You're not alone

It seems to me like this journey as a US-2 missionary, living in a new state, etc has been a roller coaster ride. There have been times where I have questioned why it is that I am in Texas and wondering if I made the right choice and then there are other times that I absolutely know without a doubt that I am where I am meant to be and enjoy what it is that God has called me to do here in Texas. However, that’s not the only thing that feels like a roller coaster ride at times but also relationships and feeling like I am on this journey alone.

During training everyone was together in one place yet once we were given our assignments, we were dispersed throughout the entire United States as well as the world and for the most part nobody was going to be going to the same place. Recently I received news that made me start to feel like I was on this journey alone but God knew what I was about to go through and sent one of the mission interns who’s still waiting to get her visa to text me at the right time as the news was found out and when the feelings of being alone came over me. It was in our text conversation that I was very much reminded that I am not in this journey alone. Those of us that trained together may be placed in different states yet we are still connected by what it is that we are doing and we are in some way, even with the distances separating us, journeying together in our ministry assignments.

I have been reminded by those that I work with and those that I attend church with that we are all connected by the body of Christ and that in some way, others are able to connect and relate in this ministry journey. It’s been a reminder that I am not in this journey alone and that there are people who can relate even if it’s not noticeable.

Yesterday (Saturday), I helped with a neighborhood leadership workshop where many of those that attended are residents and leaders of different neighborhoods. Each neighborhood (and each ministry assignment) has it’s own characteristics and each person leads in a way that suits them best however, there comes a time where we get tired and just don’t know how we can continue leading and carrying on with the ministry. At the neighborhood leadership workshop, it was encouraging to see the leaders sharing what works for them and what they need to improve on, what they hope to see and how things are currently, and how they each want to network with each other. Some of the leaders may have been coming into the workshop feeling as if they were alone, feeling tired / overwhelmed/ discouraged yet leaving the workshop, it seems like they realized that they were not in the journey alone and that there were others that are in the same place as them and can relate to what they are doing and their struggles.

 Too often, I feel like the enemy tried to get us down and tries to get us in a place where we feel like we are the only ones doing something, the only ones working toward change, the only ones doing what it is that we are doing and that nobody else can resonate with us and understand. Yet God says otherwise, He says that we are never alone and He places us in situations and around others so that we don’t have to go through things alone, so that we have a network around us, so that we can talk to others and know that we are not alone. Since being in Texas, there have been times where I felt like nobody else understood what I was facing or could resonate with my situation yet in those times, God has placed people in my life at the right time and have brought up conversations at the right time to remind me that I am not alone. When we are doing work for God, the enemy will try anything he can to distract us and hurt us yet it’s in those times that we need to truly look to God and look to the body of Christ to get us through and to understand that we are never alone.

So, when you are feeling tired/ overwhelmed/ just wanting to quit/ feeling like you are the only one facing turmoil/ etc, remember that God is always by your side and that the body of Christ is standing with you. You don’t have to face the challenges alone and there are people who want to encourage you and see you succeed. If you realize that someone is tired/ overwhelmed/ feeling alone in their journey then take a minute to pray for them or talk to them and be the body of Christ that we are meant to be. Support and encourage one another. Together, we can succeed and overcome obstacles that show up in our lives.

Trusting God in the little things

“Our reaction to seemingly unimportant things will be a key indicator in what God will do later in our life. We have a tendency to want to go out and immediately slay giants and win the day and be victorious, while overlooking the fact that we are called into victory where we are. Your victory in the Lord begins wherever you are right now.” ~He used a stone 

I started reading a book called; “He used a stone” which is about how God used David to defeat Goliath (a “giant”) with something as small as a stone and goes into the life that David lived. I started reading it after one of the churches I am attending, First UMC Richardson, started a sermon series called “Against All Odds.” Last week’s message was about the “giants” in our lives and the obstacles we may face daily. Since then, I have been wondering, what are the “giants” in my life in regards to the ministry journey that I am on right now? What are the things that keep me from possibly seeing the bigger picture of why God brought me to Texas and to work with the Dallas Leadership Foundation? And so forth.

When we were asked what “giants” were in our lives last week, I really couldn’t express what the “giants” were but I knew I was facing them. I knew that I was facing obstacles yet I could not explain those obstacles in words; it was just something that I felt and knew I was dealing with. And that is where the quote above comes into play and where I will go back to a previous blog post where I talked about spiritual gifts.

When I took a few spiritual gift inventories, many of them came back with the top result of being “administration” with other gifts to follow. Before I entered into the ministry journey of being a US-2 young adult missionary and coming to Texas, I questioned what “ministry” looked like for me. I applied for 2 other ministry positions before being accepted into the US-2 program and before moving to Texas. During my time of discerning what “ministry” looked like for me and being turned down from the 2 ministry positions, I ended up talking to someone that I saw as a mentor and knew where I was at in regards to pursuing ministry. He was the InterVarsity staff worker on my campus and one thing I remember him telling me after I was turned down from the 2 ministry opportunities, was that he saw me in more of an administrative role and that the 2 job positions would not have been right for what God had gifted me with.

Since I have been in Texas, it has come up more than once that one of my gifts that is apparent is in administration. Yes administration comes easy to me and I can get things in the administrative area done fairly quickly but that where a “giant” lays. The giant is that even though I may be “gifted” in administration, there is still an undying passion to do more, a passion that has been apparent most of my life. Being a servant leader, a lifestyle that Jesus portrayed and was an example of.

Even though I realize that administration is a strong point and gift in my life, I sometimes wonder if it is making any difference. Right now I am having to trust God in the “small” things, or at least things that seem small to me but may not seem small to others. I have to continue following and relying on God where He has me and continue to continuously remind myself to slow down and try to see things the way God sees them. Once I started looking into pursuing a career in full time ministry, I was often told that you are doing ministry everywhere you go, it’s that we often overlook what’s going on and forget to realize that even the smallest thing we do is ministry to someone else. We just need to be obedient and trust God in where He has us now, doing the work that He has called us to do right now. So, what’s your ministry and what are your “giants?”

Surrendering ALL

Since the New Year and especially the past few weeks, I have found myself having more questions than answers and wondering where things are taking me and what God is doing in my life and through me. Wondering if I am making any difference, if people are able to see Christ in me, if my life is being changed by those that I work with (both community members, schools, staff, etc). I have also found myself just going through the motions of “ministry” of doing things just because it’s what I am supposed to do rather than truly taking a step back and seeing the situation and task ahead of me as God sees it and fully embracing what He has for me.

I feel like everybody, including those in the ministry field, goes through times in their lives where we find ourselves just going through the motions. We get so caught up in doing what we do that we forget why we are doing and seeing God through the work that we are doing. We forget that everyday we have to lay our lives down and surrender everything to God.

I realize that there is a lot of pain, hurt, injustice, etc in Dallas where I am serving and that the organization that I am working with is trying to bring hope to Dallas and everyone that we come into contact with. Yet, how can we bring hope when we get caught up in the everyday tasks that we forget the reason we are doing the work we are doing and how hope is going to come about? There is no way that we can bring hope to people in our own flesh and in our own strength but when we remind ourselves that God is already at work and that God is present and He’s the reason for the work we are doing, and remind ourselves that God desires hope and equality for all then we will be able to start making a difference.

Ministry truly is my passion and working with those in the community that may at times feel hopeless, not know where to turn, feel like they are forgotten about, etc is not always easy yet Christ is the strength and hope that keeps us going. Without God then we would be getting absolutely nowhere. I realize that God is the only hope there is since this world is broken and Dallas is a broken place but God is very much present all around but it takes us having to take a step back and truly open our eyes to see the work that God is doing. We can’t just live day to day and go through the motions since then we would be missing out on the big picture and why God has us doing what we are doing.

Lately, I have found myself right there where I am just going through the motions and not truly embracing what God is doing and quiet frankly, I have forgotten why I am here in the first place. I got to the point where I have been forced to slow down (literally, having to slow down since I have been sick for over a month now with bronchitis and it was a relapse from about 2-3 months ago.) With having to be home from work some and resting, it has given me the chance to truly examine what’s going on.

In the midst of this all, I have found myself empty even though I attend church weekly (well, actually attend 2 churches weekly), I am getting involved with the churches, I would follow through with work, etc yet I have been empty and haven’t been able to shake the feeling that I’m missing something. Today at church, the message may not have been that’s important but the worship was and the reminder that I was called into ministry and that it will require me to surrender everything to God was a reminder that I needed. I don’t want to just live day by day going through the motions since that will leave me empty and will go against the reason God has me here in Texas.

There is so much that God is doing that He is calling me and you to surrender our lives every day and to ask God to guide us and show us what it is that He is doing. It takes us surrendering ourselves to God so that He can work through us so that we may bring hope to others who may not feel like there is much hope. It takes us surrendering our lives so that we can live for God and represent Him in a way that everyone that we come into contact with will see that God is with us and that He is the hope that they need.

Before coming to Texas, I had other dreams but God changed my route and I have to be okay with that. I looked back at some of my journal entries and realize that God has been preparing me for the work in Texas all my life and that God has perfect timing. I wanted to enter into ministry my freshman year of college and I joked around telling people that I was going to drop out but God kept me there. You see, God places instincts in us and passions in us to do His will and to allow Him to work through us. It is never our work but it is always His work. He could change the world all by himself if He truly wished to but He desires for us to partner with Him and to allow Him to work through us.

The US-2 program is about ministry “with” not “for” or “to” and I absolutely agree. We should be doing ministry with God not for God or to God and we should be working with those that we serve not for them… Allow people to do for themselves what they can rather than going in and taking over and doing things for them. Yeah, it’s not always easy work, it will be frustrating at times, it will test your patience, and so much more but in the end, you would have done more for them than you realize and you will have grown more than you would have if you just went in and did things for others.

In the US-2 program, one of the main keys is growing in mission. This is sometimes an area where I have a hard time figuring out what God is doing and how I am growing but when I take a step back and truly take a look at what’s going on, What God’s doing, why God brought me here, and focus on Him and His work (since after all, it’s all God’s work NOT ours) then I am able to see how I am growing and being “tested”. The ministry life is not always easy but it’s one I would follow all over again since in the end it’s all about what God is doing and it’s not about us.

It’s about fully surrendering to God our lives, our finances, our day-to-day activity, our relationships, our everything. It requires an everyday act of surrendering and trusting God and in the end; He will be the one that brings hope, light, and restoration to this world. Everything we do is God’s work and He has chosen to use us to carry out His work. So, what do you need to surrender to God and how are you going to start living out the ministry that God has called you to? How are you going to look at the work that God has called you to (as something that you are just doing or something that is bringing hope and life to others?)

This is the song that we ended with at church today and it was a reminder that our dreams, our lives, everything belongs to God and that we need to surrender them to Him! God is burdened by the pain that exists in this world as so should we. However, we shouldn’t just ignore the hurt, pain, etc but we should do something about it and start bringing hope to those we encounter and allow them to ultimately see God at work. So, take a step back and truly look at the communities you work in, the lives you impact, the people you come into contact with, the networking, etc and try to see it all from God’s perspective and see how He is at work and see how you can come alongside God and continue doing His work. Stop going through the motions but truly embrace what God is doing and what God has planned for you and the reason He has you where you are! 

It's not an easy task to surrender everything to God and to live as God has intended for us to live. It's not easy to be the one that people look to for hope, encouragement, etc but it's about time that we all start giving our lives to God and see what He can and wants to do through us. We can't do it on our own but with God we can!

May this song be your prayer and may you trust God, surrender all, and go out to the coomunities or where every it is that God has you and bring hope to the hopeless, broken, etc. And may God be with you every step of the way and give you His eyes to see thw communities and the world as He sees it and show you the work that He is already doing! For me, it's Dallas that God has called me to and the Dallas area that He wants to bring hope to!

I'm giving You my heart, and all that is within 

I lay it all down for the sake of You my King 

I'm giving You my dreams, I'm laying down my rights 

I'm giving up my pride for the promise of new life  

And I surrender all to You, all to You 

And I surrender all to You, all to You  

I'm singing You this song, I'm waiting at the cross 

And all the world holds dear, I count it all as loss 

For the sake of knowing You for the glory of Your name 

To know the lasting joy, even sharing in Your pain

Walking in the wilderness

Sometimes it take being put into a situation that you thought was right for you to realize that it’s actually not what God has desired for you and that frees you from the past yet how can you move forward when you feel stuck in the present and knowing what God has given you the passion for yet others don’t realize it and you find yourself running into a dead end?

 "It is no coincidence that many of the great moments in salvation history start out with a trek through the wilderness. Abraham, Moses and the Israelites, and Jesus all found themselves wandering through the desert after responding to God’s calling"

Right now, I feel like I am walking in the wilderness and trying to find my way to truly embracing what God has for me and why He brought me to Texas. I have been in Texas and participating in ministry for about 6 months now and without a doubt I can tell you that God brought me here for a reason and has been revealing the truth to me and showing me where my true passions are. I have realized over the years that God will take me from the familiar and everything I know when He wants me to understand something better or He wants to reveal something new to me that I may have been too stubborn to pay attention to if I was in my familiar surrounding. So, coming to Texas, I had the questions, why Texas? Why am I working with the Dallas Leadership Foundation? Why was I not placed overseas? Why was I not placed somewhere else when I thought I was being called to do something else? What did God want to show me and reveal to me in Texas and during the 2 years that I was assigned to be working on Texas?

All of those questions may not be fully answered but there are things that God's been revealing to me and showing me yet as I stated in the first part, there are times that I feel like I am having to hold back on what God is showing me and it’s hard and frustrating. I will admit that I came to Texas thinking one thing yet God has switched things up, like He usually does, and has revealed the truth to me.

God’s at work yet I feel like I am in the wilderness and wondering around trying to figure out where to go next and wondering if anyone else will realize what God is doing.

(On a side note, I want to say that I am absolutly glad that God has brought me to Texas and has me working with DLF. I truly wouldn't want to be anywhere else right now and I am glad that God is showing up and revealing things to me and will hopefully continue to do so!)

"It is in the desert that the Holy Spirit teaches us key truths, tests our character and purpose, and strengthens us for ministry. God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Cor. 12:9)"

Texas may not be a literal desert yet this journey that I am on in ministry is at times like a desert. I left everything I knew and came to Texas. A desert is a dry place and doesn’t have much and that’s how it was coming to Texas. I may have had thoughts about how I thought things would be and accusations that God was going to let me have my dream. (A dream that I may add was something that God called me out of yet part of me was always going to wonder how things would be different if I continued following my plan. So, God allowed me to have a taste of what my plan would have ended up like and I thank Him that He called me out of what I thought I had always wanted to do and ended up deciding to follow Him into ministry and to Texas.) So, you see, I came empty-handed to Texas yet it’s been through this journey so far that God has been revealing to me the truth about why He has brought me to Texas and what He has implanted in me to do. What God has been revealing to me, I may have always overlooked but looking back on the past, I realize that it has always been apart of who I am but it’s now that it’s becoming more apparent and clear to me.

It’s in the desert, or the new place, the new journey, the step of saying yes to Him that He will reveal the true motive behind what we are doing. He will reveal the truth of who He has made us to be. He will set us free from our past, our thoughts, and our old desires and make us new. However, I am now at a place where I wonder how do I  follow Him in the direction that He is calling me when I feel absolutely stuck in the wilderness with no way out? I pray that God shows me the way and continues to work through me and reveal the truth to me. There’s more behind being in Texas than I know yet little by little, God is revealing why He has brought me here and why I am where I am and not somewhere else.

Would you join me in praying for God to show me the best way to use what He is revealing to me? Pray that God continues to open my eyes to His truth and to His love. Pray that I find rest in God and find fulfillment in what He has called me to do and is revealing to me. Pray that I am able to speak truth and not live day by day going through the motion but truly embrace who God has made me and do what He has been preparing me to do. 

I will leave you with this, my senior year leading up to God calling me out of education and into ministry, the following song at the end of this blog was my prayer and to this day it is still my prayer…

To the desperate eyes and reaching hands

To the suffering and the lean

To the ones the world has cast aside

Where you want me I will be 

I will go, I will go  

I will go, Lord send me

To the world, To the lost

To the poor and hungry

Take everything I am

I'm clay within your hands

I will go, I will go, send me 

Let me not be blind with privilege

Give me eyes to see the pain

Let the blessing You've poured out on me

Not be spent on me in vain

Let this life be used for change

Have compassion and trust God

“When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. “Bring them here to me,” he said. And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.” ~ Matthew 14:13-21

Everyone knows the above passage as Jesus feeding the 5000 and while that is true there is a lot that is taking place in these 8 lines and so much of it resonates with me being a missionary and what I am currently doing. After looking into this passage, the first thing that stands out is that Jesus had compassion on the people that were on this part of land that He was expecting to be vacant. Now Jesus would have been tired and looking for rest after His long day but instead of sending the people away or trying to find another place to go, He stayed there and had compassion and patience with the people.

The definition of compassion is to have sympathy or to feel for someone and that’s exactly what Jesus had. He couldn’t overlook the feeling that He had and overlook the needs of the people that were on this piece of land. Being a missionary, I find myself needing to learn from Jesus in this area and have compassion for people. Yes, I feel bad for people and am heart broken for situations people are in but do I truly have the same compassion that Jesus had or do I show it in the same way as Jesus did? I would say no. There are times that I leave work and doing things and all I want to do is find rest. I don’t want to talk to anyone else, I don’t want to mess with any problems, simply put, I don’t want to do anything but rest and get away from people and be in solitude. This is how Jesus must have been feeling yet He had great compassion and patience with the people and wanted to help them out, even when He was only looking for solitude.

I feel like everyone can learn from Jesus in this area and learn what it truly means to have compassion for someone else which leads me to the next point. The disciples were with Jesus and while it was getting late, the disciples thought that it would be best to have the people leave however, Jesus thought differently. Jesus was not about to let the people leave without providing for them. So, He told the disciples to feed the people that were there. Now if I were in the disciples place I would have been thinking, “yeah right, you want me to feed all these people with the little bit of bread and fish that we have? You have got to be joking since that’s not going to happen unless you have food somewhere that we don’t know about!” Yeah, I would have thought it was a joke but Jesus was serious. Again, He had compassion for the people He was serving. And even though the disciples had very little to offer, there was still something that they could offer. How many times do we say “we’re sorry” to someone when they tell us something that’s heartbreaking? How many times do we say “sorry” because that’s all we can say at the time? How many times do we actually act on the sorry and provide rather than just saying “sorry”? I know I say or feel sorry more than I should and act on things less than I should.

The second part of the passage explains it. Jesus was demonstrating His compassion for the people. He had order and control of the situation and of the people. He knew that the disciples had little to offer and there was little that they could do to provide for the 5000+ people yet Jesus was able to work through them and use what little they had to provide. So lets think about that for today, the more I am working as a missionary and working with my placement site the more God is opening me up to seeing what compassion truly is. There are times when we feel like we have nothing to bring to the table and to contribute yet Jesus has given us all gifts and abilities that sometimes only we can do. We are able to use those gifts to make a difference and God will multiply our work for His glory. I have seen this through people that I work with already. Just recently there was a worship service in one of the 9 neighborhoods that my placement site works in and in April there was a tragic incident where a family had lost 2 members of the family in a shooting. The neighborhood and leaders of the area and my placement site could have told this family “sorry for their loss” but God calls us to have compassion for people and not only say “sorry” or “I understand” or only speak but He calls us into action. The community did just that, they came together and helped this family out by collecting an offering to give to them so that they could continue providing for their family, they were given meals, and so forth. You see, the community came together and everyone used what little they may have had to help make a big impact when everyone came together. God used what little resources there was and made a great impact.

God wants to do that in everyone of us. There were times when I thought that I could not be a missionary and that I was not equipped or ready to do some of the things that I am doing but God comes into the picture and He asks, “what do you have?” and He will work from there. As one of my last posts talked about, I am good administratively yet I know that there is more that God has called me to do. However, I easily get caught up in the thinking of, I am not fully equipped to do things and would rather stay with the things that come easily. Yet, God says otherwise and asks us to trust Him and give Him what we do have so that He can multiply our work and be our strength. What are you holding back on doing since you feel inadequate or inexperienced on doing? What is your answer when God asks you, “what do you have and what can you do?” There is so much need all around us and while I am helping in 9 neighborhoods with my placement site and 2 schools, I could tell God that I am not equipped and can’t provide for the needs of these neighborhoods and these schools and the students and people that we work with but then again God isn’t asking us to do everything. But, He is telling us to take what we have and put it to use and that He will help up and get us ready for the things ahead.

God wants to equip us and He wants to be our provider. He will provide far more than we could ever imagine. Just think, how would you have reacted if you were the disciples and realized that 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish just provided everyone with a meal where everyone was full and there was 12 baskets left over! (12 baskets and 12 disciples), God provided not only for the people that they were serving but He also provided for those that were providing the resources! Now that gives me great hope and reassurance that I am exactly where God wants me to be and that there is always something that we can do and offer and learn from Jesus. So, how are you going to start living out and showing the same compassion that Jesus had for the 5000+ people? How are you going to use what you have (gifts, finances, abilities, etc)? How are you going to allow God to take what little you may have and expand it and do greater things with than you may have ever imagined?

I know it’s easy to look at the situation in front of us and say that it’s too hard, that we’re not equipped to take on the project or help someone or do something about it, that all we can say is “we’re sorry”, “we feel you”, “we understand”, etc but what is God saying to do and how are we going to put our trust and faith in God and His word?

Don't allow incompetency or a sense of inadequacy stop you from reaching your fullest potential and God's desire. But rather have faith in God and obey what He has called you to do or is trying to get you to do. God will provide for your needs and will show you the way to accomplishing what He wants done. He's not about to throw you out on your own but He is walking along side you, just come to Him with your doubts, inability, inadequate supply, etc and allow Him to work through you! In doing so, you will feel a sense of joy and understanding God more. 

Tis a Season to bring HOPE

Christmas, it’s not always about what comes wrapped in ribbons, bows, and wrapping paper but it’s about being with friends and family however, for the Dallas Leadership Foundation, it was a season of bringing hope to over 700 families. Months leading into December, we started having meetings in order to plan and prepare for the Treasure of Hope Christmas Store. This is an annual store where merchandise is discounted at 75%-80% and families are able to be referred to the store in order to shop and be able to have hope for the Holiday and possibly allow the family to have a Christmas that may not have been possible beforehand.

There’s a lot of behind the scene stuff that has to happen in order to make the store happen and it takes everyone to help make it happen. Days were spent on delivering toy boxes to abut 40 organizations to help collect toys and merchandise to put in the store, it took shopping a couple of days to get enough merchandise for the store, it took weeks to price all of the merchandise, and the help of numerous volunteers/ supporters/ and staff to make the store possible and a success.

So, the Treasure of Hope store was December 18^th-21^st and even though it was a very exhausting time, it was well worth the energy to know that we were able to help bring a sense of hope to over 700 families and was done in a way that the shoppers didn’t feel offended. They were glad to shop, kept their dignity, and left with more than they arrived with (both spiritually and physically).

Every family not only left with the gifts that they bought, but they also left with a food box to take home to their family. They didn’t only experience shopping at the store but they also experienced a Gospel presentation, a chance to be prayed, a chance to know Christ and experience His love, and a chance to have dinner and interact with many other people.

I was over the registration area and was able to have interaction with almost every person that came through the store. I was also able to use my Spanish major and interact with some of the Hispanic speakers at the store. Knowing that I was using the gifts that God gave me, my major, interacting with those that came through, seeing the impact that was being made, etc was well worth inputting over 900 names and information into our data base so that we could register the shoppers and check that they attended or not. However, now that the store is over and we are all moved out, I am glad to have a break from the data base (apricot) since it was a lot.

So, here are some pictures from the Treasure of Hope store and remember this holiday season to be thankful for what God has given you since you never know who may have less and may be looking for a little bit of hope… HOPE, that’s what the store brought and it was a blessing to be able to help with this event and interact with those we were reaching out to this holiday season. 

More could be said about the store but then again, words don't do justice to what the store is about and the impact that it has on numerous families... Check out my earlier blog post "Bringing Hope" to read more about some of the things that had to take place before the store could open.

A shopper with her bag full and ready to check out

Vehicle full after doing a merchandise pick up from 4 places

Some of the shoppers that enjoyed their purchase of a new bike for their children

James Reed and the pastor from Cristo Rey delivering the Gospel message to the shoppers as they wait to enter the store

The registration team (Friday night)

The President of DLF (Wil) and a manager at Home Depot (Home Depot partnered with the store by putting together all the bikes, volunteering, and purchasing about 50 tool boxes and tool sets for the store!)

T-Ray and Santa at one of the store sessions

Some of the volunteers that were gift wrapping presents for shoppers if they wanted their stuff wrapped!

Every night, the store brought in entertainment as well and this was one of the groups that came in 

Some of the merchandise team helping out a shopper by pricing and making sure they were at or under the price limit

Some of the shoppers from Roosevelt High School (one of the schools that we have a lunch program at where we mentor and help students0

Some of the shoppers that were pleased with their purchase

Another happy shopper after her shopping experience

The store also had a hope fair where shoppers could find out information that would help them out

Packing up the store and getting ready to move out until next year

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.”