WHAT ARE A FEW OF YOUR TALENTS OR SKILLS?

WHAT ARE A FEW OF YOUR TALENTS OR SKILLS?     God is aware of every single one of your talents and skills. In fact, he gave you all your godly ones at birth or helped you develop them along the way. It gives him great pleasure to see you use what you have been given. The first step in appreciating your talents and skills is recognizing them! Today is all about doing that, so you can dedicate them to the Lord for his service.     TALENTS AND SKILLS? I DON'T HAVE ANY!     So, you are not a talented harpist, gifted communicator, or respected surgeon? But have people commented that you are a natural at cross-country skiing, landscape painting, or computer repairs? Do you even remember when you learned to be a stenographer, mechanic, or carpenter? Are you an incurable inventor, an avid researcher, or a party planner par excellence? Do you wonder why God gave you the gift of thinking clearly under pressure or of having a photographic memory? Have you mastered a foreign language or discovered that you have a special ability in an area like music, dance, graphics, problem solving, marketing, or supervising people? Sue Augustine, author of 5-Minute Retreats for Women, has a great perspective on using her best for God's glory.     SUE AUGUSTINE APPRECIATES HER TALENTS AND SKILLS     After escaping eleven years of a physically abusive marriage and surviving a life-threatening illness, Sue began her incredible journey toward recovery. She now has an international speaking and writing career, through which she inspires others to make powerful, positive choices that will transform their lives.     Sue has been a Christian since giving her heart to the Lord nearly three decades ago. She reminisces about all the ministries she has served in over the years. She has been a Sunday morning greeter, choir member, Sunday school and nursery school teacher, and church-camp counselor. She currently helps plan special outings, seasonal events, holiday dinners, game nights, and "pot-blessing" suppers for church members and their friends.     Sue encourages others through biblical insights and real-life examples. She shows people how to put life's trials into a heavenly perspective by facing each new challenge with grace and setting their sights on eternity. Sue shares her testimony with genuine empathy and compassion for others at retreats and conferences. She is clear about her life's current purpose: to bring new hope to those in seemingly hopeless situations and to encourage them to develop a closeness with God by trusting him fully.     Sue's talents include playing piano and watercolor painting, both of which help her to relax after a full travel schedule. Somewhere along the line, she realized that she loves to teach, to impart principles and techniques that motivate people to take action. And, her organizational skills led her to develop her best-selling seminar, Organized & Clutter-Free At Last.     She says, "Some of our abilities are God-given from birth and others are learned over many years of diligent practice.     When we commit them all totally to the Lord, asking him daily to guide our every step in using them, we find true satisfaction."     What Are a Few of Your Talents or Skills? A Man Was Given a Talent     (In New Testament times, a talent was the largest unit of silver, with an approximate monetary value of one ox.) Jesus told a parable using a metaphor about a man who was rebuked by his master for burying his talent. Read Matthew 25:14–30. Today, let's extend the metaphor to include your natural talents and acquired skills. What would Jesus say to you? Are you using your talents and skills wisely or are you burying them?     SCRIPTURE TO PONDER     Then the LORD said . . . "And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts." (Exodus 31:1, 3)     SUGGESTED PRAYER     Dear Lord, you have filled me, _________, with the Spirit of God—with skill, ability, and knowledge. Today I pray that you will help me use my talents and skills to the nth degree! If there is some ability in me that I have not tapped into, please show me, so I can dedicate it to you, along with my other talents and skills. Stretch me, God, into the full measure of who you want me to be. Help me boldly claim my full capacity for your use.     So . . . What Insight, Prayer, or Action Step Has God Laid on Your Heart Today?

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