Calling vs. Task

Every day for the last two weeks I have wanted to sit down and blog, but for some strange reason every day I feel like I have writers block. It's not that nothing is happening in my life or in my head that I want to share. The inspiration to write just hasn't been there. But today I am determined to break the streak of non-writing. So bear with me as I try to explain what has been on my mind...

For the past seven weeks I have been going through a Bible Study by Beth Moore. The title is Jesus the One and Only. I LOVE it. Beth has a way of really digging deep and causing me to think and see things in scripture that I have never seen before. Recently I got stuck on the distinction she made between a CALLING and a TASK. A calling is an overall (usually lifelong) direction in life. It involved the skills, gifts, abilities, and passions that God gives us to fulfill the plan He has for each of our lives. A task however, is a specific (probably short term) objective that can be fulfilled as part of a calling. Disclaimer: these are my imperfect and not comprehensive definitions. Christ called His disciples to follow him and spread the Gospel, and make disciples. He also gave them immediate tasks. We as Christians often confuse the two. God doesn't call us to be surrendered to an assignment. He calls us to be surrendered to Him. So I find myself pondering my calling and my immediate task. Beyond being surrendered to Christ, I can say with a fair amount of certainty that my calling is to minister to the orphans and the widows; to be a helping hand and an advocate for the poor and oppressed. That is what grips my heart. That is where my compassion lies. That is what pulls my heartstrings and fills me with passion. I read articles, I listen to sermons, I watch videos, I see pictures, I pour over blogs, and my heart breaks. My soul fills with longing. My mind gets overloaded with desire to help, to reach out, to love, to share Jesus, but I so often feel that I don't know exactly what to do with all these feelings. This so-called Christianity that I've grown up in-this sub-culture of American, feel good, self-centered, Christian religion that I have been surrounded by my whole life is wrong. I daily see that being surrendered to Christ, believing the Gospel and responding to it requires radical change and commitment. It's hard. It's ugly. It's uncomfortable. It's smelly. It means going against the flow. It's easy for me to say that is what I want. It's harder to believe it with my whole heart and live it out. So I guess my calling becomes more and more clear, but the specific task before me looms as a big question mark. Lord here I am. Send me.

As I wait for the Lord to direct me to the next "major task" (aka job/ministry) I wake up every day with anticipation. He's been faithful to give me small tasks (and some potential bigger ones soon) that are in line with His calling on my life. Whether it is baking brownies for the new family down the street, being willing to serve wherever needed at church, helping my busy family by cooking and cleaning, giving someone a ride to Bible study, talking to the person behind me in line at the grocery store...it's days full of little things that matter. Whether you know your calling in life or not, make every day count. The way we spend our moments is the way we spend our lives.

What Makes a Good Friend

What makes a good friend??? As I ponder this question I realize that we often don't recognize what we appreciate about a person until they are absent from us. Over the years I have come to make a mental list of the things that make a really good quality friend...someone who is loyal, like-minded, passionate about the same things, enjoys life the same way, makes me laugh, brings out the best in me, encourages, loves unconditionally through the good times and the hard times, is comfortable to be with, challenges me, someone I can talk with constantly or enjoy silence with. These are just a few of the things I can think of. It is rare to find such a lifelong friend. As I have read back through old journals from junior high and high school this week I have seen how many good friends I've had that have come and gone. They were best friends for a season and then life drew us apart and we moved on. The last few months my family has laughed at me because I say that most of my friends live in the computer (aka they live far away and I can only keep in touch with them through the computer). This last week however, God blessed me with a visit from my kindred spirit, Laura. As we toured together with the African Children's Choir I gradually saw that she would be one of those rare lifelong friends. Everything is better with Laura by my side. Every day this past week was full of treasured memories, as I showed her around my home state of Oregon and introduced her to the people and places that shaped my childhood and my life.

We climbed Roxyanne...

We enjoyed the breathtaking sights at Crater Lake...

We picnicked at Mill Creek Falls...

We cooked lots of new recipes and drank lots of tea...

This week I am thanking the Lord for good friends and the way He uses them to influence my life. If you have such a friend in your life remember to tell them how much you love them and appreciate them. You can never say it too much!