Where-o-where did the JoyNews Monthly go? Before I tell you why you haven’t seen JoyNews in your mailbox for a while, let me first apologize for not letting you know in advance, that we would be taking this short break and changing our schedule. Most of us receive so many emails, newsletters, e-zines, devotionals, and more that our email boxes are 
overflowing. That is one reason I’ve decided to visit with you through JoyNews once a quarter instead of every month.
But overflowing mailboxes are not the only reason for this change. Sometimes life has a way of sneaking up on you, giving you lots of surprises, and changing your plans without even asking you first. That’s exactly what happened to me in the past few months, and I’ll tell you ~ it’s been an adventure!
Adventure ~ I love that word. I have understood it particularly well these days, as God has taken my coaching career on a new turn. As most of you know, I am a Certified Professional Life Coach, and through Joy on Purpose Life Coaching, work with people who are searching for JOY in the midst of difficult life circumstances. That is my passion and what I truly believe is my “calling.”
Yet, God has also given me a love for technology. Before I began my Life Coaching career, I worked for many years in the corporate Information Technology world, and still have a bit of the ‘techno-geek’ in me! And so… as only God can, He has woven my two loves together and my newest adventure began late in 2012 with a new division of Joy on Purpose Life Coaching called CoachTech Services. I won’t take a lot of time to explain it all here, but you can go to my new website at www.CoachTechServices.com and learn all about the technology services I am now offering to Coaches, Counselors and other Entrepreneurs.
But let’s get back to Adventure! As I began the journey through this new chapter of my life, I couldn’t help but feel like I was walking one-day-at-a-time with God right by my side. I’d get up, sit in my cozy chair to journal and have my morning visit with God, and I’d say, “OK Lord… what are we supposed to do today?” And the amazing opportunities that were placed before me could only have come from the hand of a loving Father!
I was a number of months into my latest adventure with God, when the movie The Hobbit was released ~ a wonderful story of adventure. It clearly demonstrates the truth that we are all called to an adventure ~ even those of us who are a lot like hobbits and would much rather stay in our safe, secure, unchanged world and let someone else go on the adventure ‘thank you very much!’ (Click on the image to see a sneak preview!)
But when we say YES… oh how our world changes! Life begins to have purpose and passion and excitement and yes, even danger. Because you see, adventures ~ especially adventures with God ~ are never safe! Yet they always fulfill a purpose that is far greater than our own, and that makes them so worth the risk. (Click Here to listen to my latest message to the women’s ministry of my church on this very topic!)
I have personally experienced an incredible adventure in my own journey with God. And it was the joy and privilege of being called to adventure that I was reminded of so clearly as I sat watching the opening scenes of The Hobbit. My husband probably thought I was a bit crazy when I cried with joy and excitement as I felt the passion, the exhilaration and even the fear that Bilbo Baggins ~ the Hobbit ~ and I shared. My heart raced as I watched him run past his comfortable ~ safe neighbors calling out, “I’m going on an adventure!” Bilbo Baggins’ adventure took him to far-away places, battles and treasures. Mine has taken me to much the same.
My adventure has allowed me to follow my passion through Life Coaching. But nothing could be more exciting than the latest adventure God has placed in front of me, and that is to speak and teach the women of His church. I love the way God works. He prepares us even as children, for the work He will give us ~ sometimes work He plans for us to begin long after we think we’ve reached the ‘prime’ of our lives! And so it is with me ~ at 61, here I am speaking to groups, teaching the Word of God, writing Bible Studies and doing things I NEVER dreamed possible.
The little girl, whose favorite Christmas gift was her chalk-board ~ who stood ‘teaching’ her dolls and stuffed animals every day after school and all summer long in the ‘classroom’ she created in the basement ~ is still here. God has fulfilled this little girl’s dream in a way far greater than any I could have ever imagined. I get to teach HIS children! And soon, I will be teaching His daughters on a mission trip in Trinidad. I will be speaking for a women’s retreat, to women from many local Trinidad churches, in a place I never dreamed I’d go ~ much less with an assignment to do His work. OK Lord… another ADVENTURE. I’m ready.
What adventure is God is calling you to? What has He prepared you for your whole life? What are you just an inch away from ~ if you only had the courage to say YES? Like Bilbo Baggins, the Hobbit, are you fighting to stay safe in your cozy little home, or your safe corporate job? Oh my friends… say yes to the adventure! Your life ~ and the lives of others ~ will never be the same!
