Discovering God's Calling

It's been quite an interesting week! I attended faith-based events from Sunday through Friday! Topics were all centered around giving.

Long ago, God had convicted me about giving "His" money to the ministry. Later, He challenged me to give more...and more. Next, He convicted me about giving Him the talents He has given me. Shortly after, He showed me how I can also use the assets He has blessed me with for His glory. In doing so, I've learned to simplify my life and give more of my time to the Lord; and, in all of this, He has always given me great joy beyond any measure! But, it doesn't simply end there. Just in the last few weeks, He has been impressing upon my heart to also give of my professional skills, including much of the time that I would normally allot for "work". I don't believe I would have heard His calling if I were still in Hawai'i. I was then in my comfort zone, snoozing my so-called beautiful life away in Paradise!

I've been in Orlando for 21 months now. I've never been exposed to so many Christians outside of my church in my entire adult life!!! I experienced this only within a 90-day period! Now I can see why God had instructed me to leave Hawai'i (a place with family, church friends/friends, and job that I loved so much). He also instructed me to leave my first job back in Orlando just at the height of success! Best of all, He allowed me to enter these transitions with no fear. Just plain faith that He is in control and that He will provide (most times, my faith is only the size of a mustard seed). During such uncertainties of change, not to mention our current political and economic conditions, God continues to challenge me: "give some more!"

I know God doesn't need anyone's money. He only wants our heart, our full surrender. You can quickly tell a person's "heart condition" depending on "how" (not by how much) he/she gives. Trust me, it's never easy. But, the results are always phenomenal! No, I don't give to be blessed. I give because I've already been blessed! The meaning of prosperity all depends on the "heart" of the beholder.

I was invited to attend an all-day Generous Giving Forum today at the Villas of Grand Cypress in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Here, God reminded me of a great passage in 2 Corinthians 9:12-13 where 3 phrases re: being a cheerful giver truly hit home:

• Not only supplying the needs of God's people
• Overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God
• Men will praise God for the obedience

May these phrases be my guidelines in yet another dimension of giving, effective immediately. May He cause me to remember this event and as a mother, I hope my 2 children will also have the experience and privilege of learning that generous giving through full surrender to the Lord brings about a truly abundant life. I learned this from my mom without her having to say anything to me. I hope that my children, as well as my students, would learn it from me, too. The great thing is, I don't own the results--God does! I just have to faithfully keep doing what God has called me to do--to use my 2 main spiritual gifts, teaching and giving, to those I'm very passionate about, my students around the world. It's amazing to see how this blog has already reached 10 countries and 15 states within the US in less than 3 months without any proactive effort on my part to publicize it or even add tags, keywords, etc. To all the readers of this blog: may God use this message to encourage and challenge you beyond your comfort level! I encourage you to find and heed God's calling in your life, if you haven't done so already!

In closing, here's the math in determining God's calling for my life:
Teaching + Giving + Students + Global = God wants me to teach the principles of giving to students (young and old) on a global scale.

...Hence another new and exciting project for me! Stay tuned...