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When I was young, I was always talking about what I wanted to be when I grew up. As I began to mature in my faith, the question changed. What does God want me to do with my life?
I've always had a desire to teach. As I finished high school and went into college, God directed that desire towards teaching his Word. I got my BA in Bible and went on to get my MA in Old Testament Studies. I knew there was a strong chance that I'd be home with kids at some point in my life. I knew that would probably be sooner rather than later so I looked at my education this way: I want to go as far as I can now, so I'm ready for whatever God has for me later in life. I also knew that I had to be content with only using my education for teaching my children to know God and make Him known. That alone was a worthy pursuit and worth the time (and money) I put into my higher education.
A large part of formal education is to help us figure out two essential things:
- Who am I?
- What does God want me to do with my life?
Education doesn't end when we leave school. Education is a life-long pursuit. We should always before learning and growing. We should continue to ask who am I and what does God want me to do with my life.
A lot of changes have taken place in me and my family in the last several years. A diagnosis of depression. Leaving my job. Adding children to our family. Homeschooling. Starting this blog, a business, and another blog. Moving across the country for the second time. Through things like this in our lives, we grow and we change. I know I have.
It's always good to take a step back regularly to rediscover who I am and what God wants me to do. I've been doing this lately. I'm naturally a researcher so I want to share with your some of the resources I've been using to find the answers to these questions for myself.
The Bible
This should be obvious, but when I'm feeling lost, I don't always run to the book I know has the answers. I decided to start this year by reading the Bible in 100 days. Cover to cover. Beginning to end. Reading through the Bible in such a short span of time helps you see the bigger picture of God's plan.
Books
I'm reading two books right now that I've found helpful:
I picked up Make it Happen on a whim. I saw a friend reading it and raving about it so I picked it up. I wasn't familiar with Lara before that, but her story in Make It Happen has resonated with where I am in life. Her questions will make you think about who you are and what God wants you to do with your life.
Sally's book Own Your Life is one that I've been anticipating the release of for a while. I love Sally and all of her resources. She's been a mentor from a far in many ways. This book has been no different. In this book she encourages women to take control of their lives. The stories and Scripture are inspiring. The questions at the end of the chapters have been helpful.
Courses
For the past couple of years, I've been slowly on a quest to simplify my life. The stuff and the constant busyness has made me weary. Tsh Oxenreider's book Notes from a Blue Bike helped me start thinking through what simplicity looks like for my family.
Tsh has released an online course called Upstream that takes the ideas in her book to the next level. It's mostly short audio sessions from Tsh plus sound bites from people who personify what she talks about in the lesson. And there's journaling pages too. I'm several lessons in and loving the journey so far. I wasn't sure that I'd like audio teaching, but been a good format.
Don't Stop Learning
Whatever you do, don't stop learning. Life is a continual process of self discovery. It's a continual process of God discovery. He wants us to know who we are and what he wants us to do with our lives.
Here's a fun quiz to give you an idea of your Myers-Briggs personality type:
Share with me in the comments: How have you found yourself changing? How do you figure out who you are? How do you figure out what God wants you to do?
