended the garden, cleaned my home, cooked Chris’s meal in preparation for when he arrived home from work and then one day, 3 months after being made redundant, when I least expected it and when I’d given up that any of the companies that had interviewed me wanted to employ me, I received not just 1 job offer, not even 2 job offers, but 3 job offers!  From nothing to choice!

What you focus on expands and I learnt back then that the more I focused on God, the more I made Him my friend, the greater the relationship we had, the more I knew I could not fail.  This is intimacy… and I had no idea what this meant in a spiritual sense back then.  All I knew was how safe I felt and how the loneliness I experienced after those first few weeks of being home dissipated and I knew I wasn’t alone.

Just think about how you feel when you’re with like minded people who encourage you, build you up and share the promises of God.  Don’t you feel that you can accomplish anything?  Well just think what it feels like when the source of your encouragement is God.  You feel fomidable!  I’m experiencing this right now at 4:00am even as I write this post.

I understand where David was coming from when he said “For by you I can run against a troop, by my God I can leap over a wall…  He is a shield to all who trust Him.”  Psalm 18: 29-30.

How’s your intimacy with God today?  What are you focusing on?  Is it the size of your bank balance, your sickness, your children, or are you focusing on the Bigness of Your God?

This is where Romans 12:1-2 (see yesterday’s post) takes on a whole new meaning…

When all around you seems chaotic, you can still look to Him for peace, clarity of purpose and a clear perspective.  Because where there is vision, there is hope and where there is hope there is life and where there is life, there is God…

And God never fails.

God Bless YOU.

Related posts:

1. Get Intimate…Part 1 0f 2
2. It’s Not My Fault!
3. We’re Celebrating 20 Years …

I Married Chris for Chris …

So let me assure you - I had zero intentions of having babies in the first few years of our marriage so in my mind, these issues didn’t even exist.  Although I still laugh today at Chris’s response when I suggested he put a double bed on the list of “things to buy” for the wedding.  He hadn’t even thought of it… bless him!

Anyway, my response to people back then was that I wasn’t getting married to have babies, I was getting married first and foremost because I was in love!    So much in love in fact that I wanted to share my husband with no one, not even a baby!

Sound a little selfish?  Maybe so, but I wanted Chris for Chris and our marriage wasn’t based on the condition that he could give me babies.

It is true that neither of us expected me to be in my 30’s before deciding to settle down and have a family!  So, the one and only baby came along after 13 years of marriage.

But even in 2000 when an operation to remove fibroids created some concern as to whether we would have children, guess what, most of the time, our main topic of conversation wasn’t babies.   In fact, one of my directors where I was working at the time, gave me the best piece of sound advice after my operation.  He said:

“Trish, if you and Chris find that you can’t have children, focus on what matters most – enjoy each other and live your life with or without children.”

My dad had given me similar advice and though hard, it was when we stopped focusing on the conception that I became pregnant.

What has this got to do with getting intimate with God you’re probably wondering?  Well, just like I wanted Chris more than I wanted the fact that he could give me children, God wants you more than He wants what you can do for Him!

He does have a plan and purpose for your life, and He wants to reveal that plan and purpose for you more than you might think, but let’s take a look at what Paul has to say on the subject in Roman’s 12.

In verse 1 Paul tells us that above all else “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”  Paul goes on to say in verse 2… “and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Notice, Paul didn’t say find the will of God first and then when He’s shown you your purpose and when things are going well, submit to him.  No!  He said have a relationship with God, get intimate with Him and then He will show you His will or purpose for your life.

Why?  Because when things go wrong, when things don’t go according to your plan, you’ll still have a clear perspective on life.  He will give you peace in what seems to be your darkest moments because perspective leads to clarity and clarity leads to power (a topic for another day!)

So, if you haven’t found your purpose yet, or you know what it is but know you’re not living it, don’t lose heart.   I’ll talk more in part 2 tomorrow about how getting intimate with God will give you a clearer sense of purpose.

Until then, Blessings,

Related posts:

1. Get Intimate…Part 2 0f 2
2. We’re Celebrating 20 Years …
3. When Confidence Looks Like Arrogance…