Gifts

This time of year always generates a lot of conversation around gifts. When I was young, this was a very exciting time. My sister and I would circle multiple items in the Sears catalog knowing we wouldn't get everything but we knew we were getting something.

Gifts are like that. They create excitement and anticipation in both the giver and the receiver. I have given and gotten a lot of great gifts over the years. That sense of excitement as the paper is being torn just before opening the box to reveal the surprise inside is one of the great feelings of our lives, isn't it?

But after the opening, beyond the initial euphoria, the real measure of a gift is how long it is used or remembered. My daughter wanted a bow and arrows last year for Christmas. I saw the excitement on her face when she opened that present but I didn't really understand how good that gift was until now, a year later. She still goes out regularly and practices. We've had to buy new arrows because the original ones wore out. She finds shooting her bow relaxing and a great stress-relief. Who knew? But what a great indicator that that was a good gift.

We gave my dad cowboy boots for Christmas 18 years ago. He's had to have them re-soled 3 times! As the gift-giver, there's no better feeling than knowing the gift is used over and over again.

The gifts we give and get this year are great but there's a perspective I am taking with me out of this Christmas season and into 2014. Regardless of the count under the tree, we've all been given some pretty incredible gifts by God. And while they aren't the kind you buy at the store, they are immeasurably valuable. Here's three things I'm suggesting we do between now and January 1st, 2014:

1. Take inventory of your gifts. If you need to, pretend like you're opening your God-given gifts for the first time. Determine what you have been given by the Creator of the universe that are yours specifically. I know people with tangible gifts like singing, painting, or playing an instrument as well as intangible ones like serving, leading, and encouraging. A gift from God is something that you can do that I can only look at and shake my head. It comes naturally to one person and is almost inconceivable to another. You need to know all of the wonderful gifts you've been given and, trust me, you have been given many of them!
2. Once you've taken inventory, determine how well you are utilizing each one. Just like my dad's boots, it pleases God when we are taking what he has so graciously given us and using it to it's fullest. Don't let a gift sit on a shelf and collect dust. There is a Divine purpose for the gifts you've been given but you control whether you choose to maximize them or let them waste away.
3. Resolve to truly use each of your gifts. I know January 1st is the day to make resolutions but the problem is most of those fall by the wayside by January 15th. Start taking inventory now, determine utilization of your gifts, and then write down how you plan to implement taking advantage of each of the gifts you have. Refer back to your plan often. Adjust and adapt your plan to a changing environment but make a commitment to yourself that, from this day forward, none of the gifts you have will be unused again.

One of my favorite speakers is Les Brown. He says:

"The graveyard is the richest place on earth, because it is here that you will find all the hopes and dreams that were never fulfilled, the books that were never written, the songs that were never sung, the inventions that were never shared, the cures that were never discovered, all because someone was too afraid to take that first step, keep with the problem, or determined to carry out their dream."

Don't let that be you! Don't die with unopened or under-utilized gifts! In 2014, I am determined to be more of who God created me to be and hope you will too!

"His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'" Matthew 25:20

Storms Of Life

Last week, a large portion of the U.S. got hit by Winter Storm Cleon. There was a lot of damage and even some deaths. Lives were disrupted with power outages and icy conditions making it impossible to travel. Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport, alone, had thousands of flight cancellations. I got to spend a little extra time in Minneapolis because of the issues in Dallas.

The last couple of days, I got to thinking about this storm and the others we face. I'm talking about not just the weather-related storms like Cleon, Katrina, or Sandy (just to name a few), but the other "life storms" that come in and cause chaos and confusion. The sudden death of a close friend or family member. The loss of a job. Health issues that impact our day-to-day lives. Financial burdens that stress and strain the closest of relationships. A child dealing with an issue for the first time on their own where we can't be the problem-solver. There are so many storms that come in. How best to deal with them?

As I ponder these storms, I offer up three things to keep in mind while going through them:

1. Keep your peace - Storms are disruptive. They, by nature, cause chaos and confusion. If you allow yourself to get caught up in it, your thinking becomes irrational and decision-making is impaired. Having grown up in northern Minnesota, rarely did a winter season go by without a story of someone going in the ditch in the middle of a blizzard and, instead of staying in the car and waiting for help, they chose to leave the safety of the vehicle and attempt to walk to the nearest house. This rarely had a positive outcome. Even in the worst of storms, there is peace to be found and it surpasses all understanding. It comes from within and if you are able to maintain your peace, resolution will come. Keeping your peace is imperative to weathering any storm.
2. Find the lessons to be learned - Every storm brings lessons to be learned. Cleon taught my wife and me that it's better to stock up in the days leading up to the storm rather than waiting until after to get food and necessities. If you can turn your perspective from the bad the storm has brought to the good that came of it, you will be much better off. Sometimes, the lessons are small, many times they are huge. Always, they are valuable. The lessons learned from the previous storm can get you ready and more able to deal with the next one that comes along.
3. Know that this, too, shall pass - Storms are never forever. They will pass. If you focus too much on the storm and not on keeping your peace and finding the lessons to learn, you may think the storm is here to stay. Trust me, it did not come to stay, it came to pass! Keep a long-term view of your life. Look back on other similar situations that, at the time, you thought were never going to end but did. There is a lot of power in a long-term view of a short-term storm.

Storms will come, how you choose to respond to them is your power. Keep your peace, find the lessons to be learned, and always remember that this, too, shall pass. Do this and you'll not only weather the storm, you'll be better off because of it!

"I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and  have conquered it for you.] - John 16:33 (AMP)