more...

I forgot to mention, since I was busy ranting, that my book was also delivered. It's called TwentySomeone. Yes, "someone" not "something." That's the whole point. When you say "twenty-something" it's like making people into nothing more than a statistic. (Okay, that's not always how the word is used, but for the example.) This book addresses asking yourself the question "who am I?" which is more useful and fulfilling than "what am I supposed to do with my life?" So far it's been really good. It talks about who God has made us to be and how we have a primary calling of "living out our identity as children of God." Our secondary calling is the part of life that is individual to all of us, such as what job we choose, how we serve in our church, etc. As the book points out, however, sometimes God chooses to wait to reveal this part to us until later on in life. One possibility for this is that He wants us to focus on our primary calling during our younger years (say, our twenties). It gives an acronym (borrowed from another book) on how we begin the process of discovering our secondary purpose. We have to consider our SHAPE: spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality, and experience. There is a section about each of these. One quote under "heart" that really stuck out to me was this: "What is it I'm passionate about? ... If we don't pursue the passions contained within our desires (the good ones, that is) because they're impractical or we think they're silly or we're too busy, we run the risk of losing a major part of ourselves. So once you figure out what you're passionate about, cultivate those things. We need to care for our hearts and passions--examine them, write about them, share them, express them--or we will grow cold and disconnected as we pursue things in life we don't really care about." So that's what I'm doing here! Writing about my passions. And hopefully this is just the start. My desire is to go further by actually developing things in my life that I am passionate about. Like the quote says, sometimes I feel like my desires are silly or impractical or I'm too busy, but I really want to do certain things despite those facts. Here's my list, or a shortened version of it for your sake!

1. I want to learn to be a better photographer. (I'm signed up for a class this fall... as long as I get in and I can get a camera, we're on the right track.)
2. I want to learn to play the guitar. (I own one but can't play it.)
3. I want to learn to play the cello. (If I still care to learn a third instrument after the guitar, this will be it. Or if the guitar doesn't work out too well, this is another option.)
4. I want to learn to paint.
5. I want to go to a gym on a regular basis. (During the school year I'm pretty good about going twice a week. When I graduate, however, I need to find one close to wherever I live and make myself go. I enjoy it when I'm there, it's just hard to get myself there at times.)
6. I would love to sing in a really good choir. (This one is dependent upon where I live and whether or not that area has one. I'm open to suggestions about this, if anybody has any info.)
7. I MUST be involved in a good strong group of believers. I CANNOT let this get pushed to the back burner. (While in St. Augustine I am involved. If I move, hovever, I have to make it a priority to find a group.)
8. I want to allow myself time to enjoy things like the scenery, art galleries, the beach, whatever. (This is why I love St. Augustine... it provides all these things as long as I do my part and make time for them.)
9. I want to cook real food on a regular basis instead of relying on the quick-fix meals our society bombards us with.
10. I want to go to good Christian concerts as often as possible. (This is already happening at this point in my life, but I want it to continue as I get older. I don't want to stop taking time to enjoy the music I love just because it's a little less convenient or I'm starting to get out of the average age group or whatever.)

That's my list for now. I wrote about my passions and desires like the book says. (For that matter, writing is one of my passions.) Now I intend to go out and do as many of them as I can.