Meeting Face-to-Face

Hey everyone...how about getting together face to face next week? I know some of you live away from Friday Harbor (so we will take notes), but it might help those of us who are in FH to look each other in the eye and share our thoughts about the book...and then also have Charlene give us another tutorial on blogging. Besides...it is always fun to have a party!

If you would like to get together for a brown bag lunch next week at Charlene's (she has invited us) quilly@quilldancer.com on either Tuesday 7/6 or Friday 7/9, please e-mail Charlene and let her know what day is best for you. We will be discussing Chapters One and Two.

God bless you all.
Becce

Greetings from Floridia!
Thanks to those of you who are sharing some of your thoughts about Courage and Calling. For the next two weeks we will be looking at Chapter 2. I think this chapter is one of the most incredible chapters in any book I have read regarding finding one's place in the world. The part that just blew me away was the idea that my vocational identity is aligned in some way with how I uniquely see the pain and brokenness of the world.

I would love you all to share if and how you identify with this idea. Does one of the way Smith describes connect with how you see the world's borkenness?

Let the Discussion Begin

Hello all. During these first two weeks we will be looking at the Introduction to our book and the first chapter (this longer span of time allows folks to get their books).

Introduction: In the Introduction Smith sets out a three-part understanding of "calling." He writes, "First there is the call to be a Christian...To be a Christian is to respond to the call to know and love God and to know and love ourselves." Smith continues, "Second, for each individual there is a specific call - a defining purpose or mission, a reason for being. Every individual is called of God to respond uniquely through service in the world." Finally, he concludes, "...there is the calling we face each day in response to the multiple demands on our lives - our immediate duties and responsibilities."

As part of the third understanding of call, Smith says, "But not all the immediate and legitimate needs that I face are necessarily my responsibility. I may be 'overhearing' God's call to another. The danger is always that these daily and immediate needs would crowd out our capacity to respond to our unique vocation."

As we begin our discussion, let's look at this three-part understanding:

• 1) How do you respond to this division? Does Smith's description of our "Christian calling" (To be a Christian is to respond to the call to know and love God and to know and love ourselves) surprise you? In what way?


• 2) What are your current "immediate duties and responsibilities?" Do you identify with his warning about these duties crowding out our capacity to respond to our unique vocation? How has this happened in your life? Did you notice that tricky little word respond? Does this imply that figuring out our "calling" is not so much about our action as it is about our response? ummm....


• 3) As a back door way to begin our discussion about our "unique calling," I would like you to remember a time when you were involved in some activity during which (and after which) you reflected upon that experience and said "I loved doing that!"
  
  So what do you think? Try to keep each response to 2 to 3 paragraphs.
  

God bless each of you - Becce