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Using Your Gifts as Gifts

In only a few moments after submitting the last post, I began receiving entries into the Amazon card give-away! I am amazed at the AWESOME ways that some of you are planning to “gift your talents” over the summer months! I hope to share a few of your plans once the drawing is over. (Remember to submit your entry via email prior to midnight on June 10, 2012!)

As promised, here are a few ideas to help you think of ways you can use your skills, talents, and abilities as gifts to others:

1. Read to an elderly friend.

2. Read to a child.

3. Teach basic email or internet skills to non-techie friend.

4. Stuff envelopes for your school or church.

5. Plant and/or tend to the flowers at a local business, home, or church. (Get permission first!)

6. Offer to serve the food at an event so those in the host family can enjoy mingling.

7. Quiz a child on vocabulary or spelling words.

8. Walk with a friend who needs an exercise partner.

9. Teach a children’s class at your church.

10. Babysit for one hour weekly so a new mom can go to the grocery store. (Be specific on start/stop times.)

11. File music for your church’s music director.

12. Help a small business set up a database.

13. Sing or play an instrument at a care facility for the elderly.

14. Play one hour of board games with residents at a care facility for the elderly.

15. Teach a weekly class about a subject in which you have knowledge or expertise.

16. Help a friend organize a storage room, laundry room, or garage.

17. Volunteer one hour a week at a women’s shelter.

18. Volunteer one hour a week at a homeless shelter or rescue mission.

19. Be a “virtual volunteer” for a non-profit organization. (They email you proofreading or letters to “file” in the digital “files,” and you organize by topics or titles.)

20. Volunteer at your local library or hospital.

This list barely touches the surface, but I hope it will at least serve as a springboard for additional ideas! For example, number 17 is “Volunteer one hour a week at a women’s shelter.” Maybe you have a talent for “recruiting,” and you can contact churches or friends for donations such as toys, blankets, formula, etc. This can then lead to other volunteers, or perhaps yourself, using an hour each week to pick up the items. Following that, another set of volunteers helps to clean the items and prepare them for use or distribution. Which of those areas suits you best?

True service to others won’t ask for recognition, so I have chosen this giveaway not to “reward” you, but to encourage you. Sometimes a little incentive helps propel us forward to do that which we intend to do “someday.”

I look forward to receiving many more emails (petalsfromthebasket (at) gmail (dot) com, telling me about your plans for serving with the gifts entrusted to you.

Serving others is an appropriate topic to end with on this Memorial Day. It would be wrong to end this post with stopping to offer my personal word of thanks for all who have given their lives or who have sacrificed their loved ones so that I might live in freedom. Your sacrifice will not be forgotten.

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Thank you for taking time to read “Using Your Gifts as Gifts.” Please feel free to leave a comment or question.

By Petals from the Basket | May 28, 2012 | Contests, Ideas |

…Freely Give

In the previous post, I shared that our talents, skills, and abilities are all gifts from God. “Gifts,” meaning that we did nothing to receive them. While I believe these were given to us to enable us to accomplish the work before us, I also believe they were entrusted to us to use as “gifts” to others.

Since that might sound very confusing, let me insert an example.

“Jessica’s” talents, skills, and abilities are in the area of athletics. Her competitive drive makes her a great team player and outstanding athlete. Because this is a natural component of her life, she filters the activities of her life through the sieve of fitness, healthy eating, and training her mind and body for success.

Because our imaginary friend Jessica has developed her natural skills, she chooses something in the fitness realm as her vocation, and becomes a Physical Education teacher at Riverside High School. Her girls’ basketball team wins the state championship three years in a row, and it’s easy to see she is using her skills, talents, and abilities to their fullest.

The scenario above demonstrates how she uses her gifts. Now let’s see how Jessica gifts her gifts.

As a woman of faith, Jessica knows that because Christ told His disciples in reference to their gifts, “freely you received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8), she is to do the same thing with her gifts. She hears friends saying they are struggling with their weight, particularly because of their desk jobs and sedentary lifestyle. Jessica uses her skills and gives the gift of one hour each Thursday night to teach a fitness class at her church. Half of the class time is about total body, mind, and heart fitness, and the other half is 30 minutes of exercise.

With her busy schedule, it would be easy for Jessica to dread this hour each week. But because she is truly a cheerful giver, she does not do it “grudgingly or of necessity” (II Corinthians 9:7). She is using her gifts as gifts!

So what gifts have you been given in the form of talents, skills, and abilities? How are you “gifting” those gifts? If you are not currently “freely giving,” pray about a way that you can use those abilities to be a blessing to others. The summer months provide a great time for taking a few minutes each week to give time to others!

To encourage you along these lines, I am announcing a free giveaway!

By the end of the day of Sunday, June 10th, please email me one or two sentences telling me how you are choosing to gift your gifts this summer. EVERYONE has something to give to others! To help you on your way, my next post will give you a gazillion ideas! (Okay, fine, maybe not a gazillion, but there will be MANY!)

The email address is petalsfromthebasket (at) gmail (dot) com – (Obviously all of these words and symbols go together in normal email format, but I do not want to attract spammers!)

The winner will be selected via a random drawing from all the email entries received. ONLY EMAIL ENTRIES WILL BE ENTERED INTO THE DRAWING. (No Facebook comments or comments to blog posts will be counted as entries.)

Oh wait, I forgot the important part! A friend of mine has donated a $25.00 gift card to Amazon as the prize!!! Now THAT’s a prize. You can buy just about ANYTHING on Amazon!

Can’t wait to start getting those emails! Even if you don’t enter the giveaway . . . gift those gifts!

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Thank you for taking time to read “…Freely Give.” Please feel free to leave a comment or question.

 

 

By Petals from the Basket | May 26, 2012 | Books, Contests, Events, Ideas, Life Changes |

Freely You Received…

…freely give.

This is not from a fortune cookie. It’s not a billboard. It’s not even a wise proverb from King Solomon of old.

It’s a command that Jesus gave to the men known as His “disciples.”

In the Bible, via the inspired writings of Matthew (Matthew 10:1-4), Jesus told us the names of His 12 disciples. He then shared with us what He told them before sending them out to do His work.

Matthew 10:7-9 “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, or a bag for your journey, or even two coats, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is worthy of his support.”

Well-known pastor and author John MacArthur penned these thoughts on the phrase from Matthew 10:8:

“If you have compassion and power in your ministry, it is only by the grace of God. No one gets it by going to Bible college or seminary, or by being ordained. Since we paid nothing for our power, we shouldn’t charge anything. Show me someone who truly represents Jesus Christ and I will show you someone who is not in it for personal gain. 

Since the gifts we have were freely given to us by God, we’re to dispense them freely. First Peter 5:2 says that elders must not minister for ‘filthy lucre.’ Paul said to Timothy that when looking for an elder, find a man who isn’t interested in personal gain (1 Tim. 3:3; cf. Titus 1:5, 7).

Throughout the years I have been repeatedly asked about my fee for preaching. I have been preaching for over twenty years, yet never once in my ministry have I set a price on it, and I never will. The Bible says I received it freely, so I give it freely. Why should I set a price?”

The empowerment that the disciples received was not based on their personal worth or because of anything they did. It was a gift given to them from God. They were therefore commanded to give it back in service to the Lord – not for personal gain or the desire for wealth. However, we must make certain to note that Jesus is not saying that those in His service shouldn’t be paid. In fact, He clearly states at the close of verse nine that “the worker is worthy of his support.”

The command given to the 12 disciples is also one we must follow as modern-day “disciples” of Christ. We have been given gifts, talents, skills, and abilities, and should give those back in service to Him.

Please understand that I am not saying that everyone is to be in vocational service to Him. That is not what His Word says. He calls many of us to serve Him in the public sector and many in the faith-based sector. But all are to do their work in a way that brings honor to Him. I am simply saying that it makes sense that our gifts, while able to be used for providing income, should also be used as gifts (i.e. presents)!

Today I am giving one hour of my time to give (freely) a gift/skill I have been given in order to help someone who needs assistance in that area – because their skills lie elsewhere. I don’t tell you that for boasting reasons, but to encourage you to ask God to open your eyes and heart to the gifts He has given you. Then ask Him how you might be able to use that gift, talent, or skill in a way that could help someone else. It doesn’t have to be an all-day sacrifice of time. It should, however, be given cheerfully, following another principle of giving we see in His Word:

II Corinthians 9:7 “Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

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[Be sure to check back tomorrow for an important announcement that is in keeping with today’s topic!]

Thank you for taking time to read “Freely You Received…” – Please feel free to leave a comment or question.

By Petals from the Basket | May 23, 2012 | Bible Reading, Events, Friends, Ideas |

Choices

Just a quick post this morning to share that the third booklet in “Lorraine’s Little Books,” entitled Choices, is now available as an ebook for your Kindle!

God created us with the privilege of making choices. When something unexpected enters our lives, do we choose to let it irritate us and use it as an excuse for a disrupted and unproductive life? How much better to choose to glorify the Lord, know His will and enjoy His provision. When we have made the “big choice” to apply God’s word in each area of our lives, those moment-by-moment choices will be made with far greater confidence.

 

(You may click the photo of the booklet to go directly to Amazon.com to purchase.)

The fourth booklet, Biblical Self-Image, will be available next week, and will complete the set of four. I trust you will be blessed by these just as you have been with the first two booklets, Around My Kitchen Table and The Death of a Dream. 

[For those of you with “Amazon Prime,” you can “borrow” the book for free via the Amazon Prime program.  We are glad that some of you were able to begin the series of booklets by downloading the first two booklets at no charge during our one-day give-away. However, due in part to our desire to continue using some of the proceeds for mission work in Mali, West Africa, this booklet is not scheduled for a free give-away.]

 

By Petals from the Basket | May 18, 2012 | Books, Ebooks, God-and-I-Time |

Imitating the Ants

Proverbs 6: 6-8 “Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.”

“My name is Brenda, and I’m lazy.” [Now you reply, “Hi, Brenda.”]

Granted, I’m probably one of the busiest lazy people you’ll meet, but the laziness seems to be a common thread through my days.

Laziness has many faces, wears many hats, and even finds its way onto many to-do lists. Its pseudonyms are numerous: “exhaustion,” “tomorrow,” “more research is needed,” “someone needs to,..” and many more. Oh, and one of my personal favorites is “right after I do this one quick little thing, I’ll get right on that.”

We all know that the first step in overcoming a weakness is to acknowledge the existence of the problem. So according to my opening statement, I’m on my way! But now what do I do?

My truly lazy self would like to use my escape-enabling quick wit to end with the proverbial “I guess I’ll figure that out tomorrow!” (Go ahead and laugh. I’ll wait!) However, I’m seeking a cure and not willing just to cover it with a bandage!

Last week I read an excellent little 30-page book, TELL YOUR TIME, by Amy Lynn Andrews. [I’ve posted an affiliate icon on the right to make it easy for you to check it out for yourself.] This got the ball rolling, and today is the day to implement what I’ve been learning! Prioritizing is an important element of every day, and this is today’s top priority!

The Bible, along with a stack of resource books (starting with my .pdf copy of TELL YOUR TIME), many notes from former journal entries, and a lot of prayer will help me develop my personalized “laziness rehab” today! To ensure success, I’ve come up with a “Ben Strohbehn-inspired” alliterated outline of the five steps I will implement:

1. Pray for guidance. (This should be a part of every day, every change, every decision, every moment!)

2. Prioritize. (I’ll be using the printable sheets from TELL YOUR TIME to help me accomplish this step.)

3. Plan a course of action. (The results from steps one and two will determine this one.)

4. Prepare. (It’s one thing to plan, but laziness can be avoided if I prepare to succeed. This includes having the right tools on hand to accomplish the plan, and also includes removing things that will hinder success.)

5. Proceed. (As I move forward, I may fail in some areas, but I will not “start over” and consider the plan a failure. I will make necessary adjustments and right choices – and keep moving forward!)

So, I’m logging off now and headed to the desk to begin – – – right after I . . . . (Juuuuuuuuust kidding!!!)

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Thank you for reading “Imitating the Ants.” Please feel free to leave a comment.

By Petals from the Basket | May 16, 2012 | Bible Reading, God-and-I-Time, Ideas, Life Changes, Organization |