3 Action Steps for a More Meaningful Life
White light breaks through smoky billows of fog, and I wake up thinking about how to live a more meaningful life.
I’m tired of rushing through my moments, wishing away long days, and living in survival mode.
The little ones open the first windows on their colorful Advent calendars and scarf down thin squares of chocolate to mark this first day of waiting. We’re waiting for the coming King. Waiting for the day that marks Immanuel’s entry into the world. Waiting for God with us.
A hunter climbs a tree on the northwestern skyline, and he’s waiting, too.
All this waiting draws my mind to a question little Bekah’s been asking all fall. At least a dozen times she’s gazed at the clouds above and asked what kind of clouds Jesus will ride when he returns.
Cultivating Meaningful Lives
Her inquiry leads me to ask myself a few questions in the quiet moments of the day: Why do I fail to regularly ponder the reality that Immanuel is coming back?
Why don’t I watch the horizon for the King’s return? Why don’t I live more meaningfully, as if this really might be the last day I have on this muddy earth with dandelions sprouting on brisk December mornings?
Maybe you’re craving a more meaningful life as well.
Just what does a woman do when the daily grind has worn her so thin she starts to lose sight of the divine threaded through the temporal?
Just what's a woman do when the daily grind has worn her so thin she starts to lose sight of the divine threaded through the temporal? #purpose #meaninginlife #followingJesus Click To TweetWhere to Turn for the Meaningful Life You Crave
I asked these hard questions this fall, and there was no audible voice from heaven.
Instead, something stirred deep in my soul. I felt led to dig into God’s Word.
My plan was simple: Open to the familiar gospel of Matthew and spend a week reading and rereading each individual chapter. Let the words soak into the marrow of my bones. Meanwhile, find a practical way to put the words into action in my everyday life, measurable actions to take every single day as I live out my faith.
This study enriched my life on every level and provided the more I was searching for.
3 Practical Ways to Live a More Meaningful Life:
Today, I’m sharing three application activities from my study. My prayer for you is this: I pray you will read these words and try these applications for yourself. I pray these activities will lead you to the meaningful life you crave:
1. At the end of each day, list three places you saw God.
Friend, God really does dwell among us.
I know this might feel a little pie-in-the-sky amid a difficult season, but stay with me. Matthew 1:23 reads, “And they shall call his name Immanuel, which means God with us.” We can take this promise to the bank.
Jesus came to live and dwell among us, and when he returned to heaven, he left the deposit of his Spirit. The Spirit of the Living God dwells among us. We’re not talking about a shadowy phantom or a mist over murky waters. The Living God is in our midst.
God is present in your hard conversations, your long days of living in the difficult parts of your calling, and your isolated seasons of grief.
He shows himself in gentle sunrises, cardinals at the feeder, welcoming smiles from strangers, and blog posts from women who live hundreds, if not thousands, of miles from your quiet little corner of the world.
Here’s your challenge: For the next seven days, at the end of each day, write down three places where you saw God in your day. You might be surprised by the way this shift helps you step into the meaning you crave.
2. For the next week, pick a daily task and pair it with worship.
Remember the Magi?
These star-gazing intellectuals are famous for chasing down baby Jesus by following signs in the sky.
Their response to the young Messiah intrigues me: The first thing the Magi did when they encountered Jesus was worship him.
All too often, I miss Immanuel (God with me in the ordinary) because I don’t have a worshipful heart. I tend to grumble and embrace the emotional rewards of playing the hard-working victim.
Convicted of this selfish mindset, I decided to pick one task and complete it all week with a worshipful heart. My task was the daily chore of making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It’s a task through which I often hurry. Some days I grumble about the monotony of it all.
Much to my surprise, my attitude changed when I paired this task with worship. I put a different clip on the loaf of bread to remind me of my commitment, and when I saw that colorful clothespin, something inside me shifted.
I made sandwiches with a grateful, worshipful heart instead of a grumbling heart.
What task could you pair with worship this week? The King of Kings awaits this encounter with you.
3. For a more meaningful life, be real about sin.
How often do you practice the discipline of confessing your sins to God? Jesus models this kind of confession as he prays the famous words of Matthew 6:12, “And forgive us our sins.”
If we want transformation in our lives, we need God’s help to show us where we have fallen short. Without condemnation, he will gently show us where we have sinned and fallen short.
As a part of my journey, I spent a week confessing my sins to God at the end of each day. If you want a more meaningful life, spend a week confessing your sins to God at the of each day.
My prayers of confession often include the words of King David, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way” (Psalm 139:13-14).
After praying these words, pause to notice what thoughts come to mind. Do you recall a misspoken word to a friend or loved one from some point in your day? An attitude that was filled with bitterness, envy, or ingratitude? A moment when you snapped at your kids or your husband? A pattern of turning to something other than God for comfort? Pause to confess this sin and ask God to help you turn away from your sin and turn to him instead.
For a More Meaningful Life, Remember This:
Some of us are frustrated by what feels like a lack of meaning in our lives. Our lives feel too small.
I invite you to consider that this small and quiet season might be God’s plan for shaping your heart, preparing you for what is next, and humbling you as you take on the form of a servant.
After all, the greatest Man who ever walked the earth was also the most humble servant. Keep doing the small thing for as long as God calls you to do it. He is at work in quiet places. #servingGod #humility #encounteringGod Click To Tweet
A Free Devotional to Help You Embrace a More Meaningful Life:
Is it time to get the fire back in your walk with God? My free gift to you is my 10-day online devotional, Fan the Flame. This devotional offers dozens of practical ways to connect with God. Click here, and I will send this devotional directly to your email inbox.
These Two Books are Free on Kindle Unlimited as eBooks and Also Available in Print:
God wants to work in your life to accomplish what you’ve been unable to do through willpower alone. Lean Into Grace: Let God’s Grace Heal Your Heart, Refresh Your Soul, and Set You Free shares practical ways to experience God’s freedom, healing, power, and presence in your life. Find this life-changing book in eBook form for free on the Kindle Unlimited Plan or for 12.99 in print right here. (You can sign up for a free three-month Kindle Unlimited trial if you are not a member.) This book will transform your life and revitalize your relationship with the Lord!
Calling All Moms and Daughters!
Additionally, my 12-year-old daughter, Bekah, and I wrote a mother-daughter devotional book to help mothers and daughters grow closer together while connecting with God. Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith includes 60 devotions with Scripture, commentaries from both of us, conversation starters, and even a shared journaling section. Multitudes of mothers, daughters, mentors, and younger women are being transformed by this book! You can find this book in eBook form for free on the Kindle Unlimited Plan or buy a print copy for 11.99 right here.
