1 Peter 4:10 "Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms."

This was the verse we went over last Sunday at my pastor's house. Below is my own version/summary of what the verse is saying.

"You have been gifted for a reason. It is not so you can get ahead in life or climb the ladder or step on others to achieve your goals. You have been gifted to serve others. Your gifts are for the benefit of those around you. This is one of the greatest ways you can love your neighbor as yourself. Give of yourself, give of your gifts, give God's grace. Give all of you to others."

We need to be a people that asks how can we serve others. So many times I see in my own life and the life of Christians around me a concern only for oneself or one's immediate family. This is not what we are called to, though. We are called to serve others. Some people are incredibly gifted by God and sadly use that giftedness to their own profit. Others are incredibly gifted and recognize it as a gift from God and use it to change the world. Which will you be?

Personally, I'm at a point of change now. I'm taking a year off from my current job. Part of that time will be spent traveling around the world with a buddy and a friend of his. I'm extremely looking forward to this. For this summer and the time after the trip, though, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I've been saving up a lot of money, but I don't know how long it will last when I'm not making any income. It should be enough to get me through the trip, but what about the summer and the time after the trip? Then there's the question of what do I want to do with my life. I've been an elementary teacher now for 5 years. I enjoy it overall, but lately it seems like the only reason I'm in it is for all the vacation it provides. Plus it pays pretty well for a single guy and has really good benefits. Are all those valid reasons to go back to a job though? I don't think so. A large part of me wants to go into international development somehow. Not sure what that would look like as of now. I could join NMSI, a missions agency down in Ft. Myers, and get my feet wet down there. I could go to Eastern University first and get my master's degree in international development and then see where that leads me. Another option is to go live in Australia for a year just for the heck of it. Does every decision have to have a reason behind it? What if I just want to be adventurous for a year of my life? Part of me is scared to change. All I've known is teaching for the past 5 years. Can I even do another job? Would I be good at it? If I became a missionary would I be able to raise the support? My pastor has made up about 5 different jobs for me to work at the church but I really don't want to work for a church. He sees a lot of potential in me that I don't see though, so maybe he could help develop that in me.

What are my gifts? How can I use them to serve others? I don't know. That's something I need to do some thinking on. We were given a paper at a small group a little while ago that had six different categories of people and we were supposed to put which one we thought we resembled the most. I'm 27 and had no idea. The only thing I knew was that the last two didn't describe me at all. As far as the other four I really wasn't sure which one described me. So much for knowing yourself.

Well, it's getting late and I'm going to bed now.

Bye