Surrendering to the Unknown

So what is a coach.... some may think of a "stagecoach" or some may think of a sports coach.... the purpose of both is to carry us from one place to another. If any of you know me, you know that is what I love to do...help people get from one place to another no matter how small or how large. In the past few months, I have been praying about what is my spiritual gift. I have done tests before to see what it is, but as you grow and mature, you begin to see themes in your life that continuously repeat themselves and that stand the test of time or "phases" that you go through. Exhortation is the theme...The definition.... "an address or communication emphatically urging someone to do something". We were sitting in church last week where our pastor was discussing gifts and you were to raise your hand if you thought you had one of the gifts he named off... I wasn't paying attention at the moment...daydreaming of other gift...and my husband nudged me and said, "Why didn't you raise your hand for that one?" My sister then called the next day and said, "What did you raise your hand for?" I told her I didn't, and she said, of course "exhortation". Another confirmation that other people see in you the same thing. What I love about each of us being made to have a gift is that it is supernatural. It isn't something you can just choose and create. You can begin to see that over a lifetime, you try and try, but that you can't just muster up the power within you to have a gift... it is "gifted to you". There is something about finding your "sweet spot" that makes you realize the how you can unlock God's power on this Earth and be His instrument.

I received my Masters in Counseling years ago and always wondered how God would use that in my life since a month after I graduated, Bobby was born. The surprise of Bobby was such a gift in my life, and since I knew I wanted to stay at home with him and knew I don't do well being double minded, I was thankful I didn't wrestle with trying to do both. As my fourth child is getting older, I am beginning to feel spaces open up for me and margin appear where I get to ask the question... "how do I use my time Lord"... Raising small ones, you don't necessarily listen and choose, you just sort of act. You can seek the Lord in the morning about your attitude all the way through, but the spills, the carpools, the meals that need to be made are on the agenda no matter what you do.

All this to say, it wasn't until I started learning about being a Life Coach that I knew I had an interest. The difference between Coaching and Counseling is that in counseling, you focus more on taking a person from unhealthy places to health where as Coaching focuses more on taking someone who is healthy to excellence. Through a series of God ordained meetings, I met the head of Life Coaching at Northpoint and I was sold. She happened to teach a course through Professional Christian Coaching Institute and I am already a month into the course. I won't be able to work too many hours of course, but I can do a little bit. So then I was left with, how do I pay for it? How do I start up a business.... Hummm.... my hobby... not my gift! Sewing!

Here is a cute skirt I made for Sydney and some pillows I did for my sister-in law's nursery. It has been quite fun to see how God weaves your life together in those random parts that have always felt sort of in "no man's land". I learned how to sew while being sick and pregnant with Bobby and sewed for people the first year he was born.

The Lord has been teaching me this delicate balance between how much you trust God and how much you work diligently. What a balance... you can see that if you even take one step in either direction how you are immediately "off balance". I would appreciate all prayers in this arena as I used to be an ALL or NOTHING kind of girl and I am having to learn that just a little bit at a time is all the Lord asks. I desire so much to be "in the moment" raising my children and in all that I do so it will be a challenge to seek the Lord each day to know how to block off time for all things I love.