Live a Life of Purpose

I am passionate about helping others find and live their life of purpose. God loves it when we are living in our purpose- He gave it to us! We should strive to find and live the purpose He gave us from before we were born.

A few years back, I and my kids, were on a virtual school field trip somewhere. Sitting with some of the parents at lunch, listening to the conversation, of course, the discussion came around to our kids. One of them, a father told us that he wanted his boys to just play and enjoy their teen years because soon enough they would have to start working and be miserable for the next 40 years. 

I couldn’t help it. The words just shot out of my mouth. 

Why do you have to equate a job with misery? Why in the world would you stay in a job that is not fulfilling and enjoyable?

He said some things in return- basically rebuking me. But, I didn’t give up. I told him that the job you were in SHOULD be something you love and enjoy because you have to do it for 40 or so years. Teach your children to enjoy work. They would be doing it every day for much of their lives. A job does not have to be drudgery and why should it be? 

He was not happy with my response, and I felt bad later for being so blunt and direct, but I have never seen that person again. I only had one shot. While, I do not recommend that method, I do often tell people to find their passion and live it. Work it. Do it. Find the life you love and live it. I equate Passion with living the life of purpose. I believe that is part of living the life of purpose- operating within the passion that God has placed inside you. 

What does “Live your Purpose” Mean to Me??

The father in the story I shared, was clearly not living in his passion or his purpose or he would have been much happier. He could have used the teen years for his boys teaching them to find joy in work no matter what the job might be. To find the job that makes them happy using the gifts and talents that God deposited in them before they were born. 

As a parent, I believe very much so that our children need to learn to enjoy work. That is not the only thing I associate with living a life of purpose, but, when you think about your career or your life, working is a huge part of our adult lives.  

I train my kids to understand that doing their school work IS the most important job they have. That is their job as kids in school. Of course, they do have chores and most have had jobs by the time they were 14 or so. All of them have spent time working at the shop. In their teen years, as they are finishing up High School, we begin to talk about what they want to do after high school. Each one has taken a different path according to their gifts. In particular, I have 4 that are currently following their passions. 

Some of My Kids’ Journeys

My oldest son has always loved math. He didn’t love working with his father at the Auto repair shop, but he did love welding and working with metal. He finished his schooling at high school where he was able to do some student teaching with the welding teacher and also began working at a factory nearby in the machining department. As a result, he is now working as a tool and die man in another factory in the area. When it comes to his job, he is incredibly detail oriented and, in his previous job, was consistently given the “problem pieces” to repair. 

My 3rd child, my daughter, has always had a passion for animals. Of all kinds. Currently, she is a dog groomer who loves to get into the creative grooming side of it. Her white dogs are dyed all sorts of colors and designs- a bright pink poodle. A pumpkin colors, candy canes, polka dots…… She is also a Certified Holistic Equine Dentist. I have pictures of a sedated horse standing quietly while my daughters hand is up to her elbow inside a horses mouth…….. 

My 4th child, my son, works with my husband at the auto repair shop. I have another son who works at the auto body shop, but this one, I believe, is truly living his passion. He has worked at the auto repair shop ever since he could. He, like his father, has a gift for working on cars but this son is also very good with people. People of all ages are drawn to him- he has people stop in and bring him gifts that they bought specially for him! He is not yet fulfilling his passion to the fullest, but he will. I believe he is on his way to it. 

And then, my 6th child, also a son, is in college working on his degree. When he started college, he was going for a theater major. He is a talented actor.  Science and math are also strong gifts in him. Does not get that from me, thats for sure. He is pursuing a Biology major with a chemistry minor. I am not sure where he will go with that, but I believe he is living within his purpose and will eventually find his passion. 

My Struggle to Find My Purpose

Finding my place in life has been a bit of a struggle. In my 20’s, with 5 small children, I still felt like I needed to choose a career to be “when I grow up”. Funny. I knew I was a Mom, with no time to go to school for any kind of career, but I felt like I wanted to be something else. Especially after 4 more babies came, I was too busy raising them to be anything else but a Mom. 

At one point, I read a book called “The Dream Giver”. The book was about living your purpose and finding the dream that God put in you. I angrily threw it across the room one night. It had been a difficult few days and I had no idea how in the world I would be able to live my own dreams. Todd, my husband, got to live in his purpose and dream. My kids, could be directed towards their purpose and passions to live their dreams. Me? Nope. 

Once I hit 50, I finally realized I WAS a grown up!!  But, I knew there was something more for me than being a Mom and Gramma. I have so many passions that it has been hard for me to figure out what my life of purpose truly is. Sure- it is bringing 9 kids to adulthood. For sure that is my first job. 

One passion is writing, mostly just things in my journals. The Lord started talking to me about writing stories. So I started doing that. I have a whole bunch of stories to write and I write on my blog page. 

The family unit is a passion of mine: I want families to be healthy and strong. To grow together in unity and love. My desire is to see the family unit working as it should. 

Food is a big part of my passions- good food is so important. Food, good healthy food makes a difference in how we feel and consequently, in how we behave. We can grow healthy children and then healthy families with good healthy food.

I have been on a health journey for the last 5 years that really started 25 or so years ago. I began to look into natural health and essential oils. Holistic Health is a huge passion of mine as well. 

My passion also is in raising animals for meat or eggs, part of my desire for good food. 

And Horses….. because, well… horses. My daughter and I connect over horses. She and I share a passion for horses and dogs. (Now her daughter is starting to love horses too, much to her Daddy’s chagrin……..)

As a family, we own auto repair and an auto body businesses. Guess what our other passion is?? Yes, the family passion is cars…. and trucks. Especially cars that go fast. We don’t really watch races, we would much rather be IN the races… Muscle cars. Lifted trucks. Little cars that go fast… you name it, if it has to do with cars, we are in it. 

The struggle for me has always been, What is really MY Passion and how can I live in it?  My passions, to me, have always been “just that other thing that I do”. I didn’t feel like I was really living in my purpose but, helping others live their purpose. I was stuck in that “imposter syndrome” mentality. 

What does Living a Life of Purpose Mean to Me??

This core value of living a life of purpose, is my life. It is what my husband lives every day as he works his dream job. Would he do this even if he wasn’t getting paid for it?? Definitely. It has been my goal as a parent to help my kids find their particular path, live their passion and as a result, their life purpose. 

Now, I know that my purpose is to go for the roots. In the garden, I pull weeds. Lots and lots of weeds. It is just inevitable- even with all my weed prevention tricks. Last weekend, I was cleaning out my beds. Pulling out the dead plants from last year and cleaning up any weeds. When I pull the weeds, I don’t just pull up whatever comes up. 

No. 

I dig down and go for the roots.  It’s just what I do.  As I was digging up more roots, I was pondering what it meant to go for the roots. I felt like God spoke to my heart. “This is what I have called you to do.”

For much of the last 20 years as a Christian, I have worked with healing ministries or prayer ministries. As a parent, I direct my kids towards the career path that fits their passion and interests. Is it their purpose? I’m not sure, but I feel like I am pointing them in the right direction. As an adult, I have worked with kids and families via homeschooling, working in the daycare and as a Sunday school leader in a former church. I have gardened and lived a more holistic life. I have learned about essential oils. All of these things are pointing me closer and closer to my life purpose. 

As Kimberly tells us all the time: “God doesn’t call the equipped. He equips the called.” 

Utilizing my passions now as a Life Coach and now Emotion Code practitioner, I find that I am “going for the roots”.  I help people find the spiritual roots of their issues and help them overcome them. Using the Emotion Code process, I release trapped emotions in the body that have caused unwanted behaviors. Things that have kept people in unhealthy patterns. 

What I do has the ability to change families for the better. Living a life of purpose brings us joy and fulfillment in knowing that we are doing what God has called us, even trained us to do. 

We may not be paid for the things that we are called to do. Thats ok. What you are being called to do, may or may not have a pay check attached to it. While it would be ideal, maybe there isn’t. YET. 

How Can YOU Find and Live Your Passion and Purpose?

From the character Jesus in “The Chosen”, the newest released episode:  “Strong Passion can be a good thing when channeled for righteousness.” He was talking with James and John who had demanded Jesus call down fire from heaven to burn up some of the Samaritan people who had thrown rocks at them. He reprimanded them, and then said those words. He saw the passion and the fire that these 2 men had, but it had not found its place of righteousness yet. They were still learning and finding their way. 

When the episode opened, we see John interviewing people for the book he was writing about the life of Jesus. John’s strong passion became a good thing channeled for righteousness as he wrote a book about the man he loved. John, fiery John, whom Jesus nicknamed- along with his brother James- Sons of Thunder because they were so tumultuous! They wanted him to call down fire from heaven to burn up the Samaritans! 

And yet… 

He wrote one of the gospels! A story of Jesus’ love. He called himself the disciple Jesus loved. 

He learned his lessons well. 

Are you? 

I tell my kids all the time: find the job you love and do it. I want you to be happy in whatever you do. I want you to be passionate about what you do. As I said, we talked often about doing whatever you do for the Glory of God. Many of them are still finding their way, and that’s ok. They know that God has a plan and a purpose for their lives because I prayed that with them and for them as they were growing up.  It’s up to them to live it. 

Think about Kim’s passions for serving women in faith family and business. She found her sweet spot via this ministry. She publishes women’s stories and teaches women how to live their passion in these areas. Who hasn’t been touched by her story? 

She has a passion to bring women into their life purpose by empowering them to live their best life!

My message to you is: DON’T QUIT.  Don’t give up just because its hard. Keep going. You may be in a time of training to living your purpose. Realize that parenting is part of living your life of purpose, but may not be your entire life of purpose. 

Look at your life. What are the things you are drawn towards? What are the things that you are consistently doing? 

What holds you back from living your life of purpose? 

Do you know what your gifts are and are you using them regularly? 

Are you in a job that is not fulfilling you? Why? 

Can I Help You??

As a Life Coach and an Emotion Code practitioner, I can help you find your passions and release you from the things that have held you back. If you want to meet up with me, my first session is always free. After that, we can talk. I would love to help you find and live your life of purpose!!  No matter what is going on in your life. Life

(All verses from: https://www.bible.com/1849/eph.2.10.tpt)