You hit on a key to true joy in life - being who God created you to be. We spend so much time trying to figure out what we were created to be, and in that figuring we get mixed up with the world's ideas and expectations. Getting to know Christ leads to getting to truly know yourself. Once this happens, true joy comes when you live in who you were created to be. You don't have to figure it out because He already has it figured out for you. All you have to do is get close enough to Him to read the blueprint of you that he's holding. On a related note, I spoke on this at a Mother's Day brunch recently. Here's a link to the PDF on my church's women's ministry blog: http://www.newhopeladies.com/wp-content/uploads/2....

The best advice my mom ever gave me is to "be yourself and people can't help but love you." I know that comes from someone who loves me no matter what. But, I have focused on that so many times when I wasn't sure how to pursue something. I would remember her advice and be who God created me to be. That has never steared me wrong.

Yeah, I've been there. Refusing to quit was often what got me through the roughest of times. No matter how badly I felt and how depressed I became, refusing to quit life and hoping for joy again kept me alive. Literally. No matter how bad things seem, simply refuse to quit.