Passion. Figured out.

So, just a spill of my heart through typing tonight.

Well, tomorrow morning I am headed to Phoenix Arizona. I am there for five days, then I am headed Dallas, Texas. In total I will be away from home for about two weeks. That also means away from my beloved computer. So, pray that I will find a computer to blog on throughout my travels, I like blogging. So, if there isn't a blog entry, you know the deal. I promise, I am not breaking the promise I made myself way back January. :)

So, tonight I was thinking about these trips that I am going on, the are for a dance convention. Dance and performing arts used to be a massive part of my life. It was my passion, it was my everything. Lately I have been talking about how my passion has changed, so then this thought occurred. If God has shifted my focus from the performing arts to other aspects of my life, why does he continue to put these incredible possibilities and gifts in my life? I was talking to a "spiritual father" of mine, and he said that maybe it isn't God who has put these possibilities and opportunities in our lives. The thing is, we are born with gifts, and if you are anything like me, you are constantly asking for God to throw down more gifts on your life(see story of Jabez.) So God blesses us with gifts. Isn't it true that Satan will see these gifts and try to use them for himself? The bible says that the enemy is sneaky and is always waiting to pounce. So he would totally try to put these things in your life to divert you from the path you are meant to go on.

Now, about the whole God changing passions thing. The thing is, God puts desires in our lives at different times for different reasons. Its called seasons. There will be a certain season in your life where your ministry for God will be doing a certain thing, and when God sees that You will be more effective in a different place, or you are ready and willing to go to the different place, he will open those doors, and unlock those passions in your life for you to go there. Make sense?

Jeremiah 29:11-15 ---

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."

or, the message version...

I'll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. ¹²"When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen.^13-14"When you come looking for me, you'll find me. "Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed." God's Decree. "I'll turn things around for you. I'll bring you back from all the countries into which I drove you"—God's Decree—"bring you home to the place from which I sent you off into exile. You can count on it.

So, a last thought, when our passions change and we are able to identify what desires God has placed in our hearts, and which opportunities are from Him, be excited! Don't think of this as a funeral of your old passions, you have simply moved on, into something that God has prepared for you, it's a gift.

So pray for me, pray that I will be God's light on my trips, that I will find ways to spark conversation and bring hope. That I will be Jesus in those conventions. Wether this is a an opportunity from God, or I didn't pay attention and this isn't exactly where I should be, God is going to use it for His glory, He can make it successful. Pray that I will have His eyes, and no matter the reason why I'm there, I will make the best of it. I find myself getting frustrated if I'm not elbow deep in full force ministry, but this is a trip, that for one reason or another, that I am going on, and I will continue to worship, Praise God, and set examples for him there.

God bless you all, and thank you. Stay posted!

Energized, Passionate, and Not wasting time,

Colton

I just re-read that and I feel like I sound like I am having no fun. Not true, I am filled with joy, and I have to thank God for that, I love and appreciate everything that I get to do, and every opportunity I've been given, I want to make sure that that gets out there. Haha