Same blog, New website

Hey everyone! I have moved "Finding Your Purpose and Fulfilling It" to a new blog website. I still have the same blog except the link is now http://allisonwheatley.weebly.com! Please take time to check it out, I am super excited about the set up of my new blog. There is also a page for prayer requests now so please if you have any fill it out and I will pray for you! God bless you!

God Has A Plan

We all have a distinct purpose for our lives. It may be a leadership role, or it may be to work in the background. However, our purpose is very important. Many times we walk through life searching for the plan and purpose that God has in store for our lives. But we never give God a chance to guide us towards our purpose. Instead of taking the time to stop and listen for what God is trying to tell us, we continue to talk and ask God to listen to what we have to say.

There have been many times where instead of allowing God to speak into my life I let the world drown out His voice. Because of that I went down this painful and destructive path that led me farther away from God every single day. For years I did many things that are against what the Bible tells us, and I had this huge chunk in my heart that I wanted filled but everything I put my life into could not fill that emptiness I felt. Eventually down the road, I got my head on straight and I knew I needed to make a change and keep that change. It was not easy, but letting go of everything that was dragging me down was the best for me. I stopped doing everything that I was doing before and I slowly got to point where God was leading me.

The relationship that I have with Jesus Christ, is so much more important to me than anything else. It's never easy letting go and giving God full control, but it is totally worth it! God filled that emptiness that I felt for so many years. No, my life is not perfect and I still mistakes and have days where I feel unworthy of God's love. However, every day I am praising God for the good and the bad. I'm learning slowly how wonderful God is and how on time He is with His planning.

I know I have said this before but God has a plan for each of our lives. He loves you and He loves me so much that He gave His only son to die on a cross for our sins. Those filthy sins that keep us wrapped up in bondage, Christ died on a cross for those. Not only so we could have life, but so we could see living proof that God loves us unconditionally no matter what we do or how badly we sin. He is there for us in the good and the bad times, and even though we do not deserve His love He shows it to us anyways because we are His children. Each and every one of us, it does not matter what race or color we are, or who we are. God loves us.

I challenge you today to find someone during this week who you don't know and pray for them. Ask them if they have any prayer requests and just take time to listen and allow God to guide you. You will be amazed at the results. I will also be doing this challenge, so let God show you how great He is and how amazing His work is. God bless you!

God's Plan Is Greater Than Our Own

When we are at different stages of our life, we have many different expectations that we wish to uphold. As a child, life was much more simple than it is now as an adult in college. My main concern as a little girl was what I would wear to school, what types of meals I would eat, and which toy to play with. But as I have grown so have my choices. For instance, now that I'm in college I must decide where I'm going to live, which classes I need to take each semester, how I'm going to pay for it and much more. The choices are overwhelming. However, despite each stage of my life and the choices I must choose from, there is one thing that has been consistent throughout my life and that is God. As a child He was there guiding me, just like He is now. Showing me the way, helping me find where I belong and leading me towards the plan that He has planned for me.

What's cool is that He is doing the same for you. He has been there for every stage of your life. Even when you didn't have a personal relationship with Him.

The thing is, God loves us and He wants the best for us. Just like parents want the best for their children. God has a plan and a purpose for our lives. He knows what's ahead while we do not, and He helps guide us through every rainbow and storm that we encounter in life. Something that has been on my mind the past few days is that many times when we have the choice of following God's plan for us we often choose our own idea of a life plan. We don't give God the opportunity to work in our lives because we allow the world to let us think that God's plan is no plan. God's plan for our lives is much more beneficial for us than our own. God knows what's ahead of us, while we do not because we are blind to the future. I'm speaking from experience that God's plan overpowers any plan that we might have in mind for ourselves.

It's time that we stop living lukewarm for Jesus, and we get fired up. Instead of keeping Jesus locked away in a box for your own convenience, give Him the opportunity to work in your life every single day. Because He will make a difference!

One Man Who Ultimately Changed The World

It's funny how life works. Time flies by so quick, and we deal with each day like we are in a hurry to get it over with. Time is so precious, the memories that we make and the moments that we have with others. It's priceless. However, we don't take advantage of the time we have on this earth. Every day is a day closer to the end of the race. Instead of living our life to the fullest, we let life take advantage of us.

Personally, I feel that there are a lot of people who allow their past to determine their future. We look at everything we have done wrong and we blame ourselves. Yes, we are going to be at fault for our mistakes, however, there is hope. There have been moments in my life when I didn't think I was going to make it to where I am now. I have lived my life in fear, sadness, anger, but also happiness and joy.

There is hope!

We all make mistakes, but why should we let those bad choices determine our final destination. God is there, even in the moments when it seems that He is not listening, or when we feel that He doesn't understand. He understands. You see, He sent His only son to die on a cross for our sins so that we didn't have too. God didn't have to do that because if you realize the amount of sin our nation produces daily, it's hard to understand why God would spare His only son for us. However, He sent His son to die on that wooden cross because He loves us unconditionally. Every sin that we have committed, every negative thought that has crossed our minds, Jesus died on the cross for all of that.

It was only one man.

One man who ultimately changed the world. One man who was brutally beaten and treated like dirt. One man who is known as the Son of God.

There have been many people in this world who have disowned God, people who do not believe because they don't understand the capacity that God and His son hold in the world, because they don't want to be controlled by religion.

We must understand that God is here to help us. His son was brutally beaten, His son bled, died, and rose from the grave three days later for us. We will never deserve what God has done for us. But each and every day that we spend our life praising Him and trusting Him, believing in Him, and allowing Him to lead us is when we will see a difference in our lives.

God is the answer when everything in your life going good, and when everything in your life is going bad.

God Is There

One of my favorite scriptures in the Bible is, Isaiah 62:3, "You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God."

This scripture holds a lot of meaning in my life. It describes the love that God has for me, and how He thinks I'm beautiful and worthy.

For a few days it's been on my heart to share with you part of my story and testimony. When I was fourteen I started to struggle with my body image. Despite the fact that I was a healthy and beautiful teenager, I felt fat and ugly. Those ideas that the devil was placing into my mind led me down a road of destruction. I then started to stop eating every other day or so, and eventually it turned into me starving myself days at a time. Sadly it became a habit, and I became addicted to the empty feeling that anorexia gave to me. I suffered from anorexia nervosa for six months. It was a long and painful period of time that included depression, suicidal thoughts, and more. I felt empty and worthless, and I hated myself.

I then attended a local church camp the following summer. The last church service of the week the preacher asked the group of campers if any of us had anything holding us back from the presence of God. He then told us that if we wanted to get rid of the chains that were bounding us and tearing us away from Christ, for us to come up to the front. As I walked to the front of the building I gave my eating disorder over to God, and I could feel the weight of this disorder lift from my shoulders. The following morning I ate breakfast, and even though to some people that's not a big deal, I rejoiced. It took me a while after that night at camp to fully be able to eat three meals a day, it was a learning process but over the course of time God helped me reach that point.

To this day I still struggle with my eating habits, I may eat three meals one day and the next I may only eat one or two but I know that God is with me. He reminds me every day of the reason why I gave my eating disorder over to him all those years ago at that camp service, because I wanted to be free from that disorder. It's not God who allows me to struggle, it's the devil because he knows that it's something I struggle with more than anything else.

Message to my readers:

We all have a story to share, and a testimony of what God has done in our lives. What I have shared with you today is only part of mine, but I felt in my heart that it was the part I needed to share at this moment. We will each have our ups and downs in life, and we will each have our doubts and fears but God is there. It does NOT matter the time or hour, God is there and He loves all of us so much. That's why He sent his son to die on the cross for our sins. Whatever you are dealing with today, give it to God and let Him take care of it. Let Him show you all of the wonderful things He can do for you, and remember that He has a plan for your life. Never doubt what God can do, because what is impossible with man is possible with God!

Am I Worthy?

Am I worthy?

A question that is asked so many times that I cannot tell you the actual number.

I was raised in church, my whole life has been centered around church and I can tell you for a fact that I have struggled over that same question, I still do.

Am I worthy of His love? Am I worthy to be a part of this church?

Time and time again I have asked myself these questions, searching for an answer.

We are not worthy when we are following what the world has to offer us. Every day we sin, and those sins do not make us worthy of His love, but when we repent and ask for forgiveness that makes us worthy of His love.

Feeling worthy in a church family is a difficult question for me to answer. With my experience in church, there is always going to be people who will try to make your church experience bad. But you cannot let those bad experiences get in the way of what really matters. Which is praising God and growing closer to Him. Church is a way for us to stay on the right path, and stay focused on God. Not for us to disown members of our church family because we think they don't qualify.

Everyone qualifies for church. It does NOT matter what your past looks like, or the clothes that you wear, or how you praise God. You are worthy to be a part of a church family, and NEVER let anyone tell you otherwise.

Romans 8:18 says, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us."

Every situation that you are going through, every time that you feel unworthy, remember that despite everything we suffer today and tomorrow it will never compare to the glory of being reunited with God in Heaven.

To my readers:

I pray that God will bless each of you abundantly and that every trail and situation you are going through, you will find peace, and be given hope.

When God Speaks

When God speaks to our hearts, we must listen.

When I decided to make a blog, it was more than a feeling it was like God was calling me toward something greater than myself.

This past December, I was messing around trying to come up with a name for my blog. For weeks I had nothing, then I began typing my story and how God saved me in my darkest times on my laptop. In that moment, I felt God place the name of my blog on my heart, Finding Your Purpose. But I had no idea it was only half of the name God had in mind for my blog.

The day that I made my blog I was so excited, because I already knew the name I was going to use. I typed in Finding Your Purpose, and apparently someone else was already using that title and I started to freak out. I started to ask God what I needed to do, while trying to find another name for my blog.

That's when everything got so much better. While I was worrying, God already knew the name I needed to use. That's when God placed the word fulfill on my heart, and I couldn't get over how much meaning and power that word held and that's when I knew in my heart what I needed to call my blog.

I typed in Finding Your Purpose and Fulfilling It, and thankfully no one else was already using that name. In that moment, my heart was filled with so much happiness.

Message to my readers:

It's very important that we listen to God when He is speaking to us. It can be about some of the simplest things, like me trying to find the name for my blog. To God it doesn't matter what it is, when He is calling you towards something He means business. He has an amazing plan for each of us, and we are all destined for greatness.

Finding Prince Charming

My whole life I have dreamed constantly about finding my "prince charming." As a young child it was based off of the disney princess movies that I watched, but as I grew up what I longed for changed.

When I was in elementary school, my prince charming consisted of a cute boy in my class who would call me his girlfriend and play on the monkey bars with me at recess.

Once I made it to middle school, I dreamed of greater things, like having a boyfriend on Valentine's day so I could get a box of chocolates.

I finally reached the time of my life where I was that grouchy but loving high schooler. And I did meet someone, an amazing sweet guy who at the time was my "prince charming." He was everything I ever dreamed of having. We dreamed of marriage and a future with each other, and it was more real than anything else I had ever experienced. But falling in love at a young age is difficult. It's a 50/50 chance, and unfortunately it didn't last.

I'm in college now, and I haven't met a guy who I can call my "prince charming." I can barely find a guy who acts like a godly gentleman. However, I know that he's out there.

Over the years, what I have looked for in a guy has changed. I am less concerned about finding the "perfect" guy to spend the rest of my life with, or getting a box of chocolates on Valentine's day. I have not lowered my standards, I just expect more because I am in the real world now, and every decision matters.

The thing is, we're all searching for something great to add into our lives. For me, that's finding a guy to spend the rest of my life with. But it's different for everyone. We try so hard to make our plan for our lives work, when we need to follow God's plan instead and let Him lead us. It does not matter how much we try to shape our lives into that "perfect" image, we will fail because it's impossible to accomplish. Only God is perfect, and we can try to strive for perfection but we will never reach that point, because we were never meant to be perfect.

Cinderella

At a very young age I became obsessed with the disney princesses, because what girl doesn't want to be a princess? It seemed logical to me. The first princess that I dreamed of becoming was Cinderella. I remember back when I was a little girl and my family was outside playing in the yard. I didn't want to go outside, because I was cleaning! For everyone who personally knows me, cleaning is not my favorite thing to do, so it was a complete shocker when my parents came in and saw me cleaning our kitchen floor with a wet wash cloth with a bucket of soapy water beside me. Does any of that sound familiar? YES! It came from the disney movie, Cinderella. The point of my childhood memory is that at a very young age I dreamed of becoming someone else. Now there is nothing wrong with disney princesses, they are all great. However, my point is that we spend our whole lives dreaming of becoming someone else, instead of accepting who we are. God created us differently, so what may be my greatest feature may not be yours. But we are all unique in our own ways. So why do we bother dreaming of becoming someone else? Because we are filled with insecurity from everything that the world puts in front of us. In the Bible, 1 John 2:15-17 tells us:

"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world-the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life-is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with it's desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever."

When we allow the garbage of the world to get into our lives, we are disobeying God but we are also making it hard for ourselves. Everything that the world dishes out to us is sugar coated, because you have to be able to sell the product. People don't realize that consequences come with our actions, and what may seem like a good thing can cause a lot of pain if we are not careful. So when we are not content with ourselves, we are allowing the world to take a hold of every insecurity that we have, and dish it right back to us in a larger and more powerful form.

So the next time that you catch yourself dreaming of becoming someone else keep in mind, that YOU are perfect the way that you are. You do NOT need to change, and that YOU are special in God's eyes.

Hello, my name is Allison.

Hey everyone! Welcome to my blog, Finding Your Purpose and Fulfilling It!

I have been dreaming about creating a blog for a few months now, and I am so pumped that I finally get to make that dream come true! My soul purpose in this blog is to help you find your purpose in life and help you find ways to fulfill that purpose. The subjects that I will cover will vary but my goal is to encourage everyone who reads my blog. Stay tuned for more!