My mom’s favorite verse…well, one of them…is “As each has received a gift, employ it for one another.” Knowing that God also says in His Word, “Every good and perfect gift is from Above,” and that He tells us to steward what we’ve been given, it occurred to me that I haven’t been stewarding what He put inside me! Now, I don’t claim to be perfect…or even have anything perfect. I AM learning, though, that I have several gifts inside me that I’ve allowed to lay dormant, and it’s time to wake ’em up!
I’m learning that my gifts are like a puzzle. When all the pieces are lying on the table, some even upside down or flipped over, they don’t look like much. In fact, they don’t even look related to each other. However, as you look at them, the plan comes into focus. You will begin to notice themes…the top, bottom, frame/edge, chunks of a certain color…various parts of the puzzle…and eventually, it all comes together to make one thing…the completed puzzle. I still am trying to make sense of the top, bottom, and frame to figure it all out, but after playing with several possibilities, a new blog seemed to be the framework that could tie it all together.
“Jesus” is the first letter on the acronym for my blog. He colors everything I do, think, and commit myself to. That’s my goal, at least, though admittedly, I fail more than I’d like to. Don’t we all?
My over-arching theme here is mothering. Several years ago, I realized I had a passion for helping new mamas eliminate some “learning the hard way” that I had gone through! So many times, I’d heard “every mom feels like THAT,” or “Every baby does THAT.” I finally created a packet to tip off friends of mine who were having babies so they could know some of THAT before they had to know it! Fast-forward 14 years to bringing home a child through international adoption. Now THAT was a learning curve! My husband suggested putting together packets for various stages of adoption, like I had done for moms of biological kids. I have several packets of information for adoptive families, and I will create posts for those themes.
I am a music therapist, by training, and thus, music tends to weave its way through much of my life! I’ve written several songs over the years, but in May, when 1,500 people watched a video of a song I wrote following the death of my cousin’s daughter, I knew God was asking me to use my music in new ways, to minister to others…family, friends, and strangers!
Then, as I researched ways to teach new concepts to our newly adopted daughter, I found myself unsatisfied with social stories and songs that I found, and set out to write my own. I use familiar tunes that parents know to teach concepts like taking no as an answer, closing doors when you go outside, or using a napkin (instead of your clothes!) to wipe your face or nose! These songs use simple language…good for very young children, children with special needs, and children with limited command of English…to teach important concepts in catchy ways. I will be creating a YouTube channel and doing blog posts about these songs, with links to the videoes
So, today is the start of a new adventure that’s been brewing inside me! I’m not sure how quickly more content will be coming, but it’s coming! And with that…we begin to launch more of my gifts so that they can be a gift of encouragement to someone I’ll likely never meet…and to those who have reached out with a need!
