In Chapter 1 of iWork4Him, Ted Hains recounts visiting the Marine Reserves with his friend Doug during his senior year of high school. It was the height of the Korean War, patriotism was running high, and both boys were interested in joining up. However, while visiting the Rock Island Arsenal, Ted decided he wasn’t ready for the military and postponed signing up. A few months later, the local Marine Reserves were called up, and before Ted had graduated, Doug died in combat. Although he is now 87, Ted writes that he still thinks about Doug and wonders who he would have become and what would have happened if they’d talked about the gospel before he passed away.

Do you have control issues? Where do they show their ugly faces in your life? Does it come out in your relationships or your attitude towards others? Or maybe it comes out in your work? Wherever it shows itself, being a control freak is NOT a fruit of the Spirit. In fact, it's precisely the opposite! To truly live in the Spirit, we have to give up control.

Following Jesus is about anything BUT normal and anything BUT routine. Being led by the Spirit of God in your life is an adventure - one that will take all kinds of unexpected twists and turns. Psalm 119:105 says, "Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path." Note that the psalm doesn't say, "your word is a floodlight onto my future." God's will is going to take you in directions you never anticipated, so don't get too caught up in your 100-yard plans; pay attention to what God is illuminating in the one yard in front of you!

Kathy Book was a high-level manager in a nationwide grocery chain. Outside of work, she was a Christian, but while she was at work, she didn't act so "Christian." But everything changed one day when her boss pulled her aside to have a hard conversation.

Most churches I have been a part of, celebrate women by asking them to join a daytime bible study or serve in the children's nursery. Of course, there is nothing wrong with these things; however, the reality is that many women are called to areas outside of these traditional "female roles". When a woman comes to be a follower of Jesus she is filled with the Holy Spirit and is gifted accordingly. The supernatural call on her life may include any number of things from being a stay-at-home mom, to a gifted leader, to having a workplace calling. However, most churches don't have a place for career women to find encouragement in living out their faith at work.

Growing up, I always wanted to be a businesswoman. I loved numbers and would daydream about walking into an accounting office in a tailored blue suit. But I was never sure if my passion for business was actually something God wanted me to do. Sure, I was gifted in it, but no one in the Church ever talked about business being a God-given calling; it was never endorsed from the pulpit as such. Then, when I was 13-years-old, I felt strongly like God’s purpose for me was to go into full-time Christian ministry. It’s not that my passion for business ever left, just that I couldn’t figure out how to connect those two callings on my life into one. I wanted to serve the Lord, and I wanted to be in business, but NO ONE could connect those dots for me.

So, what about you? Have you heard God’s voice calling you to full-time Christian ministry? Have you also felt a call towards the marketplace, government or education, health care or the arts?