Passion vs Purpose – 2

Teachers plan for lessons every day. We are given a list of standards that tell us what our students should know, and it is our challenge to come up with different strategies to teach those standards. An effective teacher will use several strategies to teach one standard. Some students will understand by you just explaining it to them. Others will need you to demonstrate what you are trying to teach. Some students need to be engaged in an activity where they can figure out for themselves what you are trying to explain and demonstrate.

Any teacher will tell you that there is no one way to teach anything – there are thousands of ways. It is a teacher’s challenge to find that ONE strategy that will click in each student so that every child understands all the standards. Teaching is NOT for the weak at heart.

I remember trying to explain enharmonic notes on the music staff and piano. (Enharmonic is just a fancy way of saying “the same pitch from a different perspective and different name”, for example, D sharp is the same pitch as E flat.) No matter what I did for this class, I had about 3 to 4 students that just didn’t get it and I couldn’t move on until everyone understood. I pulled out the piano to show them. I drew it on the board to explain it. We went to music websites that explained it. I had other students to come up and “translate” for me. We even watched YouTube videos about enharmonic notes. Finally, exhausted and out of ideas, I pulled a chair to the front of the class and plopped down on it. The conversation that followed went like this:

Who am I?

Mrs. Fuller

What does my daughter call me?

Mommy.

What does my mother call me?

Traci.

What do you call me again?

Mrs. Fuller!

Am I the same person?

Yes!

EXACTLY! I am ENHARMONIC!! I am the same person with different names! It all depends on the perspective or position.

Every face lit up! They got it! That was the “ah-ha” moment for them “whew” moment for me!

On yesterday, I had a reader contact me about Monday’s post on Passion vs Purpose. “I still don’t get the difference”, she said.

The truth is, for some people, there is little difference in passion and purpose. They have managed to take their passion and move it into their purpose. For others, they may be passionate about many things but have yet to apply one passion into a single purpose. And some people have not discovered or pinpointed what they are passionate about.

“What if I’m passionate about more than one thing“? Welcome to the club! Most people have more than one passion. I love to write, sing, teach, sew, craft, cook (or at least collect recipe books), and so much more! When I have time to do any one of these passions, I do it wholeheartedly! Ecclesiastes 9:10 says:

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom. (NIV)

When we look at this text, it is a somber yet a very real thought that one day we will die and we will not have a chance to do the things we are passionate about. We can look woefully at this thought or we can look at it from the perspective that we are given RIGHT NOW to live passionately and with all our might! Time is a-ticking! Get busy with your passion and use it with PURPOSE!

Purpose?

Purpose.

What is our purpose? On Monday, I explained that purpose serves God. It gives arms and legs to our passion. But what does that mean? It simply means that whatever we do, we should do it to honor God. If you know that you can bake a mean pound cake (which, by the way, I am still trying to get right – so if you have any pointers, let me know), bake a cake for your neighbor, and put them on your prayer list. Let them know you are thinking about them and that you care. If you know that you are disciplined to get up and run every morning, call or text your friend that struggles with that discipline, but you know they want to start an exercise routine. See if they would like to join you, or just let them know that you are running that morning with them on your mind.

Colossians 3:23 says:

23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters (NIV)

Our purpose is to serve God! Whatever it is that we choose to do, He wants us to do it with all our heart for His glory, and not for man’s glory. We all may have more than one passion, but our purpose for existing is to worship our Heavenly Father. We can do that every day with the things He has gifted us with, and we can share those gifts with others. We should walk with passion and purpose DAILY!

Most of us are “enharmonic notes”. I am Traci the writer, the teacher, the singer, the crafter, the baker, but I am the same Traci, and my purpose is to honor God. What is your passion and purpose?

Little POW-wow (Pearls of Wisdom)

• Most people have more than one passion and sometimes our passions vary. Perhaps your passion is not a physical passion like writing or singing. Maybe you are extremely passionate about seeing lives change through ministry or you really enjoy praying for individuals in your quiet time with God. Those are passions too and the world needs people with those passions like never before. Honor God with those intangible passions.

• If you have not pinpointed your passions yet, don’t stress out about it! Work from purpose! If you are not a part of a church or congregation, JOIN ONE and get busy working in a ministry!

• Some passions are discovered through purpose. Sometimes we don’t know what we like until we are put to the task of doing it. So, next time you are asked to step out of your comfort zone, try it! You may be pleasantly surprised at a new gift God wants to reveal to you.

Tune My Heart

Spensha Baker is probably most known for winning fourth place in the fourteenth season of “The Voice” at the age of 25, but she has been singing since she was 11 years old. She performed on Star Search and even at the White House for President George W. Bush.

At the age of 14, she recorded the song “Purpose” from her album OUTLOUD! released in 2008. The words are simple but beautiful and it is my go-to song when I need to remember why I am here. Enjoy!

photo by Franck V. on Unsplash