Know Your Why // Guest Post by LIvy Jarmusch
I can't even remember how I found Livy on the wonderful Interweb. I think she actually found me and asked me about doing a blog tour. Since then, I have gone absolutely head over heels for her amazing Tales of Tarsurella books and stay tuned because I've recently gotten into Regal Hearts as well.
But Livy does more than just write books. She is an avid blogger who coaches other bloggers and helps them with their projects. To celebrate the release of a brand new project, Livy is doing a blog tour about blog stuff! I'll let her tell you all about that :)
Knowing Your Why
Hello, friends! My name is Livy and I’m twenty-something author, singer, and songwriter. I enjoy crafting YA fiction that is pure, lovely, inspirational, and of course, entertaining! I also have a passion for blogging and I’m SO excited to be sharing this post with you all today!
Today, I’d like to talk about purpose.
We all want to know what our purpose is. We each desire to follow God’s plans for our lives. But what does that really mean?
Choosing to passionately embrace our purpose and live fully right where God has planted us, is something I LOVE encouraging my sisters in Christ in!
It doesn’t matter who you live, your age, family, background, skill level, dreams, or accomplishments, so long as Jesus is Lord of our hearts, we ALL have the same, number one goal!
Jesus says in Mark 12:30, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”
This is always our greatest and highest calling, to know the Lord, to love Him, and then, “love your neighbor as yourself.” (verse 31.) No other commandment is greater than these.
Before we dive deeper into talking about knowing our purpose, we must remember that there’s only one starting place for everything in life: loving Jesus! He is the source of our existence and everything we do is for His glory! Once we have this foundation strong in our minds, we can then take the next step.
Choosing to passionately embrace our purpose and live fully right where God has planted us, is something I LOVE encouraging my sisters in Christ in!
It doesn’t matter who you live, your age, family, background, skill level, dreams, or accomplishments, so long as Jesus is Lord of our hearts, we ALL have the same, number one goal!
Jesus says in Mark 12:30, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”
This is always our greatest and highest calling, to know the Lord, to love Him, and then, “love your neighbor as yourself.” (verse 31.) No other commandment is greater than these.
Before we dive deeper into talking about knowing our purpose, we must remember that there’s only one starting place for everything in life: loving Jesus! He is the source of our existence and everything we do is for His glory! Once we have this foundation strong in our minds, we can then take the next step.
I would encourage you pray this prayer, or something similar.
“God, what does it look like for me as a unique individual, to love You with every part of who I am? To use everything You’ve given me, my time, resources, gifts, talents, etc.?”
The Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20) was given to all of us, but the steps we take to fulfill it are each going to look uniquely different. Some of us will serve in Africa, others will raise families at home, some will write books, others will adopt orphans, and some will start successful businesses. We all so unique, fearfully, and wonderfully created, and God delights in our individuality! (Psalm 139:14) Doesn’t it make sense that even though we’re all working toward the same goal of the Great Commission, our lives are going to look different from one another?
So how do you find what it is that you’re called to do? How can you embrace your potential and serve God with everything you have?
I would encourage you to take a few moments and grab your journal, brew a cup of tea, and spend some time with the Lord, asking Him to speak to your heart while you ask yourself these questions.
“God, what does it look like for me as a unique individual, to love You with every part of who I am? To use everything You’ve given me, my time, resources, gifts, talents, etc.?”
The Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20) was given to all of us, but the steps we take to fulfill it are each going to look uniquely different. Some of us will serve in Africa, others will raise families at home, some will write books, others will adopt orphans, and some will start successful businesses. We all so unique, fearfully, and wonderfully created, and God delights in our individuality! (Psalm 139:14) Doesn’t it make sense that even though we’re all working toward the same goal of the Great Commission, our lives are going to look different from one another?
So how do you find what it is that you’re called to do? How can you embrace your potential and serve God with everything you have?
I would encourage you to take a few moments and grab your journal, brew a cup of tea, and spend some time with the Lord, asking Him to speak to your heart while you ask yourself these questions.
-What’s one thing that absolutely breaks my heart?
-What’s something I wish to see change in the world? (Examples: Human trafficking? The orphan crisis? Global poverty? Etc.)
-What’s something I wish to see change in the world? (Examples: Human trafficking? The orphan crisis? Global poverty? Etc.)
We don’t have to look very far to see that the world is suffering in darkness. But here’s the amazing part: we get to be the light! We get to bring answers, BE hope, and point people to Jesus!
The next question to ask yourself is:
-What’s something I absolutely love to do? (Write? Sing? Draw? Lead Bible study? Host parties and get-togethers with friends? Etc.)
-What’s something I absolutely love to do? (Write? Sing? Draw? Lead Bible study? Host parties and get-togethers with friends? Etc.)
After writing your answers, take a moment and read over them. Now, here comes the fun part: connecting them together! If you can take those two things, a problem in today’s world, and couple it with something you absolutely LOVE to do, you’ll find what I like to call, your sweet spot.
If you have a passion for orphans and let’s say, you adore making jewelry, why not launch a jewelry business to raise money for them?
If you love to write, and want to see human trafficking come to an end, why not use your pen to shine light in the darkness?
If you hate the fact that girls your age struggle with eating disorders, and love to write songs, why not craft a chorus to encourage broken hearts?
USE what you have, for His glory!
Discovering and living in the plans God has for us isn’t nearly as complicated as we imagine it might be. Take some time to pray and think about the questions above, journaling the answers that come to mind.
Then, I have a challenge for you.
Discovering and living in the plans God has for us isn’t nearly as complicated as we imagine it might be. Take some time to pray and think about the questions above, journaling the answers that come to mind.
Then, I have a challenge for you.
Based on the answers recorded during your prayer and journaling time, start something new.
That’s right, it’s time to take action!
Stepping into new areas of life is never easy. Doing things we’ve never done
before requires hard work, patience, prayer, and perseverance. It isn’t
easy. But trust me, it is so, SO worth it!
Sweet sister, this world needs your answer! This world needs you to be you,
for God’s glory! There is so much potential inside and God wants you to step out and shine for Him!
Lastly, once you begin: determine NEVER to give up!
When we begin to move in a new direction, this is where our heart is challenged and our determination is put to the test. Are we going to be faithful? Or give up at the first sign of trouble?
One of the secret’s to persevering, is knowing your why.
Knowing your WHY is remembering why you’re doing what you’re doing, and staying focused on the people you’re making a decision to help. This is true for anything in life. Whether you’re launching a business, starting a blog, writing a book, starting a Bible Study: we must always keep our why in the center of our hearts and at the forefront of our minds!
So before you start your new project, I would highly encourage you to write down your why. Ask yourself, “Why do I want to do this? Why do I feel like this is what Jesus would do if He were in my shoes? What do I want to see happen for this particular group or people I’m ministering to?”
Pray and ask the Lord to help you, then write down your why, and keep it somewhere you can see! Look back at it often, especially on the hard days, when you feel discouraged and struggle to believe that what you’re doing is making any difference at all. Remember, God has chosen you before the foundations of the world (Ephesians 1:4) and He has GOOD plans for your life (Jeremiah 29:11). You can trust him! Even with the hard stuff.
Blogging is an area where it’s especially important to know and remember your why. In fact, this is the very first step I encourage all bloggers to make, when taking my brand new video course called Fire Starter: Launching a Blog that Blazes! If you’re a blogger (or even an aspiring blogger!) who would like to take their blog to the next level, you can find all the information for that here: https://www.livylynnblog.com/
Pray and ask the Lord to help you, then write down your why, and keep it somewhere you can see! Look back at it often, especially on the hard days, when you feel discouraged and struggle to believe that what you’re doing is making any difference at all. Remember, God has chosen you before the foundations of the world (Ephesians 1:4) and He has GOOD plans for your life (Jeremiah 29:11). You can trust him! Even with the hard stuff.
Blogging is an area where it’s especially important to know and remember your why. In fact, this is the very first step I encourage all bloggers to make, when taking my brand new video course called Fire Starter: Launching a Blog that Blazes! If you’re a blogger (or even an aspiring blogger!) who would like to take their blog to the next level, you can find all the information for that here: https://www.livylynnblog.com/
To celebrate the release of my new blogging program, Fire Starter, I’m giving away a free Skype Session to talk about blogging goals, writing advice, and how to take your blog to the next level! (Or, if you’re too shy to video chat, we can totally do it over email.) My sweet friend Bella and I love coaching bloggers and authors through our Cheerleader Sessions! https://www.livylynnblog.com/
Entering for a chance to win is super simple! Just hop on over to my blog and sign up for my free email updates (and I’ll throw in a free e-book, just to say thanks!) and you’re all set! https://livylynnblog.us14.
I hope this post has been an encouragement to you! And good luck entering the Giveaway! <3
Keep pressing on, friends!
Lots of love,
~Livy Lynn
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