The New Day

i could not sleep very well last night, because today is the day my new company launches. i dreamed i was stacking things on bookcases in my childhood home, and they were very precariously balanced. ha. fitting, i guess. however, so far, everything has gone smoothly. i'll tell you tomorrow if that continues to hold!

ha.

i think the thing that strikes me as really, really new - is what is going on inside of me. it's been a slow build...from a walk thru a dark valley of uncertainty, to still not knowing what is ahead, but knowing that i am in fact on a path.

our pastor has been talking about stewardship these past few weeks ... for the first time in my christian life, a stewardship talk that is not centered around $$! i believe money is a part of stewardship, but of course, we can all be generous with money and still live entirely for ourselves. christian stewardship is of course 'something else.'

yesterday, we talked about spiritual gifts. i've already been thinking about them for awhile. specifically, what they might be. i know that i HAVE them, because the bible says so, but to be totally honest, i have never felt a real calling spiritually. i have lots of gut desires, but most of them have to do with creative pursuits. what ELSE am i made for? that is a big question, isn't it?

i welcome the chance to see. as pastor shel listed a long list yesterday, from teachers and prophets and evengelists and lots more, i checked the ones that struck a chord. i am asking God for more clarity. and how to begin to step into the gifts....to do what the bible says, instead of just knowing it! yay.

i found it interesting that one of my favorite devos this morning spoke in a similar fashion to the pastor yesterday. it encourages me to know that God has new things for me, on this new day. here's what i read:

excerpt from Grow Up in Me (by frances roberts)

My purpose was not simply to bring you into my family to remain babies or children. I am concerned with your maturity; with your growth in wisdom and knowledge of things pertaining to myself; with the perfection of your ministry; and with the producing of the fruits of the spirit in your life.

And so for this end, I have provided for you the ministries and gifts of my Holy Spirit. As you receive these by faith, and as you walk in these by faith, so that I am allowed to manifest myself through you in this way, you will grow in me, growing in your grace and knowledge of me.

Commit to me your sanctification. Bring your thoughts into captivity and let your mind be under the control of the mind of Christ. Do not curb the impulses of the Spirit within you, nor refuse to allow me the freedom to manifest myself through you by means of the gifts. You may resist me because you feel unworthy or unready to be used. This is a delusion of the mind. I do not use you when you feel prepared, but when i need you and when you are yielded. When I use you, you will discover that I also work to edify your own heart and life.

so, here goes today. let's all begin anew, shall we?