What's Your Passion?

What is your passion?

I’ve been thinking about that question for a long time, but Mary DeMuth’s guest post on Michael Hyatt’s blog this morning makes me think I need to come up with some answers.

Mary’s observations about why people hesitate to identify their passion resonate with me. At one time or another, one or all of them seem to have been true in my life. Fear and insecurity are powerful de-motivators, and they aren’t a good way to live.

So I’m setting them aside, and gathering up courage. If Mary’s prescription to Find Your Passion in Three Steps works, I’ll have my answer soon.

Will you help me? One of Mary’s suggestions is to ask your friends “What is my one thing?” Her idea is that our friends are “entirely insightful” about the things we are passionate about. What do you think my “one thing” is?

Another of Mary’s questions is about your three favorite movies, and the common thread among them. So here’s my question for you: what are your three favorite movies, and what’s the common thread among them?

What’s your passion?

Understanding our Culture . . .

On the recommendation of my friend Megan, I've been reading Mary DeMuth's book Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture.(Harvest House, 2007)

I've enjoyed other books Mary has written, especially Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God, a book of devotional essays, but somehow I'd neglected this book. Even as a grandparent, though, this book speaks to my desire to parent and grandparent well, by talking about ways our culture has changed, and what that means to my children who are trying to parent their children well, and to my grandchildren, who are growing up in a culture that differs significantly both from the culture in which I grew up, and from the culture in which we raised our children.

That was a mouthful! But I appreciate Mary's clear discussion of what “postmodernity” is, especially compared to “modernity.” She articulates changes and trends – the paradigm shift - and makes the point that “Parenting in a postmodern world means contextualizing our parenting in that world with our heart constantly bent toward Jesus.”

She goes on to discuss the ways she and her family practice that contextualizing, reminding us that “Modernity and postmodernity are simply worldviews. Both have positives and negatives for Christians.”

As she shares her family's experiences, it's hard not to get excited about the possibilities and opportunities we have in this time and in this culture to share Christ, and to keep growing in faith.

It's a good read – challenging, energizing, encouraging. I highly recommend it!