Tag: talents

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

pace or pursuit

Karla Lees

Is the pace at which I am doing God’s work destroying God’s work in me? Bill Hybels

There are days where I feel like I can’t catch my breath. One thing after another gets crossed off my to-do list, until I collapse on the sofa at the end of the night and wonder where my day, and my inner peace went.

Many of the things I did were good things.  But I am awakening to realize that not all of them needed to be done by ME.

I have a loving husband and two adult children, with a cute cat and a pygmy hedgehog living with me in our cozy nest.  This year, with three of us working and one in school full time, I have had to pull back on doing all the cooking, and use the crackpot more and assign nights to cook based on who is home first.  The cleaning jobs are fairly equally divided too. Not everyone is as tidy as the others, but working as a team leaves more time for family fun this way, with no one person carrying the weight alone.

All I do at home, my job or church may be His work.

But if I lose sight of how and what He is wanting me to do when and set my own pace, I can bring it all down through my attempt to do it all, in my own strength.

What we do on our own can be good, but what we are able to do with God can be great!!!

I have a few gifts and talents which God has given me (mostly around communication & community).  I am becoming increasingly aware of the fact that not all I do is meant for me to be doing.

Which means that the pace I am trying to maintain is a waste if I am not achieving His best for me at the end of the day.

Instead of trying to organize myself into obedience, I am taking a different tact this year….

I am pursuing God as my main priority.

There will always be jobs to be done, for we will always have work of one kind or another until we get to heaven.

If pursuing Him first causes me to allow him more fully to work through me, I need to lay myself down each day, and let Him set my pace.

Pausing to make sure I am running in pace with Jesus and all He has for me to do and become is more important to my well being.

Ultimately God is to be my pace setter.

My part is to give Him the space he needs within me to see the mext step ahead, as He equips me to meet each task to the best of my ability in Him.

I refuse to not answer the call He is stirring up deep within because I am keeping a frenzied pace without His purposes for me in mind.

I have no more space for the kind of waste in my life, Beloved.

Join me as we slow down before His throne, settle in at His feet, and ask Him to open our eyes to the things which matter most to Him, while He leads us to the peace within as He reminds us who we truly are, and what it is he has for us to do today.

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May the #wonder of living life at His pace overtake all of our busyness as we seek him first!

when you don’t quite have the best fit

Karla Lees

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For the past few years, I have struggled to find the best fit for myself in a pair of jeans.  I have more padding than I would like in my ab area, with a literal vs visual tush (basically flat) and fairly skinny legs.

I have curves in the wrong places for the trendy type of pants that are usually the easiest to find when looking for jeans.

Either I find a pair (my previous best fit) of skinny ones with a midrise and have sag beneath my tush, or find a great tush fit with wide wide legs and difficulty breathing (not an option for great quality of life).

Because I am also between sizes, and am over 5’8″ tall, this combination has made it very hard to find my best fit.

Until last Saturday.

I happened to be at the mall with a girl friend, and we decided to poke in a new store that we can across there.

And on a mannequin on the top shelf above their jeans, were my dream jeans.

Ladies, you know what i mean. The pair you just know that you know are going to be a perfect fit for you.

And guess what? After 5 different styles of jeans, guess which pair I ended up with?!

MY perfect fit.

So why I am sharing about finding the perfect fit of jeans?

Because just as the widow got justice from the earthly judge she kept going to day after day after day (Luke 18), committing to get your answer when you are looking for your best fit is possible.

And God encourages us to do so.

He wants us to know what we are passionate about, then pursue Him until we learn and can see where our best fit is.

I have known for years that I am not an average puzzle piece.  I don’t fit with everybody else fits & talent wise.  I am custom designed to be a part of the puzzle, but in the exact place I am meant to fill.

I am made for my perfect fit.  Just as you are.

Now, I am not saying that we aren’t to serve or work outside of our passion.  I am saying that God knows where we are to be the perfect fit for what He has planned for His KIngdom, and He chooses to use us uniquely shaped people to fill in the right places for His blessings to flow.

Because if your barista is meant to serve people, they will greet you with a smile, learn your name and get your order right.

Your kids’ babysitter, child care provider or teacher will celebrate your child’s successes, and inspire them to be the best they can be.

Your pastor will learn your name, pray for you, encourage you to find your place in the body you belong to.

Your mechanic will care that you are stressed out by your sudden car repair, and get how you need you need it fixed and fast.

Your doctor will take the time to explain and listen to you during your visit, without making you feel like just a number in line.

But put someone designed to be a mechanic in your local coffee shop as a barista?  Or a ballerina in as your pastor? Or a rock star as a grocery teller?

Not the best fit for their skill set, even though they might get the job done.

And if you don’t know yourself the way God has designed you to best fit, you can spend a lot of time and energy pursuing the wrong paths.

If you are looking for your best fit?
Where you are meant to release His Kingdom with your gifts & talents?

Ask Him.

He knows when and where you are to be.

He knows how and why.

He knows if it meant to be you or someone else.

I was in a job I did well in, but not the best fit for me.  I asked God to make it quite clear if I was to stay or go, and He did.

We were attending a church where we loved the people, but after many years, staff changes and most of our friends moving on, we needed to ask God if we were to stay or to go, and He did. We are now in a better fit for all four of our giftings in our family.

Again, I am not advocating change for change sake, nor recommending one church over another.  We are one Body.

But the church around the corner might need your gifts, and the church you are currently in doesn’t.  Because it isn’t your best fit.

You might be better suited to go to another country and use your gifts there versus in your local community.  Because that may be your best fit.

God may want you to be the first parent in your family line to stay at home and raise your children instead of working full time out of your home.

You may be meant to minister in word, song, prayer, encouragement, healing or teaching.

And you may not have figured out where He wants you yet as you are so busy doing, you haven’t set aside the time to sit at His feet and listen.

In order to find the perfect fit, you have to be actively seeking it.

If you, like me, have forgotten who He made you to be and need to rediscover yourself,  i would like to suggest a few things to help you along the journey:

51-pWsm5DoL._SX322_BO1,204,203,200_1. Do a spiritual gifts assessment.  Answer honestly, and you may be surprised by the result. Something you may have thought of as not relevant may be part of how He points you to your best fit.  The thumbnail is the best one I have ever done, and have actually taught.

5lovelang2. Discover your love language.  Visit the 5 Love Languages website, and learn how you best receive love.  This definitely impacts how you feel you fit.

3. Direct Revelation: Pray, worship, journal, read the Word. Spend quality time at His feet, and ask Holy Spirit to bring you revelation, and speak to you about where He wants you to serve to give Him the most glory.  This may change over seasons in your life, but with Him as your guide, you will stay on course.

4. Don’t give up!   Keep listening, seeking confirmation and His direction.  He may have someone as you to do something you  have never done before, and your spirit comes alive as you do.

How did you find your best fit?  I just love how God speaks to each of us in just the right way we need to hear Him!

be the you God designed

Karla Lees

There are a lot of things about me which I love.

My ability to multitask
My love of puns & fun
My voice when I sing
My love of music
My eyes
My curls (95% of the time)
My feet
My passion to learn
My burning yearn for more of God

When you add all the gifts, talents, spirit & soul, and mix in my uniqueness to the packaging God custom designed, I am the result.

God didn’t just whip me off a conveyor belt, He took care, with planning & purpose & love in mind, as He set about making the spark of cells that would become me, only me.

Ever thought about just how much ‘detailed programming’ God invested in your creation?

He thought about making you, and you came to be, at exactly the right moment in time & history.

You are no accident.

I came out with more than a few quirks:

My pinkies are significantly shorter than the rest of my fingers.
I have a few birthmarks, my fave being the upside down heart on the back of my left leg.
I have freckles, and skin that turns shades of red vs lovely tan like colors.
I have a mouth on the smaller side for all the teeth that tried to come in.
I have a limited trunk.
I visibly cringe when I hear a wrong note.
I don’t like coffee, beer or cigarettes.

Just as my gifts & talents are by His design, my quirks were also known by Him.

My whole life was taken into consideration before He created me.

The same for you!

You are so well known by the Master Craftsman.

Not only does He know your strengths & quirks, but two other key factors:

He knew you wouldn’t do well on your own, so He placed you where you would have family; by blood or by choice.

He knew you would fail. To live up to His standards, others expectations, your own hopes & dreams.

The need for Jesus was woven into our very DNA to help us become alive as He designed, as only He can bring to life.

Out of love,
He gave us each a custom gift.
Life.

Because of how we lived,
because of our hurts & shackles,
because of our great need,
He gave us His most precious gift, new life through Jesus.

He not only set us free
& made us clean,
He welcomes each of us
who come to Him
with arms wide open
into our forever family.

When we begin to truly live
our lives with Him,
following His leading
as He guides us,
our gifts and talents awaken
and begin to make sense,
as we become one with
His unique action plan for us.

How I live out become more ‘me’ will look very different from someone who is an extrovert, a gifted athlete, or evangelist, for example.

I am so thankful that God gave us direction, through His Word & through Holy Spirit’s prompting within those who accept His lead.

I am very grateful that the God who designed and shaped me is continuing to do so as I ask for His help navigating the life laid out ahead of me.

I am especially moved when I remember the pain Jesus purposefully chose on the cross to show me (you) His passion for me (you).

Embrace the freedom to be yourself. He wants you to be the you He designed for you to be, with Him walking closely beside you every step of the way.

As I become more ‘me’, my prayer is I reveal more ‘He’ to those around me.

That my efforts to live reveal His hands keeping me safe, His love anchoring my heart, His wisdom in my choices, and His glory when I hit the mark!

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#betheyouHedesigned

when is more enough?

Karla Lees

Why do we always want more?
To do more?
Be more?
Acquire more?

When does NOT desiring more,
being content with:
who we are
what we do
what we have
become enough?

My husband is brilliant in his chosen field. He cares for each client in such a way that years later, these clients or their family members eagerly greet him to tell him how much his  compassionate care meant to them in their hard times.

My husband is a registered nurse, who works in the community in clients’ homes. He sees all sorts of conditions, from minor surgeries to cancer to palliative end of life situations.

He truly is amazing at what he does, and not just because he is my husband.

He reminds me each day that where he is working is where he is meant to be, not with his words or pay cheque, but with the compliments and thanks he is always somehow surprised by.

When you are exactly where God wants you, using the gifts He has given you to the best of your ability to bless others, you have more than enough.

For many years, being in a field primarily female based, my hubby has struggled with maybe he should have become a doctor/nurse practitioner- become more than he is.

How he is is pretty amazing, right where he is at.

We all need to be reminded
that who we are,
when we walk in what we were made for,
is more than enough.

I truly believe God blesses those who use their gifts & talents wisely with more:

More of His presence.
More of His strength.
More growth.
More of Him.

This is a lesson we see many people excelling or failing at in the Bible:

Abraham’s firstborn from Hagar, Ishmael, was the result of Abraham taking his eyes off of God’s promise to come, Isaac.
The brothers have been at war ever since, because the firstborn does not know God is enough, he has the desire for more yearning within without knowing where to find it.

Noah placed his trust in God, and his family saw first hand how God was more than enough in their rescue.

David let his eyes stray where they shouldn’t have, and ended up causing a death to cover his sin. David knew God to be more than enough when he was on the run, but lost sight of it momentarily.  His firstborn from Bathsheba did not survive.

Solomon, son of David & Bathsheba, had more wives and concubines, riches and power than almost any other king on earth… and at the end of Ecclesiastes realized that life without God want worth anything.

Jesus demonstrated God to be enough to help Him every step of the way…and changed the world as a result.

Paul encountered God so powerfully, He intimately knew God to be enough no matter the circumstance.

Mother Theresa walked this out as well caring for the unloved orphans.

Many many authors have been learning this first hand…Max Lucado, Ann Voskamp to name a few.

When we become content with what we have, somehow God makes it more than enough for us.

When we accept who we are, somehow our offering, our walking out our calling and using our gifts becomes more than enough for God to use.

God’s More Than Enough
is more than enough
for me.

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downpour

Karla Lees

Oh my.

There was a huge battle waging within me as we began to rehearse for last night’s Downpour service. Singing with new people, in a new situation, and new songs aside, inside I was on edge. I knew something was going to happen.

Didn’t know God was preparing to rock my boat.

As a paid social media & web content writer, I battle with “Will this person like it when/if I do…” And when I work, that is something I need to keep in mind, but not obsess over.

Jumping in over my head last night musically caused two things. One, the mental battle to heighten, and for me to briefly take my eyes off the reason for my singing (He is Worthy) and onto the gift He gave me (my voice) and how it would be received.

Then, in one sweet moment of surrender to God and whatever He wanted to do with and through and in and around me last night, it got wild within me. God let loose, in fact, in all of us at almost the same time across the room.

His Presence became so thick, present, sweet and holy awesome all rolled into one.

People were changed.

Hearts were stripped bare for God to see.

Freedom from the way it has been and what God has done moved some into the Right Now where God was moving right now in this moment.

A new song was birthed about the One who overcame.

There were tears of joy, yelps of gladness, laying on of hands and release all around.

I knew it was God, as one of the first forms of attack I get when I am singing is against my throat. I claimed the fact that God was moving in me right now so I was not going to be hindered, and kept on singing. God took care of the voice coming out. My left hip also reverted to a previous injury. And I refused to stop. If God is for me, no one can stand against me.

Because if its for the weight of His glory, God will enable us to stand.

The One who has overcome helps me to do the same in His strength.

Last night was one of those nights where some moments seemed to creep forward painfully slow, while others seemed to hang on an exquisite moment with a glimpse of forever.

When He enters the room, everything changes.

Heaven comes down to earth, with forever impact.

He rained down His mercy, grace, love and joy in us, on me.

He kept pouring out onto His people through our gifts.

Once you have jumped into the river, with no holding back…tasted and seen that He is good…felt His presence flow through you like a heavenly jolt of electricity….you are never the same.

For He doesn’t just come and be when He encounters us. We are changed. He can’t help Himself, He loves us with such abandon and passion and zeal and holy wildness that He heals, loves up on us, makes us whole where we are needing His touch, wraps His Presence around us in an embrace that our soul is longing for but cannot quite put into words.

If you have a chance to encounter God, run for His downpour. It isn’t about the people there, its about the God who is waiting to pour out into you.

Its gonna rain….
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got vs not

Karla Lees

It’s what you’ve got that matters.
Not what you’re not.

I spent my childhood, teens right through my thirties focused more on what I was not than what I’ve got.

If I had curly hair, how I wanted straight hair.

When overweight and fit, I wanted to return to being thin, even though back then I wasn’t healthy.

If I had a husband who was hardworking and focused, I wanted one who would spontaneously take a day off work to focus on just me.

I worked from home, but would rather have not had to work at all.

I had close family, but wondered why the some of the family didn’t want anything to do with me.

I was a follower of Jesus who was too caught up in where I was lacking to appreciate my God given talents & gifts.

I woke up one day, realizing i spent too much time giving head space to who I wasn’t, having so lost track of who I truly am:
His child.
Loved with passionate abandon.
Born to worship.
Word crafter.
Freedom seeker.
Daughter of the King.
Lover of His presence.
In the family, forever.

I flipped my attitude of grumbling over the have nots to thankful for what I’ve got:
A wonderful family.
A precious group of chosen sisters.
Great coworkers & bosses.
A home I love to nest in.
A cat who reminds me to enjoy the simple things we all take for granted: eating, sleeping, the sun, play time.
I am a part of One Church, His Kingdom, and although I may have tried different flavours over the years, we are all One in Jesus.
I can express myself through song and the written word.
I am creative, kind, and ever learning…

The outside is only as beautiful as we make the inside of ourselves, for true character radiates for all to see.

I am free to be the me I was designed to be.

The Designer is the one who both equips and strengthens me to be me.

Its time to embrace who you are, not what you aren’t. Be inspired by people like Nick Vujicic- those who refuse to allow their have nots to deter them from their dreams.

What’s there is pretty special to God. Its time to plug in and remember who you are, and return to living your life on purpose and hope, not regret.

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whose are you?

Karla Lees

Tim Hawkins, in my opinion one of the funniest stand up musical comedians of my time, sings a brilliant parody based on that classic Who song, ‘Who are you’.
Tim sings it as if the lead singer was now elderly man, changing the chorus to ‘Who am I?’, obviously experiencing memory loss.

The truth is that most of us don’t know who we are, let alone whose we are.

Mainly lead by fear, past harmful experiences and having never taken time to do an internal stock of how we are hardwired, many people slug it out day and night after another….not knowing essential truth about themselves.

Scientists today (as have every generation) are believing that there is a Creator. The complexity of our bodies, the universe, the intricacies of the ecosystems and gravity, to mention just a few evidences suggesting this is the case.

Not knowing who we are leaves us feeling empty, without purpose.

Not knowing whose we are leaves us isolated, alone, lost.

I believe that we were created by a fascinatingly interested Creator who poured Himself into each and every one of his creations. Who loves us no matter whether we love Him or not. Whose imprint is on us, whether we acknowledge Him or not. Who is always a prayer away.

Who helps us know who we are, but better yet, who we can become as we find ourselves in Him.

I know whose I am. I am a daughter of the Father of the Universe, made family by Jesus, friend of Spirit who is always with me.

I am gifted to communicate through word, images, song. I love to be techy, read, budget. I love my girl friends like sisters through thick or thin. I love a good cuppa tea. I love to sign around my house as I do chores, but also like to catnap, Nordic pole walk and get my body whipped into shape at boot camp. I think the potato was an amazing contribution to the world.

But more than all of that. I know whose I am, where I belong and where my real forever home is.

Who and whose are you?