10 Ways to Kindle Your Fire and Recharge Your Gift
Worn out?
Have you ever felt a little weary and stale in your life? Have you looked up and realized that what was once a burning fire seems to be dying out?
We have all known the joy of working hard at something, pouring heart and soul, as well as a good measure of blood, sweat, and tears into something we’re passionate about. Right? At times it might be a relationship, a role in life, a job, a project, or a ministry that has captured our imagination and fired our determination. The particulars can vary, but the joy of inspiration can be a tangible thing that enables us to stick with it for the long haul.
But sometimes we get tired.
Sometimes passion fizzles and we wonder if all the energy is worth it.
Have you been there? I have.
Today I am invigorated by these words:
I don’t know about you, but I can get caught up in my emotions and loose sight of the bigger picture. I can get pulled under the exhaustion of effort that never quite seems to produce. My heart lets loose its grip and motivation slips through my fingers.
Recharge your gift.
In this quick shot of encouragement, Paul reminds Timothy to do something we all need to do from time to time: recharge that special gift that God has placed in us. Each child of God receives sweet gifts of grace imprinted on our unique personality and calling.
[tweetthis]Whether large or small, spiritual gifts must be used in order to fulfill their purpose.[/tweetthis]
We all need to take time to recharge and rekindle our gifts. God has so much more for us than coasting, barely draggin over the finish line.
In this simple verse, God gives us a key to vitality.
The word kindle relates to igniting and feeding a fire. It is the kindling that brings the blaze and keeps it burning. Kindling produces energy and action as it brings forth fire. Kindling can also provoke and rouse to action. Kindling causes a reaction and produces an effect.
Where does inspiration come from?
God is the unending and original source of all fresh creativity. Creativity is His specialty!
How often I have tried to skip the step of kindling, overeager and impatient to bring on the blaze. It is ridiculously easy to neglect the small, necessary twigs of healthy habits and effort.
When we kindle our spirits with God’s Word, the Holy Spirit ignites fresh life into the gifts He has placed within us.
Kindle afresh.
Like cold mountain water, rushing over rocks on a hot, humid day, the word afresh is something I could use a lot more of. How about you?
Afresh, refresh, anew…freshness is found in the Holy Spirit and is the result of drinking of the “rivers of living water” that sprain up from our innermost being (John 7:38). Freshness helps dissipate weariness, providing energy move forward as well as stirring up creativity to receive the groundwork for new plans.
[tweetthis]10 Ways to to kindle afresh and recharge your gifts[/tweetthis]
- Feed your fire with daily doses of God’s word.
- Explore, practice, express–play with ideas whether or not there is exact opportunity at the moment.
- Change it up. Incorporate variety into your day. Do something different.
- Let God lead. When we take the responsibility of making things happen on ourselves, it’s easy to get off track. Uncover joy in the process.
- Enjoy the little steps that take you where you are going.
- Be observant–watch for inspiration in new things you learn, books you read, pictures you take, or experiences you enjoy.
- Anticipate God. Expect to see Him work in and through you. It is not all on you, so you can relax a little.
- Rest. Exhaustion suffocates passion and stifles drive.
- Remember we are called and gifted by grace, ultimately it is God’s work through us that will last.
- Trust God to finish what He has started
Open the window of your soul and let the fresh breeze of God’s Spirit, His word, and His blessing blow through and ignite your heart to burn brightly as we continue to shine in the light of His glory.
What do you do to kindle your fire?
4 Questions to Discover Your Calling: A Guest Post by Raymond Powell
How do you know your calling?
This is a question we all wrestle with on occasion. Continuing to dive into this subject, I am so pleased to share a post from my friend Raymond Powell. Raymond has some really practical insights for following God in our calling.
Raymond here:
God provides us with gifts and talents with which to meet the needs and opportunities He’s placed before us. He makes resources available to us but also places constraints on our service to guide us to where and how He wants us to minister. Think of it like this:
Paying attention to where the circles intersect helps us understand how He is arranging the terms of our service. The dashed lines around the circles remind us that our understanding of our abilities and circumstances may be selling God short–like Moses or Gideon we need to exercise faith in what God can do beyond our apparent limits.
As a starting place toward better understanding the context of God’s direction for your ministry, conduct your own, personal inventory:
What gifts & talents do you believe God has equipped you personally, or in the form of your ministry partners, if you have them? (Hint: These are generally areas in which God has given you a special passion and ability. If you’re not sure, consider those listed in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 as a starting place.)
What particular resources has God has supplied you with? (Consider time, money, relationships, material goods, home or access to facilities, health, mobility, family situation, etc.)
What constraints has God placed on your capabilities and resources?
What special needs and opportunities is God drawing your attention to?
Use this as a way to organize your prayer time. Commit the above questions and answers to prayer and begin a discussion with God. Ask Him to reveal how He has equipped you and for what purpose.
Examples and Challenges:
“Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the desert. By day the pillar of cloud did not cease to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take. You gave your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and you gave them water for their thirst. For forty years you sustained them in the desert; they lacked nothing, their clothes did not wear out nor did their feet become swollen.” (Nehemiah 9:19-21)
Officer Christian Fellowship’s “Pray, Discover, Obey” model demonstrates how first asking God to reveal His will, then following His leading is the way to make sure of His blessing … just as the Israelites above were assured of manna and water for as long as they continued to follow the pillar of cloud.
Still, absent a fiery pillar in the desert, understanding what He is saying can seem overwhelming. The “Discover” part requires us to examine the circumstances He has carefully arranged for us.
The Ministry of Paul
Consider the Apostle Paul’s circumstances: “Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.” (Acts 16:6-10)
Paul and his companions were gifted evangelists who were commissioned and sent on a mission. When they reached the border of Mysia, they found they could not travel where they assumed they were to go, but instead followed God in another direction, where He greatly blessed their work.
How has God brought gifts, opportunities, and resources together in your life?
Jesus tracked Ray “The Philippian Jailer” Powell down as a teenager in Santa Cruz, California in the early 1980s, just before he joined the Air Force and set out on his global adventures. Ray married way up, and with his lovely wife Richelyn has two children, Brad and Gaille, who give them great joy. He’s a follower of Christ, an American Airman, a husband & father, an obscure blogger—and blessed!
Here are previous posts on this subject: How to Know Your Calling Part 1 and Part 2.
How to Know Your Calling for Ministry, Part 2
But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles…
Galatians 1:15-16 (NASB)
Just as shadow images of the cross are reveled by sunlight in the picture, our calling is revealed by God shining His Son in us. At one time or another, we have all grappled with this question.
If we break this verse down, here is what it looks like:
Because God:
Set Paul apart–>
Called him by grace->
God is pleased–>to reveal Christ IN Paul
=SO THAT
Paul could:
Preach Jesus among the Gentiles.
In all of this, it is what God is doing in the midst of a single life that echoes through the ages. Paul is invited to participate, but God is the One who is working, setting, calling and revealing. When God works in us, it comes out in what we do and say, in choices we make and the passions we pursue. [tweetthis]It is God’s revelation of Christ in us that is our true gifting, purpose, and calling.[/tweetthis]
How do I know my calling?
How do we find our purpose? Simple–yet challenging. When we respond to God, He is pleased to reveal Christ in us. It is through the revelation work of Christ in us that reveals God’s His purpose in our lives. We don’t have to come up with our own calling and gifts or beat our heads against a rocks to figure it out.
God reveals; our job is to respond. Large or small, our purpose is to reflect Christ and let Him work through our lives. God’s calling encompasses what we do, whether we preach the gospel, teach lessons, cook meals, raise children, keep accounts, drive carpool, write books, plant gardens, or negotiate contracts. But the heart of His calling is to enjoy and respond as He reveals His Son in our lives.
I love the way this concept is phrased in The Message:
Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing. Ephesians 2:7-10 The Message
We are called for a purpose, and called on purpose.
With deep gratitude, I pray:
Lord, thank You for giving us a holy purpose in life. Worth and significance far beyond what we can count, You have set us apart. How amazing to know that it gives You true joy to reveal Christ in and through our lives. Help us to understand what this really means in the living of our days. We often flit from one task to another without much awareness of Your revealing work in our character or activities. We are thankful that You express yourself through our lives more.
So powerful, this great set-apart mystery. Enable us to follow Paul’s example as You continue to reveal Your Son. Too often, our thoughts are only on the tasks and needs of the day. We need to remember Your grace is more important than our abilities, or lack thereof. Our first calling is simply to respond as You reveal Christ in us each day.
[tweetthis]Have we been faithful or just busy?[/tweetthis]
Have you struggled to discover your calling? How has God revealed purpose and calling in your life?
How to Know Your Calling, Part 1
But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles… Galatians 1:15-16 (NASB)
How do you know if you are set apart for God’s purpose? Have you ever struggled with questions like, what is my calling or what is my spiritual gift? What am I supposed to be doing? What is God’s plan for my life?
What was true for Paul is true for us.
God was working in the whole of Paul’s life, and His plan was in place before Paul drew his first breath. Reflecting on this observation, I am stunned by God’s sovereign gift of long-range planning. Working with a canvas made up of a life-time of days, God’s call came right on time.
I have a hard time planning for next week.
Understanding time and purpose is often high on our control list.
We want to be able to measure the distance between the stars, count the galaxies, and be able to explain God’s omniscience before we will fully believe that He is sovereign over both time and mankind.
We may struggle with the concept of fairness when we bounce around words like salvation, predestination, and calling. Yet here’s Paul, set apart before he was born. His calling, not dependent on his abilities, is a living demonstration of God’s active grace (undeserved favor).
God’s call is incomplete until we respond.
Will we respond or ignore? Yes or no? Though God is in control, He always leaves room for us to answer. Isn’t this amazing?
Responding to God’s call, Paul becomes a living container for the revealing of Christ. Christ can revealHimself through our thoughts, actions, and attitudes. He also expresses Himself in ways we call spiritual gifts–specific and God-given abilities to do God’s work. Oh that we understood this miracle better! How would our lives be radically different if we fully understood God’s Christ-revealing work within?
[tweetthis]When we say yes to God, amazing things happen![/tweetthis]
He is pleased to reveal his Son in us. This grace of purpose extends to all who will receive Him. How often have we chased after worth and purpose, neglecting to respond to God first?
[tweetthis]God reveals; we respond–this is the heart of worship and it is the backbone of obedience[/tweetthis].
Have you struggled to discover your calling? How has God revealed purpose and calling in your life? I invite you to share this post by using the social media buttons:)
When God Speaks…
One of the things that’s great about social media is re-connecting with old friends. Love that blast from the past gone current experience. Recently I re-connected with one of my song-bird friends from Furman Singers, my college choir. When I saw a recent blog post from Paula, I clicked over, eager to see how things were going in her corner of the world. I know that some time ago Paula moved to British Columbia and has experienced some of those difficult adjustments that can arrive with the moving truck. When I read her post, I just couldn’t resist asking her to guest post on hearing God. Enjoy.
When God speaks…to Paula.
It has happened to me twice in the last year. And before that time, I can’t remember it ever happening. As I was spending time reading God’s word, meditating on it, and talking with Him about it, He gave me the reference to a verse in His word. Now, I’ve been around scripture long enough that the popular verses are usually familiar to me. I know what type of words to expect from certain places in the Bible, and I’m friendly with my concordance. I’ve spent hours pouring over a certain topic, or trying to find a certain verse. But only twice can I remember a reference in scripture that I didn’t know coming into my head during the quiet moments.
Quiet moments when our heart needs to hear.
Feeling insecure in this new place, I was thinking on sheltering under the Eagle’s wings and resting on the Rock of Ages … and I thought, “Psalm 52:8.” What is Psalm 52:8, I wondered, and upon searching, found this:
But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God;
I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever.
Psalm 52:8 (NIV)
Now, I’m a Bible scribbler. I’ve tried to break the habit. I’ve tried to keep the pages clean of my thoughts, but I must confess. I am a Bible scribbler. The pages of my Bible are covered with thoughts, comments from other sources, cross references, little drawings (like a little sheep every time I come across something to do with us being sheep), etc. Underlinings. Stars. Exclamation marks. They’re all there. But, Psalm 52:8 hadn’t a single mark. No notes. Nothing. I know I had read it on one of my trips through the Bible in a year, but that’s it.
And there it sat.
I started to wonder about the significance of an olive tree, so I did a little research and found several things of interest. First, in appearance. Olive trees are gnarled and twisted. They show the signs of some internal need to convulse and writhe. Sounds like me. I certainly tend to fight life instead of resting in it. Peace is not a natural posture for me, but God lays it on my life with great patience.
Olive trees are evergreen. Their lives go through cycles with the seasons, as with any tree, but they stay green and beautiful. When I am “trusting in God’s unfailing love,” the green of my life is evident, regardless of the struggles or changes. God’s beauty flows through me.
A long time to bear fruit.
Fifteen years is a long time, in the world of human existence and in the world of gardening. It takes dedication and perseverance to care for a plant for fifteen years. Only after that time does an olive tree produce a good harvest. Fifteen years! How long has God carried me, pruned me and nurtured me with dedication and perseverance, waiting for the fruitful harvest?
I read that mature olive trees can withstand a temperature drop to -8°C for short periods of time. Their root system has to be protected from freezing. Hmmm … seems that I could survive anything as long as I am firmly rooted in God, His love, His word. Anything. Since the dove brought Noah an olive branch after the flood, we can assume that an olive tree even survived the destructive power of the flood.
Anything.
So perhaps in my moments of insecurity, God’s message is simple: His unfailing love lasts forever. Resting in that, trusting in the complete and unwavering truth of His love … there I will flourish.
But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God;
I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever.
Psalm 52:8 (NIV)
So thankful. So blessed.
What has God been saying to you lately? If are interested in sharing a story of how God has spoken in your life, leave me a comment and I’ll be in touch.
Wisdom for a Strong Life
Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst forth against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock. Matthew 7: 24-27 (NASB)
Hearing and acting…it’s more than a game.
During the days he walked this earth, Jesus often spoke about wisdom for a strong life. In this passage, we read a simple story that reaches to the core of our desires, questions, and needs. So simple that kids sing songs and read picture books about this wise man. Maybe you remember the end of the song, the part about the foolish man that kids love, “And the house on the sand fell flat!”
Longing for strength and security, we want our lives to stand on a firm foundation. No one plans for instability–we are a people that place high value on having our act together.
In these verses Christ vividly illustrates the stability of a life built upon His Word (strength and stability that rest on the solid truths of God.) Yet no matter how well we try to build our lives, rough weather will come. Here the question is when, not if, the storms of life are going to blow. Even though we know this, sometimes those storms catch us by surprise, as if we missed the weather report that day.
These words of Mine.
Jesus challenges us to hear and act on “these words of Mine” (emphasis added). His use of the word “mine” reflects the personal manner in which he appeals to us. I love this personal touch! Don’t you?
One day, winds of change blew into my life in the form of another set of military orders to a new place. Although we had moved many times, this would be our first move with teenagers, which upped the emotional stakes tremendously.
My initial look-on-the-bright-side response soon disintegrated into anxiety. Up late worrying one night, I huddled on the sofa, covered with a blanket to try and ward off a chill I couldn’t shake. Bible in hand, I cried out to God for assurance.
When we call out to God…
Flipping through the Psalms, my worries multiplied with each turn of the page until I told the Lord, “I am not getting off this couch until I hear from you!” Gracious about my emotional outburst, God drew my attention to the words already before my eyes, “I sought the Lord, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears (Psalm 34:4). I continued reading, “O taste and see that the Lord is good; how blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him (v. 8)!” The next thing that popped into my mind was a verse I had memorized long ago, “It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear” (Isaiah 65:24).
I knew I had heard from God and my anxious heart began to settle.
Take advantage of the calm days.
In our search for security, are we seeking to hear the words of Christ? When life is calm, are we developing a commitment to act upon them? When the bottom drops out and the storms of life rage, we can know the rock-solid truth of God, as well as the comfort of his presence.
Nothing brings clarity to our questions and strength to our struggles like learning to listen and respond to God through His Word. It is a matter of the heart longing to grow deeper in relationship with the living, loving, ever-present God who specializes in grace.
How have you heard from God lately? Leave a comment and share a bit of wisdom God is building into your life. Be sure and use the social media buttons to share this post with others.
Adjusting to Change During a Move
If you’re in the military, moving is a given. A fact of life. And actually, it is a really good part of military life….most of the time.
The Ornery Moving Hormone
Long ago, when all the other military wives were receiving their gear, I must have been late that day. There is one basic military supply item that I didn’t get issued.
This pivotal piece of gear keeps military folks plugging along quite nicely when it comes to moving. It is the Transitional Adjustment to Change Accelerator—TACA for short. (I’ve been in the military long enough; I can make up a few of my own acronyms!)
Some gals have the TACA and seem to breeze through all aspects of transitions involved with moving.
I’m still waiting for mine to arrive in the mail.
I must confess that I struggle with the Ornery Moving Hormone (OMH). You see, the sight of cardboard boxes on the curb, moving vans in driveways often makes me feel just a little nauseous.
Seasoned military spouses like myself, are NOT supposed to feel this way; we’re supposed to be enthusiastic, energetic, and anxiety-free movers and shakers.
Just letting you know that in this department, I am not the model military spouse.
Go figure–that’s the Ornery Moving Hormone at work.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. Some of this orneriness is because I don’t like the process of change, and I don’t like all of the work involved with said change. Do you struggle with this?
Do you struggle with this?
Here is a taste of OMH at work during my last move.
Flash back to 2011:
You see, the I love my corner of the world, even though when I first got here I didn’t think I would ever like it (Evidence of more OMH at work).
It usually takes about 6 months of getting settled for that to pass. I really don’t like all the emotional upheaval that curses through my veins during this 6-month adjustment zone.
Once adjusted to the change of moving across the world, I loved living in Japan. Now that it’s time to go, I just want to pack up all the people and places that I love about this place and take them with me.
Do you think the Japanese would mind if I take just one little beach with me?
Or how about a restaurant?
An Emotional Tug of War
Don’t get me wrong, I’m looking forward to moving back to Virginia. This will be my first time EVER moving back somewhere I have lived before.
But, at the same time, that ornery I-don’t-want-to-move hormone is letting loose its unwanted presence in my system. It dredges up old insecurities that seem to go hand in hand with changing addresses.
I think it comes down to the issue that I want to have my cake and eat it too. I want to stay, but I am excited to go. I want to go, but I don’t want to give up the things I love about my current location.
Although it’ll be great to be closer to family, I don’t want to unpack, paint, hang, organize, and sort on the other end. See this is the Ornery Moving Hormone gearing up for a good ride!
As with many things in life, we can’t have it all. In case you haven’t noticed, it is impossible to be both here and there at the same time!
[tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#moving, #milfamily”]We can’t experience the benefits of change without the letting go of what must be left behind. [/tweetthis]
So come June, I will box up my souvenirs from Japan, add many memories to my scrapbook, and head back to the States, knowing that there are just some things you can’t pack.
Courage for the Little Things
This week’s focus is on moving and transitions. Each year, I try to hit this topic as so many of the awesome readers of Ginger’s Corner are military folks. Military or not, sometimes we have to move, whether it is new schools, new...
My First YouTube Video: The How-Not-to-Worship Song
After much dragging of feet and a lot of help from my awesome son, I am pleased to post my very first YouTube video! God has been nudging at me to venture out and do something with some of the video I have. What did these nudges look...
