{"id":454,"date":"2022-05-19T19:27:23","date_gmt":"2022-05-19T19:27:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asmymindunwinds.com\/?p=454"},"modified":"2022-05-19T19:27:33","modified_gmt":"2022-05-19T19:27:33","slug":"abilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asmymindunwinds.com\/?p=454","title":{"rendered":"Abilities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I feel like most of us have some indication of what our abilities are.<\/strong> If you think back to when you were a kid, you\u2019re favorite thing to \u201cplay\u201d or favorite subject in school or favorite place to go..all point to how God\u2019s gifted you. There is no other time in your life like when you\u2019re a child and the world hasn\u2019t told you you can\u2019t yet or you\u2019re not good enough, or that you\u2019ve blown it and should give up,  that those things that truly put a smile on your face and fill you with joy are a direct manifestation of how God has created you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, when I was a child, I loved to play house<\/strong>…I loved organizing a neat and tidy home and making sure my diaper bag was packed and organized with all the necessities.. and that my baby doll was the best dressed cabbage patch kid in the cabbage patch. I also loved to play \u201cschool\u201d…I would set up a perfectly staged school room and make my brother and sister sit down and listen to my lesson. In fact, I was the one to teach them how to write their names before they ever entered kindergarten. It was my favorite game! And I would dream about what my real classroom would look like someday! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I got older, I discovered I was exceptionally good at two things in highschool…singing…and writing<\/strong>. I almost always got awarded the solos and I would win awards when performing them at state competitions. When it came time for a paper to be due, <\/strong>I would wait til the night before to even think about starting it, get it done in under an hour and still get the highest grade in the class. I know I sound like I\u2019m bragging but I\u2019m not exaggerating. Haha. Singing and writing were effortless for me. And through every area of my life…the earliest I can remember being about 2nd grade til right now in this very moment… I ADORE making people laugh. I was always the class clown. And it\u2019s my goal in every day to make someone smile.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, I will say that there are some who <\/strong>think <\/em><\/strong>they have certain abilities<\/strong> but they don\u2019t. There will always be confirmation of what you love to do and what you believe comes easy to you. That confirmation comes in the fact that you do get the best grades, win awards, are complimented all the time\u2026.or asked to do things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, there\u2019s those of you that may not even realize what you\u2019re good at IS indeed a God given ability..<\/strong>.it\u2019s so easy for you and you\u2019re so good at it that you think nothing of it and assume everyone must be able to do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that being said, for the most part, I think we know what our abilities are…we know what brings us joy…and what we couldn\u2019t live without doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, if you ask me what my secret dream is<\/strong>…what my dream job would be…it would be to <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Always work in the local church serving in some way AND simultaneously get the opportunity to travel often, making people laugh and teaching the word of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can see that in my dream,  I\u2019m getting a chance to perform, make people laugh, organize and teach\u2026.all the things I was good at as a kid and loved to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But only just now. Right now…at 39 (40 in November) <\/strong>am I beginning to see my dreams realized. Why? Some may say I wasn\u2019t ready that I needed to be cultivated, trained, grow in wisdom first\u2026.and there\u2019s some truth to that. But you guys, we are talking about things\/abilities that are innate. This is stuff I was BORN to do and have been doing in some fashion whether I realize it or not for nearly four decades! So, what gives?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 I believe a few things are happening\u2026. We listen to the lies of the enemy (<\/strong>we are not good enough, others are better, it\u2019s not the right time) which then causes us to act in false humility (I need to let them shine, wait my turn, step aside) and so we ultimately become bad stewards of what the Lord has given us out of fear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember the parable of the talents? When the man hid his talents, he was told “YOU WICKED SERVANT” – now translate that to ABILITIES<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine the master saying to the wicked servant, “Why didn\u2019t you go to school, watch you tube tutorial videos, find a mentor, practice every day,\u00a0 simply tell someone?<\/strong>“. We were given our abilities at birth\u2026.and many saw them manifested right away. Most of our moms or our close friends can tell us what we loved to do and what we were good at\u2026.. If it was right for me when I was 5 teaching my siblings how to write, if it was right for me when I was a preschool teacher at 18, a Daisy leader,…and teaching others when I have an opportunity, why is it not right now if I feel I have something to offer? Why is it not the right time? Why am I incapable? Why am I not good enough?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 If God even whispers something to my heart that I should do, I better straighten up and pay attention…because God doesn\u2019t stutter. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You know, I wanted to write a book my whole life<\/strong> and 5 years ago this week my brother died. When he died I KNEW I KNEW I needed to write one on grief as everything I was looking for to help me…wasn\u2019t exactly what I was looking for. I knew I would write this eventually but I didn\u2019t know when or how…then fast forward to last April. <\/strong>I\u2019m sitting at home by myself having one of those woe is me moments, complaining and lamenting that I\u2019m not living my full dream or reaching my full potential\u2026.and realizing that next month will be another anniversary of my brother\u2019s death and I still haven\u2019t written that book.  God, I wanna write a book but I can\u2019t…I wouldn\u2019t know where to begin. Books have a lot of pages! How do I fill those?! And he says, \u201cstop your whining you already did\u201d \u201cWait what?\u201d \u201cYou already did …I want you to take the blogs and articles you\u2019ve already written and turn them into a devotional.\u201d \u201cBut that\u2019s not a book on grief…and has nothing to do with my brother.\u201d \u201cI can\u2019t help which book you wrote first!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, I\u2019m telling you guys…it\u2019s like nothing I ever experienced but The Holy Spirit<\/strong> came on me and everything I learned in my coaching classes (I\u2019m a certified life coach) came to me to form devotional questions and I pounded this baby out in TWO WEEKS! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I realized how quickly it happened I got scared and thought…this has got to be total crap. <\/strong>But people, this is the girl who would write highschool papers the night before they were do and ACE them…why is it any surprise that a devotional book only takes two weeks…especially when the bulk of the content was already written…so I begin submitting it to publishers and I\u2019m getting turned down right and left because publishers won\u2019t even look at what you\u2019ve written unless you have a huge social media following. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I started thinking about what I could do to make up for that…aha\u2026.get endorsers who have a HUGE social media following…and I knew just who to start with\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7 months before I wrote my book, I was scrolling FB and came across a comedy video. It<\/strong> was a gal named Kerri Pomerolli and I thought she was hilarious…I was so taken with her and thought that she\u2019s exactly what I imagined myself to be if I ever became a comedian so I thought I\u2019d just message her and tell her how much I enjoyed her material…from there we became FB friends. I\u2019d watch her travel, pop on her FB lives and insert my own funny comments and whatever. So, I thought to myself…I wonder if she\u2019d like to endorse my book. She has a fairly good following and maybe me promoting her because she\u2019s promoting me will help her even more. So I ask her…without hesitancy she emphatically says YES! I thought…oh..how sweet. I can\u2019t believe she said yes. That\u2019s nice. It was not until this point, that I decided to do a little further research on her in addition to the little I knew about her from watching her on FB. So, I google her\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First thing that pops up is Wikipedia\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kerri Pomarolli<\/strong> is an American<\/a> stand up comedian<\/a>, actress<\/a> and author<\/a> based in Los Angeles.[1]<\/sup><\/a> She has appeared in over 75 stage productions and had recurring roles on Port Charles<\/em>, and The Young and The Restless<\/em> and “General Hospital ”. She has been in motion pictures such as “DeadLock”, and her latest is on Netflix<\/a>, “The Brennan Manning Story”..[2]<\/sup><\/a> She has published 4 books. She can be seen on Nick at Nite and Moms Night Out. Kerri has 29<\/strong> appearances on The Tonight Show between 2000-2012, toured with everyone from Sherri Shephard from The View to Candace Cameron Bure, Jim Carey to Carol Channing. You guys, the list went on and on\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I went white as a ghost, people\u2026.and thought WHAT HAVE I DONE?!?<\/strong>! I\u2019m morbidly embarrassed…I just sent my manuscript to an actual somebody! And then I kept learning about her…she was on the team that helped create MOMs NIGHT OUT and she wrote a book that came from that movie. Let me tell you why this means something to me…when my brother died, my Grove friends took me to a movie to cheer me up\u2026.it was Mom\u2019s Night Out…it was a night that I laughed hard and felt incredibly loved\u2026.and now, I\u2019ve written a book being read and (fingers crossed) endorsed by the gal who helped do the movie…with the intention of writing about my brother in the future\u2026.Do you see the hand of God here? And it didn\u2019t stop with her…me…a NOBODY FIVE pretty big deal endorsers to endorse my little devotional. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

God is setting up the stage for me to be successful with the abilities He\u2019s put in me and all I had to do was be obedient. OBEDIENCE ALWAYS EQUALS SUCCESS. But we fear obeying. We get scared and we don\u2019t steward well…<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every time we are discouraged it is in direct correlation to who we were made to be and what we were made to do<\/strong>. They\u2019re a better vocalist, I shouldn\u2019t try out for the solo. They\u2019re better with kids, the nursery has enough workers. They\u2019re more creative, I won\u2019t offer my idea. I\u2019m not gonna promote my book on social media, I\u2019ll look stuck up.\u2026.And when discouragement silences our abilities, Satan wins. We shrink back telling ourselves we\u2019re just being humble and giving better individuals their chance to shine, and Satan sighs a sigh of relief. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let me tell you what humility is…humility<\/strong> is getting up and doing it afraid. HUMILITY is KNOWING without a shadow of a doubt that there\u2019s always someone better than you, but you\u2019re gonna do you anyway \u2018cause it\u2019s what you gotta do. THAT is a humble, grace filled obedience that TRUSTS God knows what He\u2019s doing in spite of what you SEE with your eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your abilities are needed in<\/strong> the capacity that you can offer in the place where you are in this time in history. God does not waste abilities and His timing is perfect. When our abilities are exercised He is praised! Our abilities show off how great He<\/strong> is. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steward well<\/strong>. Let Him be glorified through your unique way…if you hold back ANYTHING OR use your abilities for anything that doesn\u2019t include HIM, you are cheating yourself, God, and others out of the full capacity of your gifts. Just like the wicked servant with the talents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will also say this…even though what you\u2019re good at comes easy to you, if you\u2019re gonna use it for God, you gotta push it – invite some faith in – take a risk. Yes, writing comes easy to me…but putting my book out there for the world to see? SCARY! <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ephesians 2:10 <\/strong>For we are God\u2019s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Greek word for workmanship is poiema which is actually where we get our word POEM. It means work of art – masterpiece…and a masterpiece? Well that\u2019s defined as work done with extraordinary skill…it indicates supreme artistic achievement.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you think for a minute that God does not want His creme de la creme trying out for the worship team? Or going out for that dream job? Do you think he wants the artwork of His artwork stashed in a closet instead of hanging adoringly on fan\u2019s walls? Do you think for a minute he wants His master baker buying store bought cakes for their kid\u2019s parties? And you better get on your knees and tell him how sorry you are, if you ever thought for a minute that your dear church didn\u2019t need your superb organizing skills in ANY capacity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember or rediscover what you\u2019re good at. Think about the things you get complimented on. Remember what brings you joy and peace and then immediately start integrating them into your life\u2026.as a mom, as a retail worker, as a daughter, as a friend, as a church member…use your abilities and worship God the way you were always meant to. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I feel like most of us have some indication of what our abilities are. If you think back to when you were a kid, you\u2019re favorite thing to \u201cplay\u201d or favorite subject in school or favorite place to go..all point to how God\u2019s gifted you. There is no other time in your life like when…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christian-living"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pac8FG-7k","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/asmymindunwinds.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/asmymindunwinds.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/asmymindunwinds.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asmymindunwinds.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asmymindunwinds.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=454"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/asmymindunwinds.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":455,"href":"https:\/\/asmymindunwinds.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454\/revisions\/455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/asmymindunwinds.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asmymindunwinds.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asmymindunwinds.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}