Origins of the Blog Title

"Passion is a gift from God, and it's a very elusive spirit."  I stole this quote from Dale Dawson, the CEO of Bridge2Rwanda; he said it an article published earlier this summer.  If you want to learn more about the organization I'm joining, I encourage you to read it.  Long story short...at 51 years of age, he wanted passion back, as he was in the midst of life's "halftime."  Dale continues to write, "I made the decision that if God was the giver of the gift {passion}, then I had to be available to Him."  And sure enough, the Lord has done some incredible things through this man! His explanation of passion really resonated with me and the season of life I'm in, and I immediately knew that I wanted that word to be part of my blog title.

"Do not be afraid to be different from other people.  The path I have called you to travel is exquisitely right for you.  The more closely you follow My leading, the more fully I can develop your gifts.  To follow Me wholeheartedly, you must relinquish your desire to please other people.  However, your closeness to Me will bless others by enabling you to shine brightly in this dark world."  I read this in a Jesus Calling devotional several weeks ago; I couldn't help but smile.  This pretty much sums up what I've been learning over the past year.  What a delight to put all of it into action!

To me, freedom means experiencing joy and peace to the absolute fullest.  I wish that I lived completely free every single day.  Sadly, I don't - part of being human, I suppose.  But I do have more control of this than I realized.  Obedience.  Obeying God's commands and callings produce freedom.  Whether it's spending time with Him, taking thoughts captive, choosing to believe truth instead of lies (the list goes on and on), His commands bring life.  Not obeying His call, whether big or small, equals bondage.  Yuck.  How often I settle for mud pies when I could be enjoying a holiday at sea (C.S. Lewis).  All this to say, being obedient to the Lord's call for me to move to Rwanda for a year has produced immense freedom.  I know without a doubt that this is where He wants me.  I wouldn't have it any other way!

Throughout my time in Africa (and in years to come), I desire to live life full of passion, shining brightly, while continuing to walk in freedom!  PASSION, BRIGHT & FREE...