Have you ever had the feeling that things were going so well in your life that you felt like the captain of your soul? If you even thought about that statement for a moment without saying no, then you are in trouble because we are NEVER the captain of our soul. Our lives aren’t something that we have a map for. There is no map. We may even feel that sometimes there is no compass. There is no set route for the journey, that much we know. The only way we can recognize a route in our life, is what is left behind us when we look back.
I just finished a study with a group of ladies who did the One Thousand Gifts study. It was so interesting to see how God used each one to affirm the other. Thoughts and ideas different from my own, yet similar in content. Our hearts became one as we explored what God wanted to teach us individually. God showed a side of Himself that many had not seen before, and… lives were changed. Some even had a hard time explaining HOW it changed them, but they felt a shift inside themselves. It might have been a different way to start each day, or depending on God for the right place to live, or transition after loss, and another who said, she has been in many studies, but none that have changed her like this one. I’m sure there were many other thoughts too! Wow!! THAT is what we want to have happen when we devote ourselves to learning. We discussed what servanthood looks like and how we can be the blessing. So we asked ourselves, “Am I a blessing? Do I bless?” Our answer was agreement with Ann Voskamp, the writer of the study, we ARE blessed. We CAN bless. You see, we need to pass blessing along. If we receive the blessing and it stops with us, then we have lost the flow of the blessings to others. That trickle down effect is lost. We need to pass it along in the flow of life, and let the goodness of God flow on and on and on. It’s like Andy Andrews talks about in his book, The Butterfly Effect. We may never know the outcome of something we did or said, nor how it will affect the future.
Another thing we shared with each other is the power of the pen. Whether you are a journal writer or not, there is power there. Maybe you just list your gifts or blessings. Which ever it maybe, “satan hates pens because he doesn’t want you to count
the blessings you have been given.” (Ann Voskamp) Do you get the picture? THAT should make us want to go find everybody we know and make sure they have a pen handy. That is our weapon against feeling defeated about our life. Invite God in and put that pen to paper. I am a pen freak. I love pens and I like GOOD pens. So, I’m always looking for a pen that is a good brand, looks good AND writes well. Now, I have another reason for a good pen…it’s my weapon and the power to stay in gratitude! I’m going to wield that weapon!!
This thought was so important in our weekly discussion: we want to be empty, to be filled.
- I want my hands to remain open for God to fill them for His purpose.
- I want Him to find me about His work and doing well.
- I want to be maintaining an attitude of expectancy.
- I want to be found continually looking to the future with hope.
- I will live a full life because I am intentional in how I live each day.
In all the changes we talked about in this group, the best part was being reminded that a changed life is a life full of joy! We found that to be true in the last five weeks. He wants our personal character to be guided by the Holy Spirit and not our own flesh. He wants to find us being diligent, eager, and zealous in our relationship with Him. We have found that aspect of our relationship with God to be renewed during out time together. We experienced a lot of laughter, but there were tears also. We shared hugs of encouragement, pats on the back to say, keep going. Please share. We are listening. THAT my friend means something BIG is about to happen. When we lean in and listen, God is going to do something BIG when we let Him change us. I encouraged each person there to write today’s date down in their Bibles or journals, because we all felt we were on the cusp of something great that is about to happen.
And lastly, I think we made the decision to be like the Sea of Galilee, that flows forth fresh water. We do not want to be like the Dead Sea that has no movement and is stagnant, as she talks about at the end of the last chapter. And the kicker? Those two seas are fed by the same river!!! Which one do we want to be? These ladies wanted to flow out fresh water! His gifts come from above and we want them to flow through us to others. I think we all agreed, that we want the kind of attitudes and character that mark the life of a person who loves to serve, give and to share what we have with others. And…let’s give our best.
I am thankful to each heart that shared in this journey of gifts, and I pray that you will be blessed also by this glimpse into what God did in a small group of women who were faithful to the idea of open hands.
Walking the journey with you…
~JoAnn
journeysofmyheart.com 
