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,

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,

“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,

“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 trials?

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 trials will be over so you can move from the unwritten to the written path.

Blessings until next time,

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, but 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 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 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,

“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.