Stop Using These Phrases

"Hi, I'm Sam."
"Hi Sam, nice to meet you. So what do you do?"

Stop asking people how they pay their bills and start asking them what their passions are. Maybe I've started to feel strongly about this because for the past few months, I have done nothing that has resulted in more money sitting in my bank account. Which makes me sound lazy. That's fine, you can think that.

When I meet someone new and they ask me "What do you do?" I tell them "I'm unemployed, but I used to be a teacher." Though the question behind "What do you do?" is really "What are you good at? What do you like doing? What kind of person are you?"

If I told you that Adam is a financial advisor at a bank, and Ethan pumps gas at the 76, you've already got your opinions on them. But maybe everyday after work, Adam goes home and drinks a fifth of Jack Daniels, and Ethan volunteers at the community center teaching kids how to play soccer. What do you think now?

I admit that I have been a terrible judge, and that I think things about people based on what they do to make money. So I'm trying really hard to stop asking people this question. I don't want to ask someone what they do. I want to ask them what they love. What makes them excited about life?

So in case you are curious about me, here are the details...
How I pay my bills
I have actually secretly acquired a sugar daddy who lives in San Diego. Don't believe me? I am not receiving weekly unemployment checks, I'm not on food stamps, I don't have a husband to support me, and my parents don't pay my bills. Instead, I am emptying the savings account I had stashed up for grad school. As my cousin Kristi would say, "Life is grad school for the hard knocks." So in a way, this is my grad school. A time to discover and do what I am passionate about.


Things that make me excited about life
helping kids grow
writing to share truth, joy, humor, and hope
teaching Bible class at the public school I used to work at*
creating beautiful things
teaching a 17 year old boy how to read*
writing encouraging letters to strangers

Another phrase that I hate besides "What do you do?" is "How are you?" People always lie. They say, "I'm fine." So instead of asking a person "How was your week?" I want to start asking them "What happened to you this week?" Based on what sort of things they tell me happened to them, I'll make the call on whether they are fine or not. It's likely that their voice and expressions will betray them, and I will discover how they are really feeling.

So Reader, I want to know. What are your passions? What makes you excited about life? And what happened to you this week? Drop me a line.



*these are two things that I will tell you more about in separate posts for each of them. I thought way back in April that God wanted me to teach for free, and I still think he does, just not in the way I previously expected.