CALLED CALLED out out Why I Traded Two Dream Jobs for a Life of True Calling Why I Traded Two Dream Jobs for a Life of True Calling
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
CALLED CALLED OUT OUT Why I Traded Two Dream Jobs for a Life of True Calling Why I Traded Two Dream Jobs For a Life of True Calling PAULA FARIS PAULA FARIS 5 Called Out • Paula Farris Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group © 2021 used by permission _Faris_CalledOut_SH_bb_Repackage.indd 5 4/5/21 5:32 PM © 2020 by Paula Faris Published by Bethany House Publishers 11400 Hampshire Avenue South Bloomington, Minnesota 55438 www.bethanyhouse.com Bethany House Publishers is a division of Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan Printed in the United States of America All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means— for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews. ISBN 978-0-7642-3543-6 (cloth) ISBN 978-0-7642-3544-3 (paperback) This edition published 2021. Library of Congress Control Number: 2019955193 Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™ Scripture quotations identified ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2016 Scripture quotations identified KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible. Scripture quotations identified MESSAGE are from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Scripture quotations identifiedNKJV are from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations identifiedTPT are from The Passion Translation®. Copyright © 2017 by BroadStreet Publishing® Group, LLC. Used by permission. All rights reserved. thePas- sionTranslation.com This book recounts events in the life of Paula Faris according to the author’s recollection and information from the author’s perspective. While all stories are true, some dialogue and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of the people involved. Cover design by LOOK Design Studio Cover photography by Heidi Gutman-Guillaume Author is represented by United Talent Agency. 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Called Out • Paula Farris Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group © 2021 used by permission _Faris_CalledOut_SH_bb_Repackage.indd 6 4/5/21 5:32 PM For my dad . I love you forever. Called Out • Paula Farris Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group © 2021 used by permission _Faris_CalledOut_SH_bb_Repackage.indd 7 4/5/21 5:32 PM CONTE NTS 1 News Anchor Kills Career Over Burger and Fries 11 Girl Misses Her Faith Calling, Settles for Drug of 2 Choice— Success 25 Interview with an International Spy: Clarifying 3 Calling 43 4 The Calling Bigger than My Fear 57 5 How to Cultivate a Desire Bigger than Any Fear 73 6 Out of the Comfort Zone, through the Fear 87 7 An Impostor in New York 105 Called Out • Paula Farris Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group © 2021 used by permission _Faris_CalledOut_SH_bb_Repackage.indd 8 4/5/21 5:32 PM CONTE NTS 8 Trading One Identity for Another 121 9 How Martha Becomes Mary 135 10 The Year of Hell, the Year of Waking Up 147 The Vine of Faith Calling, the Branches of Vocational 11 Calling 163 12 The Journey to Faith through Incremental Change 179 Epilogue 195 Afterword by Max Lucado 199 Acknowledgments 201 Notes 205 Called Out • Paula Farris Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group © 2021 used by permission _Faris_CalledOut_SH_bb_Repackage.indd 9 4/5/21 5:32 PM CHAPTER 1 News Anchor Kills Career Over Burger and Fries There’s no rational way to kill your career. This is my last thought before walking from the shadows of the ABC News headquarters’ redbrick façade on West 66th Street in New York City. But after six years, hundreds of interviews, thousands of hours filing reports for the network and co- hosting World News Now, countless hours hosting the weekend edition of Good Morning America (GMA), and taking my seat on The View, it’s time. I’m ready to pull the trigger, and if I don’t, I know my addiction will get the best of me. Stepping onto Columbus Avenue, I throw my sunglasses on, flip open the notepad in my hand, and ignore the first signs of spring Called Out11 • Paula Farris Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group © 2021 used by permission _Faris_CalledOut_SH_bb_Repackage.indd 11 4/5/21 5:32 PM CALLEd OUT budding from the trees, pushing up from the street-side planters, and sprouting up from the window boxes of Lincoln Center. It’s the right kind of day for hard conversations, the spring sun smiling down on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and as I walk, I study my notes and rehearse my lines. I’ve rehearsed them a hundred times—at home, in the car, in the bathroom, at the office. I’ve made my husband, John, suffer through my practice sessions. But this time, I’m not preparing for a TV appearance. This time, I’m preparing for the most important conversation of my career. Rubbing shoulders with someone who’d refused to yield my side of the sidewalk—or had I crossed into hers?—I don’t look up or apologize or make eye contact. Instead, I head south toward the Atlantic Grill restaurant, right fist balled up, flicking my wrist for emphasis as I tick off the bullet points. I tune out the street noise, the hissing of a stop- ping bus, the sounds of sirens, a person talking to a hot dog vendor. I can’t forget a single word on this note pad. I turn the corner to West 65th and as I do, my heart flutters and a hole opens up in my stomach. I’m really doing this, I think. Regardless of how much it scares me. I see the back entrance for the Atlantic Grill, a local hangout for journalists and news executives, and I pray no one else from the network is in there chowing down cheeseburgers with a side of gossip. I’d rather not be the subject of more rumors. Through the door, I nod to the host and tell him I’m meeting James Goldston. Mr. Goldston hasn’t arrived, he says. I thank him, letting him know I’ll be back after running to the ladies’ room. In the restroom, I stand directly in front of the mirror and give myself a little pep talk. You know what you want. Stay firm in your demands. Even though he scheduled this meeting, you are in the driver’s seat. Don’t let your fear get the best of you. Called Out12 • Paula Farris 13 Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group © 2021 used by permission _Faris_CalledOut_SH_bb_Repackage.indd 12 4/5/21 5:32 PM News Anchor Kills Career Over Burger and Fries I check my hair, my glasses, my blouse. I look the part— confident, strong journalist— no matter how fast my heart pounds. I repeat the salient points to myself one last time: It’s been a trying season (no, a year of hell) and I’ve worked through it all; the hours have been insane and there’s no end in sight (should I bring up the twenty-one straight shifts without a break?); John and I haven’t been able to take time off in years (does this sound too whiny?); God seems to be drawing me in a different direction (careful not to over-spiritualize it, Paula). I repeat the phrases, then put the notes down and try to recite them by memory, but my brain is at capacity, my thoughts muddied. I’d do anything for a teleprompter. When I return to the dining room, the host leads me back to my table and takes my drink order. Water is fine, I say, then place my cheat sheet to my right while I wait for James to make his entrance. When he walks through the double doors of the Atlantic Grill, heads turn. Even if he weren’t the president of ABC News, he’d attract attention. Tall, slender, and in his mid- fifties, he carries himself with purpose. And a smile. It’s an easy smile, the kind that’s a rarity among Manhattan movers and shakers. He walks kindly, if such a thing is possible, and I suspect this is what’s made James an accomplished journalist. I scoot out of the booth to give him a hug, and he tells me it’s good to see me. I slide back into my seat, and once he is centered against the cherry- red leather back of the booth, he launches into the usual pleasantries. How’s John? Is he still enjoying commercial real estate? What about the kids? Is Caroline doing well in school? How old is Landon now? Has he started soccer yet? I answer his questions and ask him a few of my own. James tells me about his wife, his three boys, and how much they are loving soccer. Speaking of soccer, we launch into a conversation about the international leagues.