16
The P.E.A.C.E. Process
For Personal Life-Purpose Discovery
A comprehensive and Biblical approach
to embracing your custom-designed calling
By Kathryn M. Leslie Certified Professional Life Coach
www.MasterPeaceLiving.com
"Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®,
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973,
1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)
"Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible,
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)
Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken 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 marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©
1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,
Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
“Scripture quotations marked (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.
Copyright © 2013 by Kathryn M. Leslie
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, transmitted in any form or by any means, or used in any manner whatsoever without the
express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations embodied in articles or
reviews.
Making copies of any part of this book for any purpose other than your own personal use is a violation
of United States copyright laws. For permission requests, please contact the author at
The anecdotal stories, illustrations and quotes in this book are composites where names and details
have been changed. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is coincidental.
The website addresses referenced throughout this book are offered as a resource to you. They are not
intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement on the part of the author, nor does she vouch for
their content for the life of this workbook. Other resources mentioned are simply offered for your
consideration and do not imply endorsement or guarantee of any sort.
The author provides no guarantee with respect to the results that may be obtained from the use of this
book or as to the accuracy or reliability of any discovery tools, questionnaires or exercises herein. This
book is meant to aide in your own personal contemplation and reflection with no guarantees
expressed or implied. Please use your own judgment aligned with Biblical truth and the leading of the
Holy Spirit before making decisions or changes based on your use of this book.
Printed in the United States of America
First Printing: November 2013
ISBN-13: 978-1492339052
ISBN-10: 1492339059
Dedicated To Barby Westmoreland
You live in the same body. You have the same beautiful eyes,
warm smile and classic good looks. But you have changed.
When you were almost 50, an age when many women slow down,
you declared war on the pain of the past and embraced transformation–
personally, professionally and in your relationship
with God and the rest of us.
You became my hero.
For over two decades you have counseled countless individuals and
families to wholeness, establishing a ripple effect for generations.
You have brought healing to our family (and many dear friends)
in ways that have changed us forever.
This year we celebrate the 20th Anniversary of
the organization you founded to bring
renewal, revelation and recovery to the lives of so many:
Living Well Ministries, Inc.*
Thank you for showing me it’s never too late to change.
It’s never too late to find and fulfill God’s purpose.
Many call you Friend…Teacher…Mentor.
I am blessed to call you all of these.
And honored to call you Mom.
I love you.
*www.LivingWellMinistriesInc.org
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I thank God for allowing me to discover my own purpose and
for calling me to share this discovery process with others. I’m so grateful, Father,
that “no purpose of Thine can be thwarted.” I love partnering with You.
This book is dedicated to my hero, Barby Westmoreland, Counselor and Family
Life Coach for St. Simons Community Church. Mom, you are a living, breathing
example of what happens when a woman goes “all in” to accomplish what
God has fashioned her to do for the Kingdom.
Thanks also to my children, Ali and Preston, for serving as inspiration. I want you
to follow your passion and find God’s unique purpose for your own lives as you
head off to and finish up college. Your journeys are just beginning and I am so
excited to see what’s next. I love you more than you know.
Special appreciation goes to the willing team of guinea pigs who challenged
me to keep going and make it better: Mom, Melissa, Ali, Leslie, Bridget and Liz.
Writing can be lonely and isolating. Ladies of the Changing Lives Sunday School
Class, you probably have no idea how much your support kept me “between
the ditches” on this writing project. I praise God for our beloved teacher, Karen
Futch, and her well-timed messages on pressing on in Christ. Thank you, Jesus,
for protecting the unity, community and love we share in this class. I love us!
To my peer coaches and friends, Andrea Shupert and Elizabeth Buttimer, thank
you for bringing clarity to my writing process. Your skilled support helped me see
the obstacles and step around them.
My utmost gratitude and respect goes to my mentor coach, Linda Hedberg
(www.ChristianCoachingResources.com) who helped me choose the coach
training program best suited to my needs and then stood “shoulder-to-shoulder”
with me as I earned my certification, built my coaching practice, and wrote this
workbook. Your skill, support, and insight have been invaluable. Couldn’t have
done it without you. Thank you for being a friend.
I can’t thank the wonderful instructors of Professional Christian Coaching Institute
(www.professionalchristiancoaching.com) enough for giving me the solid
foundation I needed to become a certified coach. Your standard of
excellence set the bar for this workbook as a high-quality resource. Special
thanks to PCCI founders Christopher and Rachel McCluskey, and to instructors
Kim Avery, Anne Denmark, Jory Fisher and Michael Pfau. It was such an honor
to learn from the best.
Finally, if it weren’t for my virtual assistant extraordinaire, Susan Fleming
(www.ElectronicMarketingSuccess.com), we would not be reading this. Talk
about patience…mad skills… more patience…and a dedication to Jesus!
Susan, you are such a superstar. Thank you also for praying for me, for this
project, and for my life and business in general. Bless you!
The Story Behind This Workbook
“I’ve got to figure out what to do when I grow up,” I told my
best friend in 2006. Never mind that I was nearing 50 and
had two pre-teen children of my own.
I was called to be a wife and mother, of course, but storm
clouds were brewing over our family and God was inviting
me to sit still before Him and LISTEN.
He had a plan for my future. I knew that. What I didn’t
know was WHAT it was or WHY it was important to discover it
now. But I was a stressed-out mess who desperately
wanted to know.
I had reluctantly re-entered the work force after a dozen
years as a stay-at-home mom. And although financially
successful, my new career exhausted me spiritually,
mentally, physically and emotionally.
You know the drill: Go to work and worry about what’s happening at home. Go home and
worry about what’s happening at work. AAAAAARRRRRGH!
I knew I had gifts and abilities given to me by the Lord. Why, then, was I drowning in a sea
of stress? Why was I experiencing exhaustion instead of fulfillment? Wasn’t there more to
life this side of Heaven?
And so it began. A slow, solitary process to find out how God had wired me and what He
was pointing to as my “next step” in life. Fortunately, I had Christian counseling resources at
my disposal and was an ardent student of the Word of God. And I loved research.
Two books, in particular, impacted my process: Max Lucado’s “Cure for the Common Life,”
which offers a time-tested process by People Management International to discover your
“sweet spot” in life1, and “S.H.A.P.E.” by Erik Rees, a book devoted to helping you find and
fulfill God’s unique purpose.2
After months of seeking, God seemed to be pointing me toward a new career: life
coaching. But as a profession, coaching was in its infancy and I didn’t know one single life
coach. Ok, Lord, I prayed, lead on. But other than that, I made no progress.
That’s because the storm I mentioned earlier erupted over the next two years, resulting in
the excruciating end of my 20-year marriage. It would be a long time before I healed
enough to ask the question once again…”Lord, what do you want me to be when I grow
up?”
I wanted to invest the rest of my life in Kingdom work, that much I knew. No matter what
job or career came next, I wanted my life to count and I wanted to fulfill my personal life
purpose. How could I best invest my time and energy?
Again the Lord presented the idea of life coaching and this time I grabbed on!
Ironically (well, maybe not so ironically) almost all of my first coaching clients wanted help
finding their individual, custom-designed, God-given purposes for their lives. And I thought,
“Wow! I know how that feels!”
You would think I’d be really good at helping them.
But…no. I wasn’t.
My own journey had taken months and was a Spirit-led process that included reading,
research, counseling, assessments, support groups, journaling, prayer and contemplation.
It was messy. And I had no idea how to repeat it with my clients.
What I needed were some tools to focus the process.
Meanwhile, I began hearing the same cry from other new coaches trying to help their own
clients identify purpose and passion. Most were asking about sophisticated personality
assessments. “Which ones are best? How do we use them?”
What I wanted was a user-friendly, inexpensive, multi-faceted, all-in-one-place tool to help
people understand their divine design and equipping.
Something brief enough for busy folks but comprehensive, too. Something that looked at
multiple aspects of one’s life and experience, including God-given strengths and
weaknesses, personality style, life history, spiritual gifts, priorities and passions.
A tool to start the conversation and keep it moving forward.
I kept looking for such a tool. I found some wonderful books, but nothing brief. Nothing I
could offer my clients to do a little bit at a time between coaching sessions and not
become overwhelmed.
And then I heard my Heavenly Father invite me to create it myself based on my own
experience with life-purpose discovery and what I had learned as a practicing Christian life
coach.
I was so surprised I thought I misheard. But He confirmed the invitation over the next few
months, beginning with the name, The P.E.A.C.E. Process, an acronym for the elements that
had so illuminated my own life-purpose discovery:
Personality, Experiences, Abilities, Core values and Energizers.
You are holding the result in your hand. It has been an extreme honor to work on this
project. As you use this tool for yourself or with others, may God bless you with His great
peace (and joy!) in the process! I’d love to hear your feedback. Email me at
And one more thing: I may have figured out my purpose, but I’m still working on growing
up. Do you think…maybe…that’s optional?
Expecting Great Things for You,
Kathryn Leslie
Table of Contents
Dedication
Acknowledgements
The Story Behind This Workbook
CHAPTER 1 Getting Started ……………………………………………………… 9
CHAPTER 2 Personality ……………………………………………………………. 19
CHAPTER 3 Experiences ………………………………………………………….. 33
CHAPTER 4 Abilities ………………………………………………………………... 45
CHAPTER 5 Core Values …………………………………………………………. 57
CHAPTER 6 Energizers …………………………………………………………….. 66
CHAPTER 7 Life Purpose Discovery …………………………………………….. 73
CHAPTER 8 Next Steps ……………………………………………………………. 83
Resources: …………………………………………………………………………….. 85
Appendix I – Introducing The Prince of Peace ……………….. 86
Appendix II – Scriptures for Life Purpose Discovery ………….. 90
Notes and References ……………………………………………… 92
About the Author ……………………………………………………. 95
“Nobody sits down and dreams up a life purpose within a few minutes.
“It takes time to envision…It also takes time and a lot of reflection to develop a
statement that captures the essence of where one wants to go in life...
“God guides in various ways, but most of us don’t find our life missions until we are
aware of our values, passions, strengths, and visions.” 1
--Gary R. Collins
www.MasterPeaceLiving.com 9
Getting Started Chapter 1
10 www.MasterPeaceLiving.com
Finding your purpose can
mean the difference
between struggling to find
meaning day-to-day and
thriving in a flow of God’s
power as you carry out His
great destiny for you.
It’s a matter of living
“on purpose,”
in the center of His will,
empowered by His strength
and energy.
Getting Started
Chapter 1 “Does God really have a particular purpose
for me? How can I find out what it is?”
“Sure I know my purpose…it’s the same for all
Christians: to love God and love my neighbor.
Right?”
“I’m trying to honor God in all I do, but I’m
exhausted and stressed all the time. What am
I doing wrong?”
Joy. Peace. The abundant life.
These are the promises of God. You’ve heard them. Hopefully, you’ve
experienced them.
But practicing a peaceful lifestyle can be a real struggle. Life is stressful!
Things like empty nest or a looming retirement can rock your sense of peace.
And experiencing a gut-wrenching loss – a death or divorce, for example – can
irrevocably change the trajectory of your life.
Any of these can leave you feeling…well, NOT peaceful.
We need two kinds of peace: peace with God and the peace of God.
Peace WITH God is that deep-in-your-spirit, living peace that comes from right
standing with God – a peace made possible at great cost. That peace is a Person.
Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. Knowing Him is essential for peace. (See Appendix I:
Introducing the Prince of Peace.)
This workbook addresses the other kind
of peace…the peace OF God experienced
in your mind, will and emotions. This kind of
peace comes not only from a personal,
vibrant relationship with Jesus, but also from
living the life His Father designed you to live.
It’s the peace of being purposeful and
fulfilled, satisfied that your life is invested in
something valuable. Meaningful. Something
bigger than yourself.
It’s about building a legacy. (What will
they say at your funeral?)
It’s about participating in Kingdom
work on earth – no matter what roles, job or
career you have -- that allows you to lay up
treasure in Heaven and merit a “Well done, my good and faithful Servant” from the
Father.
This kind of peace comes from knowing and completing your earthly
www.MasterPeaceLiving.com 11
“For we are God’s
masterpiece.
He created us anew
in Christ Jesus,
so that we can do the good
things he planned for us
long ago.”
Ephesians 2:10 NLT
assignment. It comes from operating in alignment with your custom-made design
and gifting, empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Finding your purpose can mean the difference between struggling to find
meaning day-to-day and thriving in a flow of God’s power as you carry out His great
destiny for you. It’s a matter of living “on purpose,” in the center of His will,
empowered by His strength and energy.
Jesus, the Prince of Peace, spoke of His earthly assignment this way: “…for the
works that the Father has appointed Me to accomplish and finish, the very same
works that I am now doing, are a witness and proof that the Father has sent Me.”2
Later He informed us that we would do even greater works than His.3
How in the world…?
Custom or Common: Do I really have a Unique Life Purpose?
The best-selling non-fiction hardback in history (according to its cover) with
over 32 million copies sold, “The Purpose-Driven Life,” by Rick Warren, has obviously
struck a chord with Christians all over the world. It’s a 40-day journey to explore the
five divine purposes common to all believers. The newest edition includes 42 audio
messages, each one 40 to 50 minutes in length. The now famous first line of the book
reads, “It’s not about you.”
Looking at life purpose from the
perspective of the One who created life,
Warren says you were created for God’s
pleasure; you were created for God’s family;
you were created to become like Christ; you
were created for serving; and you were
created for a mission.4
In other words, you were created for
something a whole lot bigger than yourself.
While true for all of us, these five purposes
play out very differently in our individual lives.
The Bible says, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He created us anew in Christ
Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”5 That word
masterpiece comes from the Greek word poema, from which we get the English
word poem. It means work of art.
So are you a unique work of art or an assembly-line copy? Scripture points to
the former. (So does God’s creativity. From snowflakes to sunsets to symphonies,
God seems to enjoy creating beautiful one-of-a-kind things.)
Scripture is clear on this. We are custom-designed for customized reasons.
We are not all designed to do the same things or serve the same way. Consider the
following: (See Appendix II for more scripture references.)
In scripture, David praises God for designing him, citing that he was
“knit together” in his mother’s womb by God, “intricately and curiously
wrought.”6 Other translations describe being fearfully and wonderfully
made.
12 www.MasterPeaceLiving.com
Finding Your Purpose
is Simple,
But Not Easy
It’s not complicated to
find your life purpose. It’s
simply a matter of looking
carefully at how God
designed you, how He’s
wired you and how He’s
equipped you.
That information often
reveals what He’s
designed you to do.
But gaining self-
awareness is not an easy
process. We’re busy and
easily distracted. We’re
used to seeing ourselves
certain ways.
And we have an enemy
who has no interest in our
becoming more useful to
the Kingdom of God.12
It takes time… energy…
and honest reflection to
clearly discern what God
is up to. It takes listening
to the Holy Spirit -- your
Teacher, Counselor and
Guide-- to confirm what
you think you’ve
discovered.
“The purpose in a
man's heart is like deep
water, but a man of
understanding will draw it
out.” (Proverbs 20:5 ESV)
The question is, will you
draw it out?
If the answer is yes, The
P.E.A.C.E. Process can help.
The Apostle Paul says we are gifted
differently for differing assignments.
“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the
same Spirit. And there are varieties of
ministries, and the same Lord. There are
varieties of effects, but the same God
who works all things in all persons… But
one and the same Spirit works all these
things, distributing to each one
individually just as He wills.”7
The Parable of the Talents indicates
that the Master gives “to each in
proportion to his own personal ability.”8
Paul also charges us in Romans to live
out, or exercise, our differing gifts. “For
just as we have many members in one
body and all the members do not have
the same function, so we, who are
many, are one body in Christ, and
individually members one of another.
Since we have gifts that differ
according to the grace given to us,
each of us is to exercise them
accordingly…”9
Look again at Ephesians 2:10, the verse
about being a masterpiece. Are you convinced
that you are a unique creation? It’s true! The
other astounding thing about this verse is what it
reveals about your unique purpose.
Rick Warren drills down to the idea of
personal purpose, writing, “Before God created
you, he decided what role he wanted you to
play on earth. He planned exactly how he
wanted you to serve him, and then he shaped
you for those tasks.”10
You were made for a specific contribution
on earth and can take the words written in
Jeremiah 29:11 very personally: “‘For I know the
plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord,
‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give
you a future and a hope.’”11
Before you were born, God planned
specific “good things” for you to do. He has a
custom-designed destiny for you.
But how will you find it?
www.MasterPeaceLiving.com 13
About The P.E.A.C.E. Process
The P.E.A.C.E. Process is an all-in-one-place discovery tool for busy people.
It’s designed to open your eyes in a comprehensive way by helping you make
careful exploration of five areas of your inner world.
Looking at these five areas is like looking in five different windows of a house.
Imagine trying to buy a home this way…by peering in five windows. You’d know
more about the house than you did before you looked in the windows. But to grasp
what the architect had in mind when he designed it, you’d need to get inside and
see how the spaces fit together. Then you’d know how to use the space to create
a home. You could imagine a future based on the true design of the structure.
That’s the idea behind The P.E.A.C.E. Process.
Each area gives a different perspective on God’s design and provides clues
about His overall purpose for your life.
The P.E.A.C.E. Process helps you uncover your:
Personality blend,
Experiences (good and bad),
Abilities (spiritual gifts),
Core values, and
Energizers (passions).
Much like entering a house and looking around rather than peeking in the
windows, you’ll explore how each part of your custom design relates to the whole.
You’ll develop a working definition of your life purpose that can be tested and
refined over time.
You’ll probably continue to refine your life purpose long into the future. That’s
ok. Remember, this is an on-going conversation between you and the Lord. He is
the master of timely revelation!
You’ll find additional resources in the Notes and References section at the
end of the book.
A Disclaimer and A Thought
While this workbook contains exercises carefully developed to help you
evaluate and embrace not only the way God designed you, but also the way He
has equipped you, they do not provide statistical or scientific results. You should
find them eye-opening and thought-provoking, but your own efforts to be honest,
prayerful and intuitive will make a difference in the outcome you achieve.13
Furthermore, the exercises in The P.E.A.C.E. Process do not take the place of
scientifically-developed, statistically-measured assessments available on the market,
especially concerning strengths analysis. There are some great resources available
with varying degrees of reliability and validity. Several of these are mentioned in the
next chapter and are easy to find on the internet.
However, you may find these formal assessments to be expensive, time-
consuming and complicated. Some require a certified representative to administer
and give results. Others send detailed reports – pages and pages for you to grasp
and incorporate into your planning. While this can be helpful, most assessments
cover only one element of your design. The P.E.A.C.E. Process helps you evaluate
14 www.MasterPeaceLiving.com
Note to Coaches, Counselors
and Ministry Leaders:
Find additional resources to help
lead others through this
workbook, including Coaching
Questions for each chapter, at
www.MasterPeaceLiving.com
five key areas for a more comprehensive approach to finding your life purpose.
How To Use This Workbook
If you’re coming to this discovery
process on your own, fantastic! This
workbook is designed to facilitate – and
advance -- a conversation between you
and the Holy Spirit.
However, stay open to the idea of
getting additional help along the way.
Working with a skilled facilitator before,
during or after finishing this workbook can
powerfully accelerate your progress and
understanding.
You can work individually, in a small group or with a personal coach,
counselor or ministry leader. No matter the approach, this workbook is designed to
keep you focused, organized, and moving forward in your search for personal life
purpose.
Be Prepared for Opposition
As you complete this workbook, you’re going to view your life from a number
of different vantage points, learning a great deal about your beautiful design as you
go along. Doing so frees you to embrace ALL the elements of your God-ordained
uniqueness.
But, guess what. You will be opposed throughout this discovery process. The
world, the flesh and the devil will almost certainly attempt to deny you the discovery
of your purpose.14
You may be surprised at how hard it is remember what God revealed in the
previous chapters. Or how easy it is to get distracted from finishing.
What’s at stake is your sustained determination to live life with passion and to
pursue God’s purpose for your life with great confidence. Devote yourself to this
process. Commit. Make it a matter of prayer.
Get started by reading How to Get the Most Out of This Workbook (see box
on next page) and then proceed to the simple instructions that follow.
Let’s get started!
