I am trying to be brief...something that doesn't' come naturally to me...so that you can read the most important part of this post - what Keri wrote! I adore Keri, she listens to me jabber on, she lets me come to her house on a whim and lets me talk her into doing this picture. While I was there she was brain storming what she could do for a family at church who may have some really rough times up a head. I have been around her many times when she is brainstorming what she can do, or if what she did was enough. They don't last long and they don't have to, thinking of ways to help others doesn't need to take up all our time. A few minutes here and there to really ponder what you can do is enough - if you follow it up with action.
Bakerartistwoodworker - Bakartwoo ;)
Nope it's not what your were thinking it was...was it?!
Every post needs a good picture!
Serving Others With Your Talents
"One of my favorite birthdays was when I was married and in college. I had one baby who was about three months old, a husband who was in his last year of college, and a job at a local hardware store selling cabinets. With my marriage being so fresh, somehow friendships were hard to come by, and so the ones I had were precious. A friend that I had met as a newlywed needed some shelves for her son’s room and I happened to have a sister with a garage full of power tools. I grew up around table saws and wood and knew how to make what she wanted. So on the appointed day, my friend and I met at my sister’s and spent the afternoon making her shelves. She found out right as she was leaving that it was my birthday and felt so guilty; she didn’t know that she had given me the best present I’d received to date – the opportunity to serve.
That experience was a lesson to me about joy. I learned that doing things for others made me happy – deep down, feel good, spring-after-winter kind of happy. It also taught me about how to make and keep friends.
A few years down the road, in a new home in a new town with baby number two on the way, I again had the opportunity to gain a wonderful woman as my friend by bribing her with service. She had five kids at the time and all of their combined energy and brightness made me say to myself, “I want that whole family for my friends.” So I made them cupcakes. Baked cookies. Had them over for homemade pizza. I learned that she loved woodworking (yay!) and so I had her over to make signs and do crafts. We met another woman with similar interests and soon all three of us were crafting, baking, talking and laughing with each other (and regularly watching each other’s children). Known for my artistic capabilities, soon I was the designated sign maker and poster painter. I helped with science project boards and posters for school and I loved every second of it, knowing that my talents were going to good use for someone else. Serving and loving those two women and their families brought me (and still brings me) immeasurable joy.
Being able to serve others with my talents has also provided comfort in times of sorrow and grief. One of my friends was going through a painful divorce (is there any other kind of divorce?), and I painted her a picture of a woman bent and crying with the words, “I can do hard things.” It might have provided more comfort to me than to her – comfort that I could do something when there really was nothing for me to do. I was also able to paint a picture for a close friend whose young son had passed away several months earlier after a drowning accident. Painting that picture, thinking about the grief she was going through and about her sweet son brought both heartache and peace. It was more than just a painting; it was a gesture that I hoped said to her, “I know it’s still hard. I’m thinking of you. I’m here for you.” Again I felt my soul strengthened by being able to do something for her.
I believe God has given us our strengths specifically to bless those around us. But it is miraculous evidence of his love and omniscience that by using those strengths and talents for the benefit of others, we are the ones that are truly blessed and uplifted and made whole."
-By Keri Payne
So here I go, I am going to start doing some posts to generate ideas on how YOU can serve wither it's for your pictures or not everyone can benefit. If you would like to write a similar post let me know I would love to put it on my blog.Or if you would like to recommend someone I can talk to for a post please let me know.
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