Impulsive Joy

Do you ever wonder where your life is going?  Will the sum of your days create something meaningful?

I’ve never had a “life plan”.  Some people grow up knowing exactly who they want to be or what they want to do.  Not me…. my strategy was more of a trial and error approach to life.  If I’m honest, probably mostly error.  Maybe you can relate.

I went to college because having grown up in a single parent home, my mom advised me to have a degree in case “marriage didn’t work out.”  I studied business economics for the first 3 years because my dad was a CPA but changed my degree the summer before my senior year.   (It turned out that balancing spreadsheets was not my idea of a good time.)  I took hodge podge jobs after college because I didn’t have a career plan.  At the end of the day, I had an eclectic resume of everything from waiting tables to working at the Governor’s office.  When I look back on it all, it very much feels like a Forest Gump-esque story.

I think we all have a wandering period of trying to figure life out.  My wandering was just, well, longer than most dare I say.

The one constant among my childhood, young adult-hood and beyond was music.  No matter where I would wander in other areas of my life, I would always have that constant thread.  And it brought me joy.

God wove that joy into purpose when I was hired for my first church staff role as a children’s worship director.  That role was a labor of love and I put my whole soul into helping kids enter into authentic worship while equipping youth and other adults to join the journey.

Like many journeys, I came upon a few detour signs directing me into other areas of leadership.  I vividly remember the day I let go of the worship director role and stepped into a larger leadership position.  I walked into the worship center of our church and cried like a child.  I felt like I let go of the very essence of me.

Several years later, when I stepped down from my time as a children’s director, I immediately stepped right back into the place I loved and felt most called to….worship.

What about Seth Godin?

About a year and a half ago, I read Seth Godin’s book titled “Linchpin” and started on a journey of rediscovering the purpose for which God might have me here for.  And there were four specific things that I couldn’t help but but act on after reading his book:

Make a Choice…..to follow your inner voice, instead of the heard of sheep.

So many times we can become detoured in doing what we think we should do or what others are doing instead of paying attention to that tiny inner voice that is prompting you to march to the beat of your own drum.  If I was honest with my inner voice, I would have to recognize and embrace that God has wired me uniquely.  And that perhaps that giftedness could be something He could use to help others around me.

View Your Work as a Gift of Art

Artwork isn’t just about canvas and paint, it is about doing your best work.  Viewing your work as art ultimately makes you happier because it is an extension of who you are.  It brings you satisfaction and happiness for creating the very best work you can.  It is far superior, and more rewarding, than completing a task because your boss told you to.  Even if your boss does tell you to do it, you should approach it as a work of art rather than a required task.

Triumph over “Lizard Brain“

The “Lizard Brain” is a prehistoric part of your brain that is in charge of survival, fear and reproduction.  When it is activated, it sabotages you.  It is the one that wants you to conform, not ask questions and is content with you being a cog in a system so that you don’t stand out.

I’ve wasted countless days, months, even years, yielding to the Lizard Brain and I’ve spent the last year and half telling it to be silent. Too many people need help and it would be better to fail than to do nothing to help them.

Complete the Task and “Ship It”

Last week, I “shipped”.  I launched a new website called KidzPraise for children’s leaders to find practical help with their praise and worship time.  Too many churches are opting out of teaching kids what it means to worship, or even including a time to corporately sing songs together on Sunday.  You can read more about that HERE.

Donald Miller’s “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years” has been one of those “game-changer” books for me these past few years.  As I look back on my life, I can’t help but ask myself what would I re-write or edit about the story I am living?  Honestly, I wouldn’t change a single detour that I took in this journey because I have learned so much.  But his book has encouraged me to think about the story I am living and how I am helping others tell better stories along the way.

So let me introduce you to my latest labor of love:  www.KidzPraise.com

What You Can Do

First, you can go check out www.KidzPraise.com, share it with people who value praise and worship for kids and those who need a little helping hand.

Second, you can go “like” the KidzPraise Facebook page…..

Third and most importantly, share with me what your story is telling you.  What is your work of art?