God-Given Passion

Those things that you are passionate about—reading, knitting, social media, music, horses, clothes, design—are these self-centered materialistic desires, or the whispers of God telling you how He wants you to pour out your life for Him?

If you’re like me, questions about the future plague you on an almost daily basis. My major dilemma over the past few years has been, “What will I do with my life? How does God want me to serve Him?”

Here comes the tension. It sounds “good” to be a missionary, but I've never felt a strong call to missions. It sounds “good” to be a doctor, but sickness and surgery doesn't appeal. It sounds “good” to be a social worker, diplomat, caretaker, foster mother, to take pleasure in going on youth missions or studying politics in order to make a positive difference in our world—but I don’t have a passion for any of those things.

LONDON :: telephone box, a photo by Crystian Cruz on Flickr.

What I do love is Great Britain. In fact, you might say that I’m obsessed with it. England in particular has always called to me. I love practically anything concerned with the country:  food, literature, people, history, architecture—it all enraptures me and makes my heart sing.

But it doesn't sound very holy. I have made plans to go on a lengthy (and expensive) trip to England next year, but I've wondered if that money would be better spent in an African orphanage, or urban outreach. It’s hard to think that something like my love for Britain could actually honor God.

 “Take delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” - Psalm 37:4

Something that I have learned from scripture, though, as well as from some fabulous mentors like Dan Miller and Donald Miller, is that God gave us passions. If you’re wanting God to speak to you, to say what He wants you to do with your life, how do you expect to hear Him? Are you listening for a voice? Looking for a message? Praying for a sign? Maybe He’s been speaking to you all your life and you've never even noticed.

He can speak to us through our passions.

God is not asking us to throw aside the things we love—He is the one who shaped our hearts in the first place! He is calling you and me to surrender our passions to His will, and then He can work through them to create something amazingly meaningful that we can find joy in. Have you heard of the two words that kill passion? Here they are: “ought to.” When choosing a ministry, career, or hobby, please don't do it out of a sense of sacrifice or obligation. Do it because it's fun. If you’re operating out of guilt, you’ll never be as effective as when your actions come from a spirit of love and genuine passion. Live your life story the way God wired you. 

How will God use my passion? I really don’t know. I've been writing a blog on Great Britain for several years, I've befriended a few Brits, and I plan to attend an English Bible college next spring. Perhaps something will come up while I’m there, I really don’t know. Until then, I’ll just submit my passion to God and watch what He does with it.

Do you feel like you have a selfish or useless passion? What are some ways God could use that for His glory?

Hobbies = Idols?

Happy Monday!

When asked to write this article, part of me shriveled into a wrinkly little bundle, while the other half was excited to share. Why? I am known for having many hobbies. Art, music, sports, hairstyling, writing -- you can catch me doing pretty much anything but dancing (in which I trip over myself. A lot). It’s just that for me, hobbies tend to become a distraction.With committing to so many different hobbies, it’s easy not have any time for the important things. Like living. 

Art is one of my very favorite hobbies of all time. I guess you could say I was born into it considering my mom is an art major, fanatic, and teacher. I love everything about art -- the gorgeous colors, pretty patterns, and the endless possibilities. But once I get started drawing or painting, I never want to stop. Its like I get lost in my own magical world and I don’t want to leave. 

But I have to stop and remember, hobbies are all about moderation. 

In Hebrews 12:1, the Lord says, “...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” God is telling us here to rid ourselves of distractions. 

**Cue the inevitable gasps of horror**

BUT WAIT! This doesn’t mean we have to stop doing things that we love, but that we need to remember to not let them become idols. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having hobbies. God does not say “thou shalt sit around and be bums.” In fact, He encourages us to have hobbies (Ephesians 9:10). 

The bottom line is that God commands us to put Him first (Exodus 20:3). Remember, in Matthew 6:24 the Lord reminds us that “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and [__insert hobby or addiction here__].”

God has gifted us with many talents that can be used for His glory. If you can sing, sing for His glory! If you can dance, dance to praise His name! If you write, write of His mercies unending! He has given us our hobbies. Let’s not put them to waste!

Ecclesiastes 9:10 (ESV)

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with [all of] your might...”

i do this thing

Since I was old enough to learn how words fit together, I have been a writer. My first foray was a rather dour children's book called "Dogs Don't Look Both Ways", which featured a rebellious puppy who runs away because his mother won't let him play outside. He ends up getting run over.

By a cat.

In a truck.

I was a rather disturbing child.

I've written novels, short stories, novellas, even taken a shot at a few nonfiction pieces (and failed utterly, but that's a whole 'nother can of worms). And I love it.

I love making a world, a set of people, come alive. There is something indescribably amazing about being able to turn an empty page into something that lives and breathes through the people it talks about--and while those people aren't real, they're able to navigate life with just as much chaos and uncertainty as I am, while managing to make me believe that it will all come right in the end.

It's a great power, being able to wordcraft. Think about the great books that still survive today. There's a reason some books are revered, because they make us feel things, and give us characters we can all love and look up to and, occasionally, detest a little bit, too. They teach us about the nature of life, of what it means to be human, of what it is to never give up hope, to persevere in the face of tragedy. Sometimes, they show us the opposite; what happens when we give up, when we find it impossible to keep going, when the chaos that threatens really does end up overwhelming us.

But either way, the written word teaches us things. It helps us to understand life in a thing outside of what is properly "real life". And I think that that gift, the power that goes with it, is given by God. And (at the risk of sounding really, really egotistical for a moment), it's a gift I believe I have, and that I think I have a responsibility to use it for good.

But I love it. And that's what makes it worth it, I suppose. Because if you can't love what you do in your down-time, what's the point of down-time?

This is the point where I'd love to hear from all of you. What are some of the things you enjoy doing in your down-time? Do you write? And if so, what? (Tell me, I won't steal your ideas. Maybe. No promises.)

"These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things......"

Hobby: n.,
1. an activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure
2. a pursuit outside one's regular occupation engaged in especially for relaxation

Hmmm...What do I do for a hobby? Well, I'm one of those that has several :] Kind of a "Jack of all trades but master of none." I love athletic hobbies that include: hiking/walking, canoeing/kayaking, skiing, skating, snowmobiling, horseback riding, traveling and shooting.  Yet I also enjoy hobbies that can be done inside the house as well, like: scrapbooking, card designing, knitting, weaving, making jewelry, sewing, pinning on pinterest :), reading, watching movies, listening to music, drawing and blogging. 

Could I choose a favorite? Probably not. Each one brings excitement to my heart at different times of the year and seasons of my life.  The exhilerating feeling that you get when you are swishing your way over a freshly groomed ski trail is like nothing I have ever done!  The feeling I get when I am ice skating is one that evades me most of the time; graceful.  Riding a horse in an arena and finally learning how to collect them (tuck there head and pay attention to me) and going from a walk to a canter in one step is something special every time. Hiking in the White Mountains during the autumn when the air is cool and crisp and seeing the glorious, brilliant fall colors of New England makes you feel glad to be alive.

What about feeling that soft fiber in your hand and watching a new pattern become visible as you knit a scarf.  Seeing a scrapbook page filled with pictures that all coordinate and bring back wonderful memories. Reading that thick book you have been saving for a day that implores you to sit by a woodstove with a cup of hot tea. Pinning those pictures on Pinterest that stimulate my creative juices or help me to dream or encourage my heart with special words. - It's amazing what a simple picture can do to stir the heart and its emotions. Picking up a set of knitting needles and remembering my Nana.  Sitting at a sewing table and thinking back to the first quilt I made with my Gramy. 

I think for me, a hobby is something that often times helps me to count my blessings and realize how much I have and how God has blessed me.  Hobbies are often times the way we express the extra special gifts God gives each of us.  Some people have been given opportunites to train under masters in music, art, a sport or something else and God is able to use the love for that interest in an incredible way. Some have just picked it up because they were interested.  Either way, God placed the interest and directed the love. 

What do you like to do?  What do your hobbies mean to you?  Did someone special teach you or is it something you just picked up?