Design Your Life
The smallest step in the right direction can turn out to be the biggest step of your life.
Have Faith In What Can Be
It’s time to design your life to include what you really want your life to be...blessings await!! What is your ultimate desire or expectation for your life from this point forward? Are there some dreams and goals that you have been wanting to tackle but haven’t been able to take the big step or make space for the work that it will involve? Are you searching for your life to be free from life’s chaos and challenges? Are you in need of moving up from your current spiritual state to a state where you can become more like your Savior? You deserve what’s waiting for you.... right around the corner.
I am so grateful for the Spirit that comes to us when we have needs. He helps us to elevate and come a little closer to our potential. Thankfully, I have received a lot of ‘whisperings’ in my lifetime that have helped me know what to do to make changes and adjustments in my lifestyle.
A few weeks ago I found my natural self pulling away from reality as I encountered an uncomfortable situation. I began counseling myself, knowing that I needed to be stronger to face the challenge with courage. It was at that moment that I received a wake-up call from a ‘knowing’ that came to my mind. This was different from my normal inspirational moments, so I really came to attention. I knew that my Father in Heaven was telling me that it was time to overcome my limiting beliefs and stand strong and become the woman He needed me to become...that I wouldn’t become like He is...whole and complete...if I didn’t make the effort to change.
I have battled for years with insecurities and fear of what the future would bring; always doubting that was strong enough or good enough to face the challenge. Because of these struggles I have grown a lot and have overcome much, but there is always more that needs to be overcome.
The ‘knowing’ that I received that day, has changed my perspective a great deal. I have felt stronger and more connected with my Savior. I’m so grateful for that experience and how it has affected my outlook on my future. I feel like I have been given a new heart that will bring beautiful experiences into my life.
Blossom - Open Up To Grace
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud
was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”
This verse has been showing up for me for the last few months and now I know why. God is wanting to make all of us more than we think we could ever be. He desires that we open up to His Grace and use it to re-create the timid and insecure life that we have all clung to. It’s time for blossoming, it’s time to overcome the you that is holding back and really reach higher!
I am reminded of a story, by C. S. Lewis that I’ve heard many times and love it more each time I hear it. This story is titled “He Is Building A Palace”.
“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right, and stopping the leaks in the roof, and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably, and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to?
The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of– throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”
–C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (London: William Collins, 1970), 172.
Create Beauty and Solitude
This year, for my blog topic, I have been focusing on the theme of ‘Plantings’, designing and creating a beautiful ‘Garden Haven’, where we prepare, plan, plant, and nurture the seedlings to create beautiful garden areas where we can spend time and find joy in its beauty and solitude... I have used this metaphor to help us see the pattern for the lives we are trying to create. Each month, we discuss the process that is necessary, for us to experience each step of creation, and arrive spiritually and physically at our personal Garden Haven.
“A beautiful heart will bring things into your life that all the money in the world couldn’t get you.”
Our lives are mostly just lived, not designed and planned. We just try to get through each day, praying that no one gets hurt, we don’t realize that it is vital to have a design, a plan that will get us to our desired destination...our life of living in our fullness. Let’s design a life that brings us the joy and fullness we are expecting!
My BLOG discussion for January and February was to help us see the discontent in our lives and the garden in a stage of death and decay. It’s an important step, and although we don’t enjoy this stage, we can use this time to plan and make preparations for our spring planting, and nurturing that comes with the warmer weather.
What intentional plans or designs are you making for your life to create beauty and tranquility? If you want to feel solitude and peace after the harvest, you need to plan and design your experiences so that you can change what was and enjoy a life of abundance and plenty.
What do we want more abundance in? How do you want your life to be better? Do you want to settle for a little cottage or do you want blueprints to create a palace?
There is MORE available to us.
I’m reminded of the Hymn that we sing on occasion in our Church Services. It touches my heart each time we sing it.
“More Holiness Give Me”
More holiness give me,
More strivings within,
More patience in suff’ring,
More sorrow for sin,
More faith in my Savior,
More sense of his care,
More joy in his service,
More purpose in prayer.
2. More gratitude give me,
More trust in the Lord,
More pride in his glory,
More hope in his word,
More tears for his sorrows,
More pain at his grief,
More meekness in trial,
More praise for relief.
3. More purity give me,
More strength to o’ercome,
More freedom from earth-stains,
More longing for home.
More fit for the kingdom,
More used would I be,
More blessed and holy—
More, Savior, like thee.
(Hymn #13, Text and music: Philip Paul Bliss, 1838–1876)
Elevate To A Better Place
Planning change and designing a life of ‘MORE’ is our goal so that we can be elevated to a better place. We want to create a Garden Haven where Christ will want to come and dwell with us because we have become like Him.
Consider Pres. Russell M. Nelson’s thoughts about change and transforming into the best version of ourselves.
“Thus, when Jesus asks you and me to “repent,” He is inviting us to change our mind, our knowledge, our spirit—even the way we breathe. He is asking us to change the way we love, think, serve, spend our time, treat our wives, teach our children, and even care for our bodies.
Nothing is more liberating, more ennobling, or more crucial to our individual progression than a regular, daily focus on repentance. Repentance is not an event; it is a process. It is the key to happiness and peace of mind. When coupled with faith, repentance opens our access to the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
Whether you are diligently moving along the covenant path, have slipped or stepped from the covenant path, or can’t even see the path from where you are now, I plead with you to repent. Experience the strengthening power of daily repentance—of doing and being a little better each day.
When we choose to repent, we choose to change! We allow the Savior to transform us into the best version of ourselves. We choose to grow spiritually and receive joy—the joy of redemption in Him. When we choose to repent, we choose to become more like Jesus Christ!”
More Like God
In our hearts, we desire a life of order; a more elevated life of love, peace, and joy! We can create change and overcome our natural life, and live a higher law that will allow us to be more like the God who created us. Faith in Christ, His Atonement, and living the Gospel is what will bring a fullness of the joy we truly desire...it is the blueprint or design we are seeking to create a beautiful palace or garden haven and living there with God.
Join me on a journey of change. At this stage of my life, I am at the drawing board designing a new plan for me to blossom more fully so I can become more like my Savior. It is the small daily changes that will move me closer to Christ; my destination. As I invite the Spirit and work with Him to overcome the natural me, and my limitations, I will bring forth blossoms that testify of my mighty change of heart, my love for my Savior, and my desire to serve Him and His children.
‘Feeling Blessed’ Online courses are being offered to help you design a life that strengthens you to face your journey as a woman of strength. Embrace change and transformation, with faith in this beautiful life journey, and we will all become strong! Become empowered creatively, and find the training that fits your needs at Beunshaken.com. Let’s take this BIG STEP together! :)
Be love, Be light, Be strong
Love to all,
Jeannie
