Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Scripture Thursday Linky Party #5 ~ Use Your Gifts

Each of you should use 
whatever gift you have received to serve others, 
as faithful stewards of God’s grace 
in its various forms. 
I Peter 4:10


One of the things we think about at Christmastime is giving gifts.  When you become a child of God, he gives us a gift or gifts, which are special abilities that others may not have.  There are specific spiritual gifts mentioned in I Corinthians 12.  I’m focusing a little bit on that, but also on God given talents. 

Some of you may already know what your gift is, others might have to think about it, but it IS there.   

  • How has God made you unique?  
  • What are your special talents? 
  • Your particular interests?
  • Your strongest characteristics?    
God does not intend for you to keep your gift a secret.  He wants you to open it, and use it right away.  Your gifts are valuable; God will use them to touch the people around you.


I know that one of my gifts is playing the piano.  I have been playing since I was 3 years old.  I am not saying that to brag, but I’ve always known it’s a God given gift.  I take no credit for it.  I have no idea how I play, I just sit down at the piano and God does the rest.

Think about ways you can reach others with your gifts.  Not just at Christmas, but all year long. 

Cooking
Paper Crafting
Hospitality
Conversation – a listening year – a phone call
Praying for others
Sewing
Crocheting/Knitting
Time (for visiting or lending a helping hand)
Good with children (offer a morning/afternoon of childcare for a busy mom)
Artistic
The Gift of compassion or encouragement

Those are just a few ideas I had of some of the talents God has given us.  As you look at the list, I’m sure not one of us matches up to everything, but I’m sure that we match up to something.  



By using your gifts and talents, you are pleasing God, and leaving touches on the hearts of people who benefit from your gift.  I can think of many times when women in my life have left their touches on my heart over the years with their special gifts. 

Weeding my garden, making a wreath for me, a special gift they had made with me in mind, praying for me, meals brought at just the right moment, handmade cards, a personal note, a gift just because, bouquets of flowers handpicked from their personal gardens, the gift of time, snail mail, unexpected surprises. 

As women, we are all influential to somebody.  Our words and actions can be like a letter from God, written on human hearts.  By using your talents, your letter will be one that is received with gratitude (even if not always expressed by the recipient).   I’d like to share one of my favorite scriptures when I think of the ways we as women touch the lives of those around us when we use our gifts. 

You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.  II Corinthians 3:3


Use your gifts and talents throughout the year and make a difference to someone.  I guarantee YOU will feel as blessed as the recipient. 

A reminder that God gave ALL of us the same gift – the most precious gift of all.  The gift of eternal life through His son Jesus.  The gift is free to all, but must be accepted in order to receive it.  That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  Romans 10:9

My project above is a digital scrapbook page.  The scripture from I Peter 4:10 borders around the page and came from Faith Sisters.  Other elements used in this project came from Raspberry Road Designs an Lettering Delights.  The three vintage postcards included in this post are free to you.

It’s time for you to link up your projects.  Any project with scripture from the Bible can participate. I reserve the right to remove any link that does not have scripture or I feel is not beneficial to my readers.

Can't wait to see what you have to link up.  Thanks for stopping by today.

This post is linked to Sharing Your Blessings 



2 comments:

  1. Wonderful post, and verses - thank you for sharing your heart and God's word.

    ReplyDelete
  2. soooooo beautiful...all of it :) thanks for sharing with us.

    ReplyDelete

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