A life lived without passion is a life not lived

Look at these beautiful children....what ZEST! what JOY! and PASSION!! Do you ever get those bursts of passion in you, but your body and life have a hard time expressing it outwardly? Or that burst of passion quickly fades?

One of the best quotes I've heard is this...."A life lived without passion is a life not lived". I don't know about you, but I, being the ultimate encourager, am CONSTANTLY encouraging others in their gifts and passions...To live a life with no bounds! And when I look around, I'm surrounded by beautiful people in my life that live large, extravegant lives for the Lord. My beautiful friend Sean started Falling Whistles, another helped lay the foundation for Invisible Children, another helps with Tom Shoes! I mean, my life is surrounded by those with similar passions who love the Lord, and are pushing for more, for those in need.

And then I look at myself. My heart YEARNS to transform the world, to feed the hungry, sit with that young person who's strung out and on the run, to clothe those who are naked, teach children about Jesus! My heart wants to do SOOO much, yet I look at my life, and while I have spurts of passion lived out, I quickly allow it to fade.

So often, I think we allow the right choices--the right job, the right house, clothes, body, etc...to rule our lives. It's a chase! Everyone is chasing something...what are you chasing? What would it look like to say no to the many things that seem so right, and step out in faith...allowing God to use the passions and gifts He has given us for kingdom purposes? It's scary, I know, and maybe there's pressure to follow that right choice....but I'll tell you this....a.life.lived.without.passion.is.a.life.not.lived. We can lie to ourselves that we can do without it...but we can't. Because in us God created each of us with a particular purpose....and if we don't go after it, we wage an internal fight within ourselves.

My heart races in thinking how this will affect my life in all senses...but I know that I must try to go after the passion of my heart, seeking the Father, and allowing Him to transform the world, or at least my community through that passion or gift in me created for a particular purpose. What does that look like for you?