#219: Your Gift May Not Be Your Calling: How to Renew Your Mind and Step Into God's Purpose | Courtney Schawl

Your Gift Isn't Your Calling: How to Renew Your Mind and Step Into God's Purpose ↳ Connect with the host, Tara LaFon Gooch on all platforms

What if the thing you're gifted at isn't actually your calling?

In this powerful conversation on the GRASP Confidence Podcast, Tara LaFon Gooch sits down with Christian songwriter, author, and mind-renewal teacher Courtney Schawl to explore a question that could completely change the way you see your purpose: Are you confusing your gifts with your calling?

Using King David as an example, Tara and Courtney unpack the difference between what you're naturally gifted to do and what God has actually called you to become. David was a gifted musician and songwriter but his calling was kingship. His gift became a tool for his calling.

From there, the conversation goes much deeper.

Courtney shares how songwriting became a powerful tool for emotional healing and mind renewal, why music can reach parts of the brain that words alone cannot, and how the Psalms give us a biblical model for bringing our pain, emotions, questions, and struggles honestly before God.

Together, Tara and Courtney explore:

Why your gifts and your calling aren't always the same thing How music and songwriting can help us process emotions and renew the mind What King David's Psalms can teach us about vulnerability, healing, and hearing from God The power of the words we speak about ourselves—and why "I am" matters The difference between biblical transformation and New Age ideas about manifestation What Courtney means by a "quantum leap" from a biblical perspective Why obedience and surrender can open doors you couldn't have planned yourself How the skills you've developed throughout your life can point toward your next assignment Why your identity should never be tied to your title, career, income, or worldly success How to recognize the clues God may already be giving you about your calling Why getting into God's Word may be the first step when you don't know your next move

Tara and Courtney also talk about something many high-performing people struggle with: you can learn everything, plan everything, and still remain stuck if you're unwilling to surrender and take action.

Your next move may not require a completely new gift. It may require you to recognize what God has already placed inside you and trust Him enough to use it.

Your gift may be the tool. Your calling is the assignment. And confidence begins when you trust the One who gave y