“Within you is a fathomless reservoir of possibilities and your soul’s capacity is deeper than any ocean.” Though there are many ways to live out our various callings, including vocational calling, we can get some hints about the qualities of our calling in a fun exercise where we notice what verbs, what action words, make our heart soar and bring us joy. As Julia Cameron says, “What we really want to do is what we are really meant to do.”

As you scan your life and listen to it a moment, you will not need to conjure up words or pick them out of thin air. Notice you going about daily life, experiences, travels, conversations, work, play, and rest. Even if you aren’t in the specific job that would be most suited to your design, your design is and has been showing itself in all aspects of your life, because God has made you to be who you are.

In this exercise, look for the activities/actions that express your unique “this-ness.” It’s not that each action itself is unique to you, but the combination of these actions and your “you-ness” in the action is what is unique.

1. 1. Notice fifteen activities/actions that fill you with joy or deep satisfaction. Write them in the form of a gerund, which is a verb plus “ing.” So if you like to negotiate, write “negotiating.”

2. 2. From your list of fifteen, choose your favorite seven. I know—it’s hard.

3. 3. From your list of seven, choose your favorite four. I know—it’s even harder.

4. 4. Now craft sentences or phrases (it can be just one phrase if they all fit together) that describe how you see yourself living out these verbs.

Here’s an example someone did, but the form isn’t as important as just noticing and capturing in words what you love. The seven words chosen from the fifteen verbs are starred. The four chosen from the seven are double-starred.

• dancing **

• sparkling *

• teaching

• mentoring

• receiving *

• designing **

• plunging

• discovering

• adventuring **

• imagining

• overflowing **

• solving

• connecting

• achieving

• experiencing *

These are the crafted phrases putting those actions together:

• being filled to overflowing

• dancing (perichoresis) within the Trinity

• designing experiences and adventures that invite others into the dance

This person seems called to a type of ministry, but do not think that you need to be. Your crafted phrases could be about engineering or artistry or scuba-diving. Be you.