I came across a quote the other day that resonated in my soul and struck me to my core.

"Years may wrinkle your skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles your soul."

What is life if we don't live it with enthusiasm? What purpose or impact on the world do we have if we are not living our lives purposely and enthusiastically? As I look around at the lives of the people around me, it's astounding to see how many of us just go through life day to day doing what we have to do, checking items off of our to-do list, just trying to make it through the day instead of embracing life for the blessing it is! Too often I find myself living life with the "I have to..." mentality instead of the "I get to..." perspective. I'm constantly giving myself more things to do or tasks to complete than I can actually handle, but why? Why do we often think that the more we accomplish and experience the more of a fulfilled life we will have? The more I see myself doing that, my passion and enthusiasm for life grows dimmer and fades more and more away.

The realization of this fact has really made me re-evaluate how and why I do certain things. The more I sat and thought about it the more God began to press on my heart this truth:

What and who motivates me? Is it passion for God/to serve God, or is it a desire to be noticed and appreciated by others?

And then I heard Him whisper this, "Lea, is there anything you love enough to dedicate your entire being to it?"...WOW! I didn't know what to say or think....I just sat there stunned. I didn't know how to answer those questions. And then all of a sudden it hit me! One can't truly be happy in life if they are not dedicating themselves to their passion. As I sat there and began to think about what exactly I'm passionate about four things immediately came to my mind: 1) God, 2) Encouraging/Serving and reaching out to others, 3) Music, and 4) Children. I would say those are the things that I really have a passion in my heart for, and I think that anyone who really knows me probably already knew or had an idea that those areas are what make me tick and make me Lea. So for now on I'm going to start looking for ways to start living my passions and praying for God to show me my purpose and how to use them for Him. And I'll be sure to keep y'all updated on my journey through this as well....

How about you? What are you doing? Are you living your passion? What do you love? What really makes you excited and tick? The day each of us starts living life on purpose and full of passion and enthusiasm is the day that the world will be changed and people's lives will be touched...That's my challenge to myself the next few months/year/forever (haha) and I hope you challenge yourself as well...

Be prayerful about what you love and remember to keep your enthusiasm burning bright because your passion can be the match that lights a spark under someone else...

-Lea