My "48 Days to the Work I Love" Journey--Days 5 & 6

Three words are used interchangeably and shouldn't be: vocation, career and job.  The distinctions are significant.

Vocation is the most profound of the three, incorporating calling, purpose, mission and destiny.

Remembering the happiest times in your life and the times when you felt most fulfilled are better indicators of your calling than just knowing what you can do.--Dan Miller

Day 5
--Read Chapter 3
--Are you making deposits of success in the other important life areas?

Day 6
--Talk to 2 people about your new understanding of vocation, career and job.
--Answer questions from Chapter 3

Ultimately, money is never enough compensation for investing our time and energy.  We need a sense of meaning, purpose and accomplishment.  Anything that does not blend our values, dreams, and passions will cause us, on some level, to choke.  A life well lived must go beyond just making a paycheck--even if it's a very large one.

If money is the only reward of your job, you will begin to see deterioration in your life physically, emotionally, spiritually and relationally.--Dan Miller

One of the most significant things I learned from this chapter is that it will help my job search if I am making deposits of success in other areas of my life.  These other areas are: family, recreation, community, church and personal development.  They should all be in balance with my work, instead of work being the most important thing.

My "48 Days to the Work I Love" Journey--Days 3 & 4

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need.  If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us.  We would not be as strong and we could never fly!--Dan Miller

Change, even if unwelcome, forces us to reevaluate what our best options are.--Dan Miller

Day 3
--Read Chapter 2
--Recap your own work history 

Day 4
--Answer the questions at the end of Chapter 2

The secret of success is focus of purpose.--Thomas Edison

When you get to heaven, God is not going to ask you why you weren't more like Mother Theresa.  He's likely to ask you why you weren't more like you.--Dan Miller

I finally reflected on the question from Day 2,
"What was I born to do?"
--I realized how to combine all of my interests.
--I was born to write and/or talk about issues that I'm passionate about.

In reflecting on my work history, I realized I have had a lot more jobs than I realized.  Since, I've been a Homeschool Mom for so long, I hadn't really taken into account how many jobs I've actually worked at.

Christi Paul, Christians and Divorce

"Think about it - hasn't every good thing that's happened in your life happened because something 'changed'? So why do we fear it?"--Christi Paul

"If you live off a man's compliments, you'll die from his criticism". - Cornelius Lindsey

Earlier this year, I did a post reviewing Christi Paul's book, Love Isn't Supposed to Hurt.  It is an excellent book, because it shows how difficult it is to leave an abusive marriage as a Christian when it's verbal abuse.

I think the Christian world has done a disservice to women, in that they want marriage to be saved at all costs.  It is a reaction to the high divorce rate, even among Christians.  I understand the reaction, but many women are trampled upon in the process.  The Christian world doesn't want people to come up with "excuses" to get a divorce.  Yet, abuse of any kind is not an excuse.

The other thing that bothers me, and many other divorcees mention this as well, is that often used quote in Christendom and other places, "divorce is the easy way out."  Divorce is many things, but an easy way out, it is not.

I didn't initiate the divorce, and I didn't want my kids to go through the repercussions of divorce, but in reflecting on my marriage, I put up with things that I never should have.  And why did I do that?  It was because Christians aren't supposed to get divorced.

But after four years of a marriage like that, I knew I was either going to have a breakdown or a breakout.  I chose to breakout.  I finally realized I'd rather live authentically than live a lie.--Christi Paul 

Recently, Paul wrote a great article entitled, The Benefits of Verbal Abuse.  Despite it being on the Huffington Post website, it's worth reading.

"The first step to getting what you want is having the courage to get rid of what you don't."--Christi Paul

Paul empowers all women to learn from their difficult situations and change their lives.  She has encouraged and inspired me in my life.  She was hesitant to speak out for many years, but now that she has, she has been a source of great encouragement.  A lesson to all of us to be open to sharing the difficult areas of our life, we never know who we might uplift.