Answer the Call | Christian Career Coaching

Bindu Thota's story honestly just reads like an epic international action/drama film.

Despite hating the idea of going to medical school, she ultimately obeyed God’s undeniable call and now experiences more joy than ever as as a General Surgery Preliminary Resident in Oakland, California and holds the hope of returning to the Middle East to aid Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation through the bridge of medicine.

Sounds kind of nice until you realize that the reality of following her calling has led her to 80 hour work weeks filled with near-constant death and trauma. In this episode you’ll hear Bindu unpack the mystery of how our greatest joy comes from surrendering everything we are, everything we have, and everything we dream of to the Lord so that we may having the supreme joy of knowing and following Him.

THEMES IN OUR DISCUSSION:

POWERFUL QUOTES:

One of the top pieces of advice that shaped Bindu's path when all she wanted to do was going to serve in Israel instead of going to med school: "You going to the Middle East as a 21 year old girl is absolutely useless. Get a skill, then go back."

"Being in the scriptures and actually having communion with the Lord through normal, every-day conversations with Him is the only way to know when it's Him speaking instead of our minds making things up."

"We can only make decisions off of what we know today" (Know that things will change, but that shouldn't stop you from making decisions. Just be open-handed with how things turn out.)

"The greatest enemy to our faith is our feelings. If you say "I can't feel God" just read the truth that objectively says He is there regardless if you feel it or not."

"Our callings can be simplified to this: have you given Him everything? And are you in a place in your career where if God took it away you would be ok?"

"Whatever your calling is, be obedient to do it, even if you do not like it at first. I hated med school for the first two years, but God has been faithful to give me a passion for it eventually, and now I can say there is nothing I would rather do in this life."

“Everything we were taught in college was to follow what you're passionate about and what you're good at and what you love - none of those things are how I would describe how I felt about med school, but there was this overwhelming peace that was telling me to move forward with it.”

“Choose obedience, expect for it to be uncomfortable, pray that He brings peace to your obedience, and know that we are here to serve Him - not the other way around.”

Bonus quote that Bindu shared with me a few months ago: "God cares more about your sanctification than even your righteous dreams"

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Questions we've all grappled with: "Should I wait for God to show me what I should do with my career? Or should I just go for whatever option seems best?"

In this episode, I go deep to answer those questions and paint a solid picture of what it looks like to make a faithful career decision according to God's will.

You'll hear me cover:

POWERFUL (*shareable*) QUOTES:

"We are not meant to use prayer and "waiting for a sign" to exempt us from research and wise decision making."

"Don't fear failure, rather fear condemnation that you did nothing while waiting for an exact instructions to be handed to you from God."

"Scripture doesn't support negating the use of logic and sound judgement in difficult decisions in the hopes that an omen will come to make it all clear."

"We can't wait for direct instructions from God for day-to-day things He expects us to develop wisdom to handle."

Free Training: How to Find and Land a Job You Feel Called to in 8 Straightforward Steps → *⁠Watch Here⁠*

More of a reader? ⁠Download the 22 page PDF⁠ version instead → *Download here*

Schedule a free, 30 min consultation to get our help with your career → *Schedule here*

👯‍♀️CONNECT WITH US:

Website: ⁠thecalledcareer.com⁠

Instagram: ⁠@kelsey_thecalledcareer⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠The Called Career

Can you imagine training like an Olympian since early childhood and moving away from home at 16 to accept a position at one of the world's top professional ballet companies? Maybe you can, maybe you can't, but I'm sure you can picture how that would consume your life, dreams, and sense of identity - which is something we all have to grapple with when trying to place our identities in Christ, instead of the careers and dreams we hold so dearly.

For this, there is hardly any greater encouragement than Jordan Tilton's story of how God led her through her dream career as a professional ballet dancer, to heart-breaking injuries, to then making something beautiful out of a fresh start in both a new relationship with ballet and a new business.

Jordan is currently a professional dancer with Diablo Ballet and is the creator and host of a blog and podcast called Ballet to Business.

Before that, Jordan was a professional dancer with San Francisco Ballet when she experienced cycles of injuries that made first made her feel lost, then later found by the grace of Jesus Christ. Through these trials, found a love for restoring furniture that was the Genesis of a blog that would grow into an incredible podcast that highlights the stories of ballet dancers whose careers transformed from ballerinas to entrepreneurs.

Website: https://jordannicoleh.com/

Instagram: @jordannicoleh

Podcast: Ballet to Business

POWERFUL QUOTES

"I realized that my sin isn't just external acts, it runs deep inside of me. It's who I think I am and how I think of myself over others. I started to see in the Bible how God abhors pride, and that is when I saw that Jesus died for my pride, He died for my perfectionism, and all other things I was enslaved to."

"God and his Word became a refuge for me, giving me peace beyond my situation."

"Your identity is healed when you see that the gospel as the work Jesus did for me; it's not about the work I do for God anymore. There is so much freedom in that."

"When I was worshipping ballet, I was enslaved to the shackles of my body image and perfectionism."

"Ballet will never give me what it asks of me, while Christ gives me so much more while only asking me to repent and believe."

"The Bible is a book about God, not about me. That took me a long time to understand."

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⚡️Apply for Career Coaching:

Schedule a free, 30 min consultation with me to assess how career coaching can help you identify your true calling and land the exact job that will pay you to fulfill it:

Learn more and apply at thecalledcareer.com

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👯‍♀️Let’s Connect!

Website // thecalledcareer.com

Instagram // @kelsey_thecalledcareer

LinkedIn // www.linkedin.com/in/kelsey-janna-kemp

From Texas to Singapore to Washington D.C., my friend, Arianne Minks, is forging her path in politics while being rooted in Christ. Arianne is currently serving as a Confidential Assistant in the Unites States Department of the Treasury, and there is no shortage of interesting twists and turns in her story that have led her to this point!

In this episode, Arianne talks about the risks she's taken in her life and how God has opened doors for her to fulfill her calling to work on Capitol Hill.

POWERFUL QUOTES

"I would recommend anyone study or intern abroad in college. You learn so much about yourself and the world. You need to know who you are and be able to sit alone and be ok with who you are."

"You know those dreams in your heart that you don't even want to name, they're so sacred? Going to D.C. was one of those dreams, and it was such a sweet gift from God. I didn't even apply for an internship - that's how great God is!"

“It’s worth it to live boldly and courageously as a child of God. Answer the call your Creator put on your heart for a reason, and He will bring it to completion through you.”

"When God wants you to walk down a path, He'll swing the door wide open."

PRACTICAL ADVICE

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⚡️Apply for Career Coaching:

Schedule a free, 30 min consultation with me to assess how career coaching can help you identify your true calling and land the exact job that will pay you to fulfill it:

Learn more and apply at thecalledcareer.com

------------------------------------------------------

👯‍♀️Let’s Connect!

Website // thecalledcareer.com

Instagram // @kelsey_thecalledcareer

LinkedIn // www.linkedin.com/in/kelsey-janna-kemp

KEMP TWINS COMIN' ATTCHA in one of my favorite episodes thus far. Do you have a dream that you're desperate for God to fulfill? Does your upper lip start to sweat at the thought of surrendering that dream and trusting God wherever He leads you?

In this interview, Kirsten talks about:

Kirsten now serves ballet dancers as a mindset and transition coach, helping thousands of dancers through her YouTube and Instagram channels (@twintalksballet).

ON TOP OF ALL THAT GOOD STUFF (which, I was genuinely so inspired and encouraged by. Even though we spend nearly every waking second with each other, she served up so much wisdom I hadn't thought of before!) YOU'LL ALSO HEAR: 

POWERFUL QUOTES:

Red flag that you're following an idol not a calling: bargaining with God to keep you going in what you want, telling God “you need me here and this is how I should be playing out this mission.”

"True surrender of your dream is trusting that God’s will is better than your earthly desires."

"If Jesus is not clearly more desirable than anything else in your life, you need to seek to know Him first."

When we idolize our dream career, it’s easy to start praying like “God’s job is to save us from losing our dream.”

“I felt like I was trying to manipulate God, I kept on making up reasons why God predestined me to fulfill this dream.”

"God wouldn't truly be good if He granted us all of our desires that ultimately separate us from Him, because He is the only true source of love and hope in eternal life."

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⚡️Apply for Career Coaching:

Schedule a free, 30 min consultation with me to assess how career coaching can help you identify your true calling and land the exact job that will pay you to fulfill it:

Learn more and apply at thecalledcareer.com

------------------------------------------------------

👯‍♀️Let’s Connect!

Website // thecalledcareer.com

Instagram // @kelsey_thecalledcareer

LinkedIn // www.linkedin.com/in/kelsey-janna-kemp

Have you ever had a desire to save the world in some way? Dude, I have been desperate to play superwoman and change the world since 1993.

In the early days of my career coaching, I would literally say things like “you’re the world’s only chance to see God in a certain light.” and “The world will suffer in some way if you don’t follow your calling.” 

I was trying to speak to the dignity and purpose that God created us with, and there might be some truth in those statements, but my unspoken message was:

God needs you and the world needs you - CORRECTION: God treasures you and deeply cares about how you use your life, but He doesn’t need you. His power and His will being done on this earth isn’t limited by whether or not you decide to be obedient. He just wants us to know Him and reciprocate His love in a personal relationship with Him. Also, we aren’t doing all this in our own power for our own glory! God is the one that gives you the calling and equips you with the ability and strength to complete it!

Bible Scriptures Read in this Episode:

1 Peter 5:1-6

1 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. 5 In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

1 Peter 4:7-11

7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Acts 17:24-28

24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’[b] As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’[c]

Matthew 25:23

23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

My Instagram // @kelsey_thecalledcareer

My Site // thecalledcareer.com

 Do you know what discipleship is? What do you picture when you think of it? Does discipleship really matter at all?

These are the questions Renee Walters (whom I am so lucky to call my best friend) answers in today's podcast. Renee is a professional dancer with the Dallas Black Dance Theater, where she lives out her calling to bring light to the dance world and racial reconciliation to her community. 

Renee has been a model for discipleship years before I understood the importance of walking it out by building deep relationships in a faithful Christian community and taking the time to regularly study the Bible in small gatherings of two or three people.

I totally missed this because I thought "don't you just have to believe in Jesus?" As it turns out, being a "believer" is much different than living the committed, transformed life of a "disciple."  In essence, BELIEF is much different taking faithful action to live out that beliefs. 

"Make DISCIPLES" is right there in The Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20:

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make *disciples* of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

In this episode, you'll hear Renee talk about:

POWERFUL QUOTES:

"You cannot lead a life of faith in isolation."

"If you're in the majority, you can't truly understand the narrative of the minority, but that is not at all a cop out to not SEEK to understand."

“You can’t understand your calling and the individual purposes God has for you if you don’t FIRST understand the calling God has for all of his children (the call to faith, the call to disciple one another).”

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⚡️Apply for Career Coaching:

Schedule a free, 30 min consultation with me to assess how career coaching can help you identify your true calling and land the exact job that will pay you to fulfill it:

Learn more and apply at thecalledcareer.com

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👯‍♀️Let’s Connect!

Website // thecalledcareer.com

Instagram // @kelsey_thecalledcareer

LinkedIn // www.linkedin.com/in/kelsey-janna-kemp

Over the last few days, I've realized that I have allowed myself to be deceived.

Not only that, but I have been encouraging others to embrace lies, half-truths, a gospel that does not save, and a picture of your calling that encourages you to exalt yourself and forget Jesus.

I used to say, “God appointed you to live at this time in history to fulfill a specific mission.”⁣⁣⁣ Well, I think that’s partly true:⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” - Ephesians‬ ‭2:10‬ ‭NIV‬‬⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣But it’s not the whole picture!! Because my intention in saying “God appointed you to this time for a specific mission” was primarily to encourage people to glean glory, pride, and personal happiness from their own power and purpose. This urged myself and others to crown ourselves the kings and queens of our own lives, instead of putting Jesus at the center.

So I wanted to repent and say...

BE CAREFUL OF HALF-TRUTHS! I am so, so sorry I was spreading one.⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣For it was NEVER God’s intent to make us feel like a god. Instead, it was His intent to assign us to our stations in life SO THAT BY HIS GRACE WE WOULD KNOW HIM.⁣⁣⁣

Because HE DOESN'T NEED US, we need HIM!⁣⁣⁣

Read: ⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣Acts 17:24-28 (NIV)⁣⁣⁣

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. ⁣⁣⁣And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.⁣⁣ From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’⁣⁣

Isn’t that incredible!? God is so gracious to do everything in His power to help us know Him so that we may experience the gift of eternal life with Him!⁣⁣

⁣⁣My lesson in this:⁣⁣⁣

God didn’t intend for us to be prideful in thinking, “God predestined me to fulfill this mission so that I can be a savior.”⁣⁣⁣

He intended everything in our lives to point us to realizing that JESUS ALONE is our savior.⁣⁣⁣

In regards to finding your calling:

1. Remember that the most important thing God is calling you is faith and hope in Him and to disciple others to grow in the faith with you

2. Any unique calling from God places on your life, telling you to go here or there, or to complete a certain mission, IS FOR HIS GLORY, not yours

3. A calling is SERVICE, not self-righteousness 

My site // thecalledcareer.com

Instagram // @kelsey_thecalledcareer

LinkedIn // www.linkedin.com/in/kelsey-janna-kemp

“If we’re all God’s little princes and princesses, why do so many people have to endure such terrible suffering?” What does that say about God? What does that say about what I’m called to do?

These are the fundamental questions that shaped Alex Park’s path as he followed God’s call to care for those in unimaginable suffering. We're talking war, genocide, human trafficking, etc.

This led him to pursue a career in the military, starting in the Army and going through the absolutely brutal testing to become a Green Beret. He is now back in his hometown of Los Angeles preparing for law school so he can continue his calling in the international security sector from a different angle.

In this episode, you’ll hear Alex speak about: 

POWERFUL QUOTES:

"You find a true sense of belonging in your work when you're doing work that utilizes your talents while solving a problem you care about deeply. You experience joy as you witness redemption through your work by taking a broken thing and making it a whole (or at least more whole) thing."

“When you follow God, none of your pain of sorrow is in vain. He uses it to form you and the people around you to be more like Him.”

"Your personal identity shouldn't come before your faith to God."

“It’s the greatest gift to be given something to give back to God.”

“If you actually read the Bible, it doesn’t match up with a lot of our platitudes in the way we think they work.”

“When you are connected to the heart of God, you start to be disturbed by the things he has given you to be disturbed about and rejoice over the things he rejoices over. To get to that point you have to be in prayer and consistently spend time studying the word of God in the Bible.”

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⚡️Apply for Career Coaching:

Schedule a free, 30 min consultation with me to assess how career coaching can help you identify your true calling and land the exact job that will pay you to fulfill it:

Learn more and apply at thecalledcareer.com

------------------------------------------------------

👯‍♀️Let’s Connect!

Website // thecalledcareer.com

Instagram // @kelsey_thecalledcareer

LinkedIn // www.linkedin.com/in/kelsey-janna-kemp

When God says "Do you trust me?" What do you do?

In college and your early career, it's so easy to get caught up in the competition to get the most prestigious, high-paying job you can muster. In the mad dash for jobs before graduation, the concept of finding your true calling can seem irrelevant, frivolous, or even ridiculous as we hunt for any "respectable" job with the fervor of a cheerleader without a date a week before prom.

***Then in walks Claire Raabe*** The friend that stopped me in my tracks as I watched her boldly turn down her prestigious consulting job offers and stand her ground in prayer until God led her to a job she flourishes in (let's be clear - she is as smart as a whip, and can do anything she sets her mind to, but "can do" is MUCH DIFFERENT than "made to do").

Where did that land Claire? She is more energized and satisfied by her work than most people I know, serving as an Academic Advisor for the Business Honors program at our alma mater: Mays Business School at Texas A&M University.

Other things to love about Claire:

- She is outrageously proud to be from Poth, TX (pop. 1,800)

- Watch out for her in her natural habitats: Aggie football games, national parks, and trivia nights 

- She writes some smashing pieces of wisdom for a collective blog, www.allthemore.org

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE:

-Understanding God's graciousness in closing doors

-The importance of explicitly asking God for what you want through prayer

-Defining success for yourself versus based on the formulaic definition of success.

POWERFUL QUOTES:

 "If in college I didn't stop and actually do the work to figure out what I wanted in my career, why on earth would I suddenly choose to stop and make a courageous decision down the road?"

"How can we have direction when we don't have an end in mind?"

THEME VERSE // 1 Samuel 7:12 - "Samuel took a stone and set it up . . . and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, 'Till now the Lord has helped us.'” 

HAVE A QUESTION FOR CLAIRE? // shoot her an email at [email protected]

VALUES EXERCISE // Click here to download my free guide on how to define your core values (& what to do with them - including a list of 68 example values)

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⚡️Apply for Career Coaching:

Schedule a free, 30 min consultation with me to assess how career coaching can help you identify your true calling and land the exact job that will pay you to fulfill it:

Learn more and apply at thecalledcareer.com

------------------------------------------------------

👯‍♀️Let’s Connect!

Website // thecalledcareer.com

Instagram // @kelsey_thecalledcareer

LinkedIn // www.linkedin.com/in/kelsey-janna-kemp