Innermost Being

My purpose and my mission

January 9, 2024January 9, 2024 by Innermost Being, posted in Word Prompts

What is your mission?

This question reminds me that after studying Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Life, I planned to write a life purpose statement. Writing this detailed statement will take some time, but Warren asked five questions to get me started:

What will be the center of my life?
What will be the community of my life?
What will be the character of my life?
What will be the contribution of my life?
What will be the communication of my life?

The five C questions tie into the five purposes in Warren’s book:

You were planned for God’s pleasure. Worship.
You were formed for God’s family. Fellowship.
You were created to become like Christ. Discipleship.
You were shaped for serving God. Service.
You were made for a mission. Mission.

The last bullet point is the mission of a believer – to share the Good News with nonbelievers.

How will I share Jesus with people who don’t know him?

One way is teaching Sunday school to kids in kindergarten through the fifth grade. After I retire, I may volunteer at the new teen center my church established this year.

A second way is through this blog. I am an introverted woman of deep faith who engages in spiritual introspection, and I share my thoughts in the blogosphere.

I believe the ultimate purpose of my life is to worship God with all my heart, mind, and soul and to love others as myself. This is the reason for my being, and it drives my mission.

Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Matthew 22: 36-40

Thoughts on living a very long life

January 8, 2024January 8, 2024 by Innermost Being, posted in Word Prompts

What are your thoughts on the concept of living a very long life?

My first thought on reading this question was that living a long life is not up to me.

My second thought? What life span qualifies as a very long life? It depends on who you ask. If you asked someone in their 80’s or 90’s, they might say 100. If you asked a child, they might say that I’ve lived a very long life and I’m only 60! 😉

The average life expectancy in the United States is 76. I can look at my parents and grandparents to estimate my own life expectancy, but it would still be just a guess. Statistics say that a woman my age has a remaining life expectancy of 23-25 years. I expected my mother to live longer than she did; she passed at 76.

I will say that people in their 80’s seem much younger to me than they did when I was a kid. An 80 year old leads my Bible study group. Another 80 year old is the treasurer of my running club. But people in their 90’s still seem very old to me.

My final thoughts are that living a very long life is a good thing if the quality of your life is good. Living a very long life is a wonderful thing if you bless other people with your wisdom and kindness. Whatever number of years I have left, that’s the kind of life I want to live

Blogging differently

January 7, 2024January 7, 2024 by Innermost Being, posted in Word Prompts

What could you do differently?

In less than a week, Bloganuary has shown me that I can blog differently.

In my case, blogging differently is blogging more quickly and spontaneously. It’s letting someone else choose the topic. It’s having the discipline to write every single day. It’s writing first thing in the morning before I get sidetracked by something, anything else. It’s not being worried about perfection.

I normally blog about spiritual topics. I am an introvert, and I process my thoughts deeply. It takes forever for me to be satisfied with what I’ve written.

I enjoy reading other bloggers’ responses to the daily question!

Love is patient. Love is kind.

January 6, 2024January 6, 2024 by Innermost Being, posted in Word Prompts

If you had a freeway billboard, what would it say?

I would use my freeway billboard to plant a seed of love in the minds of those who see it.

Love is patient. Love is kind.

These simple phrases are found in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. The verses about love are so popular and enduring that they are recited at weddings. They contain great advice for couples, but they are not limited to romantic love.

If I had a series of billboards, I would share even more of Paul’s powerful words. But if these six words resonate, a person can easily find the source.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7

The past is gone. Move on.

January 5, 2024January 5, 2024 by Innermost Being, posted in Word Prompts

Do you spend more time thinking about the future or the past? Why?

This is a great question.

There have been times in my life when I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the past. For me, that usually happens when I have regrets. In my mind, I relive what I can’t go back and change.

Sometimes, thoughts of the past are triggered by dreams. I dreamed about my high school sweetheart just last week. We broke up because he was going off to college, and his parents wanted him to date other girls. That dream made me think about how my life would have turned out if we hadn’t broken up. Of course, I will never know what might have been, but I think we both chose a better match.

The past gave me learning experiences. I made mistakes and learned from them. The past gave me precious memories of loved ones who have passed on.

Some of us always look ahead. We plan for the future. What is on my calendar this week? What am I going to work on tomorrow? What bad habits do I want to break?

Today, I spend more of my time thinking about the short-term future. I plan to retire in a couple of months, so I am thinking about how I will transition my responsibilities to my successor.

Where do I see myself in five years? I would like to find another volunteer opportunity, one that my husband and I can do together. I will also be out hiking and birdwatching and enjoying the beauty of nature.

Do I spend a lot of time thinking about my long-term future? No. I am 60 years old. I’ve had a pretty good life. I’ve had good times and bad times. No matter what my future holds on this earth, I know that I will spend eternity in heaven.

I’ve got places to go and things to do.