Today I’m linking up on God-Sized-Dreams, where we are sharing what our God-given gifts are & to be honest, talking about my personal gifts feels prideful & unacceptable!  However, I am learning {slowly it seems} that the longer I squelch my gifts, by not verbalizing what they are, the more comfortable I become not using them the way God designed for them to be used!

These are the God-given gifts that I am both blessed & challenged with them. You see, with every gift, comes great responsibility!

“For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required;” Luke 12:45

When looking at the life of someone else, this very list can become a thing of envy & jealousy, while we never fully understand the struggle behind the gift.  You may look at my list and wish you were able to multi-task, or organize better. However, all you see here is the word… what you don’t see is the struggle behind those gifts!  I’d like to give you a closer look at my gifts.

Encouragement

In my own hands, I encourage in ways God didn’t intend for me to encourage-possibly encouraging a person to do something God is not calling them to do (even if it’s not bad!).  In the hands of my Father, I am able to encourage using Godly wisdom & Scripture to speak Truth & Love.

Creativity

In my own hands, I create things that are short term, useless & a waste of my time. In the hands of my Father, I use my time wisely to create things that have lasting meaning & are used by God.

Organization

 In my own hands, I fight for constant structure, but in the hands of my Father, I can embrace whatever He places in my life-regardless of how unfamiliar it may feel.

Writing

In my own hands, I fight to be heard & fail to write from my heart & God’s Word.  In the hands of my Father, I write from a place a vulnerability, a place where Jesus meets me & uses my heart to express His Word.

Love

In my own hands, I love people who can’t love me back & get hurt when that’s the case. In the hands of my Father, I can love people who don’t love me back, without expecting anything in return: unconditional love.

Multi-tasking

In my own hands, I multi-task until I work my body into a tizzy, but in the hands of my Father, I can embrace one task at a time-remembering that He only gives what we can handle… the rest is not of Him!

Grace

In my own hands, I can abuse grace, giving it to people who have broken my trust time after time. In the hands of my Father, I can see my own worth, I can embrace forgiveness, while setting healthy boundaries and reserving grace for when God calls me to give it!

Helping

In my own hands, I offer to help, when I have no time to give! In the hands of my Father, I’m able to discern the type of help I can offer! Quite often prayer is the best help I can offer!

Understanding

In my own hands, I can misuse understanding, offering it in times when God is calling me to speak up & share truth or confrontation about an issue. In the hands of my Father, I am able to give understanding while sharing truth in a loving manner.

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I share my gifts with you, in an effort to challenge you to start looking at your own gifts! Whatever they may be, as prideful as you think you are by sharing them, remember that pride is the only thing standing between us holding on to or sharing our gifts!  Our gifts are nothing when left in our own hands, but are everything in the hands of our Loving Father!

You are a gift with many gifts… use them all for God’s glory!