Water Gifts-Elemental-Week 4

Drip, Drop, Roar!

It starts as just a droplet, then another, then another, each drop joining its kind to first become a puddle. Then it continues with each drop becoming bigger, more, larger; the puddle becomes a pond or a small flood. It keeps growing with each drop; lakes, rivers, oceans all are formed with the same beginning…one little drop. This is the force of water, one of the prime elements; often overlooked and underestimated, yet life cannot exist without it.

Like the element, so are the spiritual gifts which fall under its domain. Each gift builds upon itself; first with small seemingly insignificant acts, often not even seen or perceived, BUT no less powerful. These small acts begin to build upon one another until they are as strong as waves as the tide rushes in. The Water gifts include Faith, Encouragement, Hospitality, Mercy, and Words of Wisdom. Each of these gifts can seem small, insignificant, and without pizzazz, but sit back and watch closely and you can see they are just as great as the God who blesses them upon us.

Paul urges Timothy “Do not neglect your gift…” (1 Timothy 4:14) yet when your gift is one without the “Wow” factor, it really seems hard not to at times. What does one do with a gifting in Faith? Or the gift of Encouragement may seem like, “Oh great I missed my calling as a cheerleader”. God, however, uses each attribute wonderfully and often without you knowing it.

Jesus tells us that with the faith the size of a mustard seed we can command the mountain to throw itself into the sea (Matthew 21:21). There is no weakness in the faith gifting; without those who have unwavering faith who will be the rock and mortar that keeps the rest of us going, even in the darkest hour of our lives? Without encouragement who is to stop us from giving up and giving in when times are hard? Hospitality is what keeps us together and mercy never leaves anyone behind. And those of us with the gifting of Word(s) of Wisdom, let them speak when the spirit is moving in them and clarity will abound.

If you are like me, a Water element with spiritual giftings like faith, encouragement, hospitality, mercy, and word of wisdom; don’t sell it short. God has great things in store for you. As for you others who might look down upon the water gifts, or even those who look at them with complacency; watch out the water is rising and we can have all the power of the Tsunami, but with the subtlety of a single drop.




~Written by Christian Love, Elder at AC3

Constructive Connections--Part 8

Backlit

Constructive Connections is a fiction series. They are beginning tales of how each person is crafted by God to fulfill a purpose, to enhance the narrative of life. By contributing unique talents to serve one another, a tower God calls us to construct begins to form for His joy.

“I’m here,” I typed out in the lower third. “Now what?”

There was lag. Hovering over the logout, ready to retreat, a response came: “Now we listen; now we watch.”

My brother Stanley invited me through social media to watch a church livestream sermon. Stanley and I hadn’t spoken in months. I was surprised to see his request on my feed. In my head, I imagined him camping in the mountains somewhere, surfing the coast waters, or jail. Adventure was his passion, usually to his own detriment. My little brother, running a livestream…for a church… piqued my interest.

As the message unfolded, it related to purpose and who we were meant to be in God’s Kingdom. The pastor talked of how God gifts us attributes through the Holy Spirit which ultimately add value to the Body of Christ. Spirit gifts such as faith, encouragement, creativity, teaching, discernment, and other aptitudes; God determines and blesses individuals with specific characteristics. All sermons, I guess, tend to be focused about who we are supposed to be and what we are supposed to do, but most messages I had experienced in the past focused on guilt regarding what we had done 6 out of 7 days of the week. Hearing with different ears, I leaned in.

Growing up literally in the church, our home was just off the sanctuary; to the left. We never left church because church was home. I attended every Sunday sermon and every youth group. Our week focused around proper name “Church”. It was more like a person to my parents than a building filled, as my teenage-self translated, with two-faced humans. Forming within the walls was a youth making up a sweep of attitudes and actions enhancing my dual personas. Singing hymns in the morning, then going to my room to blast songs filled with sexist, racist, whatever-ist I could find to grab the attention of my own parents, put me snug alongside the two-face group. They didn’t notice; Church stood in the way. So, I turned away from Church and just talked to Jesus when I needed Him.

The sermon related many different giftings of the Spirit; from ones I desperately wanted, to the ones I cringed at considering to be about myself. I related most to being discerning. Recognizing inconsistencies is where I have been stuck for a while; especially God’s inconsistencies. My son Cody died from complications of pneumonia two years ago. He was 15. I prayed. I prayed again. I made Cody pray. We buried him on a crisp October Monday. Inconsistent. Noticing the conflicting messages of Jesus healing, and not seeing it in Cody’s short lifespan, sent me down in the pit. And that pit had many caverns that I thought I could travel within. They just lead to more darkness, more anger, more sadness, more faithlessness. Devoid of light.

I noticed comments along the lower third: “Doesn’t that sound like Mabel? She is such an intercessor!” “Yeah! And how about Jacob, he’s all about helps.” Then I read a comment from the host site: “What about Cody? He had the spirit of craftsmanship, hu?”

Tears welled up. Cody was always making. He was stuck in the house most days because of his sicknesses. My son was born with immune deficiencies; he had regular bouts with simple illnesses which frequently turned into ER visits.

“Remember the wooden spoon set he carved?” I wrote back.

“LOL! Yeah, he said he was going to make forks, but he was worried about tongue splinters!” Stanley fired back. I smiled, picturing his goofy smile on the other side of the screen.

“And then he carved about 100 of those cute bear-paws out of soap,” I stopped typing as the realization hit me square in the heart; the reason Cody made them. “Cody wanted paw soaps to go to the homeless. He said they were small enough to fit into their pockets. The less fortunate could use paw soaps to clean up during their travels, Cody used to say.”

“I remember. Yep, craftsmanship…for sure,” Stanley wrote back.

I got up and wandered into Cody’s room. It was easy to find the 3 containers labeled “Paws for your paws” on the top shelf of his closet. He always had a fun sense of corniness. “Mom, I want to go to the shelter tomorrow to give these out,” but we never made it. He was in the hospital the next week and the following, he was gone.

Taking down the boxes, I rushed back to the computer. The feed was still up even though the sermon was over.

“Stanley? Does your church have a shelter or a food bank?”

Sharing the craft my son had made was my first step out of the darkness. It is amazing how such a little thing, a bauble of soap, can put a smile on someone’s face. The smile lights the heart, the heart lights the body, and the darkness becomes less and less. My son had been gifted the spirit of Craftsmanship for a very special reason. Even though he is gone, he is still able to give off light.

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:6 NIV

~Written by Jennifer Love

Earth Gifts-Elemental-Week 3

Craftsmanship is one my giftings.

I remember many years ago about the time that the first Matrix movie came out, Dan Hazen taught a class about how to measure what your God-given giftings are, and how to apply them to serve the church. Through that class, I learned my top gift was craftsmanship. At that time we had just finished remodeling the church, so that builder side of me was all done and hungry for something else... But now what? 

After taking the class, like I said, I found that my highest scoring gift was craftsmanship, but somehow that didn't surprise me. I thought it might be that, anyway. After the class, I asked Dan how I can get my craftsmanship gifts in the game and his answer would change the direction of my life for the next 10 plus years. 

Dan told me to check with Johnna and see if she needed a hand with the drama side of the props or drama sets. When I checked with her, she said, " I need the Nebuchadnezzar built for a fight scene". I asked her, "the what?" She told me to rent the movie The Matrix and watch it. I had a hard time finding it, but after 10 days of waiting for it to show up at the Hollywood Video store I watched it and got busy. I have made many things since that day. Hundreds of different sets. Using wood, styrofoam, sheetrock, siding, plaster, paint, hot glue, rubber cement, plastic pipes, thousands of screws, bolts, chain and wires, and gallons and gallons of paint. It has been very rewarding and very sacrificing. I took it to a new level a few times, it was challenging but it was NEVER too hard to do because God gave me what I needed to do it all. All I needed to do was manage my time, and be willing to serve. And pray for His guidance and empowerment.

There was a time or two where I tried to do it all by my own strength and abilities only to come to my senses by hearing the words of my coffee bearing friend the next morning after pulling an all-nighter. "How's it going?" he would say. I'd answer him "Can't you tell?" He asked me, "please tell me you prayed first" and I would stop dead in my tracks and just stare at him tired and with a sense of defeat, I would reply "uhhmmm no I did not." We would stop and sit quietly and my friend Joe would pray for me. And almost instantly my giftings would come alive. And the project would prevail.

I have taken a 5-year break from most of the stage creations, but the fire has returned and I hope to be busy at it again soon. There's nothing quite as satisfying as accomplishing something God made you to do. My hope is that God is glorified by the efforts spent serving his Bride, the Church. So take the test, find your giftings, then find some time and get involved, it's a wonderful experience when you're doing it with Him at your side.



Wayne Clinton
Elder at AC3 

AC3 VB74 Chazown

Check out this weeks video blog right here as Rick and Dan discuss a popular upcoming class. Enjoy! :)