I believe that Bev, that knowing God's will...will reduce your stress.  I think more deeply that being involved with and in pursuit of God's will will make your paths straight and give you greater peace and confidence over all the various obstacles that arise.  And Roger, including the obstacle of feeling complacent.  I also can relate to this feeling and situation in life.  I imagine most can.  If we have no signifigant or definite purpose we are running for we can get to feeling...why do I need to learn more or read more or pray more?  Something has to be motivating us.  It's easy to tell someone to be motivated because you will get the rewards of growing in God or the Word will make you alive etc... but we need something to "quicken" us when we are dead!  Honestly speaking.  I am feeling blessed today because my christian college classes drag me into deeper study and I am reaping things I thought I already knew and had but didn't!  Just when we think we already know the whole bible pretty well God can show us how very little we know!  He can also show us how much we are like the children of Israel who thought God was going to or ought to just hand them everything, only to be shown that some works were required on top of the blessing of being called the chosen people.  We are not here to dwidle our time away and be happy and at ease in Zion...not even in Retirement.  When we get to this point we are in slumber while we are supposed to be Forever Vigilant!  Sometimes God sends something in our lives to shake us out of our lack of concern or lack of moving in and toward the purposes.  We humans are so much alike in this respect...until some cause jars us we feel no cause.  I have been guilty plenty!  Until we die God has a purpose in us still living here.  Sometimes he allows us to sit or slumber for periods or seasons as if he isn't around lately.  He isn't doing this because everything is fine and dandy with us but I think sometimes it's because he's waiting to see if we will get the picture!  If we don't his love will eventually show us and shake us out of slumber...and give us a reason to stand up and fight for some faith to tackle whatever challenge he besets us with.  I am thinking that I am not trying to be hard on you, but yet even I sometimes know I need something to shake me.  And it's better to be shaken than not, because if we are not then God really isn't our Father.  He wants us to be Alive, not dead, to be fighting the good fight of faith, not laying back and watching Bonanza while outside our very windows the birth pangs are increasing in intensity and timing. I enjoyed hearing all your words Judy!  The Lord loves you and desires the intimacy with you that you say you are struggling with.  Remember the cares of this life that so easily beset us.  They are distractions!  And they are meant to distract!  Satan loves to make us sleep and slumber, and be good and nice people who are ineffectual.  The letter kills but the Spirit gives life!  What we all need is Life!  Keep the forum going!  It's a good one and we all have some needs that need to be met!  love Kim

Kim, wow, you've definitely thought through this post. I just sent you an invitation to join my list of friends. I hope you will accept. At this point, all I can say, is AMEN sister!

Bev, I'll forgive you this time...LOL. I didn't get much sleep last night when I got back from my trip, so today I've been kind of down in the doldrums. I will try to take a look at the website tomorrow. Have a blessed weekend!

Hi Jim,

I just stopped in to catch up.  Let me add an Amen to yours for Kim.  She really said it all.

I have done the 40 Purpose Driven Life journal - I made it more interesting and did it a second  and a third time, as I found it enlightening and even more enlightening that I had different results and findings each time - sort of like reading the Bible - I can read something for the 20th time and swear I have never read it before.

Jim, you never struck me as the type to get depressed.  I fight depression all the time.  I have been winning that battle with the devil for quite a number of years now

God bless you, Jim.  This forum keeps calling me back.

Judy

Judy, depression is something I didn't used to know. When I hurt my back back in 1998, that's when the devil said, ok, let me see how depressed I can make this man. He knew I was at a weak point in my life, and boy did he take advantage of it. I lost my job, I lost the love of my life...death, and I lost my shop where I was working on the side. I felt like Job, in that everything was taken away from me. They say that iron, steel, gold, silver, or any precious metal for that matter has to be tried in fire, before it's pure. I felt like that was what was happening to me. I was in pain...in more ways than one. But there was a silver lining at the end of the tunnel.  The Lord has promised that He will not allow us to carry a burden heavier than we can handle, and I was about to the limit.

Somehow, the Lord makes us realize how imperfect we are, and how much we need Him in our lives. I'll be the first to admit, I have not lived a perfect life. I am a human being, and just like anyone else, I'm prone to sin. Praise God He gave me another chance!