Browsing Tag

talents

Blog, Business, Faith, Parenting, prayer, Spiritual Gifts

A gift from God

Our daughter Leah with her violin

Our daughter Leah with her violin

Yesterday our youngest daughter Leah and I spontaneously went to eat at the Mexican restaurant in town, one of my fave places, and when we were almost finished, I spotted my old friend Denise and her husband Clayton at the door. They were looking for a meeting room in town for their MLM business. She ran up to me and hugged me, loudly laughing in exclamation to see me. As we talked, they shared about their business and then we left.

As soon as I was home, Denise texted me an apology, saying she hoped that they hadn’t been “too much” sharing about the company, but they were just excited about the testimonies from people using the product. I texted her back no, but I was wondering if I had run across her for another reason: our daughter Leah.

Leah Jones' graduation -in her blue cap, gown, and tassel

Leah Jones’ graduation -in her blue cap, gown, and tassel

Leah graduated two years ago from our homeschool, but isn’t sure what she wants to do yet with our life, so she doesn’t have a job and isn’t enrolled in college. She’s been taking violin lessons for two years and is an incredible violinist, and is teaching herself how to play the mandolin, the guitar, and the keyboard. She’s also an amazing, completely self-taught artist.

Copyright 2014 Leah Jones

Copyright 2014 Leah Jones

Several years ago, Ray bought her a graphic art tablet for her computer. I believe the art she creates is inspired by God. It is simply beautiful. I knew Denise was an artist and had been to the art studio in her home when we used to be neighbors and Leah was a toddler. I told her about Leah’s art and asked if she’d be open to us coming over for Leah to see her paintings. This year Leah began experimenting, too, with watercolor paints.

Copyright 2014 Leah Jones

Copyright 2014 Leah Jones

Denise said yes, and then she suggested coming by in a few minutes since they were already here in town to look at Leah’s art (they don’t live here, but close by). She not only paints, but she was an art teacher several years at a Christian school, won a local painting contest, and was commissioned to do portrait paintings for pay by people.

Copyright 2014 Leah Jones

Copyright 2014 Leah Jones

When Denise and her husband Clayton looked at Leah’s art, they really encouraged her. Denise looked at Leah after going through her computer graphic art and her watercolors and said, “Leah, you have a GIFT FROM GOD.” She explained that not everyone was able to do this, and it was God-given.

Copyright 2011 Leah Jones

Copyright 2011 Leah Jones

When I told them that I thought Leah could easily sell her art on Etsy but didn’t want to and didn’t think it’d sell, she and Clayton both told Leah that she COULD do that and SHOULD try. They told her they believed it would sell and if she could make money at doing what she loves and is good at, why not? What a lesson for you and me today! God wants us to prosper!

a gift

a gift

Denise then began sharing with Leah about the parable of the talents –how interesting since that’s our study in the Creative Christian Women’s Network on Facebook this week! It’s also a passage I’ve shared many times with Leah before about her art and music. Denise told her that the master called the servant who hid his talent “wicked” and “lazy,” and that Leah doesn’t want to hide her talent. Clayton explained that while the “talent” in that passage was a means of money in those days, it still applied to our talents and skills.

In the parable in Matthew 25, the word “delivered” in the original Greek language is the word paradid?mi (Blue Letter Bible Strong’s G3860), which means:

  • To give into the hands of another;
  • To give into one’s power of use;
  • To deliver to one to keep, use, take care of, manage;
  • To commit to, to commend.

Just as the master gave his servants the talents, giving them into their hands to manage wisely, God has put gifts, talents, and skills inside of you to steward faithfully. God doesn’t want you hiding your gifts, just as He doesn’t want Leah hiding her amazing art or music gifts. He created Leah in my womb, wonderfully and fearfully, with those gifts innately and He created yours, too.

Leah with our family, Heather, Ray & me

Leah with our family, Heather, Ray & me

The question is: what will you do with them? Hide them or let your light for Christ shine, so He may be glorified in you and through you? Remember, it’s all about Him and for His glory. Don’t hide your gifts!

Blog, Faith, Marriage, prayer, Speaking, Spiritual Gifts, Writing

Giving gifts: your spiritual gifts, talents and skills

My husband Ray occasionally brings home spontaneous gifts for me that he thinks I’ll enjoy: fresh flowers, jewelry, a pretty scarf, or chocolate. He often chooses something unique because he knows I love things that stand out.

Today he bought me a red-wine wrap, silver ruby necklace with matching earrings, and a Hershey chocolate bar.

The red-wine wrap he bought me:

red wine wrap that Ray bought me

red wine wrap that Ray bought me

The silver ruby costume jewlery – a necklace with matching earrings:

silver ruby costume jewelry

silver ruby costume jewelry

Me with new jewelry Ray bought me today

Me with new jewelry Ray bought me today

And of course, you can NEVER go wrong with chocolate!

Hershey's chocolate

Hershey’s chocolate

One time Ray bought me this wall art for my office as a gift, because he knows about my strong feelings for chocolate.

Chocolate pic

Chocolate pic

Just as Ray gives me gifts, God has given each of us spiritual gifts, talents, and skills for His glory. You can find a list of the spiritual gifts in the Bible in:

  • Ephesians 4:11 (5-fold ministry gift)
  • 1 Corinthians 12:4-11
  • 1 Corinthians 12:28
  • Romans 12:6-8.

You see Jesus operating in every single one of the spiritual gifts in the gospels. His disciples did, too. We as believers in Christ are given these gifts from Jesus that He gave us when He ascended into heaven after His death. (Ephesians 4:8).

The gifts are never about us; they’re for God’s glory. You can’t “earn” the spiritual gifts; they are just what they’re called ~ a GIFT from God to you, out of His grace.

a gift

a gift

Your gifts are closely tied to your purpose and calling. Two great resources I recommend about the gifts and calling are Gifts and Ministries of the Holy Spirit by Lester Sumrall and Step Out and Take Your Place by Krista Dunk.

Lester Sumrall’s book practically teaches you what the gifts are and how they are to operate in the Body of Christ, and Krista Dunk’s book is the most thorough book I’ve ever read on the spiritual gifts and your calling. Both are excellent.

If you’d like to find out what your spiritual gifts are, some churches offer tests or you can take spiritual gifts test online:

woman worshipping

woman worshipping

I encourage you to find a good, Bible-teaching church whose leadership believes in the spiritual gifts and allows the Body of Christ to flow freely in them during services. The gifts didn’t pass away with the death and ascension of Jesus or the death of the apostles (a teaching called Cessationism, which I do not agree with or believe due to my own personal walk and experience with God). 

I grew up in the Methodist Church, where the gifts were not taught. I never heard of them until adulthood when I met my friend Wendy and my husband Ray.

At that time, our pastors Al and Victoria Ridge, prayed for me and I was filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and after then, I began learning about and operating in the spiritual gifts God had given me.

One of the amazing things that happened to me following this milestone,  life-changing event in my life was that I had such a hunger for prayer and reading the Bible much more, to learn as much as possible about God, and to repent of sin more quickly.

Bible

Bible

I understood the Bible in a way that I hadn’t before. God began revealing the Scriptures to me in a new light. I had a passion to spend more time with God, to read the Bible, to tell people about Jesus Christ, and to learn about and use my spiritual gifts.

My strongest gifts are prophecy (especially the word of knowledge), discernment, teaching, and giving. What are your spiritual gifts? Leave your comments below.

Whatever your spiritual gifts, talents, and skills are, use them for God’s glory and to encourage and help others. I believe that time is so short now and that Jesus is coming back very soon. We need to use God’s gifts. Don’t put your gifts on the shelf or think God doesn’t want to use you, because He does. 

Be a faithful steward of all God has given you and He will reward and bless you. (Matthew 25:14-30, NASB)

“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.” – 1 Peter 4:10

 

Leah's violin instructor & Leah
Blog, Faith, Marriage, Parenting, prayer, Spiritual Gifts

Do you have dormant spiritual gifts?

Leah's violin instructor & Leah

Leah’s violin instructor Emily & Leah

We are into February now, usually Missouri’s coldest month with the greatest amount of snow and ice. Annuals’ seeds contain hormones that cause them to germinate in the warm spring weather that follows winter cold. Perennial plants, deciduous woody shrubs and some trees go dormant in the winter and begin growing again in the spring.

Like some flowers, plants, and trees that go dormant, you may have spiritual gifts that are dormant. Gifts you’ve never used or don’t even know about.

I believe our daughter Leah has some dormant gifts. This past Christmas, Leah suddenly told me that for her Christmas wish list, she wanted either an electric violin or a keyboard. She wanted to learn how to play them. This was nothing I  suggested to her or ever talked to her about and, like Mary, I pondered these things in my heart.

It’s interesting, because there is no one musical in our family. I believe this is just something that God put into Leah’s heart because He created her with a musical gift and He’s wanting her to use it.

God has also put spiritual gifts inside of you. Do you know what they are? Are you using them – and using them to their fullest potential?

Leah is an incredible artist and a very creative person so it shouldn’t surprise me that she might have a musical gift, too.

Leah researched electric violins and keyboards, looked at positive and negative reviews on Amazon and YouTube, and then showed me which ones she would like.

Leah was inspired by Lindsey Stirling

Leah also showed me a video of the incredibly talented Lindsey Stirling, a violinist who combines classical music with a modern twist, whom she had found on YouTube. I got goose bumps watching this video Crystallize. She is flat out anointed playing the violin!

I was so excited about this and immediately began praying for God to provide the money for this gift and for God to help me find a violin instructor for her, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to teach her myself.

I even asked God that if it were possible, for me to find a Christian instructor for her – but one who was really good as an instructor.

Ask and you shall receive

For Christmas, we bought Leah an electric violin! I don’t know who was more excited, her or me!  🙂  She thought from the shape of the package that she was getting a keyboard. She had the biggest smile opening her present.

Don’t you know that is what God does when you open your presents from Him – your spiritual gifts?

If Leah had never told me this is what she wanted to do, I would have never known about it and she wouldn’t have gotten the violin. God wants you to tell Him what you want. He wants to bless you with good things. Ask and you shall receive!

One day I was having Mexican lunch with my friend Diane Bishop and at the end of the conversation, I asked her, “Do you happen to know of a good violin instructor?” I explained how Leah wanted an electric violin and we bought her one for Christmas.

Leah and her electric violin

Leah and her electric violin

Huge Answered Prayer

Diane then referred me to Emily, who was Diane’s stepdaughter Hannah’s violin instructor several years ago. She’s an anointed violin instructor and plays violin very well herself! I got her number from Hannah and called Emily and we set up Leah’s lessons right away. She is so sweet and I just love her and so does Leah. This was HUGE ANSWERED PRAYER! God is so amazing how He does these kinds of things!

Leah has now had two violin lessons and is doing really well. She’s excited about the lessons and Emily is pumped about teaching her. Leah has never had any type of music lessons, so she is learning music theory (learning to read notes) as part of her lessons.

We also bought her a small amp and a shoulder rest for the violin. It came with the nice black case, the bow, and the rosin, which is to grip the strings and make them sound. Without rosin, a violin (or other stringed instrument) won’t play. It causes  the tiny scales on bow hairs to stand up and cause friction when dragged across  the violin’s strings.

It brings tears to my eyes and gives me so much joy hearing Leah practice on her violin each day. I’m sure this is how God feels about us, too, when we use the gifts He has given us-for HIS glory.

Do you have dormant spiritual gifts?

To find out more about the spiritual gifts and how to use them, I recommend two excellent resources: Step Out and Take Your Place by Krista Dunk and Gifts and Ministries of the Holy Spirit by Lester Sumrall.

You can also take spiritual gifts tests at your church or tests online.

I also recommend the incredible movie August Rush, about an orphaned musical prodigy who uses his gift as a clue to find his birth parents.