Which of the following are similar to the ways you've served Christ in your family? [check all that apply]
• Taught your kids to see God's glory in nature
• Washed the dishes without being asked
• Played a board game with your kids
• Encouraged your wife to finish her master's degree
• Attended a child's open house at school
• Worked fewer hours to be with your family
• Set an example of a godly prayer life for your children
• Held a crying child
• Swung on the tire swing with your daughter
• Told your wife why you're still in love with her
• Told your son he's got what it takes
• Coached soccer
• Let you child correct you now and then
• Fixed the vacuum cleaner
• Taught your sons to ride a bike
• Listened patiently to a complaint of your wife
• Taped your child's artwork to your office wall
• Admitted to your kids that you were wrong
• Told your children how Christ entered your life
• Cleaned up vomit
• Taught your children to love books
• Been romantic without expecting sex
• Told your daughter she's smart/beautiful
• Set standards for your kids and stuck to them
• Dealt graciously with a busybody neighbor
• Peeled carrots
• Watched movies together
Suffocated Gift? Theme of the Week: Serving with a Passion Tuesday, March 16, 2004
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Men of IntegrityMarch/April 2004Suffocated Gift?Theme of the Week: Serving with a PassionTuesday, March 1672
Key Bible Verse: So it is right for me to be enthusiastic about all Christ Jesus has done through me in my service to God (Romans 15:17). Bonus Reading:Romans 15:14–22
I came up the ranks of a big company and ended up an administrative vice-president. So when I began to learn about gifts, I assumed I had the gift of administration. But I was frustrated and didn't know why.
It wasn't until I discovered that my real gifts weren't in administration, but more in the perceiver/teacher area, that I found my way to real fulfillment. My learned discipline—administration—had suffocated my natural gifts.
I began to teach and speak on management and leadership issues in business settings. As invitations to speak increased, I found myself becoming satisfied. Eventually I founded On Target Ministries to take seminars and workshops to churches and Promise Keeper rallies. Your natural gift doesn't dictate what you should choose vocationally. But you're likely to approach the occupation you choose through this prism.
Find a vent for your gift. If you're bent toward ministry or mercy, volunteer for a mission trip or do hospital visitation. If you're more on the administration or teaching side, take on a project or start a small-group or a Bible study. As you exercise your gift, God may reveal a lot about His plan for your life.
—Vince D'Acchioli in Wired to Work
My Response: An outlet for my natural gifts I've found outside my occupation is …
Thought to Apply: Don't wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly.
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