Vocation

In the book Every Good Endeavor by Timothy Keller, the author presents the idea that all careers, abilities and jobs have an ultimate purpose. The chapter that most aligns with this book would be chapter ten and its contents on “next steps”. Using the skills gained throughout education, developed and newly learned skills in the “real world”, or world outside of education and school. Throughout the book, Keller explores how all people have valuable skills that can be utilized in all aspects of life and emphasizes the purpose of all jobs despite the cultural or societal biases toward them. Along with this, Keller discusses how life and all work can be honoring to God.

As a young man entering my senior year of high school, my mind races as I try to figure out what it is that I’ll commit my life to. What will be the driving passion, the purpose of my existence, the reason I get out of bed every morning to face another day of this life? Some people would try to encourage me to choose a career simply for its potential to make me wealthy. However, looking at the degenerate lives of the rich and the famous around the world, its apparent to me that the pursuit of earthly riches alone isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. I’d rather spend my days in pursuit of something more fulfilling. As far as I can tell from my

Before Thomas Edison died he said” The trouble with other inventors is that they try a few things then they quit. I never quit until I get what I want”

The one thing many people do not talk about is vocation. Gordon T. Smith declares there are three different forms of vocation. First is the general call which is the invitation to follow Christ. Second is the specific call, this is unique to each person and can be classified as their mission in this world. Third is the immediate responsibilities; these are the task God requires of us daily (p. 10). As a Christian, one's vocation is their response to God; their call is to serve Him in life and reflect who He is to others, no matter the stage of life they are in or the occupations they are call to pursue. Occupations may change through life, but the vocational call remains consistent despite the

Nine years ago, I never could have imagined I’d be writing this essay. I was a senior in high school, and, like the rest of my classmates, I was apprehensive about the future. Unlike my classmates, I felt like I had missed the proverbial “you need to get your life together” message. I watched my classmates apply to colleges, their majors already decided and their future careers mapped out. While I was an above average student, I felt I lacked the decisiveness my classmates seemed to have. I did not feel passionate about a career or even a field of study. I felt defective. This was compounded by the financial strain I knew attending college would have on my family. It seemed wasteful to try to “find my passion” at school while squandering

of achieving our purpose in life can be a daunting but awarding task. Christopher McCandless

During the course of the LDB481-17: Faith and Life Issues, Ms. Sams did not understand of the concept of vocation, before enrolling in the course. Nor, she has never heard the concept of vocation during at that time her twenty-two years on Earth. As she considers herself, a free spirit and a humanist regarding religion, Ms. Sams continues to note that she does not follow a particular religion. However, she keeps an open mind to how an individual’s religion has transformed his or her life. As a free spirit, by primarily having an open mind to the religious faith of Christianity, Ms. Sams assures that the spirit of God lives within each individual; regardless if he or she believes or does not believe in the spirit of God.

Deresiewicz points out that a statement most people feel compelled to ask students regarding their major is “What are you going to do with that?” (28) There is a strong pressure to get through college with excellent grades and to start at a high paying job right after graduation. Deresiewicz argues that “few of them approach their studies with a sense of intellectual mission” because they are focusing on volunteering and internships (30). The author is putting down students for being anxious about what society has already planned for them. How can someone not worry about a job if that is all that is talked about with them? From personal experience, most adults will start a conversation by asking where I want to go to college and what I want

In these brief three pages, there is a bold calling for spiritual authority, and ways friends of Jesus can authentically experience and acquire that authority. In the beginning, Anderson explained that spiritual authority is manifested from personal experiences and not “secondhand authorities” (pages 50-51). Next, he addressed certain characteristics that “make one fit to be a minister of the gospel” (pg. 51). Finally, he provided a glimpse on what it takes to be an Authentic Child of Light by walking well in the Light. In these three pages, I felt like Margaret Fall in which these words cut to my heart and I wept.

He reflects on his personal experience as a teenage Christian minister and his intentions for entering

In the article "Now I Become Myself," author Parker Palmer endeavors to illustrate to her readership how can find personal fulfillment in their occupations by finding out about the self and what it is the individual needs to be satisfied. Most important to Palmer is a wider understanding of the term "vocation." This term is usually applied to religious persons who feel some otherworldly calling to the mantle of the clergy. However, Palmer argues that vocation can be a part of everyone's life, no matter which field it is to which they are drawn. Vocation is a gift for every person from a divine being who tries to inspire people to become the best versions of their selves possible. Achieving this is possible for everyone so long as they listen to the self and do not engage in actions which would hinder self-discovery. What's more, Palmer says, once the self-actualization has occurred, one is not only a better employee, but a better all around human being.

"There is no way to be truly great in this world. We are all impaled on the crook of conditioning. A fish that is in the water has no choice that he is. Genius would have it that we swim in sand. We are fish and we drown.-james dean

“However, ‘I can’ won’t make you a quantum physicist, or a poet, or a composer, or a brilliant entrepreneur unless you also have the cognitive ability to compete seriously in those domains.”

I will explore a few of unique approaches as outlined in the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola. I will describe my experience of integrating some of the concepts of spiritual direction into my practice.

Furthermore, it is vitally crucial for the church leadership to clearly articulate its missional vision, which is to be embraced by the rest of the church’s community. The process of spiritual transformation starts from the invitation and continues through engagement and discipleship. This transformational process embodies the missional vision and the language for 'right now ' and 'here '. Surely, the church’s vision ought to be aligned with the missional attributes of the gospel itself, which are 'the good news is for everyone ' and 'belonging before believing '. Our witness should take place amidst relationship and listening. One principle that I consider to be exceptionally useful in my community is St. Patrick’s idea of Celtic Evangelism: establish community, engage in conversation, and invite commitment (2009, 101).