Day 3- What drives your life?

1. We are products of our past, but we don't have to be prisoners of it. God specialises in giving people a fresh start.


2. Those who have hurt you in the past cannot continue to hurt you now unless you hold on to the pain through resentment (anger; bitterness). For your own sake, learn from it, and then let... it... go...


3. Fear is a self-imposed prison that will keep you from becoming what God intends for you to be. You must move against it with the weapons of faith and love.


4. Possessions only provide temporary happiness.


5. Being controlled by the opinions of others is a guaranteed way to miss God's purposes for your life.


6. When life has meaning, you can bear almost anything; without it, nothing is bearable.


7. You need hope to cope. Hope comes from having a purpose.


8. Knowing your purpose SIMPLIFIES your life. It defines what you do and what you don't do. You simply ask, "Does this activity help me fulfill one of God's purposes for my life?"


9. People who don't know their purpose try to do too much - and that causes stress, fatigue, and conflict.


10. Without a clear purpose, you will keep changing directions.


11. You weren't put on earth to be remembered. You were put here to prepare for eternity.

- taken from Rick Warren's "The Purpose-Driven Life".

After reading, I find that my life is primarily driven by fear and the need for approval. In my attempts to establish "better" rapport with my pupils, I sometimes did certain things to please them. Perhaps, this may be attributed to my fear for pupils regarding me as their enemies. In the end, the greater congeniality (amiability; friendliness) between my pupils and me did not always help to build a more conducive classroom environment. It actually sometimes led to pupils undermining (challenging) my authority in the classroom, even when I was delivering the lessons. This is one of my greatest regrets in my teaching career although I often take pride in myself for being trusted by quite a number of pupils.

As a result of this weakness, I often wonder whether God's mission for me is to be a teacher. At my most disheartened (discouraged) moments, I often imagined myself being a counsellor, or a professor who does more academic research than teaching, or a teacher specialised in teaching children with special needs, or even a youth social worker. I keep thinking of changing my occupation ,but I still dare not venture out as before any changes could take place, I would need to invest more time and money to take up relevant studies. Hence, I ardently (passionately; enthusiastically) pray that the Lord will reveal his plan for me soon through the Holy Spirit.