NJM 11 – Gifts and Encouragement

Hello hello my loves. It’s been a while since I’ve called you guys hasn’t it? lol It’s been a while since I’ve been in the writing groove but maybe NJM is bringing me back? Lets hope! So tomorrow the youth and I will be heading to Memphis. Now… I’ve never been fond of Memphis because I used to live there pretty much from 1st grade until the end of my 8th grade year annnnnd it was in one of the bad areas of Memphis. Lots of drugs, gangs, etc etc etc. Not too great of memories from there because I never really fit in with anyone there. Except Barbara. I didn’t know why until now. Even as a 7th and 8th grader she and her sister were very strong Christians. Very loving and sweet natured and accepting of everyone. And wasn’t ghetto, or into the gang scene, or hung out with drug dealers or anything like that. So they were the only ones I really related to. I didn’t come to Christ until I was 18. Anywho, I’m actually excited for once to go there. Usually I’m excited to see family that still lives in Memphis but not overly so. I was the only girl cousin for YEARS until about 11 yrs ago when Brianna was born (as you can see I’m 27 so huge age difference) sooo… growing up I really couldn’t hang too much with my cousins. lol. I was trying to get the address of the church we are going to so I can pass it along to my only cousin left there thats not in prison. I would really love to see him and his daughter meet us there. Its been years since I’ve seen his daughter (his oldest one. I’ve not met the majority of his other children). Anywho no luck so far so I guess it wasn’t meant to be… wait… I just googled the church name. I hope this is the right one and there’s not more than one in the Memphis area lol. Hallelujah it is! Now to see if they’re able to come.

Anywho (I’ve said t hat a lot in this entry so far lol) last night at church the youth took a spiritual gifts test (and myself because I’ve never taken one before). Its a test to see what gifts you are strong, so so, or poor in. We had to answer 80 questions in 8 rows of 10 about ourselves with a rating of 1-5, 5 being the best. Then we had to add up the columns and each column was a specific gift. I tied with 3 columns for my top gifts. My top ones were Exhortation (encouraging and uplifting people pretty much), Mercy (compassion, love in action) and Pastor (taking responsibility for souls) That last one completely surprised me! My secondary pretty much tied for 3 different ones too, Faith (having great faith. everyone has a certain degree of faith of course), Discernment (having a strong sense of right and wrong, good and evil even when its not so obvious in situations and people. kinda like a strong instinct), and Teaching (able to break down things and people understand what you’re saying). Those 3 didn’t surprise me at all although I thought one of them would be in my top 3 rather than Pastor but eh life is full of surprises! lol

I guess I’ll end it here but I want to share Psalm 139: 1-18. I read it today and it really pulled on me. So much so that verse 14 was on the bottom of the page I was writing on in my prayer journal. I wrote the verse down in my scripture notebook because I liked it (as I do with every scripture I like) and mom suggested me to read Psalm 139 yesterday. I decided to read it today and didn’t really realize that the scripture I wrote down was from this book and chapter. You know how you absentmindedly write stuff down without REALLY paying attention. Anywho I think God really wanted me to read it and I felt the need to share it

1 You have searched me, LORD,
   and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
   you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
   you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
   you, LORD, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
   and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
   too lofty for me to attain.

7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
   Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
   if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
   if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
   your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
   and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
   the night will shine like the day,
   for darkness is as light to you.

13 For you created my inmost being;
   you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
   your works are wonderful,
   I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
   when I was made in the secret place,
   when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
   all the days ordained for me were written in your book
   before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
   How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
   they would outnumber the grains of sand—
   when I awake, I am still with you.

*HUGS* TOTAL!

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