Running with Purpose

Welcome to Women In Need WIN, formerly, Markers for Single Moms. I’m excited you’ve stopped by.

In my March 18, 2016, post titled, A New Name, I shared the reason for the name change and new look. You can access it in the blog archive on the right side of this page or simply scroll down.

I am a woman in need. Are you?

I once thought by the time I reached a certain age, I’d be wiser and walking by faith more consistently in every area of my life. Things haven’t always turned out quite as I’d planned. The good things God has done in and through my life are all His doing, DESPITE me.

I may have a tad more wisdom than in my earlier days, but the older…ahem…let’s say, the more mature I become, the clearer I see how desperately I need Jesus than ever before.

If the Lord waited until I had it together, full of wisdom and knowledge, and not so full of..…uh, me, to use my life, nothing would ever get done.

I’ve grieved lost ambitions, missed opportunities and deferred hopes because of doubts, fears and unbelief that once kept me from finding His direction.

Single mom, single again, married, married again, wherever you may be, we all have needs that only God can fill.

I believe the answers we’re hungry for, the healing we seek, and inner nagging for fulfillment we clamor for, are found in God’s word, the Bible, and the indwelling of His Spirit, through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Period.

Whatever our circumstances, marital status or stage in life, we were created to fulfill a unique purpose God has planned for each of us.

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)

How can I know His purpose and will for my life, you might ask?

In order to find God’s direction for our lives we have to know Him. I’m not talking about being a Christian and knowing Him as Your Savior. I’m talking about KNOWING Him. And to truly know Him, we must spend time with Him, alone.

If we are His handiwork, created in Christ Jesus, then knowing Him should be our greatest passion. From that will flow the specific purposes He’s created us for. Isn’t that the key to fulfillment?

I don’t have all the answers, but I can point to the One who does. Perhaps together we can find community and encouragement here, squished between a million other blogs with promises of the next greatest gadget, weight-loss program or self-help model.

God has the best plan; better than anything I can devise. He uses markers in my life to keep me on course. Along with grieving lost hopes and opportunities, I’ve experienced sheer joy from following His direction in wonderful opportunities I would have otherwise missed. The most exciting, fulfilling times of my life have been when I stepped out in faith, and He swept me away into the unknown of His fabulous plans.

It’s my prayer that together we will discover God’s directional markers for our lives. Let’s share our joy and encouragement that will come from following the One who created us with His specific purposes in mind.

I am a woman in need with my own race to win. What about you? God has a race for you to run and WIN. I invite you to run with me.  

Join me this Monday, April 4, for Monday Markers.

Til then, stay the course.

Terri

He-art Work

It’s a New Year! We are 12 days into 2016 at this writing. It’s been an entire year since I last posted. A lot has happened since then.

Last year I took a step back from a lot of busyness in my life. I recognized a need

to press pause and make room for some HE-art work I felt God showed me needed to be done.

I took advantage of joining a women's nine-month step study through our Celebrate Recovery program at church. I knew this would be a safe place to unveil the emotions I’ve stuffed for the majority of my life and get real. I spent nine months digging, uprooting, replanting and growing. 

God introduced a few new markers to me. He presented healing and direction in several areas of my life. I hope to share those with you in the coming months with the hope of encouraging you on your personal path with Him.

Single Mom, You are not called to be superwoman, invincible, to stand alone in

the face of adversity. No! And you are not called to understand everything. You ARE called to be His bride, trusting, believing and relying on Him. 

You may already know and live in this trusting place with Him. But you aren't called to do life alone. God uses others who have walked a similar path. He uses encouragers and those who will inspire you to lay down your yoke of burdens and pick up His yoke of grace and mercy to walk into the marvelous things He has planned for you. Do you need to have some He-art work done? 

If you’d like to know more about Celebrate Recovery, visit  www.celebraterecovery.com. It is a Christ-centered recovery program for any and all who have ANY hurt, habit or hang-up. Even the strongest of Christian women need time to recover and recharge.

Unveiled,

Terri