Tag Archives: gifts and talents

You Have God-Given Gifts

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You Have God-Given Gifts

You Have God-Given Gifts

Last week we talked about measuring whether or not we are operating in our gift and how sometimes our frustrations can be indicators.  There were points in my life where I KNOW that I wasn’t using my gifts, and I’m sure of that now because of the frustration that I was experiencing during those times.  I don’t think I fully comprehended that God has given me some gifts that He wants me to use in order to fulfill the calling and purpose that He has placed on my life.  If you are experiencing some frustrations in your job, career or role that you play, maybe you need to start focusing on the God-given gifts placed inside of you and determine if and how they fit into your current roles.  This starts with first and foremost recognizing that you ARE indeed gifted! 

We are, each and every one of us, gifted by God.

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I actually changed my major in college because of frustrations and not recognizing my gifts.  At the time, I didn’t even know that it had anything to do with my God-given gifts.  I just knew I was miserable in my classes and couldn’t imagine a life-long career doing something I hated.  I originally majored in Accounting and had imagined myself one day becoming a tax attorney.  Then I started taking some classes for Accounting.  I did well in them, but I absolutely HATED them.  They were so boring to me.  I didn’t enjoy working with numbers.  I much preferred writing papers to filling out a balance sheet.  There was so much paperwork and so little interaction with people.

After researching the career more, visiting with my professors and taking a few classes, I quickly realized that Accounting was not the path for me.  I knew it would not make me happy because I wouldn’t get to do the things I enjoyed most.  Those are the things that I now know as my God-given gifts.  Thankfully, my frustrations guided me away from a career that God never intended for me.  I think if I had known more about my God-given gifts I could have avoided some of that frustration, and I could have saved the time and money of taking classes I didn’t need!

I now know that God has given me gifts.  Continue reading →

Are You Operating in Your Gift?

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Are You Operating in Your Gift?

Are You Operating in Your Gift?

This past weekend I had the wonderful honor and opportunity to speak at a local women’s conference.  Thank you so much to those of you who prayed for me and for the conference.  It was a success!  I continue to pray and believe that the words the ladies received will sink down into their hearts and produce some great things in their lives.  God’s Word doesn’t return void! (Isaiah 55:11)  I spoke about discovering your God-given gifts and purpose.

God has been really working on me over the past several years to show me my own gifts and talents and to give me a glimpse of some of the things that He’s calling me to do.  I still don’t know my WHOLE purpose in life, but I’m definitely seeing God reveal bits and pieces of it to me little by little.  I’m not sure if we really ever figure this out all at once anyway.  My sister told me the other day that if God told me everything He wanted me to do right now, I’d more than likely just reply “Heck NO! I’m not doing that!”  She’s probably right.  I tend to be reluctant a lot when God calls me to do something new that might be a little out of my comfort zone.  Sometimes I can be a little stubborn. 😉

I shared with the ladies at the conference that I’ve always said my whole life that I would NEVER be a teacher.  I’ve learned that you have to be careful of what you say you will never do because God has a sense of humor.  Little did I know when I swore off teaching, that it is exactly what God had gifted me to do.  Now when I look back I can see that it was there all along.  I just didn’t recognize it.  Unfortunately, I think this is true of a lot of people and their gifts.  They don’t know they’re gifted or they don’t recognize them for a number of reasons.  Some people have just never been taught.  My goal is to change that—at least in my sphere of influence.  Now this is something that I teach in both my college classes and at Glory House, the women’s restoration home where I teach.  I’d like to continue some of this teaching on the blog here too from time to time because you can’t start operating in your gift until you know what your gifts are.

Discovering my gifts and purpose started for me several years back.  Continue reading →

Do Others Have a Gift You Wish You Had?

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Do you ever look at another's gift or talent and wish you could do what they do? Learn more about your gifts and how they can complement others' gifts.

Do Others Have a Gift You Wish You Had?

I didn’t get the creative genes gift in my family, at least not when it comes to decorating, crafting, sewing, etc.  My mom and my sister Shawna probably possess the creative prowess in these areas of a hundred people.  Not me.  Nope.  Give me something to write, teach or stick me in front of a crowd of people to speak any day!  But put me in a room of kids to pull off a birthday party, and I’m toast.  That is utter torture to me.

Thank goodness my kids have their aunt and grandma!  Without them my kids’ birthdays would consist of some really sad decorations (or none at all), maybe a really ugly but yummy cake (I can cook even if it doesn’t look pretty), maybe a few family members over to our house (or better yet a restaurant, that way I don’t have to clean up after everyone), and probably some pretty cool presents (I AM really good at shopping 🙂 ).  I guess I’m somewhat of a minimalist.  I typically like to keep things simple—probably more because I’m not very good at the creative stuff.  It’s not one of my gifts or talents.  I am so very thankful that God made us so that our gifts complement one another.

I’ve learned that that keeping things simple is not all bad.  I’ve also learned that my kids can have the really cool birthday parties, and it’s STILL simple.  It’s simple because I’ve learned the art of delegation.  I simply delegate those tasks that I’m not good at or that seem torturous to me to others who actually enjoy doing them and are quite good at them to boot.  In other words, it’s their gift to do those tasks that I despise.

Take this past weekend for example. Continue reading →