"When you set yourself on fire, people love to come and see you burn."*

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.”
I Corinthians 12:4-6

Reading about your various God-given passions and talents has been so inspiring for me as well as others. I can see how God can and will not only use your passions to impact others lives but also to impact your own personal lives as they bring you closer to him. Just as Shawna’s avid interest in plants and Caroline’s talent for singing brings them closer to God as they worship Him within these talents so too, can we be inspired to use our own passions to bring us closer to the One who gifted us with them. Michelle’s passion for politics and the health of her family can help others to become more active about preserving the temple with which Christ entrusted us with as well as helping to promote a better environment (socially, spiritually, physically, etc.) of which we surround ourselves and raise our children. Kim’s gift of evangelism shows us our gifts, when used right at home, are most rewarding when they are for the soul-saving benefits of our own children. Jean beautifully segues her multiple interests and passions from B.P. (before parenthood) to A.P. (after parenthood) while her work ethic professionalizes her stay-at-home-mom role. Stacy advises us on searching for our passions and shows us how our passions can be closer than we think they are. Erin asks some poignant questions about what and who our passions are dependent upon, and are we allowing ourselves to be open and ready for when our passions “visit” us? And the global lens Raluca sees through shows not only black but also various colors of God’s beauty, and her passions for others less fortunate impacts some of her parenting choices. I think most of us can relate to Susan when she writes about being passionate about a variety of different things as opposed to just one major passion to live by, and that it is still good.

All of our passions and gifts are being used by God in some way for His glory. Whether it’s being His hands and serving others or being His choir and singing His praises. When God gifts these passions to us, He understands what will make our hearts sing. And those songs ascend straight to heaven and become good and pleasing to His ears.

My Princess…You are My Gifted One. I have given you the gift of eternal life, but My giving does not stop there. Inside of you is a supernatural surprise – a gift that is waiting to be unwrapped…by you. Yes, it’s there. It’s hidden behind dreams waiting to be pursued. Swallowed up by daily distractions and drowned by disappointment. Let Me help you clear out the clutter and find your gift. You’ll find it in that place in life that brings you the greatest joy, that place where you soul longs to be, that work your hands love to do. But this gift that I’ve given to you is not just for you. I have blessed you to be a blessing to others. When you find your gift, I will take it and multiply it beyond what you could ever imagine. So ask Me, and I will help you open your gift so that you can give it away to the world – not to impress – but to bless.

Love,
Your King and the Giver of every good and perfect gift¹

“Each of you has been blessed with one of God’s many wonderful gifts to be used in the service of others. So use your gift well.” I Peter 4:10, CEV

Thank you all for being so open and sharing about your passions. It has helped us all to know each other better and more fondly. I look forward to hearing from more of you in the weeks and months to come on this blog. You all are my community which I am definitely passionate about!

Love,
Crystal

* John Wesley taken from http://leadershipnow.com/passionquotes.html
1 His Princess: Love Letters from Your King by Sheri Rose Shepherd

Passion "Links"

I'll be keeping this posting very short as I'd like to point you to a great posting written up by someone else on the subject of passions. Susan forwarded me this link from a blog on Christianity Today (thanks, Susan!), and I would love for you to read it as well. Check it out here. If you have time, try to read the comments posted under the entry for these can hold many rich ideas as well. One of the comments holds a link to another blog called seedlingsinstone . I haven't thoroughly perused it, but it does touch on the topic of our desires and passions. I'd be interested in knowing your thoughts on what you read...

One person with passion is better than forty people merely interested.
— E. M. Forster

Love,
Crystal

Tiny Seeds, Mighty Oaks

“Do you feel any of your passions/talents/gifts are not being used at all or wasted? Are they maybe on hold?” These were the questions we started to discuss last Friday. We didn’t get too far on the subject as conversation drifted towards other meaningful topics, but I’d like to share with you some excerpts from resources relating to this topic.

Katie Brazelton writes about our ordinary, everyday roles in life in her book Pathway to Purpose, “Once you begin to appreciate the treasure of today’s roles, we begin to experience the stress-reducing benefits of peace and rest. Once we believe that God values our today, we can stop looking for the greener pastures of more grandiose or broad-reach assignments. We can let go of all the things people say we should be doing. We can rest in the knowledge that every day (yes, every task) is locked safely in God’s heart. We can hold on to the dreams God has given us about the future without the pressure of having to make them happen right this second!”₁

“I believe that even in the midst of your ordinary routine, God reveals hints about what he’s called you to do. The Bible tells us that “God has given each of you some special abilities; be sure to use them to help each other,” so God has already blessed you with spiritual gifts, skills, talents and natural abilities. Whether you are able to teach, lead, feed, draw, sing, build, analyze, research, motivate, organize, write, or something else, God will provide situations to use those gifts to further his kingdom. That’s why Scripture admonishes us to use our gifts in accordance with the grace God has given us.

Your daily roles are incredible opportunities for you to use your natural and spiritual giftedness to help your family, friends, and neighbors learn about and become more like Christ. God breathed those traits into you purposefully to help you share his message in your everyday world. When you dedicate your heart and giftedness to work in concert with God’s current roles for your life, you may even begin to hear yourself say, “Life is good. I’ve never had such a sense of fulfillment. Thank you, Lord, for giving me such important tasks. How have I found such favor with you?”₁

And on a completely different side of the same coin, could your gifts be getting “in the way” of serving God? Here is another perspective of using our God-given gifts along with some cautionary/instructional words from the commentary I’m reading through right now. The author writes about Moses’ calling from God to lead His people out of Egypt.

"If you wonder how you can serve God, how you can be used by Him, take a look at what’s in your hand. God gave you gifts when you were born simply waiting to be activated when you were born again. You’re already doing that which He will energize and empower for ministry. What’s in your hand? A computer? A hammer? A basketball? That’s what He will use for His glory."2

Exodus 4:3 refers to Moses’ staff: "And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it."

"You may be an accountant, a carpenter, or a surgeon. God says, ‘Throw down your occupation, your profession and see what it is in and of itself: It’s a snake. If you’re living for it, if you’re all caught up in it, if you’re depending on it, you will be bitten by it.’ The same holds true – maybe especially true – with regard to ministry. Moses had been a faithful shepherd for forty years. Here, God makes it clear that nothing could compare to an empty hand lifted and open to Him. It’s as if, at the outset of the monumental ministry to which He was calling Moses, God said, ‘I must be your passion – not service for Me, not your talents and abilities, not your spiritual gifts. Nothing must take the place of an open hand, an open heart to embrace Me personally.

Maybe you’ve been forced to throw down some skill, some calling, some position you were good at, gifted for. Don’t despise this, for now you can say, ‘Lord, now that I don’t have that in my hand anymore, I’m rediscovering it’s not doing something for You that I crave, but simply You. I’m not looking for an opportunity to exercise my gift or to be used in ministry. I’m just looking for more intimacy with You. No wonder it had to be pried out of my hand. I get it. It’s a snake.’ And once you understand this, you’re in a position to pick it up once again…”₂

My first and foremost purpose [is] to get to know God intimately and to learn that I had value because He created me, not because of what I could do.₁

Let’s not despair that some of our gifts are not apparently being used; God would never gift us with special talents and abilities and then never use them for His glory. At some point in our life all of our gifts and abilities will be used though we may have to practice much patience before then. Some gifts might only be used at the right time for the right situation/people in our life. How sad it would be if our gifts were used at the wrong time and were completely disregarded by others or even pointed people to ourselves or others rather than pointing to God. Our passions are ultimately to give God glory whether that’s in showing others Christ’s love and serving others or being able to glimpse God’s goodness by personally reveling in the gifts He’s given us. So if you fear that one of your gifts will never come to fruition or accomplish a certain goal of yours, just remember your gifts and dreams are nothing in your own hands. God can take any and all of our abilities, passions or dreams and do far beyond anything we could imagine with them, if we just let Him. Our gifts and passions may just be in the “seed stage” or even lying dormant under ground, however God is the One who creates mighty oaks from them.

Love,
Crystal

1. Excerpt from Pathway to Purpose for women by Katie Brazelton
2. Jon Courson’s Application Commentary Old Testament: Volume 1 by Jon Courson.

Seeking Accountability

Hello Kajiji Girls-

Is all this talk about how we spend our time, what we are doing with our talents and passions and simple living affecting you? I suppose it remains to be seen to what degree I am affected, but I know it has me thinking tons and tons. I recognize in myself the ability to think things to death while actively, I do nothing. This post is being sent out to you all as an attempt to overcome that, even if briefly, in regards to a specific part of my life.

I have always understood why it is important to have a daily date with God. I get it that He should be to us what our husbands were when we first met - exciting, someone we want to be around all the time, soaking up his every word, longing to be together when we are apart - but my head and my heart haven't ever really gotten together on these concepts and having a "regular quiet time" has been seen as a chore, something that comes way lower than taking a shower or a nap on my list of priorities when the kids are otherwise occupied.

But this talk about our passions has led me to a startling revelation. I cannot, in good faith, follow my passion, pursue my dream, unless I am first following Christ and pursuing God. I believe this would hold true no matter the passion, but in my case, I feel this necessity all the more. I long to be an encouragement and inspiration to others. (More on the specifics of how I intend to do this will come in due time.) How can this be when I am not seeking encouragement and inspiration from the Spirit? It is He who must give me breath to then give breath to others.

I have avoided facing this reality for two reasons. One - If I vow to have my time with God every day and don't - to pursue my passion would mean a pursuit shrouded in hypocrisy. Logically, I then determine I will do neither, just to be safe. Two - If I am successful (by the grace of God) and have my quiet time, I will have lost a fairly strong argument against pursing my passion and facing the fears associated with doing so. Again, logical reasoning brings me to the "safe" place of doing neither.

But now I find myself in a situation where the opportunity to realize long-held dreams is upon me. I have some key signs from God indicating the light has turned green and it is time to open up the throttle and see what this baby can do!

I want to have a 10 minute quite time (Susan sent an email about this idea, if you didn't get it, ask me and I will forward it) every day from now until Easter. This is where you come in. I need someone(s) to check in with me every day (by phone or email) to make sure I am keeping to it. I am happy to return this favor, but I don't need it to be a two-way exchange. Please do NOT casually accept this partnership. I cannot stick to this without someone(s) who will really hold me to what I need to do. Either comment here, or email me directly if you are willing to connect with me for the next few weeks.

I know I could have singled someone out to ask to do this for me, but I thought it best to let you in on what my brain (ok, God really) has been doing with our conversations and this blog. I hope it in some way means something to someone besides just me.

With much love, respect and gratitude-
Erin
ps - This was not intended to be the official posting for this week, so there may be an additional post coming. Crystal will let you know.

Joyful Revelries

I've never been known as a "party girl". Never been one to go clubbin' or bar hopping, never skipped out in the middle of the night or ran away with friends, never smoked or even had a drink. Yes, I was a "good girl"- in my mind, at least. Oh, don't get me wrong - I made my parents worry plenty, and the " good girl" label didn't really stick in my circle. There was certainly some rebellion to be had. But being a pastor's grandkid along with the rest of my strict, fundamentalist background kept me in line for the most part. It also taught me how to have good, clean fun. Now I'm no social butterfly (not by a long shot!), but I love socializing and stirring up some fun with my friends whether it's watching movies, traveling, dining or just talking together. I feel as though I live a fairly joyful life, and I feel blessed.

When you were a child, did you ever make a pact with your best friend that you would live next door to each other, your children would be best friends, and you'd all visit together every day? (No? What's wrong with you?!) Well, my childhood friend now lives thousands of miles away from me (though we still reminisce about our "spit-into-our-hands-and-shake" alliances), but the idea still appeals to me. It would be utopia for me to have everyone I like and love living nearby, bringing up our children together, and being challenged to live in perfect unity in Christ (hmmm, sounds a bit like cohousing). I know, it's idealistic, but it's a desire that's been created in me. The more surrounded I am by friends and family, the more joy I derive from their friendships and the more challenged I am to grow and mature in Christ. Jesus himself seems to have surrounded himself with his friends and disciples on all his travels and only went off by himself when he sought out his Father and some much-needed rest and recharging.

If you've read my profile, you'll see I mention having a passion for "befriending and 'discipling' other Christian women and creating opportunities for moms to get out, hang out and celebrate together this life we've been given." It might seem like a weird passion to have, might I even say a frivolous one? I have many interests, and this is one in which I feel God can use somehow. So forgive my constant stream of invites to parties, events, social gatherings, etc., but it's my excuse for fellowship and getting to know others better as well as taking time out for me. Still waiting for God to get some of you to come though! :-)

If you've read the archived posts from this past year, you may not notice an underlying thread weaving throughout each entry - the message to live the Christian life to its fullest and with utmost joy! Living the Christian life can be a tough thing to do and living it to its fullest means different things for different people. To me, living the Christian life to its fullest means one word: Freedom.

"All of God's children, I am convinced, feel instinctively, in their moments of divine illumination, that a life of inward rest and outward victory is their inalienable birthright. Can you remember, some of you, the shout of triumph your souls gave when you first became acquainted with the Lord Jesus, and had a glimpse of His mighty saving power? How sure you were of victory, then! How easy it seemed to be more than conquerors, through Him that loved you! Under the leadership of a Captain who had never been foiled in battle, how could you dream of defeat!

And yet, to many of you, how different has been your real experience! Your victories have been few and fleeting, your defeats many and disastrous. You have not lived as you feel children of God ought to live. You have had perhaps a clear understanding of doctrinal truths, but you have not come into possession of their life and power. You have rejoiced in your knowledge of the things revealed in the Scriptures, but have not had a living realization of the things themselves, consciously felt in the soul. Christ is believed in, talked about, and served, but He is not known as the soul's actual and very life, abiding there forever, and revealing Himself there continually in His beauty. You have found Jesus as your Savior from the penalty of sin, but you have not found Him as your Savior from its power. You have carefully studied the Holy Scriptures, and have gathered much precious truth therefrom, which you have trusted would feed and nourish your spiritual life, but in spite of it all, your souls are starving and dying within you, and you cry out in secret, again and again, for that bread and water of life which you see promised in the Scriptures to all believers."1

Many of those around me that have grown up in the Christian faith have lost sight of the unfathomable power and grace of God and the freedom he awards us. They live their life in bondage to fear, anxiety, misery, judgement, shame, and a host of other demons whose grip is strong on their life. If I had one message to teach over and over again, it would be regarding this freedom gifted to us.

"In the very outset, then, settle down on this one thing, that Jesus came to save you, now, in the life, from the power and dominion of sin, and to make you more than conquerors through His power. If you doubt this, search your Bible, and collect together every announcement or declaration concerning the purposes and object of His death on the cross. You will be astonished to find how full they are. Everywhere and always, His work is said to be to deliver us from our sins, from our bondage, from our defilement; and not a hint is given, anywhere, that this deliverance was to be only the limited and partial one with which Christians so continually try to be satisfied."1

True joy can be had, but it can only be had through Christ. May you discover permanently your joy in life. My hope is that your reality closely matches God's original plan for us - a life lived in Him without restrictions, boundaries or burdens.

Your joy in the Lord is to be a far deeper thing than a mere emotion. It is to be the joy of knowledge, of perception, of actual existence. It is a far gladder thing to be a bird, with all the actual realities of flying, than only to feel as if you were a bird, with no actual power of flying at all. Reality is always the vital thing.1

If this were our reality, maybe the Christian faith would be more attractive to those who have no knowledge of peace and joy. Maybe a life lived with joyful abandon is a greater witness to some than all the sermons preached. For one who lives without joy will never fail to seek for it. Let others find Christ in you through the joy you have through Him!

Joyfully yours,
Crystal

1. From The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith originally written in 1870

Passion for the Holy

Kajijis,
It's true that God blesses us with certain natural abilities and talents as well as gifts of the Holy Spirit if we are His followers. The key is to learn what our talents and passions are so God can help us to use them more effectively for His glory. You may know what your passions are, but may be confused about how God can use them. Or maybe you're not sure what they are. I believe when we look to where our interests lie, we'll see connections between our desires and our calling from God. Of course, our desires ought to always be covered in prayer so they are never for unholy things.

There is a gravitation in the moral as in the physical world. When love to God is habitually in the ascendant or occupying place of the will, it gathers round it all the other desires of the soul as satellites, and whirls them along with it in its orbit round the center of attraction [the core desire].

John MacDuff

In looking to where our interests are, it is possible for us to recognize God's placing those interests within us and seeing where they may lead us whether in serving God directly, serving others or in using them for self-care. "...we must identify what stirs our passion and begin formulating a plan to utilize that passion on a consistent basis. We may not be able to support ourselves in a full-time job doing our passion, but we can find ways to increase how often we do that item, thereby improving our attitude.. Our first step is to ask God to reveal to us the specific purpose for which He created us. This doesn't have to be some major influence. God uses all of us in concert to accomplish His overall purposes. No matter how big or small your purpose is, when used in conjunction with the purposes of others, the whole picture develops and no part is more important than the other. Discovering our passion and using it on a weekly basis makes a major impact on our overall attitude. The new knowledge we learn from God takes root in our heart from our actions.

I encourage you to make the right choices, learn God's truths about who you are because of your relationship with Jesus Christ, spend more time with God than with negative people, and find your passion in life so you too can impact this world for God's glory! "1

Finding your passions can be as simple as asking yourself some questions:
"What is it that moves us? What is it that excites us and inspires us? What is it that gives real purpose and meaning to our lives? When we dwell within the realm of our hearts we are looking for the source of our energy and enthusiasm.
This can be a scary jump. To give our lives in any vocation (marriage, single life, religious life, priesthood, the permanent diaconate), means that we are willing to commit our hearts. Taken seriously, it means that we discover what we are willing to live for, and we are defined by what sacrifices we are willing to make." 2

I'd like to start a new series on Passion - our passion for life, for others, for Christ. I'm hoping each of you will be able to ask the above questions of yourself and give us some of your own answers. I believe that in knowing what our passions are, we are better able to know ourselves in a deeper, more intimate spiritual way as well as better serving each other in encouraging those passions to be used for God's glory. I will be asking you to share your passions with us, whether they be helping to evangelize the whole world or evangelize your own little world (as in your home), serving in the soup kitchen or serving from your own kitchen, wanting to homeschool your children or serve in your child's school, prayer and/or fasting, communing with God in nature or finding Him in the company of friends, etc. What are your passions? Do you feel God is using them in your life, in others? Reading books, scrapbooking, baking, dancing, hiking, traveling, sewing, playing boardgames, whatever you love doing in your spare time - all these can be passions and all can be used by God in some manner. I'm hoping we'll have many new "authors" on our blog in the coming weeks to share their thoughts, ideas and interests in life (that means you!). Let us offer up our passions and talents for God to use in powerful, life-changing ways!

Blessings,
Crystal

1.http://motivational.articlesarchive.net/how-to-change-your-attitudes.html
2. This comes from an article I found related to your "calling" from God (as in vocation) written by a priest. I recommend reading the whole article found here: http://www.catholicherald.org/archives/ricci/ricci.august02.html