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¹⁰ God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. ¹¹ Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ.    I Peter 4:10-11

Watching the Olympics has been awesome. Nothing has impressed me more than watching Shaun White on the Half Pipe! He is amazing!

I started thinking though… why is it so awesome to watch him? Because he found out what his gift was, dedicated himself to it, and now he gives his gift to the world to enjoy.

Sadly, while Shaun White gives his gift away for the world to enjoy, too many of us sit at home watcing people do remarkable things, and never entertain the thought that we could give something remarkable to the world.

Here is a truth: YOU have something remarkable to offer the world. I don’t know what it is, but the people around you do. Ask people what your good at, discover the gifts that God has placed in you, dedicate yourself to developing those gifts, and then give something remarkable to the rest of the world.

The world will recognize when they see something remarkable – make sure when they see the remarkable in you- you  use it as an opportunity to point people to God, because the reality is, without the gifts and gracings He’s put in our lives, we would never be anything near remarkable.

Don’t neglect what God’s put in you. Be remarkable. Give Your Gift Away for the World to Enjoy.

¹⁸But now God has set the members, every one of them in the body, as it has pleased him. – I Cor. 12:18

“Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.”  -John Wooden

I’ve just finished my first month of P90x and I was also going through this book by Coach Wooden over the weekend. I’ve also been listening to Keith Moore’s “Graces and Places” series. The theme throughout all of them is the same- Success is doing the best you can with who you are, your gifts, and your circumstances.

God  gave us our gifts, talents, and abilities. He surrounded us with the people were surrounded with, He’s opened doors for us, He’s given us favor, He’s done for us more than we could ever imagine (Eph. 3:20).

Instead of taking what He’s given you and comparing with what He gave others or instead of wishing you had what somebody else has, be thankful for what you do have. See every gift as one to develop, every opportunity as one to sieze, every relationship you have as a God given one to cultivate.

Recognize that all you can do on any given day is simply give your best effort – do that, and God will take care of the rest.

“Make each day your masterpiece.” -John Wooden

¹⁶A man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before great men. -Proverbs 18:16

All the Opportunities You can Imagine and Then Some

Once you’ve discovered your gift and made the commitment to develop your gift daily, the fun begins to start. The Bible says that your gift will make room for you (create opportunities and open doors for you) and bring you before great men. As a result of discovering and developing my gifts I’ve:

• Had Opportunities I Would have Never Dreamed Of – I still can’t believe some of the things I’ve had the opportunity to do. There have been opportunities I’ve had to turn down, and I know as I continue to develop, God will keep bringing bigger and better opportunities my way.

• I’ve Connected with People I would Have Never Dreamed Of – I remember 7 years ago thinking that if I could spend 2 minutes with a high quality leader my life would be awesome! 7 years later, God has connected me to so many high quality leaders I can’t believe it.  And He keeps opening doors to allow me to meet and connect with even more. Your gift really will bring you before great men (Leaders are always looking for potential leaders).

• I’m Going Places I would Have Never Dreamed Of - When I look at where God HAS taken me, I can’t even imagine where God IS taking me.

I literally can’t believe I get to live my life. I had to take care of my part developing my gift and  God always takes care of His part opening doors that I could never open and closing doors I could never close. What God will do for me, He’ll do for you!

What doors have opened and opportunities have come your way because you made the choice to discover and develop your gift?