It’s been two weeks since I assigned your homework regarding dreams, desires, and other touchy-feely subjects. Therefore, I am confident that you have had time to ponder and perhaps even write down a few of your thoughts. If not, go back, reread (click here), and let those questions of the heart settle in. Just as it can take time to get in the groove of exercise and healthy eating, our hearts and minds need time too to adjust to the unchartered and unexplored pages of our lives that maybe haven’t been dog-eared in awhile.

You may be asking yourself what’s the big deal about life purpose, passion, dreams, discovery or whatever you want to call it, anyway? Does it really matter and how in the world am I going to fit that heart-mining expedition into my already white-knuckling schedule? Won’t life just figure itself out as I go along? And, let’s be honest here, it’s a whole lot easier trying to figure out our friends and family and telling them what we think they should do or how they should feel than it is with ourselves.

Well, maybe ask yourself if you’ve gotten to where you are now by just letting things fall where they may. We don’t raise or tell our children to just throw sand in the wind and wait and see where it lands. Maybe we are a little free-spirited at times but most often there has been intentionality in our lives -- when trying to graduate from school, deciding on a mate, choosing our kids' schools and college prep test tutors, or picking out our next party frock or upgraded kitchen appliance. Being intentional about any or all the big stuff in our lives gives us more focus, creates more positive energy, and alleviates stress. And guess what? Our life’s purpose is really BIG stuff and once you go after it with intention you’ll experience bountiful benefits and more.

Purpose-seeking is not some new made-up, self-serving mumbo jumbo of our generation. It is in fact quite the opposite as author and Life Purpose founder, Katie Brazelton, explains: "God intends for people to be driven by purpose. He expects us to seek definition to our existence and to listen closely while he reveals it." Also, please note, when I talk about "purpose," I am not talking about getting a j-o-b even though it could lead you down that road. Purpose comes in all forms and has many benefits.

Living a life of purpose will give meaning, simplification, focus, motivation, and peace to your every-day happenings. Rick Warren writes from A Purpose Driven Life: “There are forces that can drive your life but all lead to the same dead end: unused potential, unnecessary stress, and an unfulfilled life. Nothing matters more than knowing God’s purposes for your life, and nothing can compensate for not knowing it -- not success, wealth, fame, or pleasure. Without a purpose, life is motion without meaning, activity without direction, and events without reason. Without a purpose, life can feel trivial, petty, and pointless.

You ask, "How in the world do you find this purpose?" and "what if my purpose takes me to Ethiopia?"

Well, Ethiopia could be a part of your purpose but then that only means that you were purposed for that. Your purpose will never call you to a place that doesn’t first originate in your heart, and it will never be a completely big shocker to you or those around you. For years, I knew that I was to hang up my paint brush but because of fear and old habits it took me awhile to step out and embrace the calling that I knew was in my heart: to lead and encourage women. I will expand more on that in a future column. So don’t be afraid, be excited. And know that before any purpose manifests, you will be so in tune to it that you won’t be able to deny it.

How do you get in tune with it, only by becoming in tune with the "purpose giver." My purpose giver is and will only be my God in the high heavens and my God who travels with me down the grocery shopping aisles of Brentwood and beyond. Only by spending time with the one who has instilled your purpose from day one will you be able to know what you were designed for. Intimacy will always precede action.

So it is not about reinvention or taking you too far out and away places, it is about returning to yourself. I had a fellow school mom once say to me a few years back while at the Skate Center, “Man, Amy, you’ve really reinvented yourself.” I thought about that later and thought "I so didn’t ‘reinvent’ myself but everything that I was doing or stepping out to do was what I was supposed to be doing from the get-go." It was just a matter of time on when I was going to shake the fear off of my cute shoes and step out, trust, and do it. To reinvent feels manipulated and inauthentic . . . living out your purpose is none of that as it will be the most authentic and natural thing you’ll ever love doing.

I’ll leave you with this quote by author, Lou Austin to ponder until next time: “You are here for a purpose. There is no duplicate of you in the whole wide world. There never has been, there never will be. You were brought here now to fill a certain need. Take time to think that over.”

Enjoy the journey.

Amy Freese is a professional life coach, motivational speaker and Brentwood mom. Contact her at amyfreese@designerherliving.com or visit her website at DesignHerLiving.com.