Spiritual Gifts

“In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we’re talking about is Christ’s body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t. If you preach, just preach God’s Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don’t take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don’t get bossy; if you’re put in charge, don’t manipulate; if you’re called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don’t let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.” ~Romans 12:4-8 (The Message)

Spiritual gifts, what are they? These are gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit and can be both things seen natural abilities as well as things that may seem to be more unnatural. I guess to simply put it, it’s in part how God has wired us and who He has made us to be. Nobody has every “gift” (hence the reason for the need of the entire church to work together since what one person is gifted with may not be what someone else if gifted with but every part is needed) but it’s good to know the “gifts” that we do have.

I was recently asked if I had ever taken a spiritual inventory to see what my “gifts” were and I have taken one but it’s been over a year and all I remember is that I had a high score in multiple areas but didn’t remember those areas. I will also say that one of my learning goals for the next 2 years is to discern and come to a better understanding of what God has equipped me to do (in other words, what are my “gifts” and what has God wired me to do?)

I absolutely believe with no doubt that “ministry” is my passion and where God has wanted me to be, I wouldn’t be here in TX if it weren’t God’s plan to have me in ministry but rather, I would be possibly miserable with a career that I thought was my dream career (you know, one of those careers where you knew since elementary school that you wanted to be but over time things change and God starts to add “gifts” into your life or make you aware of those “gifts” and you eventually realize that your dream career isn’t actually what you are meant to do.)

So, I am in ministry and working in TX and can honestly say that I love it. Yeah, there may be times that I don’t enjoy it and there may be times that it’s hard but that’s true with every job. However, 90% of the time, I enjoy what I am doing and don’t really see it as a job. However, since being at my placement site, I have been asked more than once what are my passions and what are my gifts. That is a question that I never enjoy and will answer around and never give an actual answer to. But, I do know that everyone has passions and everyone is gifted with something since that’s how God has made us.

Today, I decided to look online for some spiritual inventory tests just to see what the end result would be and they all had a 4 of my top strengths in common which were: administration, servanthood, faith, and leadership. So, what do those top “gifts” mean? At the end of this post, I will put the description of these 4 “gifts” under each area.

So, I know what the 4 different inventories that I took stated are my top “gifts” but do I agree with them?

Administration: I think that’s one that I don’t have to put any thought into since I have been told more times than not over the past 5 years that people see this “gift” in me. I remember when I was completing ministry job applications and my InterVarsity staff worker and mentor told me that he didn’t see me on staff with IFES (one of the ministries that I applied for and InterVarsity’s sister movement) because he knew more about the position and what it would require than I did and he knew what I was strong at. And needless to say, I did not get accepted onto staff with that ministry (there were various factors that played into that so it wasn’t just because of what my staff worker said and saw in me.) Administration comes easy to me so it would make sense that it’s a top “gift” but what does that mean in ministry? I will say one thing that it doesn’t mean is that I should only be doing administration or administration is all I want to do and that is seen through the other top “gifts”. So yes, I do agree with administration being a “gift” and I can guarantee others agree with this “gift” as well.

Servanthood: I would change the working of what the below description will say since I don’t think that servanthood is always about doing for others. The ministry program that I am working through is about ministry with and I believe that servanthood can be just that, ministry with and serving with rather than for. I do have a sense that part of my identity is in service and helping others and that’s why it was a hard choice to make when I was accepted into both AmeriCorps FEMA and ministry. Serventhood is an important part of my life and always has been. So, I would agree on servanthood being a top “gift” but change the wording since I don’t need to be doing for others but rather with others.

Faith: this is one that isn’t always easy and I don’t always agree that it’s a gift but over time I will say that it has developed just as every gift should develop rather than remain where they are. It has taken faith to be where I am and to get where I am. Without faith and knowing that God will provide no matter what, I would not be here in TX and I may not have completed college due to every year not knowing where the funds to pay tuition would come from. However, as I stated, it’s not always easy and I don’t always believe that this is my “gift” especially right now when I am supposed to be raising so much support for the ministry I am doing yet I don’t know how I am going to accomplish the goal and reach what I am asked to reach… I trust that God will provide yet I don’t see how it’s going to happen or even what to do right now.

Leadership: Again, I have been told different times over the past 5 years that this is a strength or “gift”. I minored in leadership studies in college and have always been in some type of leadership position since at least middle school. However, just like faith, it’s not always easy and doesn’t always seem to be a top “gift” but it’s in development and I believe that over time it will become more apparent and be strengthened.

So, in the end, I would say I do agree with these top 4 “gifts” but if I focus on only one area then I am ignoring the others. They all have to be used but what does that look like? So, what do you think? And as a reader, do you know what God has gifted you with and how are you going to put those gifts to use today, tomorrow, and every day?

Administration

“The gift of administration allows a person to organize people and resources for greater efficiency, effectiveness, and success.  Administrators have the natural ability to apply resources where they will do the greatest good.  Administrators are good with details and are deeply aware of how all the parts of a group or organization work together to achieve their goals.”

Servanthood

“Servanthood is the gift of doing for others, sometimes to the exclusion of meeting personal needs.  Servants look for ways to do for others both within and beyond the congregation and community.  Servants do not choose to serve, but serve from a sense of identity and call.  Gifted servants never feel put-upon or taken advantage of, but see each opportunity to do for others as a way to be true to self.”

Faith

“The gift of faith is more than belief in Jesus Christ, but an abiding foundation of confidence that God works all things together for good, and that they people of God can rise above any obstacle.  Faith is the bedrock upon which we build lives, congregations, and communities.  People with the gift of faith hold fast to the deep conviction that no matter what we see with our eyes, we can trust the promises and plan of God.”

Leadership

“The gift of leadership is a visionary, and forward looking gift that enables people to stay focused on where God might be leading us as individuals, congregations, and communities at any given time.  Leaders look more to where we are going rather than where we currently are, or where we have been.  Leaders motivate others to work together in ways that help them achieve more together than any could on their own.  Leaders provide examples of how we should order our lives to honor and glorify God.”

Give Thanksgiving

 As the holiday season fast approaches, I am reminded that I am not around family however, at the same time, God is reminding me that there are many things to be thankful for. In everything, we are meant to give God thanks and praise Him but too often we get caught up in the hard times and forget about all the good in our lives.

However, in all honesty, right now is a time where I am finding myself caught up in the hard times and forgetting to thank God for what I do have and what He has given me. I have seen God provide and lead me in the right path more times than I even know yet I still seem to overlook His provision, guidance, and what He has given for other things.

Today started out good yet in a blink of an eye, I was reminded that the enemy comes only to kill, steal, and destroy. The enemy wants to take away any joy in our lives and he wants to cause havoc on us. He wants to make us believe in the lies of this world and he wants to distract us from what God is doing and is capable of doing. So rather than focusing on what the enemy is up to, since he is never up to any good, I am going to try to counteract his attacks by giving God thanks for what He has provided and given.

1. I am thankful for God calling me out of education. I had always dreamed of being a teacher yet since I have been in TX and in the schools, I am realizing that maybe teaching in the public school is not what God has gifted me with and given me the passion for. If I had continued ignoring God then I would possibly be miserable right now but instead, I gave into God’s calling and it has become apparent that ministry truly is my passion and what God had intended for me to do. 

     2. I am thankful for God providing and putting people in the right place at the right time. I came to

         TX not knowing where I would be staying but had faith in God that things would work out. In 

         other words, I am thankful that one my supervisors mentioned that they needed a place for me to

         stay when I arrived to TX and that the lady that I am staying with now was at church that Sunday

         and heard the request and offered to have me stay at her place since she usually rents the upstairs 

         to seminary students but didn’t have anyone renting from her at the time the request was made.

      3. I am thankful for the people that I work with and the environment that I work in. It’s not  

          everyday that you get the chance to work with a group of people that all have faith in God and 

          living out the Gospel. Yeah, there may be times that we don’t see eye to eye and there may be 

          tension at times but over all, it’s a blessing to be able to work with great people and for a great 

          cause. Ministry isn’t always easy but you can tell that God is at work in the lives of those I work 

          with and in the ministry that they are doing!

      4. I am very thankful for people that understand and are willing to walk along side you in the call

          that God has given. For me, that call is to be a missionary and also included leaving everything 

          that I knew behind and coming to a place where I knew only 1-3 people.

      5. I am thankful for one of my supervisor and his family for being welcoming and in all honesty,   

          becoming somewhat “family” (Family in Christ). Also, thankful for them extending an invite to  

          be with their family this Thanksgiving season and understanding being a missionary and   

          everything that comes along with that. There's really no right words to say/ describe how 

          thankful I am for them and what they have done for me.

      6. I am thankful for this opportunity to serve with the Dallas Leadership Foundation and with the

          Methodist Church. That I was able to graduate college and enter into full time ministry. I am 

          thankful for the opportunity to serve with others in Dallas and to get to know a wide range of

          people and see what God is doing and wanting to do in Dallas.

There are many things that I may not have mentioned that I am thankful for since there are many things that are too often overlooked and taken for granted. While there are many things to be thankful for, there are also things that interfere and sometimes prevent me from seeing the things that I should be thankful for. In those areas I would ask that you be praying.

1. For my family back home, my 5 year old niece in particular who is in the hospital
2. For patience when things don’t go as I had intended or when I just need patience with others
3. A huge request that has been burdening me some is the financial fund raising. We received a reminder email today about the amount we are supposed to raise by the end of the first year of service and then the end of the second year of service. This is something that has been hard for me since day one. It’s not easy but I know I have to have trust in God and his providing (for more info, go to my blog post titled “the struggle of support” since that’s still exactly where I am at…) It’s a struggle and prayers are appreciated in this area
4. That I get connected with other young adults and continue to grow in my faith and walk with God
5. That I truly discover what God has planned for me during these 2 years of service and truly see what's going on rather than getting caught up in "going through the motions"

Thanks for the prayers and for reading this post! My question for you is, what are you thankful for and what has God given you?! Also, please feel free to leave comments and let me know how I can be praying for you!

Bringing HOPE!

Making a difference and bringing hope to a family or even a single person is not something that happens overnight but it is an ongoing process that takes time and resources. One of the events that the Dallas Leadership Foundation does yearly is a Christmas outreach called Treasures of Hope. This is a Christmas store that is out together and allows families to be able to purchase gifts for their family at a discount of 75%-80%. However, this is a process that does NOT happen overnight or even in a month.

This is the first time that I will be participating in helping with the treasure of hope since I just arrived to Texas at the end of August and this is my 2^nd event with the Dallas Leadership Foundation. I was told going into this program that it was a big event that took a lot of time but I didn’t realize how big it was or how much time is put into it until now and I still don’t know the full understanding of how much goes into this event since there’s still a lot to be done.

So, what has been going on so far?

Last Wednesday, November 13, we had to move everything from our big warehouse into the Plaza of America where the store will be taking place. This was no simple task and we kept running into bumps in the road. We had attempted and planned on moving into the Plaza on the 2^nd but then found out that there weren’t enough people to help move so it got postponed and changed. The date was then changed to move into the Plaza on the 9^th but on the 8^th we found out that we wouldn’t have enough people to move in again and that the moving trucks were not going to be available that day. So, the move ended up taking place on the 13^th but it still didn’t go as planned and anticipated since there wasn’t many people to help make the move. However, the move had to happen so there were about 15 guys that stayed out till midnight helping to pack up everything from the warehouse and move it all into the Plaza of America.

Before things were moved into the Plaza

In the process of moving things into the Plaza

All the bikes moved into the Plaza

Unloading things and moving them into the Plaza on a cold night (2 moving trucks full)

Some merchandice that needs priced moved into the Plaza

Moving everything into the Plaza was just the start to getting the store together and preparing for the families to be able to shop for their loved ones and have a Christmas that may not be possible without the help that is provided through the store. Now that everything was moved into the Plaza of Americas, it was time to start getting things ready to get the merchandise for the families to purchase. The first step for this was to pick up boxes to assemble to give out to various organizations and churches to collect merchandise. So, last Saturday (November 16^th) about 15-20 people came out to the Plaza of America from 10-2 to help put together the boxes. About 50 boxes were completed and assembled on Saturday and are being distributed this week to the organizations and churches that wanted a box to help collect merchandise, toys, clothes, etc to help make the store possible and to help reach as many families as we can.

The finished toy boxes that will be delivered to collect merchandise for the store

Box Assembly Day: Ann-Marie and myself prepairing the paper to be wraped inside the toy boxes (Photo thanks to Stephanie Howard)

Box Assembly Day: myself, T-Ray, Ann-Marie, and Kirk (Photo thanks to Stephanie Howard)

Now that the boxes were assembled and started to be distributed, we had a day today (November 20^th) where Home Depot came out to the Plaza of America to help assemble bikes that will sold in the Christmas store.  There were about 9 people from Home Depot that gave up there day today to assemble 124 bikes. These are bikes that would originally cost $80 or so and will be sold to the families attending the Christmas store for about $15.

Thanks to the help of Home Depot, those that came out on Saturday, and the men that stayed out till midnight, we will be able to help give families a Christmas that they may not have had if it weren’t for the partnerships and help that we have had. As the title says, we are bringing hope to these families and with the help of everyone; there will be many happy kids and families this Christmas season. The people I mentioned are not the only one helping in making the Christmas store possible but there are many others that are apart of making the store possible and giving up time and resources to help impact the lives of many families (last year they were able to help about 700 families and right now we have over 500 families registered to shop at the store).

Home Depot group putting together bikes

Home Depot putting together bikes

Home Depot putting together bikes

Home Depot putting together bikes

Home Depot putting together bikes (tricycles)

All of the bikes assembled thanks to Home Depot (picture taken by T-Ray Manley)

The Home Depot team and the finished bikes (picture taken by T-Ray Manley)

This is ministry and this is making an impact. We are bringing hope to the families we serve yet there is a lot of behind the scene work that has to be completed in order to get to the finished product, which is the store and giving families the experience of being able to shop and buy gifts for their families during this Holiday season. Being able to see even a single life changed through this entire process is worth all of the work that is going into making this store possible and I look forward to being able to journey with the Dallas Leadership Foundation in this process!

You as the reader please be praying for this outreach and for all of the work that is still to be done. Pray for people to give to the boxes so that we are able to reach more families and impact the lives of families this Holiday season. Pray for everyone that is busy and overwhelmed with work and that God would continue to remind us all why it is that we are doing this and have been working on this for months now. It doesn’t happen overnight but it is a process. Ministry doesn’t happen overnight and impacting a life doesn’t happen overnight and this is a prime example of what goes into making the end result possible!

Sent out 2-by-2, NOT alone

The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. ~Luke 10:1

Once again, I am going to attempt writing a new blog post since I have been finding myself at the point that I am not able to complete a post once I start writing. However, this is one thing that had been at the forefront of various conversations and being realized. I realized that the decision to enter into ministry was not an easy decision to make and one of the things that I had to consider was that I would be leaving many relationships. The other options that I considered were options that would lead me to being around many people my age and working with them as a team however, the option to enter into ministry that I am in now, was not that way.

In college, I had numerous relationships and groups to interact with. I was in apart of a service sorority, a member of the leadership team with InterVarsity, attended many conferences and events, and the list goes on. In college, it seemed to me that relationships came easy and I never had to work at building relationship since I can get along with just about anyone.

One of the conferences that I attended during my senior year of college was InterVarsity’s Greek Conference and I went through the influence track, which was for seniors that were getting ready to graduate. During that track, they had some recent graduates talk about their transition after graduating yet it seemed like a majority of them were in graduate school so they were still connected with people around their age. However, this was one thing that kept coming up during that weekend and a concern for many of us that were getting ready to graduate. How would we build relationships? Where would we go to church? What did post college life look like? Would we be lonely? And the questions just kept coming.

Entering into ministry, I knew that it wouldn’t be the easiest of paths to enter into yet for the first 2 months of being in Texas, things have been going well until this past weekend when it dawned on me that I am not connected. I love the people I work with and the interactions that I have at work but I realize that right now, that’s the only interaction with people that I have. I have realized that I need to get connected in a church and engage in relationships with others around my age. I am realizing that I am realizing that I may have people around me but in the end, once I leave work every day, I find myself alone and starting to deal with the effects of loneliness, especially as the holiday season is approaching. It’s hard to describe what I am talking about but it seems to me that some of my other US-2 and Mission Intern friends are dealing with the same thing. So, what’s to come and where will things take me?

I am now realizing why God sent the disciples and others out in pairs. He didn’t intend on us being alone and I trust and believe that the connections will be made somewhere so that I don’t look back and realize what I had and what it is that I no longer have. This is a new journey and a time for growth. Ministry was never meant to be easy and leaving everything that I ever knew and all of the relationships and interactions that I had was not easy. I went from having people to hang out with most of the time to now, not doing much since I don’t want to do things alone.

So, if you are reading this, I ask that you pray for strength and for relationships to be formed, both those that have already started and those that may not be present at the moment. I pray that God continues working in Dallas and through the organization that I am partnering with and that God blesses us all abundantly and meets all of our needs. 

What's going on in the neighborhoods?

Neighborhood Community Development Department

This is the second department that I am working with while serving with the Dallas Leadership Foundation. Right now, we are in the middle of trying to wrap up a veteran home repair project and I have been able to go along and do some house visits with the veterans. I would say that this experience has made me aware of struggles in Dallas. A man named Mr. Jackson owned one of the houses we looked at a few weeks ago and he served in the Army.  While doing the home visit with Mr. Jackson he showed told us that he has had numerous cataract surgeries and still is not able to see well yet he was in good spirit. Now when it came to his house, he showed us 3 broken windows, a broken water heater, a gas leak, and 2 torn up doors. With all of the problems with the house, he was still in good spirit and thankful for us coming out. It’s good to be able to get someone’s story rather than just serving them since a story is powerful and as Veterans Day is coming up, we are trying to give back and serve some veterans and thank them for serving our country. That’s just one of many stories of the people that we come into contact with at the Dallas Leadership Foundation and it’s stories like these that make me thankful for what God has given me and the opportunity that I have to be in ministry and serve with others.

Along with doing the veteran home repair project, we also serve in 9 neighborhoods and help support the neighborhood leaders. The leaders are people just like you and me yet many of them live in areas that have crime issues. The leaders amaze me though since they are serving their neighborhoods and trying to reduce the crime rates and improve their neighborhood. They are trying to reach out to their neighbors and revitalize the neighborhoods. Many people in these neighborhoods know each other and that alone amazes me since it seems like now a days, we don’t take the time to get to know those around us, we may live in one place our entire lives yet know very few to nobody in our neighborhood. So, again I will say, that God is starting to get me to realize that there is a need for Him to be brought into the areas of the United States, including Dallas and there is a need for missionaries here in the United States. And, I am glad that God called me to Dallas rather than overseas for the time being.

The above are just a few things that have been taking place since I have been in Dallas and I pray that God will continue allowing me to see the world as it truly is and take the time to get to know those we are serving. As I stated earlier, a story is powerful and it’s great to get to know people rather than just serve them. That’s partially what I am realizing while serving at the Dallas Leadership Foundation, that it’s a lot about building relationships rather than the project itself. Without the relationships, then what progress and impact are we truly making? “Break my heart for what breaks yours.”

The entire US-2 program is about ministry with and ministry with is not easy. It means building the relationships and taking time rather to get to know others. It’s not a project or an assignment and it’s not always easy but God build relationships with those that He served and He did ministry with so shouldn’t we be doing the same and shouldn’t we be looking to Him for strength when it’s hard? I pray that God helps me to slow down and truly utilize what He wants me to get out of these next 2 years rather than have an agenda and schedule. So, I ask that you pray for me as I continue serving with the Dallas Leadership Foundation and that God continues to work through me and those that I work with. That we would build relationships and do ministry with rather than be caught up in an agenda and the busyness of this world that we end up only seeing numbers rather than people and stories. 

Break my heart for what breaks yours

I have been struggling with coming up with something to blog about all week. Every time I have started writing, I ended up stopping since it didn’t seem to be right. Then tonight I watched a movie called “unconditional” and it lead me to this post and what I am writing about. I have been in Dallas for about 10 weeks now, so over 2 months, and a lot has been going on but I have found myself too busy to truly see what’s in front of me and what’s going on. As I have stated in previous posts, I used to think that to be a missionary, you needed to leave the country, but the more I am in Dallas and the more I am doing with the Dallas Leadership Foundation and meeting with people, the more I am seeing the need for Christ right here in the United States and in Dallas. That there is brokenness in our backyards and I am thankful that God has brought me here rather than sending me overseas to be a missionary.

So, what has been going on in Texas since I have been here?

Youth Leadership Department

For the past couple of weeks I have been in 2 different schools and helping to be a mentor during the lunch program in the schools. I am in Lake Highlands Freshman Center on Tuesday’s and Roosevelt High School on Thursday’s and I am working with the females in both schools. While I was not the biggest fan of being in the schools after my first school visit, I am realizing the need in the schools. Both schools are different than what I am used to and different than my high school and for a while, I was wondering what the need was in the schools. That mind set changed after being in the schools for a few weeks and looking through pre-evaluations of the students. After these 2 things, I realized the need to be in the schools and reach out to these students. At the same time, I am broken by the life styles of these students and what they are dealing with. It breaks me to see how many of the students are living with only one parent, which is usually the mother, since they don’t have a father. The movie that I watched tonight stated that, “28% of all children in the world live without their biological father and 24.7million of those live in America.” With that being said, I am thankful for having a Heavenly Father that is always there and will never leave our side. So, I would say that God is working on me and breaking me through the experiences and life styles of the students that we are working with.

In the next blog I will post about the other department that I am working in as well, the Neighborhood Community Development department.  So, check that post out as well.