The September/October 2008 issue of Today's Christian Woman magazine featured an article (about using your spiritual gifts) which reminded me of my Mary Kay career. I'm sure these three excerpts will strike a chord with you as well:

When God empowers you to serve others through your spiritual gifts and you've found the places where God wants you to use them, you're more alive and fulfilled than during any other pursuit. You might even have fun!

When Mary Kay found me, I never really thought about serving or enriching others at all, but God has really expanded my heart through my Mary Kay experiences, to the point where I finally do think about making others feel important. It's amazing how He has woven potential for the use of so many spiritual gifts into this incredible opportunity (teaching, leading, giving, hospitality, administration, tongues, faith, healing, mercy, etc.). The next few sentences in the article contained some really interesting surprises!

The word passion is defined as "a powerful emotion." Its synonym is enthusiasm. The word enthusiasm comes from the Greek phrase en theos, "with God." So, if you're enthusiastically pursuing a passion that God has put in your heart, you're doing it with God.

What a great reminder of how He guides us in our lives — and how ALL good things come from Him! The article goes on to say,

Frederick Buechner put it this way: "The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." To search for this kind of passion isn't a selfish quest for fulfillment; rather, it's looking for the exact thing God designed you to do.

May the God of all goodness grant YOU an encounter with passion this week!