Called

I’ve been called on the phone. I’ve been called for dinner. I’ve been called names. I have also felt called by God. I can’t explain, “called by God” very well. I remember well the moment in my life that I believe in God based on my journey and not that of my parents. I was serving dinner as underclassman at a banquet given for the Senior class in college. I was watching the Passion Play about the last week of Jesus life. As I watched the crucifixion live that night, I felt the Presence of God come over me. I was broken because of my sin. I was so blown away by the incredible love and grace of God. I had believed in God up to that point, but that was the point that I believed on my own. I “owned my faith” from that point on.

It’s weird that I wanted to be a “preacher” since I was in 3^rd grade. I preached my first “sermon” at age 14. I had it all figured out. As I went to college to become a preacher, the Lord got hold of my heart and I told Him that I would do whatever He called me to do. My senior year I was a part-time pastor at a small church in Tennessee and I started meeting with the youth on Sunday night before church. I really like hanging with them and seeing them learn and grow quickly. I didn’t know it at the time, but the Lord was preparing me for a call to be a student pastor. I really feel like that my first year in ministry I was really as “student pastor” to about 5 kids at Crab Orchard Christian Church while preaching for the adults.

The prophet Jeremiah was called by God and it sort of freaks him out. Check this out….

Feeling called by God to do anything is important. I really want to know that I have the Lord’s favor in everything I do. After spending 20 years in student ministry, I started a career in real estate. I had gone through divorce several years prior and had shared physical custody of my children and full legal custody. If I left Carroll County, GA I would have to go back and renegotiate custodial situation. I did not feel called to leave my children. I felt called to be a Dad before anything else – including being a student pastor. I remember the discussion with my children when I resigned my position at the church I was serving. I told them that my job would change, but my faith in the Lord was as strong as ever. I would still “walk out” my faith daily. (The picture here is from my first photo shoot to market myself as a REALTOR. I used the tag line “Call me and start packing!” I get a chuckle out of this now – I was so very young – lol!)

I’m not really sure when I first started writing down my journal of how the Lord was speaking in my daily reading of His Word. I love my time in the quiet of the morning with Him speaking into my life through a simple verse or verses. I want to be a good listener as He speaks. I write this journal of my journey for my relationship with the Lord. I felt called at some point to share what I write via my blog. If the Lord tells me to stop I will stop. If He tells me to go a different route, then that’s what I’ll do. I don’t ever want to stop hearing the Lord call me or speak into my life. If this call that the Lord has placed on me helps others know Him and see Him – I’m so humbled by that. He still leads me and speaks into my heart.

Today I’m a Real Estate Broker of the largest independent brokerage in West Georgia and I couldn’t be more thankful for the team of REALTORS that I serve the public with. I believe that the Lord used my first 20 years in student ministry to prepare me to be a business leader. It’s sometimes difficult to hold your tongue in the midst of a tough or difficult situation. It’s pretty much always easy to know what the right thing to do is. It’s not always popular, but I really try to seek wisdom from the Lord to lead in every situation. I feel called to be right where I am and I’m so thankful that the Lord keeps that clear for me. If He decides to call me to do something different, I plan to follow Him wherever He leads.