Tag: sweet

finding your sweet spot

Karla Lees

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Getting to know yourself is the key to finding out what revs your motor.

When a car is finely tuned with care by its mechanic, and is running on the right fuel, the ride is sweet.

Not taking care of your engine will cause damage to your car, not to mention the wrong fuel can cause it not to start, majorly mucking things up.

To find your sweet spot, you need to know your passions. How God has hardwired you.

Do you love to create?

Are you a teacher?

Can’t stop singing?

Love to organize?

Live to scribble?

Delight in helping?

Pray for healings?

Have a deep unshakeable faith?

Unswerving hope?

Interpret words?

Speak truth & encouragement?

These are just a few clues that can lead you to discover why you are here. God’s various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful:
wise counsel
clear understanding
simple trust
healing the sick
miraculous acts
proclamation
distinguishing between spirits
tongues
interpretation of tongues.

All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when.
1 Corinthians 12:4-11

For each of us, beyond being made to worship Him, were designed to express Him through our passions. Exactly as He hardwired us to.

You are Christ’s body—that’s who you are! You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your “part” mean anything. You’re familiar with some of the parts that God has formed in his church, which is his “body”:
apostles
prophets
teachers
miracle workers
healers
helpers
organizers
those who pray in tongues.
But it’s obvious by now, isn’t it, that Christ’s church is a complete Body and not a gigantic, unidimensional Part? It’s not all Apostle, not all Prophet, not all Miracle Worker, not all Healer, not all Prayer in Tongues, not all Interpreter of Tongues. And yet some of you keep competing for so-called “important” parts.
1 Corinthians 4: 27-31

Our purpose is to reveal Him through us.

How you do so will be very different from how I do, for no two of us are alike. We are all unique and have a unique part in the body.

When we all live in the sweet spot, where what we were meant to do lines up with who He has made us to be?

Our lives reveal Him just as they were designed.

When everything falls in to place, a sense of home wells up within.

We find our purpose.

For the sweet spot cannot be achieved on our own. It has to align with His heart & plan for us, or it is only an empty shell of the fullness He has planned.

In His hands, life is the sweetest.

With Him is the sweet spot.

If you aren’t sure of your purpose, spend some time seeking Him. Ask Him to help you discover what may be lying dormant or unknown within you. There are great resources to take stock of your spiritual giftings, which may bring to light things you are already doing in the natural!

Be the you God designed.

 

Ruth Soukup be you HJ

salty or sour?

Karla Lees

What fragrance do you bring with you when you enter a room?

What we focus on permeates us. Sending out a message, whether we are aware of it or not, to those we encounter.

Complain a lot?
Whiny?
Negativity falling off your tongue more than anything else?
Does a smile rarely have an opportunity to turn your frown upside down?

Sourpuss, you leave a sour taste behind that people would rather avoid, even if they care for you.

There are steps you can take to help you change this state of heart:

1. Leave what you are carrying at the foot of the cross. Give it to Jesus, and leave it in His capable loving hands.
Stop taking it back. Your worry and anxiety takes your sourness to a new depth of despair. Refuse to pick it back up. When it tries to lure you back, re-invite Jesus to bring it back to the cross.

2. Practice an attitude of gratitude. Everyone has something to be thankful for each day (besides still being alive). Jot them down each night before going to bed. Keep a running list on your computer or phone. Keep being thankful. This will help lift your spirit a bit more each day.

3. Thank God for the cross, your blessings & His love. Giving thanks to the One who gives us His all every day will remind you how big He is, and how He is rooting for you, no matter what you are facing.

4. Spend some time getting to know Him better by reading the Word, worshipping and listening for His small sweet voice. The more you hang out with God, and spend time in His presence, the more His love, grace, mercy, goodness, holiness, kindness, peace, joy, compassion, forgiveness will cling to you, and you will become:

Salty instead of sour.

I would say sweet, but for two reasons. Sugar is highly overused in comparison to sour things (writer’s opinion) Salt was used in older days to help keep meat from spoiling, or souring as it were. Salt was also a precious commodity, not as commonly used as it is today.

And God suggests we are to be as salt:
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Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt… Colossians 4:6a

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored…Matthew 5:13

We are to be as salt, adding a good flavour to those around us…well prepared and seasoned.

In a day when people like to always be told the sweet things, more than ever we need to hear wise words, seasoned with the salt of the Spirit…speaking the words He has for us to help draw others closer to God.

Its time to pass on the sour grapes, and start sprinkling some salt.

Salt adds a zest to what it is added to.

Let’s become the people who when we walk into a room, people look forward to:

Our smiles.

Seeing us confident in our faith, and who we are in Christ.

Using our gifts well.

Our genuine listening skills, and caring compassion for those we encounter.

A willingness to lend a hand, generously, without complaint.

A fresh tang in their day.

As when Jesus stepped into an area or a room, may those around us catch a glimpse of the God we carry, and begin to crave His presence too.

Salty things can help us realize we are thirsty…

kind words- health for the soul & body

Karla Lees

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Kindness is essential to our soul and body.

You can connect with God, sleep right, eat well, forgive often & love your job, and still need kindness.

We all do.

We were designed to need encouragement.
Genuine praise.
Positive input.
A well timed kind word.

More than just a pat on the back or a cliche comment, kindness demonstrates to our soul that we matter.

We all have that burning desire to be known, to matter.

And in a world where so many of us are consumed with self, our stuff and getting through the day, we forget this key fact: we ALL NEED kindness. It isn’t an optional part of the package, like paying to upgrade to automatic.

Without kindness, we wither away.

Years ago, psychologists experimented on children in orphanages. Some were given positive touch and words; others only spoken to when they had to, and touched only in necessity, never in kindness.

The kids that were given kindness developed well. The children from whom kindness was withheld, did not flourish. In fact, many died of what I suspect were broken hearts from not feeling wanted.

Withholding kindness deeply wounds.

Offering kindness can open hearts, help restore and bind up wounds. Show them a glimmer of hope. To know that someone cares.

For many people, God is the kindest person they know.

I remember hearing Graham Cooke, British author and public speaker, share how he was basically hidden away from his father’s sight, never allowed to the table at meal times or ever to receive a birthday present, let alone a kind word. Graham ended up extremely angry, confused and in trouble. God stepped in, and loved up on Him that has radically changed Graham for life. He regularly shares how God is the kindest person he knows. Because for Graham, He was.

If you are listening to too many harsh words from those around you or the enemy, you need to withdraw to clear your mind within, and begin to listen for God to speak words of love, mercy, grace and kindness towards you.

Yes, you.

And it doesn’t stop there. As His hands, feet & mouth to the world, like the prophets of old, God may use you to speak something positive, encouraging, uplifting or kind to someone you know, as He whispers what to speak through you.

The bible reminds us that:

“Kind words are like honey. Sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.”

-Proverbs 16:24

Offer kindness to everyone you meet.
You never know, your words can make the difference in helping someone feel they can go on for another day, because they are reminded they matter with your kind words.

For they don’t just matter to those around them, but to God.

Your kindness may be the missing piece for them to understand that God loves them.