At the Championship Cups awards ceremony in 1925, Eric Liddell (quoted in God’s Joyful Runner) said, “My motto in life has ever been, ‘If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing well.’”
The posts here at YLCF this month have shown a beautiful diversity of “doing” — and not only doing it well, but doing it with a purpose!
This month’s posts were just the beginning, though, to get you thinking about your passion, your purpose. Because now, it’s your turn: share the link to your blog post about your passion, or comment telling us about your passion and purpose. Not only will you find direction and clarity in putting your purpose into words, you’ll have a chance to win all sorts of fun prizes to aid you in pursuing your passion!
Olympic medalist Eric Liddell, when asked about the source of his athletic strength in tough races, replied:
“Why, it’s the three sevens, you know… Seventh book of the New Testament, seventh chapter, seventh verse: ‘But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that’.” (God’s Joyful Runner, page 55)
It’s a beautiful thing to see how God has given each of us a different identity, with a different passion, a different purpose. And yet we all share a unity because of the one purpose behind all of our passions: to give glory to God. Because every gift is from Him, and He is the source of the strength of our passions.
What is part of God’s purpose for you? How has He gifted you? What passion has He given you the talents and skills for? What is it you love to do for Him?
(YLCF does not necessarily endorse every blog or lifestyle portrayed in the above links.)
Passionate Team Posts
Chantel: writing
Danielle: authenticity
Elisabeth: writing
Elisabeth: helping
Gretchen: writing
Jennifer: theatre
Jeannie: heirloom crafts
Jessica: natural parenting
Katie: identity
Theresa: DIY projects
Passionate Guest Posts
Jessica Elisabeth: music
Trina Holden: food that heals
Jennifer Pinkerton: photography
Everly Pleasant: writing
Jennifer Straw: teaching
Abigail Westbrook: graphic design
Your Passion & Your Purpose
Identifying Your Passions
Purpose in Ordinary Days
Spoken Identity
the one purpose behind all our passions
Your deep gladness, His great purpose
Your God-Given Personality & Gifts
For Whom Do You Carry Your Stone?
(The link-up ended November 6, 2011. Our passionate readers shared their purposes in link-ups & comments for a chance to win one of five prizes…)
Purposeful Prize Winners
1. Because every passion requires a bag to carry all the tools of the trade…a $50 gift certificate from Marie-Madeline Studio! Awarded to Kristy, who lives to “impart a passion for Christian womanhood into the lives of the precious souls God has entrusted into her care.”
2. Because sometimes it helps to pursue your passion in style…a $20 gift certificate from Little Missy Kate’s: affordable, custom, hand stamped jewelery! The winner? Laura, who has three passions that drive her—writing, animals, and medical science.
3. & 4. Because every passion needs to be journaled…a Moleskine journal or notebook (up to $15 value) from The Book Depository…to both Jessiqua and Naomi. Jessiqua’s passion for writing has found purpose in writing novels; Naomi has learned to mold her passion for nursing around her lifestyle of motherhood.
5. Because pursuing hobbies can get your hands dirty…two bars of soap from “Delightful Soaps” Etsy Shop for Stefanie, whose passion is for her local church, for becoming a woman of God and serving Him in every aspect of Proverbs 31.
We’re grateful for our photographer, Jennifer Pinkerton, and graphic designer Abigail Westbrook, whose combined passions make such beautiful buttons for YLCF! And many thanks to the ladies of Marie-Madeline Studio for contributing part of the gift certificate!
){kind=link}
My Journey – Discovering My Passion
Ever since I was 14 I wanted to be a nurse or a midwife.
When I was 18, I had the opportunity to study nursing. Often, it was tough, but I loved it. I was passionate about it. I loved getting good grades (sometimes I was a bit too passionate about that part). I loved passing what knowledge I had on to other people.
I had big plans. I was going to India with my best friend and work in an orphanage there. I had a lot of other dreams as well, like going on one of the Mercy Ships for a year. After I had done all those other things, I would get married, have cute babies, and be a stay-at-home-mom.
God, however, had other plans.
The summer before I started my third and last year at St. Fransiscus for Nursing I started dating, and 2 weeks after I graduated I got married. 11 months after that I got a beautiful baby boy.
I did and still do love it. But after a while something started stirring. When my sister-in-law , who was also studying nursing, talked about apprenticeships and medical related things, I longed to be in that medical =world again. I missed it. I resented the fact that I couldn’t talk about it as much anymore – I had to face the fact that I was ‘out of it’.
I often wondered what my passion was. Was nursing my passion? How did that work, then? Since I couldn’t work as a nurse, did that mean I had no passion?
It made me feel uninteresting and useless. I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind.
Then I stumbled across YLCF again. My sister always read it but since I was obsessed with school I never made time for other things. The first post I read was ‘A Peek Into Your Passion’. A few days afterwards I read Identifying Your Passions.
This sentence struck me: ‘ In order to manage your passion in different seasons of life, you either mold your lifestyle around your passions or your passions around your lifestyle.’
I started thinking about it again. Nursing was my passion. Why? I loved the medical knowledge. I loved helping people. Solving things.
How can I mold my passion around my lifestyle?
I think I did find the answer.
I am very interested in herbs. I want to find out all the healing properties they have and use them.
I recently cured my 4 month old son’s thrush with baking soda in water. I am making my own cloth baby wipes, planning to cure any diaper rash that might come up with Tea Tree Oil, and a whole lot of other things.
It is so exciting to discover my passion, channeling it into ways that I can use it!
My first and most important duty and passion is being a wife. And have learned that God’s plan for me is not useless. If I let go of my own plans and dreams and embrace God’s path for me, I am being more useful then I could be any other way. But being a wife and mom does not mean I cannot be passionate about other things and use them to be a better housewife.
I have other interests like sewing, crafting, baking and reading.
For some of those things, I do not always have the time needed.Maybe someday when my children are grown up . But as much as I can, I do want to use my hobbies and passions for God’s glory. Use the gifts He gave me for Him. I can use them right here in my own home, and also for others.
I can use my love for crafts to bring joy to other people’s lives. Make and send cards to sick people.
I can use my knack for baking right here at home. I love experimenting with recipes. I love trying to bake good and healthy things. When I have time, I can make things for other people who are busy or not feeling well.
I can use my interest for sewing to make my family’s clothes.
I want to use my passions for a purpose, not just play around with them for my own reasons or ignore them!
Naomi, your real-life story of how you channeled your passion back into your season of life is very inspiring! Thank you for sharing.
I have more than one passion, but one that I have always had is to write. I have been writing since I was very little (my stories started out along the lines of “the dog is red”) and by six I was writing full short stories. When I was nine I wanted to publish a novel, and I have had that dream to this very day. I love writing! I think that if I can write stories with good values, messages, and morals that honour Christ, maybe I can inspire my readers to do the same with their own lives.
Another passion I have had since I was young is horses. I love horses…and when I was 10, I got my very first horse! I still have her to this day, and we do natural horsemanship. Horses can teach you so much about yourself, and I dream of possibly running a program from troubled teens one day where they can be with the horses and learn about themselves and God in the process.
Last but not least, I want to be a doctor. I love science, and I love the wonders of the human body. I want to help people, and I dream of becoming a missionary doctor and helping those who cannot afford or don’t have access to the medical care they need. I think that all three of these things are SO possible with God, and I want to glorify Him with all of my talents, every day of my life.
I have other passions, but they are more hobbies than anything…these three passions are the ones that really drive my heart. I am so glad that I have a great God to serve with all of the wonderful gifts he has given me. I learn everyday what it means to live completely and entirely for him…and I often fail at this. I squander my time, I squander my talents. But I have begun to see that this is not right, and to truly love God with all of my heart I must love Him with all of my time and talents as well. Thank you for you blog posts that have inspired me to become someone that mirrors His heart more completely.
I’m thoroughly enjoying all the lovely ladies posts about their passions!
One of my many passions in life is midwifery. I believe that midwifery is something God has called me to and I can see many ways that He prepared me for midwifery even before I knew what a midwife was. During the last 5 years since I started actively pursuing midwifery certification God has provided many opportunities for me to get the knowledge and skills I need and my passion for midwifery has grown.
I love midwifery. I love pouring over my textbooks studying and then writing out protocols, thinking through and putting into words information about different conditions and treatments. I love spending the day doing prenatal check-ups: seeing the glow on a pregnant woman’s face, hearing the excitement in her voice when she talks about her baby, palpating and feeling the position of a little baby who’s still in his mother’s womb, seeing the huge smiles on older siblings faces when they hear their baby brother or sister’s heartbeat for the first time, or listening while a mother shares about the stress she’s facing in life and then praying with her. I love being with women during labor: watching as husband and wife together go through an intense new experience and find new strength they didn’t know they had. (Okay, honestly, I don’t always love it when my phone rings at 1:30am calling me from my warm bed out into a cold snowy night, but it’s always worth it!) Of course, I love the amazing experience of receiving a new baby into my hands and watching the miracle of birth and seeing a baby open his eyes and take a breath. I love watching the parents’ amazed and joyful faces as they see and hold their child for the first time and hearing their surprised and excited exclamations as they discover if they have a son or a daughter. I love watching as older siblings shyly make their way into the room to see their little brother or sister for the first time and the big grins on their faces when they get to hold the baby. I could go on and on about all the aspects of midwifery I enjoy, but perhaps what I love the most is the opportunities I have to serve women and families.
My passion for midwifery has many different purposes; I’m sure I don’t even know yet all of the purposes that God has for my midwifery training. But right now one purpose is to make a difference in the lives of women and families in developing countries. Although the birth of a child should be a joyful and exciting event, for many women around the world childbirth is greatly feared because it is dangerous and there is a high risk of mother or baby or both dying. In many countries chronic malnutrition, lack of access to adequate healthcare, and not having a skilled birth attendant present at birth all contribute to increased complications. Consequently, mothers die during childbirth and babies never get a chance to live. Many of these deaths could easily be prevented through basic care and the presence of a skilled midwife.
It has been my prayer and a desire of my heart for many years that God would provide an opportunity for me to combine my passions of missions and midwifery. This year God answered my prayer and I am currently living in the Philippines volunteering at a birth center that provides free care to women during pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum. In addition, we are helping to train local midwives who will then be able to provide skilled care to other women. In the last 4 years over 800 babies have been delivered at this clinic by skilled midwives. I am very thankful that God provided this opportunity for me to increase my midwifery skills and knowledge and, at the same time, serve women and families in need and show them Christ’s love. I don’t know what all the future holds, but I know that God has purposes for my midwifery passion and I pray that I will use the knowledge and skills God has given me to serve Him by serving and ministering to other people in His name.