{"id":884,"date":"2024-04-01T19:32:20","date_gmt":"2024-04-01T19:32:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kendramartin.org\/?p=884"},"modified":"2024-04-01T19:32:23","modified_gmt":"2024-04-01T19:32:23","slug":"identifying-your-confident-yes-to-kingdom-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kendramartin.org\/identifying-your-confident-yes-to-kingdom-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Identifying Your Confident “Yes” to Kingdom Work"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There are so many good things to do.  The opportunities to serve our good Lord are endless.  And yet, He says, come to me- my yoke is easy.  <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He does not want us to feel the drudgery of service.  <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do I know what I should say \u201cyes\u201d to in order to live a life of joyful service?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Backwards Planning for Your Life<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In education, they call it backwards planning.\u00a0 When designing a lesson plan, the teacher considers where they want the students to be by the end of a lesson.\u00a0 Keeping the end in mind, the teacher writes down a goal or objective – what he is aiming for.\u00a0 Using that objective, the teacher then creates a specific plan on how to get the students to reach that objective.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And now, keeping that perspective in mind, how can we transfer that type of backwards planning to our life?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step1: Identify your End Goal.<\/strong>  Where do you want to end up at the end of your life?  What do you want your eulogy to be?  What do you want people to say about you when you are gone?  Once you can identify that, then you are ready to start identifying a goal for each priority in your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 2: Identify your Priorities.<\/strong>  A wise woman once told me that one handful of priorities is what most women can swing.  In some stages of life, you may be able to handle more than a handful -possibly even two handfuls.  But in this season of life, it was helpful for me to hold up my hand and identify a priority for each finger.  For myself, it came to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. God<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Husband and children: Kevin & Cameron, Hudson, Bennett, Winston<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Extended families: Martin family, Stoltzfus family, Agape family, sister-friends (you know- those friends who are really more like sisters than friends)<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. My passion or calling: Educational realm of God\u2019s Kingdom (I haven\u2019t had many \u201cbolt from the sky\u201d moments in my life, but I can distinctly remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I felt God telling me to say \u201cyes\u201d to teaching -at that time it was saying \u201cyes\u201d to teaching first grade at Weavertown Mennonite school.  I have found so much joy in being able to teach within a variety of realms of God\u2019s Kingdom over the years, and I am just so very grateful to Him for allowing me to participate in His work.)<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Local community: Reading, PA  (Before I married Kevin, I knew that he believed that God had called him specifically to the city of Reading for the time being.  When I married him, I too committed myself to making this one of my life priorities.)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Step 3: Write Legacy Statements for each priority. <\/strong> What do you want people to have said about you in each of those priorities?  Read it over on an annual basis.  Consciously work towards it.  Form your yearly or monthly goals with your eulogy legacies in mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Identify the Giftings, Callings, and Experiences that God Has Given You<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    You have giftings and talents that God has equipped you with so that you can play a specific role in His Kingdom.  Social media and pinterest-perfect-homes and friends who throw amazing picture-perfect-parties can distort our views and before long we can think that since we aren\u2019t \u201cgood\u201d at that thing, we are lacking.  Or we see a woman serving the church in a way that would overwhelm us, but inwardly we feel as if we should do that thing, too.  Rather than playing the comparison game, let\u2019s look at what God HAS equipped you with.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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