God-given gifts...

In addition to strengths and passions, I cannot miss the fact that we also have God-given gifts. There is so much that could be shared about the gifts, but simply put... they are given uniquely to each one of us by God through His Spirit, to be used for the benefit of others, for His glory.

N.T. Wright suggests this is how “Jesus makes the church into his own ‘fullness’, giving us his own presence by the Spirit.” He goes on to say, “What matters is that, even with all the different gifts that Jesus has lavished on the church, it is the same Jesus, the same Lord, who is personally present, by the spirit, in each of them.”

You’ll find lists of the different gifts in the following three passages in scripture – Romans 12:1-8, 1 Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4:11-13. Each gift is of equal value, not to be neglected. They range from helping others, to teaching, to giving, to administration, and so many others. The important thing is that we use our gifts! 1 Peter 4:10 (NLT) speaks to this: “God has given gifts to each of you from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well so that God’s generosity can flow through you.”

I find it interesting that both the Romans and 1 Corinthians passages on the gifts are followed up with the importance of doing all things in love. “Love must be sincere,” Paul says in Romans 12:9. And most people are familiar with 1 Corinthians 13 that rings with the message that we can use all the gifts, but if “I didn’t love others, I would be of no value whatsoever.”

Strengths. Passions. Gifts.

Done in love.

Give God glory.

Mike and Joni!

Mike and Joni were home this weekend for his brother's wedding. We loved every minute we got to spend with them! Take a quick scroll through our time together...

An afternoon of bowling.

Our favorite bowling alley in downtown Holland
has closed down :(, so we ended up at Century Lanes.

The guy below had "all marks" on his game.
Yep, that's Dennis' 212 score you see.

What more can I say?

84 East - Mike and Joni's favorite place to eat!

Couldn't pass up the candy store!

This one's for Kari :).

Mike & Joni went to Watermark.
Dennis' parents joined Dennis & I as we visited
Frontline Church in GR and
we all met up for a Chinese buffet.

So great to have you Mike & Joni.
We're going to miss you!

Living out your passions - Baby Get Green!

My last post was on passions, so I'm taking the liberty to promote a wonderful website, BabyGetGreen created by our daughter, Jamie, that oozes with her passion. Her life mission statement - Striving to live a simple and peaceful life and helping others to do the same. Writing a mission statement is often a helpful tool in clarifying what you're passionate about, plus it can empower you to know what to say "no" to and what to say "yes" to in life.

Jamie has been posting some great interviews. Back when I was a young mom, I would have loved to been inspired about meal planning (which I don't enjoy) and organizing my home (something I inherited from my mom)... both domestic virtues would have been nice to have! But, we can gain some new tips and understanding from the experts. Did you know meal planning and organizing your home helps save money? Click on Jamie's links below to find out more about it!

• on meal planning with Melissa from DinnerPlanner.com
  
• on organizing with Beverly Coggins
• on organizing with Barb Myers

Thanks for letting me do a little blurb on my daughter who is living out her passions!