Talents

If you choose to hide your talents rather than work and refine them, don’t be surprised when you are in the same place in twenty years as you are right now. I have been pondering a certain parable Jesus tells and how it relates to me, my future, and my unique talents-this got me doing some serious thinking. God gifted us each with special talents uniquely our own. God gave me talents unique to me just like He gave you talents unique to you. Now I would like to tell you a story…*

“A man, who was going on a journey, called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.” We are not all gifted equally but we are all accountable for how we use the talents we have. “The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.” I am personally guilty of burying my talents because I am worried about getting hurt or I allow my shortcomings to cloud my view of all the things I COULD do. “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’

His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

“The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’

His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’” Wonderful things happen when we work hard and use the gifts we have been given! Likewise bad things happen when we fail to have faith and give into laziness. “Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest” And if that weren’t bad enough, the master goes on to say, “‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have in abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.”

It hardly needs to be said that we each have unique talents. I have heard it said that I make an awful imitation of others but I am the only one who can be Tiffany Raye as well as I can. The same goes with every single other human being God breathed life into. Are you breathing? Guess what… you are talented too!

A wise man I know once told me this: “If you want something you’ve never had before you must do something you’ve never done before because everything you already have is result of what you’ve already done.” I need to stop burying my talents, hoping to leave my mark on the world. Instead I must start putting them to better use.

Changing gears a bit, I want to point out that because of a thing called inflation, that original talent of money decreased in value. You may think that not using your talent isn’t that bad. Think again. Hiding that talent deep down is like robbing God of what was His. I don’t know about you but I don’t want to be that third guy who lost everything.

Let us not forget that we live in a country that still remains free. Freedom of speech would be wasted if those gifted in writing neglected to take advantage of it. You may be musical, academic, athletic, giving, thoughtful, good with cooking, or friendly. All the parts of the body are important-so are all the different talents important.

I beseech thee, (yep. I really wanted to sneak that in someplace) reflect upon your life and see what talents you might have hidden. God bestowed upon you, talents. Talents to be used for purposes only you can truly fulfill.

Blessings,

Tiffany Raye

*The parable above is found in Matthew 25.

THANKSGIVING

With all the baking of desserts, prepping the turkey, mashing potatoes, and worrying a out which relatives you have to deal with for Thanksgiving we forget the reason we are doing this at all.

Autumn 1621 the Native Americans and the Pilgrims put aside their prejudices, came to the same table, and feasted together.

Let us take their example this Thanksgiving, put aside all our prejudices, and focus on the real reason we have this day of feasting.

God has richly blessed us. Today, I will focus only on the things God has blessed me with; selfishness and grumbling absolutely not allowed.

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever." Psalm 107:1

"Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift." 2 Corinthians 9:15

Life or Fire?

With words God spoke this earth into existence. With words He filled the depths with water and peppered the sky with stars. Words I say in passing could come to replay in someone's mind giving them the motivation to persevere. But they could also replay in their head daunting them. This doesn't only apply to me; this applies to every man that has breath.

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue" Proverbs 18:21. With the words “Get up and walk” Christ healed a paralyzed man. With words I can give people the boost they need to keep going through the day, the determination to pursue a certain goal with vigor, and remind them they are loved. On the other hand, my words have the potential to destroy. Just as it takes only one spark to start a blazing inferno, it takes only one callous phrase to wound someone at the heart.

People also say that it doesn't matter what you say or do as long as your heart is right. This may be true however, only God sees your heart while men only see your actions and hear your words. “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

The tongue can start a fire of destruction. James 3:6, 8, "And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell... no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison." So, if our tongues are so destructive and cannot be tamed why bother at all? Because God is more powerful than our out-of-control mouths: “Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.” Psalm 141:3.

That said, out words are powerful but it is up to you whether you let them be heinously destructive or beautifully life giving. Colossians 4:6, “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”

In Him,

Tiffany Raye

You Have Filled my Heart with Greater Joy

Serving has become a huge part of my life and is one of the most enjoyable and spiritually rewarding things I have ever done. When People say, "Blessed is the giver more than the receiver" they aren't kidding!

I began volunteering [at Woodside] with singing in the choir at age eleven and have since done anything from packing shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child, to leading groups of first graders through Kreative Kids Day Camp. Whatever the occasion I love volunteering. God has filled my heart with greater joy through volunteering and, though it seems backwards, I have become more outgoing through meeting people who share the same goal as I have; to reach out to the world as the hands and feet of Christ. Christ not only commands us to be His hands and feet but He came to set an example.* It is this example that makes me rush to AWANA every Wednesday to greet the precious faces of my Cubbies. I have learned more from their innocent hearts than I ever imagined and they never fail to make my day with smiles and laughter.

The friends I have made while serving have become some of the best. I would not be who I am today without these friends, or the experiences we’ve had together while serving. God calls us each to serve and there is a place for everybody. He wants to fill your heart with greater joy!

*Matthew 20:26-28 "...whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

John 13:14-15 "Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you."

Birthdays and Blessings through Black Stuff

These summer months have been extremely busy for me. Beginning in early June my little bro turned 10! WHAT?! 10?! Oh my...

Though he loves pranking me and is a little smarty pants; my life would be extremely dull without his creative (yet often devious) little mind.

Another exciting part of June was Kreative Kids Day Camp hosted at my church. It never ceases to amaze me how God uses six-year old's to teach me invaluable lessons while I am supposed to be teaching them. One of the lessons that struck me was the one involving "dirt". It began with telling the kids that things aren't always they seem and that God always knows what is better. I then pulled out a cup of what looked like dirt and showed it to my campers. Assuring them that it was good to eat and that I would never do something that would hurt them I asked if any would like to taste it. I love the simple belief exhibited by first graders as they willingly held their hands out toward me. I proceeded to scoop this "dirt" into their hands and the looks on their faces were incredible as it dawned on them that it was actually crushed Oreo's.

The entire demonstration was to show them in simple terms that though things may look like dirt, God is really giving us Oreo's. We just have to trust him.

In Him,

Tiffany Raye

My Path Leads Home

I saw a winding road that was edged with trees of green. Just above the road and trees were clouds unlike any I've seen. The road twisted and turned and made me think about my Christian walk. Twisting and winding up to mountains and down through valleys. All through the crazy

winding road, Jesus was there with me. As I look above the road the clouds all puffy and white; yet dark and thin. It was like the clouds were in layers and there was a gap between the upper and lower. Beyond the clouds was the glow of sunshine. Promising and beckoning. All I could imagine was heaven, just beyond the clouds. The floor of heaven is the clouds we see above us.
So many mysteries lie waiting just above. So close I want to reach out an touch; but so far that only Jesus can bridge the gap. This is what I imagine I'll see when I meet my maker. The clouds will lower themselves into a grand staircase. Jesus will be waiting at the top for me. I'll run up to Him. Home. All this came to mind because of a winding road and some clouds.

Tiffany Raye-September, 2010

Wearing My Heart on My... Hand?

"Are you married?"

"No, I'm not."

"So why do you have a ring on your wedding finger?"

"Umm.. well, I uh..."

This is a conversation I've had on many an occasion with the curious first graders I volunteer with. Such a simple question I could answer so many ways. Usually I answer with something like: "I wear it on my ring finger because my future prince is that important to me."

However, here is a more elaborate version:

My purity ring represents not only a promise I made to my future Prince Charming(guys: Cinderella), but, in a way it also represents my heart. Although it has met some hard times, and has gotten scratched and bruised; it's still all there. Whole. Here's a mental picture: if I were to give in to temptation now it would be like cutting a piece of my ring out and throwing it away. Cutting a piece of my ring out would be foolish simply because it would become sharp and poke at me. Just like cutting a piece of my heart out would be foolish because it too would become sharp and hurt at me. To be completely honest, giving your heart to someone you think is "the one" at seventeen is a silly thing to do: even sillier when you change your mind and re-give what's left of your heart to the next "the one" two weeks later.

Think about what kind of reaction you would get if you took the piece of your ring that you cut out and gave it to the same person you gave the piece of your heart to. Would they value it and say, "Oh thanks! I'll treasure it forever!"

Or would they say, "Wow, how useless." and simply throw it away. Even though it's not all that meaningful to them, it sure hurts you.

If you asked me, "What if I've already given away these pieces? Can't I get them back?"

I would have to tell you no. You can't get them back. And even if you did, all you'd have is pieces. However, in all this gloominess there is hope. God came to the earth and died on the cross representing a heart/body so beaten and cut it was unrecognizable. By doing this, He built a bridge to God-the Master Jeweler/Heart Mender. Although God won't bestow on you a new heart, He will help you put all the pieces back together (because in Him you are made new.Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.2 Corinthians 5:17 . But only if you're willing to give up control and let Him do His perfect work. He will also help your future Prince Charming/Cinderella look past your past, and love you for the precious person you are. If this person doesn't want to be with you because of your past, he doesn't really love you. If this is the case, you should wait patiently until God sees it right to introduce you to you real Prince/Princess. "I charge you brethren, do not awaken love until it so desires." This is so important, God wrote it not once, not twice, but three times in Song of Solomon.

I pray that my ramblings mean something to you; and if you read this all the way through, thank you. :) If you ever have a topic you'd like me to write about, leave a comment!! And if you don't want me to know who's asking, write to me anonymously!

In Him,

Tiffany Raye