Questions to Ponder 3, 4

Hi, friends–

I enjoyed so much hearing your thoughtful responses to my first two
questions.  Here are two more to ponder, with my musings following each:

3.  What are your natural, or God-given, gifts?  Have you been able to focus on your gift(s) and find a passion in life?

4.  What hinders you?

I intended to mail these new questions last Sunday (6 days ago).  But answering them took a lot of thinking.  Hope you enjoy the “journey” of thinking them through, too.

Love,
Shaunalei

(My answers to these questions are on the comments page.)

About Shaunalei

"Peace by Piece" is a storehouse for my exploratory journey of discovery and healing. Feel free to reach me at: shaunalei@codepoet.org.
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1 Response to Questions to Ponder 3, 4

  1. shaunalei says:

    My Answer to Question 3:
    * Righteous Desire. I (nearly) always want to do what is right and good. I feel strongly about what is good and what is not, and I notice (and often comment to others) the latter. I value improvement.
    * Purpose. I seek meaning in life around me. I am dissatisfied with those things which seem meaningless. I enjoy seeing the fruits of my labors.
    * Reasoning. I find it very important to think things through. Then I have to talk about the ideas with someone (Thanks, Erik!) to be able to sort and sift through my thoughts. I’m never bored when I’m thinking things through.
    * Gab. I can easily strike up a conversation with a stranger. Rarely at a loss for words. (Is this a gift or a curse? 😉
    * Creative thought (i.e. openness to inspiration). I am an “ideas” person—I endlessly think up potential projects, entrepreneurial opportunities, needed changes, etc. (Wish I had the gift of implementation, though. That, or a personal secretary/project manager/handyman . . . 😉
    * Self-Reliance. I can take care of myself (though I’m learning the joy of feeling cared for . . . ).
    * I have a good ear for harmonizing (singing alto).
    * I have a lot of dexterity (quick reflexes–I’d make a great stock car driver) 😉 .
    * I create melodies quite easily for little songs. (I’d like to create a songbook and CD of my little songs as a gift for my children/future grandchildren.)
    * Erik says I’m intelligent and able to grasp complex ideas and details and remember them.

    I’m writing this exhaustive list not to pat myself on the back, for indeed “natural gifts” are nothing I can take personal credit for, but to give myself the opportunity to review who I am.

    Focus? Passion? Well, three years ago (almost to the day) I learned this: My happiness is to be found in my marriage. My marriage is my passion and the bedrock of my days: no matter how crumbly the surface of my days are, my marriage is strong and something to which I commit meaningful time each day. I’m able to see the hand of God in my marriage. Erik is my gift. God has shown me His love through my marriage. Through it, I taste of His precious Fruit (His Love). I know that Erik and I, together, will find a passion, a pursuit. We are exploring ideas and prayerfully preparing to find a “place” to serve together, through our individual gifts and our financial means, to meet the needs of families. Looking at my natural gifts, what meaningful service could I give alongside my husband?

    My Answer to Question 4:
    * Bad habits: yelling rather than praying; threatening rather than listening; wanting to get my way rather than sacrificing for and honoring others’ dreams.

    * Bad ideas: caring more about productivity/end results than people/relationships; having greater trust in justice than in mercy (but I’m learning!); fearing rather than loving.

    * Vanity: thinking I have some great, newsworthy contribution to make to the world yet never moving forward in service (this is one of the things straight A’s in high school got me . . . ); not rightly seeing the beauty and honor of serving my own family; thinking myself better than others (ouch!).

    * Analysis paralysis: when thinking/considering becomes mutually exclusive with doing/completing.

    * Fear: I like to succeed. I want to do things “right.” Fear of failure bears bad fruit, however: I don’t want to be a “failure” as a parent, so I tend to compel my children to do the “right” things, which they resent; I won’t begin a project unless I know I can complete it “perfectly,” so many worthwhile things are left unbegun; fear that I must please God/earn His love has made me self-consumed and unable to appreciate the people He has lovingly placed in my life (mission companions, roommates, family members, neighbors, etc.)–but I’m learning! See . . . I started appreciating (emailing) my friends again! 🙂

    * Clutter: I usually don’t focus, take things in stride, or enjoy the simple pleasures when the house is all cluttered–unless, of course, I accomplish something that feels “meaningful.” (Like writing these emails to y’all–I’m actually sitting in a cluttered kitchen as I write this).

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