Blessings

I decided I would bless my mom today. I went and helped her clean her house before Christmas. By deciding to be a blessing God doubly blessed me. I had been wanting Biscuits, Eggs, Gravy, and Sausage for quite sometime and that is exactly what I got at my mom's house for dinner tonight! Then one of my aunts blessed me with a brand new set of cookers, which we where in desperate need of. Isn't it so good that God knows our wants and needs and desires to bless us!

Solution to All Problems : Praise God

Psalms Chapter 67

1	God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.
2	That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.
3	Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.
4	O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.
5	Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.
6	Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us.
7	God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.

I am a New Creature

Today I have seen God work through me. I have seen the Fruits of the Spirit. Sometimes I get discouraged, and wonder if I ever bare any fruit at all. Today I saw love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. God provided me all of these in place of the person I used to be. I am a New Creature in Him! In the past I would have lost all control in the situation in which I was placed today. But through Christ who strengthens me, I have overcome the flesh. If you are discouraged or having a hard time, just stay close to God and he will help you through.

I just wanted to share this in case any of you ever feel the same way. Your not ALONE! Keep seeking God's Will! And you shall bare the Fruits of the Spirit.

More On Spiritual Gifts

Today I took another test to discover what my Spiritual Gifts are. This one was called Spiritual Gifts Inventory by Team Ministry. This test was a bit different and it only had 9 possible Spiritual Gifts, the other test had 22. And so, you can imagine, my scores where different because of the different amount of Spiritual Gifts possible on each test.

So, I thought I'd share my top three Spiritual Gifts with you all, according to this test also. My top three Spiritual Gifts are, (in order from highest to lowest score) Exhortation,Teaching, and Administration.

Here are the definitions of each, according to this test.

The Exhorter
The Spirit-given capacity and desire to serve God by motivating others to action by urging them to pursue a course of conduct.
The "how-to" teacher, giving the application of God's Word.

The Teacher
The Spirit-given capacity and desire to serve God by making clear the truth of God's Word with accuracy and simplicity.
The scholar making clear the doctrines and teachings of the Bible.

The Administrator
The Spirit-given capacity and desire to serve God by organizing, administering, promoting and leading the various affairs of the church.
The person who leads the church and its ministries.

The definitions on this test differ from the other. I believe the definition of The Exhorter on this test, goes hand in hand with the definition of Prophet on the other. This test had the Spiritual Gift of Prophet also, but the definition differed a bit. To see the difference visit my first post on 'Spiritual Gifts'. Here is the definition of Prophet according to this test.

The Prophet
The Spirit-given capacity and desire to serve God by proclaiming God's truth.
The hell-fire-brimstone preacher who points out sin.

On the first test I took I also scored high in Craftsmanship and Missionary. These two Spiritual Gifts where not included on the test I took today.

As my pastor said, "We are supposed to be in prayer for God to show us our Spiritual Gifts. This test was just a guide line, not God's Line."

For a free Spiritual Gifts Analysis, visit 'Team Ministry'.

Spiritual Gifts

We have been studying Spiritual Gifts this past month at Discipleship Training. I took a test today, to discover what my Spiritual Gift(s) might be, and I thought I'd share.

On the test I took there where 22 possible Spiritual Gifts. You could score anywhere from 0 to 20. With your highest score or scores being your Spiritual Gift or Gifts. My highest score was a 16 and I scored a 16 on three different Spiritual Gifts: Prophet, Craftsmanship, and Missionary.

Here are the definitions of each.

Prophet
It is the special gift whereby the Spirit empowers certain Christians to interpret and apply God's revelation in a given situation.
1 Corinthians 14:1-5, 1 Corinthians 14:30-33, 1 Corinthians 14:37-40

Craftsmanship
Its is the special gift whereby the Spirit endows certain Christians to use hands and minds to build up the Kingdom through artistic, creative means.
Exodus 28: 3-4

Missionary
It is the special gift given by the Holy Spirit to certain members of the body of Christ to minister whatever other spiritual gifts they have in a second culture or second community.
1 Corinthians 9:19-23

As my pastor said, "We are supposed to be in prayer for God to show us our Spiritual Gifts. This test was just a guide line, not God's Line."

I can really see how the gift of Prophecy relates to me, because I have a great desire to study God's Word and determine right from wrong, God's Will, and how we are supposed to live our daily lives for God. As for the other two, I'm not so sure right now. Especially the gift of a Missionary. I've always dreamed of traveling the world, and I could really see myself taking in orphans in another country, but I wouldn't be able to go alone. I would be so home sick that it would make me emotionally and physically sick. If my Husband and animals went with me, that would be a whole different story! I would be totally fine, and probably have the time of my life serving God. My Husband hasn't yet taken the test. So, we're not for sure what his Spiritual Gifts are. But we're both pretty sure that Music would be one of them, probably his most prominent! So, we'll see how these gifts turn out.

Another Opportunity for Hospitality

Showing hospitality has really been heavy on my heart for the past month. I have always wanted to be hospitable and have thought about it for a long time. But negative thoughts always crept in. I thought, I can't keep my house clean enough, maybe if I didn't have all these animals, or I don't have enough money to be hospitable. But all of these things were just lies that I let myself believe. The Lord is showing me his truths and is giving me plenty of opportunities to show hospitality. My Husband's boss stayed with us again last night, we had a joyful time and it was a blessing to have him over.

Just Thought I'd Share......

I have found that spending time with the Lord first thing in the morning makes a GREAT difference. Yesterday, I neglected to do so. I didn't get very much at all accomplished and felt sluggish all day. This morning I spent an hour in Prayer and The Word, I have so much energy and fell like I can accomplish anything! I have already got a lot accomplished today, and its only 8 a.m. The days that I put time with the Lord FIRST, everything seems to go smoother! I love reading God's word, don't you?

Signs from God?

Last night I was thinking, I would really like to go to my Aunt's church tomorrow night. And guess what!!! She called me about an hour ago and invited me! They are having a Night Watches Service tonight, from 8pm-12am. It will be more relaxed than a regular service, and they are going to watch FACING THE GIANTS!!!! How about that? This must be God saying, no not saying, screaming, "WATCH THIS MOVIE NOW!!!" lol

And I always have so many questions about different Bible Versions and so on, so my Aunt really wants me to talk to the preacher about them. So I'm going to print somethings off the internet about it and maybe somethings about Christmas as well, and ask a MILLION questions! lol Hopefully I'll get some answers tonight, but I'm willing to send him home with a ton of information and let him ponder on it for a while.

Its been a long time since I last went to church, I would really like to start going again. I just haven't found the right one yet....