A few posts ago we explored how to find our purpose in God and figure out how to make an impact in the world through Him. That post dealt with discovering what motivates us and what we're good at in life so we can then realize what we're called to do in this world for God.
 
This week we're getting down to business. Now that you know what your talents and passions are, it's time to find ways to impact the world for God. After all, it's no good finding your purpose and then doing nothing about it.

So what are the next steps? How do we impact the world through our talents, gifts, and passions? How do we fulfill our God given purpose? That's exactly what we'll talk about today! Please keep in mind there is no set formula for fulfilling your purpose and using your God given talents; what I'll share today is more like a structure, something that'll help you solidify what direction you'll take yet gives you the freedom to be creative and see what God has in mind for you.

Follow each of these steps in prayer and consult God often during the process. He knows where you're supposed to be and what you're supposed to do and He will direct you in the way you're meant to go.

What can you do with your skillsets, gifts, and talents? Start researching the opportunities available for you. It doesn't need to be grand; God can work through anything. When you see something that jumps out at you, write it down and look further into it.

Let's say, for example, you have a gift for sewing, you're passionate about children, and God has shown you your purpose lies with using your sewing skills to serve children in tough situations. You then find a ministry that is looking for handmade stuffed animals for children with cancer. You're drawn to this, so you look into it further and you sense that God wants you to get involved by making stuffed animals. Maybe then you search stuffed animal patterns, or types of stuffed animals children like best.

In my own life, I sensed God was calling me to be a writer. At the time I was passionate about writing and reaching people through the words I wrote. After doing some research, I felt like I was supposed to blog. Never in my life had I dreamed of starting a blog; the thought never even crossed my mind! Yet the notion would not leave me alone and I dug into the subject the best I could.

So now that you've found a way to fulfill your purpose, now what? Now you find out what supplies and resources you'll need to get started. It might be as simple as a boatload of prayer or your own two feet. However, it may be more complicated than that. If you need to buy anything, search around for the best prices and materials. If you need support or help, pray about who's the best partner or partners for you.

Back to our sewing stuffed animals example. Maybe you head to your local craft store and select soft fabrics that children love, get free patterns from online, and buy thread, fiber fill, needles, pins, or buttons.

For me, this meant enlisting my dad's help in setting up a blog. Since anything that combines me and computers tends to end in disaster, he helped me by getting a good platform, fixing all the bugs, and showing me how to manage the blog without wreaking havoc. After that, I needed plenty of notebooks and pens in order to write the posts, since I tend to do at least some of the work in longhand.

Time for action! You've got your supplies and you know what you're doing. It's time to get started on the next part of fulfilling your purpose.

Get everything together and make time every day to work at it, even if it's just ten or fifteen minutes a day. During that time, concentrate on your task and try to minimize distractions, though I'm the first to admit that's hard. Get into a routine and be consistent; no matter how little work you get done in one day, it's still important. Don't minimize it.

If you're sewing stuffed animals, maybe you can take ten minutes and pin and cut everything out. In preparation for this, you lay out the fabric and print the pattern you're using.

In my case, every spare minute of my day became work time. I carried my notebook and pen around and scribbled in it until I got some semblance of a blog post people would want to read. My routine consisted of getting a little bit of the post written every day and posting it on Monday.

Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Set small, reasonable goals, and work towards them regularly. Don't try making twenty stuffed animals in three days. It'll result in either sloppy work, a frazzled you, an unmet goal, or all of the above.

This was something that took me a long time to learn. I allowed myself to worry about my lack of progress and fret about how inexperienced I sounded. The result was a stressed out me and no work done. I shudder to think about the amount of time and energy I wasted on pressing myself further than I needed to go at the moment.

Be flexible about the timing. God has His own timeline for you and the work you're doing. It's easy to rush things or try to force things to go according to our plan. But our plan might not be the best way. Also, life happens. Kids get sick, family emergencies happen, life events like weddings and baby showers occur. Don't let your purpose distract you from other important things in life.

It's easy to get wrapped up in your purpose and neglect the other parts of life. I touched on this briefly in the last section but here I'll explore what this means a little further.

While concentrating on yourself is wrong, taking care of yourself isn't. Don't be so focused on fulfilling your purpose and furthering the kingdom of God that you forget basic care, such as eating, staying hydrated, resting, and sleeping. 

The people in your life are more important than any work. Spend time with family and friends; not only are they your people, they're also your support group. Don't neglect them.

This may seem like a silly point. After all, you're obeying God by fulfilling your purpose; actually, come to think of it, He's the One who gave you the purpose and wants you to do it. How could you forget Him?

Sadly, it's easier than one would think to forget God while doing His work. That's why it's important to take time to connect with Him, both before your work and during it. Spend time with Him everyday and remember why you're doing this work.

It's surprisingly easy to make your purpose an idol. While you may not worship it in the traditional sense, it's easy to make it the sole pursuit of your life, even over God. I have been guilty of this time and again. While writing is my purpose and calling, at one point I let myself value it too much and put it above God. God had to get my attention and gently remind me that He was what I should put on a pedestal, not my pen and notebook!

Take time for hobbies and other fun things. After all, life shouldn't be all work, no play. Go on a hike, read a book, go have coffee. Time away from your purpose isn't a bad thing; it keeps things in perspective and it helps you not make it the sun your life orbits around.

Fulfilling your purpose and using your talents and gifts to impact the world for God is possible. What can you do to get started today?