Growing

There are growing plants and growing businesses, the population is growing and there are growing families. We grow up, grow in wisdom and grow old. We have growing pains and some of these come from growing apart. My favorite is growing together.

Give it Away

What has God given that you could be sharing? What ability, art, skill, wisdom, experience or talent could the rest of us benefit from? We all need each other so very much. We are at our best together not when we’re keeping what we’ve been blessed with for ourselves. Don’t let fear or insecurity squash the wonder He’s given you to share.

Whatever You Say

That’s what I want to do Lord. No matter how hard, regardless of what will be said, please give me the strength, the wisdom and the confidence to trust that you know best.

Remember

We had the opportunity to tour the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial today. They’ve done a beautiful job of helping us remember the one hundred and sixty eight lives that were taken, the fleetingness of our lives here and the fact that everything can change in an instant. All things we should keep in mind. We also had the chance to meet with friends from years gone by and to catch up with what God has done and is doing in their lives.

Our memories can make today richer, provide us with wisdom and help us to cherish the present.

Lived Out

Ephesians 1:9 says, He made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery of His will, according to His purpose which He set forth in Christ. I came across this verse yesterday while reading E. Stanley Jones’ In Christ and what I love about it is that it clearly lets us know that there’s no huge mystery in understanding God’s will. That Jesus is His will, not spelled out, but lived out. That’s not to say we are to go around “acting like Jesus”, but rather that the relationship that Christ has with The Father is the same relationship He wants for us. The things that we can have in common are intimacy, the peace and security that Christ has no matter the circumstance and the ever-increasing ability to trust. The rest will be as unique as each of us. God’s will looked at through Jesus spells “Love”.

The Appropriate Gift

God, whatever you have in store for me, will you please equip me with all that I need? Help me to keep from hoarding what you’ve so freely given and to share it generously. Where compassion is needed, fill me. Where wisdom is needed, send some my way. If encouragement needs to be passed along, please give me the words. Just enough for today.

Gifts of the Spirit

I want them all, not in a greedy way, not all the time but when one of them can benefit someone around me I want that one. If a word of encouragement is needed I want the wisdom to recognize the need and to know what to say and the same goes for the other gifts. I don’t need to possess them, just receive them when needed so they can be shared.