Everybody has a gift! from Castro's Corner @ Chicklit Power

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power…

Happy Monday Manna
I’m writing this week’s edition of Monday Manna from the same location I wrote my very first, approximately eight months ago. It seems like yesterday when Kim Evinda asked me to write for CPM and I can’t put into words how big of a blessing this has been for me. God has blessed every one of us with spiritual gifts and talents specific to His internal purposes. The question is, how will we use these spiritual gifts to glorify his name?
I believe that God will often bring people into our lives in order for us to either share or help identify spiritual gifts. The ministry requires a myriad of different gifts that we have the ability to use and share in order to extend His kingdom. I don’t believe I’m gifted at writing at all, but I’ve learned so much from Kim Evinda and from all of you from your continued love and support. God is changing the direction of my writing and I’m excited to follow His calling to write to, with and for my wife in a journal of thanks!
I had a great conversation with her last week about the blog and the direction that God has been pulling each one of us. At the end of the conversation I remember looking at Kim and saying, “Kim, you have such an amazing gift…you are changing lives.” Kim’s leadership role with CPM epitomizes the use of a STRONG gift.
Let’s face it. Not all of us have the ability to pick up a guitar (not an air guitar) and play an Eric Clapton cover, frame a house from the ground up, solve linear algebra equations, bake banana bread, or swing a golf club without injuring themselves or someone else. L But God has blessed EVERY one of us with a gift. I’ve come to the honest conclusion that I’m not good at a whole lot, but God has given me long legs to run long distances. How do I use this gift to glorify his name? Perhaps I could “Run for a Cause” or put together a running team at church.
Matthew 25:14-30 speaks of the three servants who received different amounts of silver. The distribution of silver was proportionate to their abilities. Proportionate is the key word. Think about the first servant who received five bags of silver, invested it, and made five more. Then imagine the last servant digging a hole and placing his bag of silver in the ground in fear of losing everything.
Fear is what drives us from using these gifts to honor God. Those who have been provided with spiritual gifts are required to produce spiritual fruit. Who does that first servant represent? He represents you, me, and the body of Christ.
Those that don’t know Jesus as their Lord and Savior are represented as the last servant who failed. Failure is exemplified in his inability to use His God given gift; instead, he dug a hole and he stored his silver. Each and every one of you has an amazing gift that will help bring others closer to Jesus. Don’t let the lies of the enemy devalue or deface the gifts that have been so abundantly given by Him who loves you.
As my last writing for CPMm I just want to stay thank you for all of your love and support. I could not have done this without your encouragement and God’s moving through CPM! Keep running the good race and when your legs tire, which they inevitably will, trust in Him to carry you across the finish line. Use your gift and show the world what you’re made of! God Bless!
In His Love,

Garrett Castro
P.S. this is Evinda, letting you know we will have a new series beginning next Monday called Monday’s Testimonies; Jenn’s Journey! She’s an amazingly gifted girl, writing among her talents, who will share her unpacking journey transparently with you! Be sure and join us!

Nana Holds from Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Powe

Thanks so much for joining me for a little coffee break today and more of Nana Holds. Grab your coffee and come on in. It’s Christmas time at the Lepins’!

Ah, Christmastime, so different this year with a little one in the house. I am giggling inside as I remember me being the early one up instead of Bryden. I couldn’t wait to see his little face when he saw the presents under the Christmas tree. George and I waited, and waited, and waited. But we made good use of the waiting time, sharing gifts we had for each other, until finally, he was awake.

His daddy brought him downstairs and his big brown eyes got bigger. Oh, the excitement of a child that causes him or her to do things without any sort of inhibition. So refreshing and one of the most precious gifts for me to just watch, observe, from the outside in. If I could describe it in words, I guess I’d have to say it’s like watching a beautiful picture come to life, a whole new perspective on being a child, getting to be a child.

What a gift and as long as I am one of his guardians, I will guard that privilege with all my might, to allow him to be that child as long as he possibly can without the world and all its harshness crushing his little spirit. Oops, I’m jumping ahead to where I am now in my heart but back then, I was simply in a state of marveling his childlike spirit, almost as if in awe but not really able to comprehend all that I am able to now that more of the pieces of the puzzle have been added to this true story.

Christmas joy

As we watched his enthusiasm spark over the smallest of gifts, like a pair of Angry Bird pajamas, a beautiful truth came to light: it wasn’t so much the gift itself as it was the gifting. He was so excited to be receiving the gift, and all the

oh, the joy of a child!

unconditional attention. I remember thinking before Christmas how much my whole perception about Christmas and gifts had changed over the years. I used to think that I had to get my son something really big, super special, and I each year I would try to outdo myself. That gets so stinking exhausting. When George and I shopped for Bryden, we didn’t agonize over the fact that we didn’t buy him some special gift from “Santa,” some toy that he didn’t need. We kept it simple and we couldn’t wait to see his reaction to the gifts we had chosen.

There is such beauty in simplicity and Bryden reiterated that truth for me then and continues to do so now.

Join me tomorrow for more of Nana Holds.

Evinda

The Adulterous Woman From Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Thanks so much for coming to Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power, which is another way of saying, this is for chicks! Speaking about chicks, we are about to meat the main one from this series so let’s get back to the crowd assembled inside and outside the Temple, and Jesus’ outburst!

When Jesus stood up and cried out to anyone thirsty, and then invited them to come to Him to drink, He wasn’t talking about bottled water! No, these words alluded to the theme of many prophetic passages that talk about the Messiah’s life-giving blessing of the Holy Spirit to all who believed. In other words, He was standing and crying out His claim to be “The” Messiah because this gift of the Holy Spirit to all who believed was something only He could do.

In His next breadth, He affirms those who believe in Him, out of their heart will flow rivers of living water. Earlier in His ministry, Jesus referred to living water as eternal life, but here He is referring to the Holy Spirit. I love the order here: First eternal life then the Holy Spirit!

Well, can you imagine the crowd after hearing this proclamation? Seriously, I can’t help but wonder if there was a quiet hush at first, like this real pregnant pause, and then all sorts of pandemonium as opinions started flying around as if being crowd-surfed, and then the questions followed close behind.

For many people that day, this final day of the feast, this was their awakening, the day that the veil was torn from the eyes of their heart and they exclaimed that this is the Prophet, The Christ. Yet for others, this outburst raised more questions, and they weren’t quite convinced, mainly because He was from Nazareth, not Bethlehem, or so they thought. But actually, they hadn’t done their homework. They had merely listened to others who spoke their opinions of where He came from.

Had they researched a bit more diligently, they would have discovered He was born in Bethlehem; He just grew up in Nazareth so there was a division among them because of Him. STOP! But just for a minute. It’s an important little detour. How often do we jump to the wrong conclusion because someone has steered us that way? I know I’ve fallen for the wrong information more than once and it’s not a good feeling. Call it being naively gullible or just unlearned, but when it comes to God’s Word, His truths, make sure whatever you hear, or read, including from me, lines up with Scripture!

I’ll let you go for now, but please know, we are getting so very close to meeting The Adulterous Woman. She could be someone in this huge crowd. Join me Monday for more.

Blessings

Evinda